Hey Lisa Renee,
I’m a long time Zappa fan as well, just enjoying all the pictures and stories I can find on the guy. Intrigued by his music first and foremost, but equally curious about his character. I feel that in Frank there is some sort of energy that dealt with/used truth in an explicit manner, wrestling with absurdity to draw more apt, sometimes even quiet and reserved conclusions on life and the patterns of humans. For me, Frank hits it on the head more than most. I share an affinity with him which I partly credit to my sociological background, ethnicity (Italian looking slightly off white but still white) and quasi- scientific musical ambition. I also feel that its worth noting that for a lot of his career, a middle class white male youth was exactly who was buying his records and Frank was fully aware of that.
So while I am a Zappa fan archetype, I mostly follow him enthusiastically through the 60’s and 70’s, losing a little interest as I do with almost all music when it continued into the 80’s and 90’s. I wanted to comment and find out more opinions you or anyone else (hoping for a woman’s take) have about the Zappa dichotomy; Specifically, whether or not misanthropy is a defense against misogyny. I think its ripe for the type of conversation I like to have most. Because, in this society are we even ready to have the conversations we keep saying we must have? Are we equipped to fight against hate, bigotry and embedded preconceptions with a cry for a commonly identifiable reality? Or, as the side I find myself on might propose, should we accept the terms of the chronic illness human beings have… with an understanding that it’s obvious that violence doesn’t come from both sides, but anticipation and potential manipulation/propaganda do. In a visual sense the right foot marches while the left one responds. Where the disgruntled, molested truth lies is up for debate with any one individual having the logic of his/her own personal god/universe/spirit/drug/business/alma mater/etc to determine their claim to righteousness in the tussle. Nearly everyone thinks they are countering, I believe.
Do you deal with racism with explicit equality? Yes, there is no other way. But for the racist, how do we determine whats best for them? Who is them? Are them us? Its apparent that you squash racism with equality but the racist individual is the carrier of the disease and not the disease itself. We can’t just shove our FDA approved pills right in their mouth. We should be a good Mother like Frank and cover it with a little peanut butter. I don’t personally feel racism running through me although I do find myself mentally antagonizing my white brothers and sisters so perhaps I am guilty of self-hatred. But that point is moot, because I’m a misanthrope. My love for other people is coated in the waters of imperialism, economic bombardment, and cultural appropriation which is really just the first two things combined in a supposedly more palpable 21st century justice kind of consciousness. Most of what I want to touch I could hurt without knowing, so outside my own home its time to find the lane that is patient, but not moderate, at the helm, but not corrupt, acknowledging, but not sorry. Time to learn how to sew for I must thread a needle.
So is misanthropy a defense against misogyny? Absolutely not. And it doesn't level the playing field because the playing field isn't level. Misanthropy isn’t the answer to our problems because you cannot fight hate with hate, nor fire with fire. But maybe you can fight hate with knowledge of self, which for any honest lucid candidate for social change dealing in this world of sin should be able to tell you, leads to self-disgust turned outward, thus misanthropy. It’s the way you calibrate your disgust for the world… Are you truly disgusted or do you snicker underneath your masquerade with the confidence that you are trying everyday to unhinge yourself from human insanity at large? Are you a wolf in sheep’s clothing? You might think so but we can see you. Are you a sheep in wolves clothing? If you make your home in absurdity rather than simply borrowing pots and pans, then you might be… note: killings in the name of God, centrist drone campaigns, belonging to the republican party, and having faith in the democratic party all qualify.
Stop tolerating. Start calibrating. The notion of tolerance among white liberals is bullshit. Most of us don’t tolerate racism and war-mongering the same way we don’t “tolerate” our neighborhoods not having enough bicycle paths. It’s our little habitats not being properly maintained, that’s all that really bothers us. Thank you to George Carlin for that sentiment.
I believe Frank wasn’t perfect and certainly lent himself to criticism in regards to misogyny. I choose not to call him an outright misogynist. But in my misanthropic mind, I know that there isn’t a penis having son of a bitch out there that doesn’t have a thought cross his mind not wholesome enough to make the dinner table discussion. Its not so much a matter of individuals being misogynists; its the fact that all men carry the misogynistic gene and they grow up choosing from the sheep/wolf wardrobe. And in a different manner altogether, women are faced with the same choices. There’s a completely altered point of emphasis, considering the oppressive backgrounds and current realities. But, I’d have to guess that a streak of hatred also exists, albeit justified. So what should you do about your cuck of a liberal husband? Slit his throat of course, but butter up. Be a Mother. In other words, the problem we all face is sitting across from us every day… It’s our inability to strike change in our own communities and loved ones. Don’t actually kill your husband, but pimp his worldview. You are probably already doing that and won’t do it because I said so. That’s the spirit. Not sure it needs to be said, but at this point my comment became a stream of ideas not connected to anyone personally…I’m daydreaming.
Ultimately, I lose track of what the real point is to tackle. What do we do collectively? Where do we focus when everything is the focal point? Usually I begin to ponder what Frank meant when he used to say we should “infiltrate”. Coming from such an iconoclast/contrarian, this word has nothing to do with it’s guerrilla-warfare timbre. Its a call to action for normal folks as well as a reminder that we won’t beat the enemy with our fist. We won’t beat them with our clever signs or moral authority. We won’t beat them period. Because its not a fight, its an “infiltration”. Can we thread a needle together? Can people do their jobs more passionately than before, climb to the top of influential companies faster, raise children better, feed communities more sustainably, vote knowledgeably? We can practice tolerance all we want if we insist on bringing a knife to a gun fight. Or we can rearrange the parameters so that we are not enslaved to the punch/counter punch treadmill of chaos. Fuck two party alignments, it’s spineless. At the same time, if its not two, its thousands of poorly coordinated groups each with their own set of initials and bandannas, skirmishing. It’s those of us in the middle that need to wage our infiltration. Otherwise, the hourglass flips.
These are the things Frank means to me. Conjecture? You betcha.