(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Black Kos Tuesdays: Octavia got me to thinking... [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-04-18 The great science fiction author Octavia Butler (1947-2006) in 1984. Octavia got me to thinking… Commentary by Chitown Kev So...I just began the third novel of Octavia Butler’s Xenogenesis trilogy, Imago, and I am fascinated with an overarching existential and philosophical question in all three books. For those readers unaware of the trilogy’s plot, humankind has destroyed all life on earth in a nuclear war. An alien race, the Oankali, comes along, rescues many of the remaining living human beings on Earth, transport them to a spaceship and place them in some sort of suspended animation for...about 200 years (?). The Oankali finally Awaken one human being, Lilith Iyapo, and gradually genetically alter her so that she can a) decide which other humans to Awaken and b) she can have children that are part-Oankali and part-human so that Lilith, the Awakened, and Lilith’s offspring can re-inhabit the planet that they destroyed, which they eventually do. The other part that I have to include here: the Oankali, among many things that they can do, introduce genetic changes designed to rid humans of the tendency to form hierarchies and the tendency to fear differences in people; the tendencies that they feel led to humankind’s destruction. Now at this point, if you want to know anything else about this remarkable set of novels (remarkable to me, anyway), you’ll have to read them. Here’s the question. Did humankind deserve the fate of their own self-destruction and the near-destruction of Earth as depicted in the Xenogenesis trilogy? Honestly...when I read today’s news from Kansas City to Sudan to downtown Chicago to Ukraine and many many many points in-between, I can’t help but to say yes. I mean, Octavia Butler didn’t pull the seeds of human self-destruction out of her imagination; she pulled them from today’s headlines (well, the headlines of forty years ago, you know what I mean!). So do many many other sci-fi authors. At some points when I’ve read this set of books, I’ve said no, humankind does not deserve that fate. Ultimately, I think that’s why Butler introduces the character of Akin, Lilith Iyapo’s “son”— being human and Oankali and ooloi (another alien race), the child (who as I am reading is now in such a state of metamorphosis that it can’t touch anyone safely) may be the only person who can honestly answer the question. Perhaps the question that I pose is unanswerable by me. Or by you. Besides, even the Oankali recognize that humans are more than capable of greatness. There’s also something within me that wants to resist the thought that the very drives that the novels cite as leading to humankind’s self-destruction are also part of the reason for the greatness (and the novels do suggest that, as well). It’s times like this and times like these where all I can do, ultimately, is throw my arms exasperatingly in the air and soldier on. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ News round up by dopper0189, Black Kos Managing Editor ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ralph Yarl, 16, was supposed to pick up his two younger brothers last week when he approached the wrong house. Andrew Lester came to the door and shot Yarl in the head -- then shot him again. Associated Press: Man charged in front-door shooting of Black teen Ralph Yarl ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ An 84-year-old white man in Kansas City, Missouri was charged Monday with first-degree assault for shooting a Black teen that mistakenly approached his house while trying to pick up his siblings. Prosecuting Attorney Zachary Thompson said at a news conference that there was a “racial component” to the incident last Thursday night when Andrew Lester twice shot 16-year-old Ralph Yarl, who is recovering at home after being released from the hospital. But nothing in the charging documents says the shooting was racially motivated, Thompson clarified. “We understand how frustrating this has been but I can assure you the criminal justice system is working and will continue to work,” Thompson said at a news conference. The shooting outraged many in Kansas City and across the country. Civic and political leaders — including President Joe Biden demanded justice. Some, including lawyers for Yarl, pressed the racial dimension of the case. Rev. Vernon Howard, president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Greater Kansas City, called the shooting a “heinous and hate-filled crime.” Vice President Kamala Harris wrote on Twitter that “No child should ever live in fear of being shot for ringing the wrong doorbell.” The Missouri Senate held a moment of silence for Yarl on Monday. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a government paramilitary organization, escalated as it spilled over into a second day. The intensification followed morning prayers Sunday and residents have posted pictures of low-flying fighter jets making runs over Sudan’s capital, Khartoum. In spite of calls from the international community to halt the violence and offers from neighboring states like Egypt and South Sudan to mediate peace, fighting has spread to other areas of the country, including the strategic Port Sudan on the Red Sea and the gold-rich and rebel-occupied area of Darfur. Each armed group has blamed the other for instigating the violence, which has thus far killed at least 56 civilians, three of whom were aid workers for the UN World Food Programme, which has suspended operations in the country as a result, according to the BBC. Both sides of the conflict have made competing claims about control of key sites, including military and civilian installations. Sudan has struggled to transition to civilian rule after overthrowing dictator Omar al-Bashir in 2019; the weekend’s clashes cast a long shadow on the country’s hopes for democracy. Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan of the SAF and Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also called Hemedti, of the RSF agreed on Friday to defuse long-simmering tensions between the two groups over military leadership in a civilian government as well as disagreements over the timetable for the RSF’s integration into the regular army. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A politician being investigated for corruption in Ghana has called fora journalist to be hanged, but with his colleagues he determined to take on the kleptocrats. The Guardian: African journalists are dying. They need the world’s help to hold power to account ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ On Friday 14 April, a team of west Africa-based journalists will arrive in Cameroon, one of the most oppressive countries on the continent. Our three colleagues will be there to conduct an “Arizona Project”, named after the events in 1976 when journalists in the US state came together to finish the story that a murdered colleague had been working on. Their motto – “You can kill a journalist, but you cannot kill the story” – applies now more than ever, especially in Cameroon. What was the story that killed Martinez Zogo, the 50-year-old radio journalist, whose mutilated body was found on 22 January in a suburb of the capital Yaoundé, days after he had been abducted by masked men outside a police station in the city? What little is known is that Zogo’s story concerned an alleged embezzlement case involving the regime-friendly media tycoon Jean-Pierre Amougou Belinga. Belinga was arrested in connection with the murder on 6 February, and on 4 March was officially charged with complicity in torture. Belinga has denied guilt. This already points to a big difference between events in the US in 1976 and Cameroon in 2023. First, the Arizona journalists would have been able to conduct their investigation with some protection from law enforcement. The organised crime figures who murdered journalist Don Bolles might have killed once, but police came out in full force to prevent any repeat. In Cameroon, Zogo touched on state corruption, which might imply state-connected forces in his torture and murder. Also, unlike in Arizona, journalists have been murdered in Cameroon before; each had been investigating – or denouncing – embezzlement of state funds enriching a kleptocratic elite. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ WELCOME TO THE TUESDAY PORCH [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/4/18/2164254/-Black-Kos-Tuesdays-Octavia-got-me-to-thinking Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/