The Truth About Stories

There is a story I know. It is of the earth. I've herd this story many times, and each time someone tells the story, it changes. But in all the tellings of all the tellers, the world never leaves the turtle's back. And the turtle never swims away.

The truth about stories is that that's all we are.

Thomas King's story of his mother struck a chord with me. The 60s were a time of change. Unfortunately his mother was sucked into the same discrimination we fought to destroy in the 50s when blacks were still forced to walk miles just to use a run down segregated bathroom. His vision of walking out on his father in a bar one day was of an anger I have seen a hundred times. I couldn't count how many friends I hold dear who's parents have split up.

The way King writes his stories, and refers back to previous topics throughout each chapter is very interesting. It helps keep things in the memory, and also helps advance each topic.

The story of Curtis and his photography was funny. And the white fascination presented with it is so true. Exotic cultures are seen as a commodity. It is even more hilarious that he would dress Indians up to look authentically Indian. The most poetic topic in the world is the death of a beautiful woman. I really need to read Poe soon. I guess I'll put that collection after Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman.

Ishi was a very interesting story of a mysterious man. At least it ended well, and he was not turned into a commodity. The idea of entertainment is rather depressing, because it is very true... the way people are used and abused in this manner. The reference to Monty Python and the Holy Grail is good on a number of levels. The foremost being that the witch is dressed up that way by the townspeople who are solely concerned with burning her.

King's humor towards the quick death of the Indians who were taken to Europe as slaves is pretty funny. That they were not profitable.

A Million Porcupines Crying In The Dark is my favorite story. First with the labor camp that was more profitable than slavery in that it was free labor that in the end, caused each of the laborers to pay the corporation 12 dollars due to housing and food costs. Its quite ironic that the white mob who came pissed off because (to quote South Park) "They took rrr jjobs!". That we pretend we read more than we do is funny as well... and true. His analogy to "basic propagandas that the British would use to justify their subjugation of India, or that the Germans would employ in their extermination of Jews, or that the Jews would utilize to displace Palestinians, or that North Americans would exploit for the internment of the Japanese, or that the U.S. military and the U.S. media would craft into jingoistic slogans in order to make the invasions of other countries -- Grenada, Panama, Afghanistan, Iraq -- seem reasonable, patriotic, and entertaining to television audiences throughout North America
Reason and Instinct." is reality. Most Americans did not seem to realize how they were playing into the media's design of entertainment here. The same way most of the country tuned in while they showed the Towers come down over and over for months after 9/11. It was sickening how much the news companies bank tragedy. Its fucked up really.
I also really liked the way he worded "watch a vengeful United States, burdened with the arms of war, bomb the world into goodness and supply-side capitalism"



Take it. It's yours. Do with it what you will. Tell it to your children. Turn it into a play. Forget it. But don't say in the years to come that you would have lived your life differently if only you had heard this story.
You've heard it now.