A Response to "The Wall" (a.k.a "the Separation Barrier")

During my time in Chicago, an annual tradition was the Good Friday Justice Walk.

In 2014, the group of Palestine solidarity activists I worked with did a project to help people learn about and imagine the impact of the Wall (also known as the Separation Barrier) in Israel.

Palestinians and visitors from throughout the world have added their own street art, graffiti, and public art to the Wall, as a sign of protest, an invitation to peace, and a critique of the lack of global intervention. Our project consisted of making a series of posters that replicate the art on the Wall. Here's an example:

(I first became sensitized to the importance of wall-art-that-protests-the-wall -- the power of art to demand a new, liberated reality -- in an essay my sister wrote about the Berlin Wall in the late 1980s.)

I have posted photos of the other wall boards we created below.

When placed side-by-side, the boards created a replica (in miniature) of the barrier wall:

"The Women Weep" in the shadow of the containment wall
34th Annual 8th Day Good Friday Justice Walk in Chicago

You can read about the project on the blog of the ELCA Metro Chicago Synod Working Group on the the Middle East.

The project had important "before" and "after" aspects, too.

Making the boards was half the fun. Check out these photos of the "Wall" sign board painting workshops - March and April 2014

. . . and . . . several months after the event, Chicago area readers of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) publication The Lutheran got to read about the project in that publication (see image at right).

In 2015, I had a chance to see the barrier wall in person. It left me with an ineradicable determination that every Christian needs to become devote to the in-this-world work of liberation.

Resistance art on the wall -- Aida refugee camp, Palestine

Full set of photos
The Wall: posters created by the ELCA Metro Chicago Synod Working Group on the the Middle East for the Good Friday Justice Walk in Chicago in 2014.

"Now that I've seen it I'm responsible for it."

"U.S. aid: injustice anywhere is a threat
to justice everywhere. (MLK Jr.)"

"The wall is lame."

"An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind."

Hope

"ctrl + alt + del ... Forgive what you have done? ... ICAHD 2008"

"A country is not only what it does. It is also
what it tolerates. Kurt Tucholsky 1933"

"War is not the answer."

"Your heart is a weapon the size of your fist.
Keep fighting.
Keep loving."

"I am not a terrorist."

MEMES: Moment, Frame, Image, Words, Flow

I make a lot of memes, and I'm trying to work on my technique.

On Monday, I headed for Cambridge to visit my granddaughter. I had a copy of Scott McCloud's Making Comics in my bag. I thought this trip would be a good chance to study McCloud's great analysis of comics ("juxtaposed pictorial/other images in a deliberate sequence intended to convey information and/or produce an aesthetic response in the viewer") and think about how his analysis might apply to the memes I create.

As I walked to the gate, I spotted this TIME magazine cover:

TIME, February 12, 2017: "Making America Nuclear Again"
featuring "Trump's Gamble"by W.J. Hennigan and
"Inside the Doom Factory" by Simon Shuster

"Well, I've gotta have that," I thought.

Later, as I read the first chapter of Making Comics somewhere above Colorado, I made notes about these elements:

* Moment
* Frame
* Image
* Words
* Flow

"I've got a few hours to kill," I thought. "What kind of meme would I like to make right now? Can I put these concepts to work?"

I thought about the TIME cover. It was a pretty good meme all on its own. It captured the moment of nuclear peril, using an image of a mushroom cloud, and all on its own it solved the problem of proper framing by showing the mushroom cloud within the magazine cover context (including the TIME logoface, associated verbiage, and an actual red frame).

I realized the words remained for me to add. It was immediately obvious that I wanted to rise above the ambiguous tone of the cover ("Making America Nuclear Again") and express urgency. The words that came to mind were, "When are we going to learn?"

