Doing better
I’m doing another performance of Flight Lessons, the folk opera I wrote about Peregrine Falcons and people, soon, so much of my mind is on getting ready for that show these days. It’s on April 17, and it entails seven musicians and 20 songs with video projection, bird song and narrative so there’s a lot of ducks to get in a row I’m grateful for the opportunity to stage it again! More details about the Alameda performance HERE.
In the meantime, spring — crazy warm though it is here now in California — means the actual birds, including the real stars of my show, Peregrine Falcons, are either on the migratory move or beginning to nest. We’ve gone out to look at the local falcons several times this week who seem to be on track. Phew! It’s been a tough year for falcon population due to avian influenza and our fingers are crossed that the local pair has a successful year.
Speaking of successes: the opening for bird-themed art exhibit I curated, Flight Patterns, went great. A bunch of people showed up (thank you!), mingled and bought some of the great art on display. The exhibit is up in Rhythmix’s K Gallery through April 24 and you can both see it live on April 17, by appointment or preview it online HERE.
In the meantime, I’m also following the news. Ugh, I know. so much. I’m not going to try to tackle the many complex feelings I’m having these days, but I did want to weigh in a bit on one item. I, like probably all women (and many Californians), were disappointed/outraged/sad/rolling their eyes etc. over this week’s story in the New York Times about Cesar Chavez. Men in power + patriarchy proves itself again to be a toxic mix for women. My heart goes out to every survivor and those who have long been a part of the UFW.
Seeing heroes fall is its own particular disappointment — unless you are in complete denial which is the other, problematic, tack to take — and I’ve appreciated how there appears to be a lot more accountability and avowed support for survivors rather than denial.
Many people1, including Jennifer Rubin, the EIC for The Contrarian, wrote an excellent post on the subject ‘Hard Truths’. This quote, in reference to the appropriate response by labor and civil rights communities to the news, read like a clear guide for other organizations facing troublesome revelations about their leaders:
“The difference between a movement based on commitment to the dignity of all people and a cult of personality is that the former holds the powerful accountable, does not treat survivors as dispensable, and recognizes that any social justice movement worthy of our support is far greater than one individual. When people in positions of power — even those whose work has been previously honored — abuse others, they must be held responsible. When the individual has passed away, we must strive to correct the mythologies of their historical record.”
I’m weighing in, as it calls to mind not only being disappointed by leaders, but being let down again by those who follow those leaders. What I know about the response to the Chavez news called to mind two different organizations and communities I’ve been a part of — Audubon Society and the Mysore Ashtanga community — who both either pushed back on calls for change or went into denial when some ugly truths were revealed. In the former, the namesake of the powerful bird conservation organization was revealed to be a slave owner. Many local chapters of the Audubon Society did change their names based on member feedback (a la Golden Gate Bird Alliance and Bird Connect Seattle), but others, pointedly, did not (looking at you Marin Audubon and National Audubon Society). Meanwhile in Ashtanga land, which couldn’t deny the fact that founder Pattabhi Jois abused women for many years after so many came forward amid the height of the #MeToo movement, the lack of accountability, gaslighting and wagon-circling left more than a few of us very cold and many victims on their own.
Which is why I liked Rubin’s words so much. Can we normalize believing women? Can we normalize holding power accountable? Can we normalize admitting mistakes and making amends?
I believe the truth does, and will, prevail, but in the end it’s what we all do with the information.