Parkland Politics

Parkland Politics Will Simply Scapegoat the Mentally Ill

The Parkland School gun tragedy has inspired demonstrations and debate about gun laws, but it has also created discussion about mental illness.

From the perspective of a mental health consumer like me, on the surface, discussion is a positive thing because we cannot have enough discussions about mental health. However, I am afraid that nothing substantial about mental health will be learned from and done and that the only thing that will result from all of this blather is the oppression of the mentally ill.

They’ll want to, of course, disarm any of us who are armed, and then they’ll want to seize control of our lives and/or lock us up.

The stigma of mental illness will continue, thus people will be afraid to seek treatment or they will resist treatment and people will, in all likelihood, avoid, discriminate against and perhaps even attack the mentally ill.

I, personally, would not advise selling guns to the mentally ill, but I also think that most ordinary people do not need to have guns. We are giving up on civilization when we claim that everyone must be armed, including teachers and school administrators, people who are supposed to teach civility and promote peace.

It’s sick not to confront this society’s gun problem and its abusive and violent culture, in general.

Americans a have become animals, alright? We’ve given up on love and reason and want to fight about everything literally until the bitter, bloody end.

We are no longer righteous, we are simply right wing. This is unacceptable.

Craig R. Bayer, 2/21/18

Spiritual Discipline

For most of my life, I have sought to be an effective activist, if not leader, but the things that have stood in my way are anger, impatience, inability to compromise and contempt for the political and intellectual opposition. The solution to my issues is to inject more God in my life, otherwise I’ll never be able to calm down and act with more humility

This country, and this planet for that matter, are being torn apart by inflexibility and arrogance, driven by a cynicism that if you give an ideological inch, you’ll be made to look foolish.

But the true fool is the man or woman who believes that banging one’s head or other people’s heads against a wall is going to make a bit of difference in changing or simply preserving the world.

So, I’m turning once and for all-- and completely-- to Judeo-Christian spiritual discipline, in the hope that I can rid myself of anger, inflexibility and impatience and finally serve the interests of both myself and humanity.

Being spiritual doesn’t come easy to me: I was raised a secular American and few secular people and almost no Americans like to suffer fools gladly, but you have to suffer fools gladly if you want to reach the maximum number of people.

Thus, here I go again, calling on the Lord to heal my spirit, so that I can stop going in circles emotionally and politically. Wish me luck!

Craig R. Bayer

Define Activist

I call myself an “activist” because, first and foremost, I seek to get at the Truth of the human condition and the Truth of what I believe it takes to make the world a better place. Once I’ve come to my conclusion, my first job is to express that Truth as best as I can.

Another thing I do which I consider to be indispensable to activism is to try to promote other activists and artists.  At Fountain House, for instance, I spend most of my time promoting the Clubhouse Model and those activists (administrators, staffers, member leaders) who help to promote the Clubhouse Model and those who participate in the Clubhouse Model. Through national and international colleague trainings and learning exchanges  and through my writings, I try to explain to the world what being part of a mental health clubhouse means and why it’s so important for the mentally ill and the rest of society.

Furthermore, I try to help other people by listening to them, nurturing them, doing them favors, lending them money, whatever it takes to help other get through life. That, in my opinion, is what a True Marxist activist does.

I also organize educational events and in the past I have edited newsletters for the mentally ill in homeless shelters, and supportive residences.

Also, through my political blogs, I hammer away at politicians and other civic leaders who abuse power and abuse the public good.

Lastly, when it comes time to vote, I vote.

I am not obliged to run for office, not obliged to seek positions of power, not obliged to attend  rallies where I can be arrested and/or  beaten up,  not obliged to become rich and famous, not obliged to do anything more than I already do.

Americans have a very narrow view of what it means to be an activist and that’s a problem. Americans have a very narrow view of just about everything, but I won’t be put in a box.

Activists need to define for people what it means to be an activist or risk being told that they aren’t even activists.

Craig R. Bayer, 2/19/18

Manning Up About Fiction

I’ve written about two short stories in my lifetime and zero novels, yet when I was seventeen I envisioned myself as the another Hemingway. I planned to write the Great American Novel and travel the world while doing so. However, reading the truly great novelists and reading the top critics and listening to the analysis of my best teachers and professors, gave me an inferiority complex, so, over the years, whenever I came up with a great fiction idea, I chickened out often before I even started writing.

On the other hand, decades of composing nothing but prosaic poetry and personal and political blogs has taken its toll. I’m getting tired of producing the same old stuff and so are many of my polite and generous readers. The time has come to challenge myself and free up a certain aspect of my creativity that has been dormant for too long. If I want to write something publishable, marketable and maybe even popular amongst readers and/or critics, I have to man up and write a piece of fiction.

I have plenty of potential artistic material, I simply lack the courage to test myself and see if I can utilize, if not master, various fiction techniques. I still don’t think I’ll ever win a Pulitzer or Nobel, but wouldn’t it be a waste of all my reading, studying and other types of writing led to absolutely nothing literarily? And what if I wrote something that could actually make money: wouldn’t that help me financially, socially and personally (i.e. I could contribute more to my family)?

It may be a pipe dream, but I’ll never know until I make an attempt, a sincere attempt.

So, watch out for some fiction in 2018; you can say down the line that you read it first.

Craig R. Bayer, 2/17/18

Women’s Rights Trump Politics

President Trump and his administration clearly have a problem with women, perhaps not as big a problem as they should have, but they have a problem, nevertheless.