McCloud stresses that the difference between a cartoon (one frame) and comics (multiple frames) is flow. My first thought was that my meme's flow could be from the TIME cover (frame #1) to the words "When are we going to learn?"(frame #2). Then I decided it might be interesting to show motion in the TIME cover ... starting with the original and fading to nothingness, to suggest the consequences of nuclear weapons.

This is what I ended up with:

@scarry on Twitter:
"Donald #Trump Is Playing a Dangerous Game of #Nuclear Poker"
@TIME @wjhenn http://time.com/5128394/donald-trump-nuclear-poker/ …

I tweeted it together with a link to the story in TIME, as shown in the caption above.

I'm still not sure if I like the font and size I selected for the words, "When are we going to learn?" I didn't want to shout, but rather to encourage the viewer to lean in and share in this personal message, and think about it. I hope it's big enough to be visible. (Maybe I'll revise it later, after an interval and then a fresh look at it.)

And now . . . time for me to study Chapter 2 of Making Comics: "Stories for Humans"!


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LACMA: Outside Looking In (#lacmaoutsidein)

Oasis #lacmaoutsidein #losangeles #publicspace

A week ago, I was visiting my son in Los Angeles. When he headed out for an appointment one morning, I asked him to drop me off at the LA County Museum of Art.

I was looking forward to seeing the latest exhibitions so much that it didn't even occur to me that LACMA wouldn't be open yet at 9:30 in the morning.

I was momentarily disoriented when I realized I was going to be outside the gate for an hour and a half -- on the streets of Los Angeles! without a car! But then I took a deep breath . . . got my heartbeat back down . . . and started to explore.

Then a few things happened in rapid succession:

* I noticed a phenomenal "shutter" effect as I walked alongside the fence with the sun shining through -- light-dark-light-dark-light-dark.

* I took a picture and shared it with my daughter in Chicago. (When she can't come to the museum with me in person, she cheers me on virtually.) We "LOL'd" about the fact that I was so eager I came before the museum even opened.

* I decided to walk around the (extensive) perimeter of LACMA and take a bunch of pictures.

* I realized I was seeing a new side of LACMA. I was documenting my experience of being "outside looking in."

* I thought about doing an exhibition of my photographs (and video) -- on social media. I decided Instagram was the right place for it.

* I wondered if a hashtag could be used to tie together my "virtual exhibition." I decided to use #lacmaoutsidein.

In the last year I've become aware -- along with many observers of the tech scene and social media -- that Instagram has important lessons for us about how to communicate better. My #lacmaoutsidein experiment was conducted with no particular end in mind -- other than to have fun, discover something new, and perhaps make something beautiful. I did suspect that it might hold lessons for all kinds of communication, including very intentional activist efforts. And, indeed, the images and the way people interact with them in a "virtual exhibition" stimulated all kinds of unexpected thoughts for me.

Please check out my #lacmaoutsidein "virtual exhibition" on Instagram. (And if you're really interested, you can see my "exhibition notes" on Twitter using the same hashtag!)

Meanwhile, I'm getting busy dreaming up my next project . . . .


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USA: Proud Sponsor of T E R R O R in Gaza!

Chicago March Against World Silence on Gaza Massacre
Sunday, August 10, 2014 2:30 p.m.
Michigan and Congress

ORIGINAL POST: Last night (November 19, 2012) on Michigan Avenue in Chicago, with my latest sign:

USA: Proud Sponsor of T E R R O R in Gaza!

(Photo by friend Sarah. Thanks to antiwar radio producer Dale Lehman for help carrying this around downtown Chicago!)

Two things drive me nuts:

First, reading the statements from Israel justifying the latest murders of people in Gaza as responses to the action of this or that "terrorist."

Let's be clear: there can be no greater act of terrorism than bombing a civilian population -- as Israel is doing once again in Gaza!

Second, listening to people simper about how "maybe the U.S. will urge the Israelis to act with restraint."

The #1 supporter of the terror that Israel is perpetrating in Gaza is the United States. Israel is doing the work set out for it by the U.S. government, against victims for which the U.S. government bears full responsibility, using weapons and money supplied by the U.S. government.

