Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

typicalgirls - [TypicalGirls] HumanifestX in 2025: When words cause divisions, can music offer resolutions?

typicalgirls AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Typical Girls: Women in Punk/Post-Punk/Underground Music (Circa 1975-1980s)

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: Dina Hornreich <hornreichdina AT gmail.com>
  • To: undisclosed-recipients:;
  • Subject: [TypicalGirls] HumanifestX in 2025: When words cause divisions, can music offer resolutions?
  • Date: Mon, 30 Dec 2024 15:35:34 -0500

Dear Friends, Family, and other pertinent constituencies:


My time living in a homeless shelter has my mind focused on social welfare as a health equity endeavor. I seek to launch a public health campaign that promotes integrative recovery and holistic wellness by recognizing the systemic issues that continue to permeate in the aftermath of colonialism. As I sit poverty stricken in Western Massachusetts, I am regularly witnessing how greed, violence, and misogyny remain the major corruptive influences in an ongoing culture war.

 

As we have become accustomed to using information, media, & technology (IMT) artefacts in ways that suggest a cultural realignment; it is evident how their ubiquity needs to be approached through a public health styled campaign that more equitably recognizes how these tools play an important role as accessible outlets for arts and culture. These are similar opportunities that record stores, zines, music venues, college radio stations, arthouse cinemas, independent booksellers, etc. have always offered us: outlets for discourse that challenge our knowledge, expands our awareness, and promotes the discovery of completely unknown (even uncomfortable) expressions. They serve as vital cultural capital and offer substantial building blocks for socio-emotional development. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: “The Medium is The Lesson.”

 

IMT artefacts continue to facilitate conversations which give our lives meaning and force us to continually improve ourselves on many levels. While such commentaries could be considered an acquired taste or even an entirely esoteric endeavor, the crucial sensibilities they offer hold enormous potential for a world that honestly seems to need to hear from us… now more than ever. Furthermore, they validate “Conceptual age” skill sets: design, story, symphony, empathy, play, and meaning by emphasizing artistic, spiritual, & socio-emotional sensibilities.

 

What happened to meaningful dialogic collective exchanges that promote better lifestyle choices, access to quality informational resources, substantial social progress, sustainable improvements, and reliable partnerships? As an educator, I keep watching the ways in which numerous institutions are squandering those precious “teachable moments” by circumventing the urgent issues that are popping up in our newsfeeds. Meanwhile school-aged students are simply “aging up” through their education. I fear the long-term impacts of the COVID quarantine conditions as the unthinkable headlines continue to appear in the newsstand each morning.

 

I continue to turn to music, film, books, etc. in order to substantiate this feeling that we can do better. Yet all I seem to witness is more filibustering and other ongoing barriers to civic engagement. I ponder the best ways to cut through all the “red tape” that is preventing us from having more meaningful exchanges. How do we allow ourselves to keep becoming bullied into silence? Is it really still a “shoot the messenger” kind of situation? More of that mundane middle school mindset about how “snitches get stitches?” The Nazis used a similar propaganda technique called “the spiral of silence” and these approaches are still causing damage by perpetuating inequitable power dynamics.

 

As we prepare to enter 2025, I find myself asking this question over and over again: “When words cause divisions, can music offer resolutions?” I recently reviewed a film called “White Riot” for Dagger zine. It is a documentary about Britain’s “Rock Against Racism” campaign which arose in response to the rise of the white supremacy efforts of The National Front. The rockumentary features influential feminist punks like Pauline Black from The Selector and Poly Styrene from X-Ray Spex. You can read it here: <https://daggerzine.tumblr.com/post/771218145797160960/film-review-rubika-shahs-white-riot-the-untold>

 

I develop these ideas as I continue to revisit various works (just to keep on keepin’ on):

        John Lennon & Yoko Ono’s collaborative period

        Nina Simone’s earth shattering civil rights mantras

        Linton Kwesi Johnson’s antifascist declarations (often supported by Dennis Bovell)

        DEVO’s satirical notions of a “beautiful world…for you (not me)”

        REM’s fake jingoism with “Exhuming McCarthy”

        The Au Pairs’ exhortations about Regan-era paranoia in “America” (Who wants to hear about a thousand peasants lying dead?)

        Phranc’s “Take off your swastika”

        Globalistic riffs skimming across the Talking Heads’ “I Zimra”

        The existential resignation in The Magnetic Fields’ “Rats in the Garbage of the Western World”

 

As we face another turn of the calendar’s annual pages and the return of President Trump to the White House, my advice is for us to remember to embrace our common humanity. Revisit the Citizen’s handbook <https://www.citizenshandbook.org/> if necessary. Do not allow differences to further divide us. Adopt an anthropologist’s philosophy for growth as humble lifelong learners. If change can promote progress, then let’s find better ways to learn, live, love, create, work, grow, and lead together. The possibilities of ongoing amendments to the US Constitution exist for a reason: the founding fathers knew we were going to need them! And just maybe someday soon, the history of the future will foster more matriarchs amongst the litany of patriarchs who dominate this political scene?


Thank you for reading, and (as always) please be well.


-D


Dina L. Hornreich, MS, MLIS (she/they)

MISSION:
  • Promoting communicative competencies for success in school, at work, with family, and for fun
  • Accommodating lifelong learners’ orientations, modalities, preferences, styles, & aptitudes to ensure inclusive equitability.
VISION:
  • HumanifestX: In solidarity for an informed, engaged, & wise global citizenry and participatory transnational democracy.

CONTACT INFO:
WRITING SAMPLES:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
An informed, engaged, and wise citizenry: The emerging role for librarians as meta-literacy counselors (conference paper presented at The Library Collective's LibCon 2021 or read the listography instead)
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CLOSING QUOTATION:
"If I am not for myself, who is?
If I am only for myself, what am I?
And if not now, when?" - Rabbi Hillel


  • [TypicalGirls] HumanifestX in 2025: When words cause divisions, can music offer resolutions?, Dina Hornreich, 12/30/2024

Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page