Students

"If McCain-Palin had won, I was going to restart the Underground. If the U. S. military has M-16s, why shouldn't I have an AK-47?"

-- a radical liberal I talked to last night

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Met up with Sawicki & Co. last night for Buds with her buds. Talks of nipple-piercings, militant liberalism, and ancient history among friends. Sipping watery beer, smiling when appropriate, relishing the night. Rode out to Skyline for weird chili. (Cinnamon, chocolate, and no beans...and they call this chili?)

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Spoke with a militant pothead liberal who is convinced (and tries to convince others) that the Republicans are methodically creating a fascist state, and that Obama is leading the way to true democracy. So we talked about anarchy for a little bit while he took hits of "funk" in his swirly painted pipe, tapping the weed into the hole with the butt end of a lighter. He said he respects Libertarians, says it's too bad none of them have the balls to become socialists. But he has nothing but fear and loathing for Republicans. In the same breath that he condemns white men (he is a white man), he will use the phrase "niggah" to describe black locals (the word "nigger" is off-limits, with that pesky suffix), claim that there are "no Indians left because the government killed them all" (there was a Native American girl in the room), and expostulate the values of the AK-47 in the hands of students (the French Revolution is his chief historical source, Les Miserables his chief literary source). Consider:

Me: "Be careful quoting the French Revolution."

Him: "Fair enough. But the point is, the French had to do it three times before they got it right. We've only done it once. It took them three times. First, it was students. A bunch of students held Paris hostage because they didn't like the way the country was going. It was just those Paris students, because no one else was willing to speak up. And the government killed all of them for protesting."

"Protesting? They made barricades of gunpowder and threatened to blow up the city."

"Fair enough. But the government massacred them, and that--them dying--is what got the country's attention. Then the rest of the people rose up. And the government killed a lot of them. That's what has to happen. A lot of people have to die in order for an idea to take effect in a government. And I am going to be one of those students."

"Fair enough. But doesn't that sound like terrorism?"

"See? People are calling Obama a terrorist, too. He's not a terrorist. He's a politician."

"Okay."

"This is like the Second American Revolution. I'm going to move to Oregon when it starts."

"What about Obama?"

"That's what I mean. He's a revolutionary. He's going to change the nation. Like I said, the French had to do it three times before they got it right."

"But they were just cutting people's heads off in the street. Over and over and over. They just found the people who got rich off of the last revolution and cut their heads off."

"Fair enough."

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It was like arguing with a crazy Hillsdale neo-con, except that he was a UC liberal. And he was high.