Until people get straight on those two things, there's no possibility of an intelligent conversation about what's happening in Gaza, and how to get justice for the people there.

UPDATE: JULY 31, 2014

Yesterday, as I prepared to head down to a press conference at Chicago's city hall, this was one of the images coming out of Gaza:

Terrifying image of #Israel-i airstrike on #Gaza's Tuffah neighborhood 
on front page of @Independent (Pic: EPA)

It was striking to see how closely today's reality matches the image on the protest sign I painted nearly two years ago -- during one of Israel's other attacks on Gaza. And, yes, the latest attacks are still being carried out with weapons supplied by Chicago-based Boeing.

When are we going to put a stop to this?

As always, Eric J. Garcia is right on target

Check out more Scarry signs!

Related posts

July 2014 - Many organizations from across the city joined the call by Anti-War Committee – Chicago, Jews for Justice in Palestine, U.S. Palestinian Community Network and 8th Day Center for Justice: Protest Boeing Death Machines in Gaza: Demand Chicago Drop Boeing from Air and Water Show!

(See No Drones Illinois Endorses Call to Drop Boeing from Chicago Air and Water Show)

Now that the Israeli government's killings in Gaza are front-page news -- particularly the way military aircraft is being used to mow down innocent men, women, and children -- Boeing's involvement is in everyone's face.

(See Boeing Has an Israel Problem . . . and Chicago Has a Boeing Problem)

Year after year, hundreds of thousands of people from Chicago and the surrounding area gather on the lakeshore to watch aerial displays by an array of planes. Most don't suspect that they are being subjected to an intense propaganda effort by multiple branches of the U.S. military.  The Chicago Coalition to Shut Down Guantanamo views this as a perfect opportunity to engage with the public and enlist them in the growing movement against U.S. war, torture, surveillance, and other crimes.  We will join activists from many other peace and justice groups who have had a growing presence at this event in recent years.

(See August 16-17: Protest U.S. Kidnapping, Torture, and Drone Assassinations at the 2014 Chicago Air and Water Show Protest )


Other related links

Students at DePaul University had a graphic message for the Chicago community when they protested the killings in Gaza:

"Gaza's blood is on our hands."
"Students protest outside of the Arts & Letters building on the Lincoln
Park Campus Tuesday, Sept. 30." (Amanda Crane / The DePaulia)

"After last year’s 1,575-1,333 affirmative vote on the resolution to divest, the ball is now firmly in the court of DePaul Divest, the coalition that has spearheaded the movement on campus. The group must make a case before the university’s Fair Business Practices Committee within the academic year in order for divest to even be considered." ("Gaza conflict extends Divest debate at DePaul" by Brenden Moore in The DePaulia, October 5, 201)

#bloodyNATO

It's time that we stopped kidding ourselves and faced the TRUE nature of NATO.


For too long, we've accepted a sterile portrait of NATO - just a bunch of leaders and bureaucrats ... at worst some military planners ... people in pressed uniforms going to meetings over in Europe somewhere.

Here's the real face of NATO:


NATO = Extrajudicial Executions


NATO = Attacks Against Civilians


NATO = Torture

NATO is not sterile or bland. NATO is bloody. Dangerous. Deadly.

It's time to face facts ....

Post-NATO, people are continuing to talk about the true face of NATO:

See Flashback: Protesting NATO in Chicago - May, 2012


More related posts



(April 6, 2012) Eric Zorn has been pushing - BOIL DOWN YOUR MESSAGE! - and I think he's right. Can we come up with 5 words that sum up NATO?

(See NATO in 5 )







Before there was the NATO5 -- or the NATO3 -- there was NATOin5. People tweeted their summaries of NATO in just 5 words (hashtag: #NATOin5). It all started with an interview between Eric Zorn and Andy Thayer about NATO ....