During the 2016 Presidential campaign, when confronted with his alleged sexism and misogyny, the President claimed that he “cherishes” women, but his own track record and the personal records of certain men in his administration indicate otherwise.

It seems that every time an allegation arises about a woman being sexually or physically abused by a Trumpie, we hear an unequivocal denial, a claim that the accusation is unproven in a court of law and therefore unfair and worst of all, just part of a sinister smear campaign to needlessly ruin a Trumpie’s career.

As a man who also “cherishes” women, here’s my personal advice to the President and his allies:

Whether you love or lust a woman, whether you are right or wrong in a disagreement with her, you have no right to put your hands on her. You can’t engage in unwanted touching and you certainly can’t engage in physical abuse.

And if you truly love her or ever loved her, you’re not supposed to call her a liar if she reveals negative information about you, especially if you’ve engaged in criminal activity. She has a right to free speech and to speak the truth.

Women have rights, regardless of what ideology you ascribe to, so one should stop engaging in political or legal mumbo jumbo and admit if you have done a woman wrong.

And women’s rights are more important than winning an election or protecting one’s political career.

So, start cherishing women for real and stop being an animal!

Craig R. Bayer, 2/12/18

Employment Solution

Once I’ve completed my move to the Bronx, it will be time to commence a serious job search, and I’ve decided that I need help with it and that’s why I’m going to the New York City Department of Labor.

Their entire job is to find one and, if necessary, train one, for work and I need such specialists to secure me a job and maybe a career.

The fact that I have a million dreams and interests is irrelevant—if you don’t have the experience, talent, skills and motivation to do your dream job, it matters not what you want. And currently, I lack just about everything I need to succeed.

The DOL will find me something I can secure and handle and thereby propel me back into the workforce. I hope to find a part-time job that won’t ruin my benefits, but I I’ll take virtually any position, if it means money in my pocket. It will put an end to my endless speculation about what career of job best suits me and it will turn me into a fully productive citizen.

Of course, I’ll continue to write on the side and volunteer for Fountain House in my spare time, but the center of my existence will be my new job.

I’m not thrilled to have reached this point, but a man has to do what a man has to do.

See you all in the workforce!

Craig R. Bayer, 2/10/18

No to a Military Parade

President Trump wants a military parade. The United Sates and the world, for that matter, do not need a military parade.

A military parade, believe it or not, would not celebrate the military. Instead, it would celebrate U.S. power, anger, violence, and war—or at least the threat of war. It’s probably being thrown to celebrate the Trump administration and its world agenda, as well.

The world needs to celebrate brotherhood, nonviolence, peace. It needs to come together and engage in mass mutual support and mutual respect.

A military parade will only stoke feelings of anger and could ultimately lead to violence.

If we need to militarily defend ourselves, we should, but we should not be brandishing U.S. power every day of the week.

How about a peace parade? Or is someone crazy enough to be opposed to that?

Craig R. Bayer, 2/8/18

More Judaism, Less Marx

My whole life, not just my politics, has been affected by Marxism, but Judaism has become the center of my life and therefore I must make political and cultural changes in my own head.

I must let capitalism exist and be itself and not worry about what other people are doing. I must simply learn to serve my fellow man and take political stances more in synch with the American people.

I am a liberal now, not a radical, thus more people should be able to identify with and understand me and perhaps even listen to me.

Yes, I am still fighting for the poor and oppressed, but I’m using a different perspective, style and tactics—I am being more civilized and flexible, less elitist and hostile.

Hopefully I can contribute more to the world, this way, because, ultimately, being the militant Marxist critic was not helping me or the world.

Craig R. Bayer, 2/6/18

Dr. Alan Doyle's Retirement

Alan Doyle

I’ve thanked Dr. Alan Doyle already in three different forums for being instrumental  in sending me to the United Kingdom for a colleague training; it was the greatest and most important trip of my life, a trip to my favorite country outside of the United States. So I’ll say nothing further about that trip, except that it helped make both me and America great.

What I want to say tonight is that Alan also sent me on other trips—intellectual trips—on a quest to understand what it means to work in a clubhouse, what it means to help train and be trained by one’s fellow colleagues, and what it means to think for yourself and help others think for themselves.

Alan showed me that a clubhouse is not just for people who want to socialize or secure a job, not just for creative people, even, but for intellectuals, as well.  Members of clubhouses are entitled-perhaps even obliged to understand-why they attend a clubhouse and why clubhouses work.

Everyone in colleague training has a story about how “Rabbi” Alan Doyle engaged him or her in an intense, thoughtful and enlightening discussion about the clubhouse standards and encouraged us all to challenge the standards, challenge clubhouse tradition and challenge ourselves. He pushes members and staff and administrators and distant clubhouse bureaucrats to think about and understand Clubhouse and to work hard at developing their thinking and pursuing excellence in all endeavors.

To quote the rock’n’roll band, Rush:

“From the point of ignition

To the final drive

The point of the journey is not to arrive”

The point of a journey  with Alan Doyle is not to arrive. The journey itself –the intellectual process—is what we must value as opposed to Fountain House or ICCD or some other so-called authority telling us what to do and what to believe about clubhouses.

I went to Britain for an intellectual journey, not just for three weeks of tourism, and as a matter of fact, I did not do much touring: instead, I relished working alongside the Brits in their own journey toward building the best clubhouse.

Thank you, Alan, for the wonderful journey. And the best part about it all is that the journey will never be over, because the purpose is not to arrive.