Strange Adventures #52, DC Comics,
"Prisoner Of The Parakeets," 1950>*
We do things differently around these parts, though. We've never really tried to chase the headlines of the day, or even the hour -- with so much turbulence, it all changes at lightning speed, anyway, so we've chosen to comment more strategically on events that seem particularly relevant (such as our "Tomorrow And Tomorrow And Tomorrow Creeps" series, for instance).
But, as I noted for post #300, we've managed to expand on our original remit, with posts delving into classic punk 'n' garage records, digital feudalism, food insecurity, gentrification, pay to play culture, the slings 'n' arrows of daily life (minus the outrageous fortune), and a fair dose of our own outsider art, photography 'n' writing, all delivered with the deeply personal perspective that you've come to expect.
Three whole months have already come 'n' gone, or so it seems, in the blink of an eye. We never intended to let that much time slip by, without posting, but there were so many things going on -- from art projects, to inspections, job hassles, and preparing for the taxman -- that we had to deal with those first, as they came up. Real life is funny and tedious like that, at the same time.
In fact, that's where this particular conversation comes, taped on the road, as we were traveling to an art-related activity. "Hell, why not?" I asked Squawker. "We're gonna be sitting in the van for a half hour, at least, so we're not going anywhere, right? What better time or place?" With that, we started our chat, and soon, we were off to the races.
THE SQUAWKER: Well, the thing I'm worried about is, everything got economically worse, and more oppressed. But they never fix anything, to make it do better. They just decide to bill you for more things that make your life harder.
Ever since COVID, they did pass out the money, and some say, “That raised the inflation,” but I think they're just taking advantage. C'mon, we're barely making it, and food is too expensive, and it's so crappy. I'm worried about being really poor, and homeless.
RECKONER: Well, it seemed like they decided to claw back the money, with all the greedflationary stuff that's going on right now.
SQUAWKER: Yeah, they clawed it back, and then added to it, you know what I mean?
RECKONER: Basically. But when you started Ramen Noodle Nation, what was your original idea? I don't know that you ever told me.
SQUAWKER: I wanted poor people to talk about what their life was really like. When you think about it, there was nowhere we could actually talk about what it's like being poor.
21st-Century Self-Portrait,
Picasa Style" (2021)>
SQUAWKER: I think it's my persistence – as long as Google keeps up the platform, too.
RECKONER: Right.
SQUAWKER: Maybe I'm just one of those determined people that likes to write, and get their message out there, while I'm still alive.
RECKONER: Well, I think it was one of the things that helped you become a better writer, certainly.
SQUAWKER: Yeah, I agree with that. I've started writing poetry, and things like that – I wrote a 'zine/book, and things like this. So I've had my other projects.
RECKONER: Yeah, and I don't think a lot of that probably would have happened, if you hadn't been doing that.
Maybe if you live in a small town, or you go the the inner city, and most of your neighbors share your economic status, but it's not true for us. We live in a place where most people have more money than us.
RECKONER: Well, and if you look at the way everything is reported – the economy is largely reported from the perspective of how the rich are doing, like with the stock market, or some of the other things that they obsess about.
SQUAWKER: Yeah, if you think about it, they only care about the haves. Actually, if you think about it, it's prevalent now, where they almost act like poor people don't exist. I've seen that in the liberal world – where they act like there's no such thing as certain groups of people who are poor. They focus on poverty in the inner-city which is of concern too, but they cancel out rural America, they ignore the realities of blue-collar workers.
And then, disabled? Oh, man. Well, you got people who are homeless, because they've got to live on $900 a month – the SSDI people make a bit more, but if you have huge medical bills, it's very hard to save money.
RECKONER: Well, and then, of course, there was the clipping you posted on your timeline, about the exponential increase in homelessness, and rent.
SQUAWKER: I think there's a lot more homeless people now.
RECKONER: Well, I think the story that I saw said, about half of all Americans can't afford rent.
SQUAWKER: Rent's gotten so expensive. I saw a statistic the other day that said, of all renters, over 50 percent are paying more than 30 percent (of their income) for rent.
RECKONER: Cost-burdened – that's the term for it, that I learned, doing one of my transcripts the other week. That's quite a lot of people at the moment, so...
SQUAWKER: I think they're ruining the quality of life with everything, if you don't have money to do stuff, or socialize, or eat out. They've made life a lot more lonely, because you need money to go everywhere. Just leaving your apartment costs money.
There's fewer free "third spaces" today. What's left the park or library? You go, “Where can I go to hang out?” Even if you go to church, and I'm talking liberal or conservative, you'd better be able to pony up a little bit of money for the basket.
RECKONER: Well, as you've said, "Church costs money." That's one of the issues with it.
SQUAWKER: Yeah. Now, some will give out food, and stuff. But I've noticed, that for years, most people receiving all the charity aren't members of the church. They can't afford the clothes, or tithes/dues to be there. Some have to work weekends. Well, there was one decent church I was in, where there was some in-house food, but that was a church in a working-class community. So the mentality, I think, is different.
SQUAWKER: Maybe we need more articles on how to survive if you're poor. Also, there needs to be more questioning of the elitism of the left, and how they have left behind a lot of people who are poor, and have no money. I know your beliefs are different, but I think both parties have become too much (into) supporting the oligarchs, and giving them money, and ignoring the every day life of the common man.
