This is an Open Thread / Coffee Hour and all topics of conversation are welcome. Today's suggested topic is: Lunatic Fringe.
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What is for dinner? How are you doing? What is on your mind. If you are new to Street Prophets please introduce yourself beyond the fold in a comment. This is an Open Thread / Coffee Hour and all topics of conversation are welcome.
In the 30 or so years since this song was released the "Lunatic Fringe" has become mainstream. One of my guilty pleasures is listening to a few minutes of "Cost To Coast AM" each night before I go to bed. It is carried on a FOX news affiliate and during the commercial breaks I hear the FOX propaganda. Their tag line is "We Report, You Decide." I cringe every time I hear that saying. This is about as close to listening to FOX as I get.
"Lunatic Fringe" is a song by the Canadian rock band Red Rider from their 1981 album, As Far as Siam. Guitarist Tom Cochrane wrote the song after becoming concerned about a resurgence of anti-Semitism in the 1970s, and was also inspired after reading a book about Raoul Wallenberg, who rescued Jews from The Holocaust during World War II. Some sources have incorrectly cited the murder of John Lennon as the song's primary inspiration; in fact, Cochrane had already written the song before Lennon was killed, but recorded the song's first demo the evening of the murder. He has stated that his feelings about the event, and how it echoed the theme of his song, galvanized him to release the song as a single despite advice from the record label that the song wasn't commercial enough.
From Wikipedia: Lunatic Fringe
For some reason all this weekend this song has been running in mind. I found the tune catchy, but I never took the time to study the lyrics or find out what the song was about. And when I did this weekend I was surprised at what I found. And in this diary I would like to share the song and lyrics with everyone.
Lunatic fringe
I know you're out there
You're in hiding
And you hold your meetings
I can hear you coming
We know what you're after
We're wise to you this time
We won't let you kill the laughter
Lunatic fringe
In the twilight's last gleaming
This is open season
But you won't get too far
'Cause you gotta blame someone
For your own confusion
But I'm on guard this time
Against your final solution
We can hear you coming
No you're not going to win this time
We can hear the footsteps
Out along the walkway
Lunatic fringe
We all know you're out there
Can you feel the resistance?
Can you feel the thunder?
From: http://www.elyrics.net
It is a somber song. It is a song that reflects death and tragedy at the hands of stupidity and lack of concern the other. But in its darkest moments it says we must acknowledge and name the "Lunatic Fringe" and be ready to fight the death and destruction that it brings to the table.
Thirty years ago I would have never imagined that forces were assembling that would take the "Lunatic Fringe" main stream. Fox News, the Republican Party, and the National Rifle Association are all examples of the main streaming of the "Lunatic Fringe."
The lyrics imply that it is not only individuals that comprise the "Lunatic Fringe" but there is a organized component to it. I'm reminded of Project for the New American Century and its determination to use military force to solve problems.
Lunatic fringe
I know you're out there
You're in hiding
And you hold your meetings
Anyone reading Daily Kos should be able to identify "Lunatic Fringe" organizations and individuals. We know our resolve and we know things are in need of repair.
I can hear you coming
We know what you're after
We're wise to you this time
We won't let you kill the laughter
But how do we translate our knowledge into action? Why is knowing about the "anti-life" agenda of the Republican party not enough to stop it?
Lunatic fringe
In the twilight's last gleaming
This is open season
But you won't get too far
And yet the "Lunatic Fringe" as gotten far. That global warming is a disputed theory and not established fact is evidence of how over the last 30 years we have failed to refute the "Lunatic Fringe."
'Cause you gotta blame someone
For your own confusion
But I'm on guard this time
Against your final solution
Have you been on guard over the last 30 years? Have you spoken out. Have you stood up to the "Lunatic Fringe". I for one could have done more to fight against these groups that want to eliminate me for being gay. In my own home town of Vallejo we had foothold of the
New Apostolic Reformation movement. I fought them but was it enough?
We can hear you coming
No you're not going to win this time
We can hear the footsteps
Out along the walkway
The "Lunatic Fringe" is meeting as you read this diary. They are planning, and plotting to destroy us. We can hear the footsteps. But what are we going to do?
Lunatic fringe
We all know you're out there
Can you feel the resistance?
Can you feel the thunder?
I had not been born when the "Holocaust" was executed on the "others" in Nazi Germany. And, somehow as I was growing up I thought it could not happen again. But, I'm wrong. It can happen again. We must be watchful for the "Lunatic Fringe" to suggest the "Final Solution" as the answer to sharing resources.
Having guns and defending oneself against the imagined collapse of government is now a main stream idea for far to many. And the solution presented by those that bought in to this future is killing to defend what little supplies they have rather than community and sharing the hardship.
The "Lunatic Fringe" has become mainstream and its message is "anti-life" and "anti-community." Naming it is only the first step. Identifying it is the second step. And doing something about it is the last step.
When John Lennon was shot I was alone with my fears. Now after Fridays horror I am not alone. I have the Daily Kos as my community to share my grief. And to plan actions to fight the "Lunatic Fringe." Having a place to share is the opposite of what FOX and the Republicans would have us do. What are you going to do today to stop the "lunatic Fringe."
With sadness in my heart our loss on Friday,
JON