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<$10.24.2008$>
"JOE SIX PACK"
| An old beat-up pick-up truck coasted down a tree-lined country road. The driver and his passenger seemed to have nowhere special to go and were in no hurry to get there. The two men passed the time with a few hardy laughs; quenching their thirst with a couple of cans of cold beer until they spotted the young black girl walking along the roadside - only her daydreams and the groceries she toted occupying her mind. Pig tails swaying to the rhythm of her gate, mind in the clouds, she didn’t notice the truck slowly approaching from behind or she might have seen the driver launch a half-full can of brew at her head. Bloody and dazed from the attack she was helpless to run or defend herself against the two men. Just for laughs, they savagely attacked her, brutally raped her and left her for dead. I remember the first time I saw that opening scene from John Grisham’s “A Time to Kill” - I wept. That scene comes to mind when I see Palin smile, wink and shout out to Joe Six Pack. I can’t help thinking there was at least one Joe Six Pack in every lynch-mob cheering as the flesh of a hanging black corpse boiled and bubbled in the amber flames like molten lava? Was Joe driving the truck that dragged James Byrd’s body down a Jasper, Texas road? So much has been made of Joe Six Pack in the 2008 Presidential campaign that my curiosity finally peaked - I had to learn more about this iconic character. Each wink presses a Play button in my mind that starts a slide-show; slowly flipping through images of LAPD, NYPD, Massachusetts, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey and Florida State Troopers, Dade, Lee and Polk County Sheriffs and their Deputy’s and I can’t help wondering how many of them fit the description of Joe Six Pack. How many Guantanamo Bay guards and FBI agents answer to Joe when Sarah beckons with a suggestive wink? Is Col. Ollie North Joe Six Pack? How about George W. or John McCain they… are they good ol’ Joe’s? I know enough guys that are happiest throwing back a cold one during a Sunday afternoon or Monday night football game but none of them fit the implied description of Sarah’s beloved Joe; just as the specificity of Hockey Mom excludes Basketball Moms, Ballet Moms, Piano Moms, Tennis Moms, Golf Moms, Pee Wee Football Moms, Gymnastic Moms and Little League Moms. Joe Six Pack was arguably code for a man of a particular race and class. I was compelled to learn more about him and why he was so critical to the Palin mission. First of all, imagine my surprise when I discovered Joe was really a Jane. That’s right; the first brewers of beer were women and not men. Secondly, it might shock Governor Palin and horrify Mrs. McCain to know that it was not Europeans but Egyptians and Mesopotamians that were the first brewers of beer. In case you’re missing the point… Mesopotamia would include the regions of modern day Iraq and yes, you guessed it - Iran. That’s correct; by all historical reports and ancient writings, Egyptian and Middle Eastern beer predated German and English beer by hundreds of years. Someone break out the smelling salts and fan Mrs. McCain. Is that Sarah Palin cussing or is she just speaking in tongues? It’s enough to make Joe switch to wine coolers. Let’s not forget the bootlegging gangsters of Prohibition that did their part to glorify the spirit of drink in America… and of course, our new folk hero, Joe Six Pack. If booze was illegal during Prohibition was a drunken “Joe” the crack-head of the day? WWII had to have been an interesting time for Grandpa Joe. He had to juggle his patriotic anti-German sentiment with his enduring thirst for that golden sudsy beverage. European beer barons like Miller, Pabst, Schlitz, Busch and Coors suffered for a time while the breweries that bore their names rode the wave of either public opinion, prohibition or the Great Depression but they all survived.  When you consider that beer accounts for roughly 85% of total alcoholic beverage sales in America it’s easier to understand Palin’s interest in that market. I am, however, curious to know how Mother’s Against Drunk Drivers (MAADD) feels about her siren song. The identity of “Joe Six Pack” remains somewhat unclear to me. Is he simply the blue-collar, weekend tailgater or does the profile now include the semi-retired, MBA baby-boomer running one of more than a thousand micro breweries out of his million dollar urban townhouse. I’m hoping Palin’s assumptions about “Joe Six Pack” are about as accurate as her assumptions about Russian foreign policy as she watches vigilantly from her back porch in Alaska. I’d like to give Joe the benefit of the doubt that the Heat of the Night, Dukes of Hazard caricature Palin is playing to is fewer in real numbers than he is in her fantasies. Let’s hope so for America’s sake. See you at the polls Joe. |
<$6.05.2008$>
Miles Jaye new music
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<$3.04.2008$>
A Jazzman in the White House
| Barack Obama would have to fall from the podium, hit his head on a Yes We Can banner and start babbling incessantly for the next nine months to lose my vote. There now; I said it – I feel much better.  I’ve resisted for as long as possible, the temptation to write about this presidential campaign – the newest of reality TV shows – Presidential Campaign 2008. I’ve avoided the temptation for two reasons; first, there are better writers than I with much more political savvy covering every detail of the election from debates, caucuses, primaries and exit polls to delegates vs. super delegates and secondly; where the professional standard in journalism is objectivity, I bring transparency – the bare naked bias of my personal, potentially misguided opinion. So, barring any fall or other unforeseeable mishap the brother has my vote - it’s a done deal. I may be accused of making a hasty decision and assume that it is drawn purely on matters of racial preference but I assure you it’s not that simple. I’ve discovered what many of you may have missed... the man is the quintessential Jazz candidate. He’s the guy Miles Davis would have said is ‘smooth... real smooth.’ Dizzy Gillespie would have probably said, ‘I like that Obama, he’s niiice.’ Yes, I hear the voices of the masters in my head. Worse than that, I have visions. I can imagine Obama with a horn in his hand on the band stand blowing his heart out – it’s just a vision. See, he is cool. In fact, he’s cooler than most of the jazz cats on the scene today. We could pick up a tip or two from the Jazz Candidate. First; show up right for the gig – clean. Second; never let ‘em see you sweat. Third; the Jazz Candidate is charismatic and witty but his message is always passionate. As a jazzman myself I do have a bit of advice for the brother. Don’t let them turn you into the Blues Candidate. Blues is a beautiful art form but it’s dangerous to mix apples and oranges this late in the game. If you start out a jazz man, keep right on ‘playing over the changes.’ When the other candidates start singing the blues about your record on pork barrel spending or plagiarism let them go right ahead. Let’s face it; what do Clinton and McCain really look like singing the blues? Sad! Sadder than Oprah fixin’ to shave Danny Glover in The Color Purple – or was that mad? Jazz has a tradition of inclusion with regards to foreign policy from as far back as Louis Armstrong. All the greats were unofficial Goodwill Ambassadors. The Jazz domestic policy has always been one of diversity. Rock concerts generate white audiences, R&B concerts generate black audiences, Jazz concerts generate mixed audiences – always have. Jazz is inherently democratic – either you can play or you can’t – period. If you can play you get the gig or at least the respect or your peers without respect to race, color, creed or religious preference. If you can’t… well, you don’t. In his keynote address at the 2004 Democratic Convention Obama said this: “No, people don’t expect government to solve all their problems; but they sense, deep in their bones, that with just a change in priorities, we can make sure that every child in America has a decent shot at life, and that the doors of opportunity remain open to all. They know we can do better – and they want that choice.” Spoken like a true jazz man. Jazz is spirited, creative, intuitive and intellectual; all qualities we need in a president. From this perspective, the question; “Is America ready for a woman or African American president?” is irrelevant. The question begging to be addressed is; “Is America ready for a Jazzman in the White House?” I am! Also published in Dallas Weekly |