RECKONER: Well, except one outcome will be a lot worse than the other, because you have one party that is more and more committed to obliterating the so-called democratic experiment. And I just don't know how we would recover from that, if people were foolish enough to give them another shot at it.
SQUAWKER: Well, even I worry about Project 2025, and how it would affect poor people. I'm angry at the left, but I'm angry at the right, with all their bootstrap garbage. They're not exactly understanding of the reality of poor people, either.
RECKONER: I would say that the mask has fallen off, with a clang, and a thud. Because there was a certain point, maybe right through the 2010s, where even the more extreme members of the right sort danced around the subject, a little bit. The Tea Party wing was more willing to stick within established boundaries.
In other words, they were just obsessed with getting enough power to do what they wanted, Whereas, with the Trumpers, it's, “Burn it down, blow it up. Overthrow the government, if necessary. Do what it takes to squash the other guys into the ground.” That's the worrying part, to me, about all this.
SQUAWKER: Well, that's one worrisome thing, about all the extremes. I think the political climate in America has gone very extremist, and I don't know – I don't have much hope. I know too many wealthy liberals who are telling the world, "the economy is doing wonderful!" as many people can't afford rent and food.
There's too many greedy people who are ruining this place, and the whole idea of the self-reliant American, leaping over everybody, is ruining this place. No one thinks about the quality of life for anybody anymore. It's getting worse here.
RECKONER: Well, that idea is mostly a mirage, I think. And it's a beautiful myth – “the rugged individualist.”
SQUAWKER: It might work against them. I don't like Communism, either, but I think there's a point where the extreme other side works against community, or having a society that functions for everyone.
SQUAWKER: Yeah.
RECKONER: That's the part that I think doesn't quite hold up. I mean, as I like to tell people, “Yeah, there's this whole thing with John Dillinger, and the wooden gun” – but guess what? The new consensus on that episode is that he basically paid his lawyer to smuggle it in there to him
Not to take away from what did – because it took a lot of acting, and front, to pull that off – but still, by all accounts, it wasn't quite what it appeared to be.
Well, I guess we'll have to see what happens with post #500, if we're doing it in some type of exile – I hate thinking that way. I deeply resent thinking that way. Any last words, before I sign off?
SQUAWKER: Yeah, that's fine – we've got to find this place.
Links To Go: How We Started (And How We Continued)
The Reckoner's Introduction To Ramen Noodle Nation:
The Squawker's Introduction To Ramen Noodle Nation:
https://ramennoodlenation.blogspot.com/2012/02/squawkers-introduction-to-ramen-noodle.html
Post #300: Eight Years Of Ramen Noodle Nation
(The Reckoner & The Squawker Look Back):
https://ramennoodlenation.blogspot.com/2020/06/post-300-eight-years-of-ramen-noodle.html
Strange Adventures (Alec Trench Comics):
"Prisoner Of The Parakeets":
https://alectrenchcomics.wordpress.com/2012/11/09/prisoner-of-the-parakeets/
(*Reckoner's Note: The above image omits the female parakeet's line, "Here's your new pet, dear!" In researching this image, I found that this particular issue of Strange Adventures marked DC's first science fiction title, and went through three reprints, including a '70s one, with the caged hero snarling: "Let me out of here, you birdbrains!" Presumably, having him cry out, "Help! Help!" wasn't deemed in keeping with the more cynical, more aggressive ethos of a different era.)
Congratulations on your perseverance! You've tended "your own garden" well, as the Frenchman advised, while offering observations from the tower. * You solicit topics for coping with poverty: May I suggest viewing some of the old b&w films that feature boarding houses -- "Shadows on the Stairs", "Charlie Chan/Fast Money", "The Day the Earth Stood Still", and a very early Attenborough whose title escapes me/he played a young thug -- and exploring how what was once a solution for the shortage of affordable housing might work today. * You're on target with the remark about rural poverty. Some local the parking lots volunteer fire departments are now sprouting food bank boxes. Me, I donate pop-top baked beans or ravioli with a fast-food cutlery package taped to the side of the can. Used to hand those out dropped inside socks or knitted gloves to street people, too many decades ago, and find it sad that it's needed now where folks have family homes and the adults have jobs.
ReplyDeleteThanks! Like I said, when we started doing this in the early 2010s, we had no idea we'd still be at it. I'd call it the virtual extension of a line from Phil Ochs -- "I've got something to say, and I'm gonna say it now!" So on that level, this project more than satisfies us. I like your boarding house idea, maybe that's one for The Squawker to tackle -- being a bit more versed in those old b/w films than I am, perhaps.
ReplyDeleteAs far as negative stats go, alas, Michigan seems to be holding its own -- I recently read a story that our state experienced the third highest rent increases nationwide, or 12.47%, according to Rent.com (behind MS and NH, in first and second place, respectively. The median rent statewide is now $1,507. What's more, though our region (Midwest) has the lowest median prices, it's the only one that has not seen any declines in them over the last few months.
In that sense, we're filling our traditional economic role -- the first to fall off the cliff, and the last ones to climb out. At least we're consistent in something, I guess. Thanks for writing! --The Reckoner