(See #NATOin5)

Read about the #AfghanistanTuesday campaign - in which people made time every week to remember what's happening in Afghanistan and push for change.

(See Making an Impact on #AfghanistanTuesday)

Occupy Food Justice!

Below are comments I made at the Occupy Palm Sunday! event in Logan Square on Sunday, April 1, 2012.

* * * * *

If you look around today, you'll see signs with the words, "I was hungry and you gave me food." (Tuve hambre y me disteis de comer.) -- part of that simple description in Matthew 25 of what is asked of us.

Pastor Erik Christensen, from St. Luke's Logan Square, is the person who shook my conscience with this simple statement: "We believe that the thing about food is: it's just this thing that we GIVE to people." (Creemos que lo que pasa con los alimentos es la siguiente: es algo, una comida compartio entre la comunidad, que compartimos con el pueblo.)

The Gospel witness is full of feeding and eating.(El testigo del Evangelio esta lleno de testimonios de alimentar y comer.)

"People! You don't have a PRODUCTION problem ... 
you have a DISTRIBUTION problem!"
"Mi Gente! Usted no tiene una problema de la PRODUCCION.... 
tiene una problema de DISTRIBUCION!"
Joe Scarry speaking at the first "Occupy Palm Sunday" in Logan Square
(Photo courtesy FJJ)

Probably the story most familiar to all of us is the story of the loaves and fishes (la historia de los panes y los peces). What happened in that situation? The disciples came to Jesus and said: "LOOK AT ALL THESE PEOPLE! How are they going to get enough to eat???" (Mira cuantas personas! Habra suficiente comida?)

Jesus said, "It's cool ... what have you got? ... okay, so go pass it out ...." (Esta bien! Que te pasa? pues, comienzan a distribuirio ...)

And when it was all said and done, the disciples said, "Huh! What d'ya know? There was more than enough!" (Eh! Podria imaginar? Habia mas que suficiente!)

Jesus came along at a time when society in his part of the world was going through a transition, and people were struggling to figure it all out. Part of what they were struggling with was a set of old ideas about the control of resources, especially the fruit of the land. They had gotten to a point where there WAS enough to go around ... if only they could figure out how to live together in community.

I believe that the heart of Jesus' message was: "People! You don't have a PRODUCTION problem ... you have a DISTRIBUTION problem!" (Yo creo que el corazon del mensaje de Jesus fue: "Mi Gente! Usted no tiene una problema de la PRODUCCION.... tiene una problema de DISTRIBUCION!")

God's old covenant with his people -- the Old Testament -- looked like this: "Here's the deal: You be loyal to me, and I'll make sure the earth produces enough food for you." Jesus came along to say: "Here's the new deal: God loves you enough that there's enough for everybody, AND he's given you what you need to figure out how to share it." (Dios nos ama suficiente y hay suficiente para todos, y el nos hay dado lo que necesitamos pero nuestros tenemos que encontratr la manera de compartirio.) That is the new covenant -- the New Testament.

I was hungry and you fed me
Hambre y me disteis de comer

And so, when we worship, the heart of our service is the part where we first take an offering -- "what have you got?" -- and then we have a shared communion meal.

As Pat Kuhlman, one of the people who has been volunteering for decades at the "Elijah's Pantry" food pantry at St. Luke's told me, "Elijah's Pantry is an extension of our communion table -- a meal shared among the community. (El Pantry de Elijah es una extension de nuestra mesa de comunion -- una comida compartio entre la comunidad.) "At the end of our worship every Sunday," she continued, "the congregation turns to follow the cross as it is carried down the aisle and out the front door. That symbolizes for us that the faith we profess does not stop at the front door, but governs our actions outside."

At St. Luke's, we couldn't follow the cross out the door without The Greater Chicago Food Depository. GCFD is a nonprofit food distribution and training center providing food for hungry people while striving to end hunger in our community. The Food Depository distributes donated and purchased food through a network of 650 pantries, soup kitchens and shelters to 678,000 adults and children in Cook County every year.

