Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

Waiting for a Schmo: Theater of the Absurd!
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
19 Jan 2022
🖨️ Print Article
Waiting for a Schmo: Theater of the Absurd!
Waiting for a Schmo: Theater of the Absurd!

Waiting for a Schmo:

Theater of the Absurd!

Waiting for a Schmo

Munchkin—or the other—

is Theater of the Absurd!

Myth of Boer swineherd

of coal, gas, oilbird…Absurd!

Who’s Afraid of West Virginia

Wolf in a Brooks Brothers suit

thickening a thin plot: Millions dying?

Two tramps, frontmen for fossil fools and warlords of Wall Street—

Pentagon pimps—stand center stage projecting corporate power.

The two Lilliputian politicians gesticulate wildly as they move stage Right

for months. Ambient sounds include shareholders oinking gleefully.

One protagonist is Ike, the other Mike.One's good cop, the other

bad. One’s forceful, the other deceptive… They continue babbling

in corporate counterpoint. Their bizarre, disconnected dialogue makes

Absolutely no sense to you! You can’t understand a damn thing they’re

saying— or doing… You see strings from their shoulders orchestrating

stage business— Invisible hands of the market are up their asses making

their mouths move! But, you suspend disbelief every two to four years…

More months moving stage right, blabbering bellicose phrases, farting

cellophane threats at no one in particular… You’ve paid hard-earned money

subscribing to schlock! Your high threshold for pain and terrible theater can

only go so far with dismal dialogue:

“Buzzword” “Platitude” “Buzzword” “High fructose corn syrup slogan” “Build back better”

“…get something done…” “Voting rights” “I cannot support…” “working across the aisle”

“…get something done…” “I cannot support…” “60 vote threshold” “Filibuster” “bipartisan buy

in” “…get something done” “freeze Afghan assets” “bipartisan buy-in” “sanction Iran” “masks”

“tests” “masks” “tests” “too expensive” “I cannot support…” “…get something done” “60 vote

threshold” “bipartisan buy-in” “paid sick leave” “medicare for all” “how will we pay for

it?!” “build back better” “dagger at the throat of our democracy” “how will we pay for

it?!”“$768 billion for war” “NATO” “Guantanamo” “Juan Guaidó” “bipartisan buy-in” begging

the question: When will we storm the stage, slinging shoes and shouting “STOP the

performance!!”??

© 2022. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.

Political Duopoly

Do you need and appreciate Black Agenda Report articles? Please click on the DONATE icon, and help us out, if you can.


Related Stories

Why Democrats Don't Win The Way They Should
Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
Why Democrats Don't Win The Way They Should
09 November 2022
The people prefer the initiatives which democrtatic party leadership claim to support.
Reagan’s “Shining City on a Hill” Was Really a Mirage
Dr.Wilmer J. Leon, III
Reagan’s “Shining City on a Hill” Was Really a Mirage
26 January 2022
It is best to be wary when American politicians create expressions like "shining city on a hill." One of Reagan's signature phrases has been re
Democrats and Trading People for Political Power
Daniel Melo
Democrats and Trading People for Political Power
26 January 2022
Electoral politics in this country is a cover for oligarchic rule.

More Stories


  • Save the University City Town Homes
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Save the University City Town Homes
    29 Jul 2022
    Rasheda Alexander is a tenant organizer at the University City Town Homes in Philadelphia. She joins us to discuss their struggle to stop a mass eviction amidst the proposed sale of their affordable…
  • Glen Ford's Irreplaceable Journalism
    Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    Glen Ford's Irreplaceable Journalism
    27 Jul 2022
    I was very proud to write the preface to Glen Ford's book, The Black Agenda, which was published posthumously by OR Books. As we approach the first anniversary of Glen's passing, I endeavored to…
  • Glen Ford's Ukrainian Crystal Ball
    Glen Ford , BAR executive editor
    Glen Ford's Ukrainian Crystal Ball
    27 Jul 2022
    Glen Ford was among the speakers at a May 16, 2014 teach-in on Ukraine sponsored by the International Action Center. The event was held at The Riverside Church in New York City in the wake of the…
  • The Lies of Empire: Don’t Believe a Word They Say
    Glen Ford , BAR executive editor
    The Lies of Empire: Don’t Believe a Word They Say
    27 Jul 2022
    The U.S. reprises Iraq, inventing a WMD threat from Syria. The FBI concocts home-grown terror through stings, while the NSA claims it has secretly saved many lives. “Why this steady stream of…
  • Glen Ford: Clarence Thomas, the “Anti-Black,” 2007
    Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    Glen Ford: Clarence Thomas, the “Anti-Black,” 2007
    27 Jul 2022
    An essay by the late Glen Ford recounts the perverse origin story of the twisted life and lies of Clarence Thomas.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us