Abject Stupidity of Bank of America and Delta Airlines in Withdrawing Support from New York Public Theater

One of the stupidest, saddest pieces of news in the past week was Bank of America and Delta Airlines withdrawing their sponsorship of the New York Public Theater's production of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar because ... the production presented Caesar with an orange, Trump-like wig, and, the corporations claimed, glorified Caesar/Trump's assassination.

The people at Bank of America and Delta Airlines are obviously stupid, or maybe ignorant is the better word, because Julius Caesar is not the villain (note to Bank of America and Delta - "villain" means "bad guy") in the play with his name, and neither is his killing glorified.  To the contrary, Caesar is the victim, and the villains - not the heroes - are the Senators who stab him to death, most especially the conflicted Brutus.  His assassination is presented not as something to be done or emulated, but avoided, if only because it is the undoing of the people who plot to do it and do it. That's the essence of the play.   Don't they educate executives at big corporations any more?

But their withdrawal of support for the NY Public Theater is also sad, because it follows the cowardly actions of CNN in firing Kathy Griffin and cancelling Reza Aslan's documentary series because of their criticism of the President.   Is this the society we've become, in which we can't tolerate politically lacerating humor (Griffin), cursing out a President (Aslan) - and, by the way, both did this not on CNN's air but their own time - and political commentary in art (NY Public Theater)?

People who believe in freedom of expression should do something about this.   I decided last week to watch CNN now about as often as I watch Fox News - almost never.   Fortunately, I don't bank with Bank of America, and I'm certainly not going to start.  As for Delta, I've flown with them many times, but now I don't intend to do that again.

Americans should stand up and call out these crypto fascists, wherever they rear their heads.

A Progressive Libertarian in the Occupy Wall Street Age

It's been 3 and 1/2 years since I posted I Am a Progressive Libertarian, which received some 60+ comments, most in 2009 and 2010, most by people who argued that I wasn't really a libertarian, which I maintained I really was.  The gist of my position is we need (a) less or no government in regulation of communication, technology, etc., and strict enforcement of Constitutional provisions of government's capacity to wage war, collect data on citizens, etc., (b) more government involvement in providing health care (I see protection from microbial parasites or disease as akin to protection from human invaders), and (c) payment for necessary government by taxing the super-rich (as a goal, no taxes from any person or business earning less than $1,000,000 per year, greatly increased taxes for all people and corporations earning more than that per year). 

How does that position play in our Occupy Wall Street age?

1. The resurgence of direct democracy that is the mainspring of Occupy Wall Street is a straight-up staple of any libertarian philosophy.   Direct democracy intrinsically reduces government by replacing representatives of the people (in Congress, in state houses, and in city halls) with the people themselves as decision-makers.   See Occupy Wall Street, Direct Democracy, Social Media for more.  The failure of Congress to reach an agreement on budgetary issues this year is further evidence of the decline of representative democracy.  Referenda to recall or remove elected government officials, calls for a Constitutional Convention, and General Assemblies at Occupy sites are expressions of this new direct democracy.  Note that The Tea Party, which often presents itself as a conservative libertarian movement, is explicitly focused on electing representatives, meaning that, unlike Occupy Wall Street, The Tea Party is not pursuing direct democracy (though both movements arise from a common refusal to accept business-as-usual from current officials and representatives in government).

2.  Police brutality against protesters in Occupy Wall Street sites across America is precisely the kind of government trampling of communication - and abrogation of First Amendment rights to peaceably assembly - that the progressive libertarian seeks to prevent, restrain, punish, and stop.   Similarly, the obstruction of the press from covering the Occupy Wall Street eviction in New York by Mayor Michael "I Have an Army" Bloomberg is an outright violation of the freedom of press provision of the First Amendment.   The failure of President Obama to condemn all of these violations in the U.S., and of Governor Jerry Brown to do the same in California, is yet another example of the exhaustion of representative democracy in our digital/street age.

3.  The 99% vs. 1% focus of Occupy Wall Street is exactly what I have in mind with the goal of no taxes for any person or business earning under a million dollars per year, and sharp increases in taxes for all earnings above one million dollars per year.   Bank of America's decision to rescind its plan to charge $5 a month for use of debit cards is a small but first explicit victory of the 99% over the 1%.

In sum, the progressive libertarian approach is not a call for yet another political party.  It is, rather, a philosophy, a perspective, which I see as consonant with Occupy Wall Street and hope will ring a bell with those seeking less government in our political  lives and more government responsiveness to our human needs, financed by the super-wealthy.   As a citizen, I intend to continue to shine an uncompromising light on the government's escalating violation of our First Amendment rights.

See also I Am a Progressive Libertarian and The Occupy Wall Street Chronicles, Part 1

-Paul Levinson, PhD
Professor of Communication and Media Studies
Fordham University

Bank of America Bends to Will of the People

Bank of America yesterday bowed to the will of its customers, withdrawing its plan to charge 5 bucks a month for use of its precious debit cards.  I see this as being just one of many reversals of corporate rapaciousness and insensitivity in the new world in which we live.

This is a world very different from the old one, which is still in the process of ending, in which corporations dealt out whatever they pleased to consumers.  In that old world, now being set back on its hind quarters, people mistreated by corporations had no one to complain to other than their families and friends, governments which did little or nothing, and corporations which did less.

Now, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube - social media - allow people to instantly and effectively communicate to millions about the bad treatment they are receiving from their banks and other corporate monoliths.  Abused customers no long have to wait for a mass medium - a TV or newspaper reporter - to deign to give their grievance coverage.  The consumers can get their own coverage via YouTube videos and Tweets that cost nothing to produce and can be seen and read everywhere, on any smart phone or old-fashioned laptop.

Bank of America isn't the first corporation to feel this cleansing power.  Netflix earlier reversed its new, regressive polices after a torrent online complaints.  Netflix learned that online media can be used for more than selling movies and TV shows.

Some big corporations think that by hiring a cool PR firm, they can develop an effective presence in the realms of social media.   Such con jobs can be seen a mile away.

Other companies have learned that online presence must be accompanied by real benefits to the consumer. Panera Bread, for example, not only offers free wi-fi in its cafes, but gives free refills for coffee and tea, and other perks to its loyal consumers.   Contrast that to Bank of America's attempt to squeeze five more dollars out of its customers.

The resurgence of direct democracy ongoing in Occupy Wall Street all over the world is now beginning to have tangible economic consequences.  This is very likely just the start of an economic revolution that will go hand-in-hand with the political.




Occupy Wall Street Chronicles, Part 1