Doug Schenkelberg, Vice President of Advocacy and Outreach at GCFD, has suggested that one way we can help achieve food justice is by calling our state legislators to sign on in support of two resolutions that call for a strong federal Farm Bill. As explained on the Illinois Stewardship Alliance website,

Illinois Senate Resolution 530 urges Congress to adopt a farm bill the supports and promotes local and regional food systems and is sponsored by local food champion Senator Dave Koehler. SR 530’s counterpart House Resolution 734 has the exact same language as the Senate version and is being sponsored by Representative Kelly Burke.

Local food systems are good for farmers, good for customers, good for the economy, and good for the environment. When people buy locally-grown food, their money goes right back into the regional economy--not to some other state, and not overseas,” Koehler said. “They get to develop relationships with local farmers and learn where their food is really coming from. They also help out the environment by reducing shipping costs and making it easier for farmers to grow a variety of different crops.

Doug from the Greater Chicago Food Depository and the people at Illinois Stewardship Alliance encourage us to take action: Call your Illinois State Representative Now and ask them to co-sponsor HR 734!

Spanish translation courtesy Laura Leon.


Read about Community Dinners at St. Luke's


Related posts

Think back on everything that has happened in the last year. Is it time for things to quiet down? To have a "nice" spring? To sit back and be entertained by the usual presidential campaign circus?

(See Occupy Palm Sunday in 2016)




Chicago, March 29, 2012 -- Members of congregations from across Logan Square and Humboldt Park streamed from their respective houses of worship to the Logan Square monument at the end of services on April 1 to Occupy Palm Sunday! Participants sang and chanted songs of protest and praise as they occupied the green space at Kedzie, Milwaukee and Logan Boulevard . . . .

(See Occupy Palm Sunday! in Logan Square)










On the heels of a December 10, 2013, community meeting that brought over 400 people out to demand an immediate opening of unused units to people in need of housing, on Saturday a coalition of churches, community organizations, and residents associations will hold a holiday Posada -- a Latin American traditional re-enactment of the search by the parents of Jesus for hospitality -- that does double-duty dramatizing the plight of people left in the cold by Chicago housing policies.

(See POSADA 2013: Is there room at the inn at the CHA’s Lathrop Homes? on the Remedy for Violence website.)


I believe when Jesus broke the bread and poured the wine and said "Remember me this way," he was much more interested in encouraging us to keep having conversations -- conversations that really matter -- with others . . . and finding ways to be in relationship with our neighbors  . . . all the while reminding us "never underestimate the power of food"  . . .

(See Get Outside Your Comfort Zone and Have A Conversation Today (Welcome to the Ministry))

Where's Herblock When You Need Him?

The legendary political cartoonist Herblock famously depicted Richard Nixon arriving for the Republican National Convention by emerging from the sewer.





With the ignominious exit of the G8 from Chicago, I can't help but think that Herblock would have had just the right way of characterizing their departure.

Hmmm ... perhaps there's a Scarry Sign in here somewhere ... ?

"!? -- They were here a minute ago!"

Herblock cartoon: The Wall: Discussing SF Politics
Storm drain image: Open Water Chicago


Related posts

This past fall, a friend said to me, "It's good that you came to the demonstration; it would be even better if you brought a sign!" That was the start of something I've enjoyed a lot. And a lot of those signs have found their way into my blog posts.

(See Scarry Signs )






In a way, you can hardly even say I "write" blog posts. Mostly I just post FJJ photos with a few words attached. And I know a lot of other beneficiaries of Frank's photos who feel the same way.

(See PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR: Frank James Johnson )





For an example of Andy Willis' amazing activist poster and cartoon art, see the story of the December, 2013, posada in Logan Square.

(See POSADA 2013: Is there room at the inn at the CHA’s Lathrop Homes? on the Remedy for Violence website.)