The Banana Revolution
(The characters of the lion and the monkey are developed on our HOMEPAGE below, but are pretty evident, sort of like David and Goliath...or Tom and Jerry, if you prefer something more casual)
We are currently having a BIKE FOR PEACE CAMPAIGN, where the monkey rides a bike... http://webspawner.com/users/bikeforpeace
THE PROBLEM:
THE BANANA REPUBLIC
"Older Cubans, like those who gather daily at Little Havana's emblematic Maximo Gomez Park, tend to remain loyal to the Republican Party for its hard line on Cuban President Fidel Castro's Communist government." [But I'd put the blame on the wholesale manipulation of elderly Cuban-American voters by well-financed radio campaigns centered around the word "communism".] (http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=13589104)
http://banana-republic.net/
THE SOLUTION:
And now that we brought the Banana Republic to the world, it's only natural that we bring...
THE BANANA REVOLUTION
"One effective way to protest is with bananas, symbolic of the sort of republic the odious Republicans have conspired for us to become. Of all the weapons the people can use against illegitimate authority, there is none that surpasses ridicule." (http://www.bananabushrepublic.com/bkgrnd.htm)
What if instead of nationalistic symbols such as the flag* we used 'food' (the culture of the people) for national identity? Well, I've done just that and people love it! Of course, it helped it that I spiced it up and gave it some "sex appeal." I started with the "Guarapo (cane juice) Revolution" (without Coca-Cola but with Guarapo) and, after its great reception, I followed with the Jalapeno (Mexico), Arepa (Venezuela), Banana revolutions, in which there’s an announcement of some “Liberation Parties,” not political parties, but parties with music and dancing people…
* GOD BLESS HUMANITY is better than GOD BLESS AMERICA
"Flagwaving does no good, even to God. It solves no wars. It doesn't feed the hungry. It doesn't heal the sick. On the contrary, people hiding behind borders, fighting for borders and expanding their borders - waving their flags - these probably the biggest causes of the world's problems." (http://givelove.shrednow.com/archives/000857.html)
(Another good article on "God bless humanity" and Martin Luther King at the link below)
Such names got many advantages:
Nationalistic symbols divide (often used to control the little people and lead them into war); food differentiates yet unites/ Banana symbolizes love while nationalistic symbols often hide hate or superiority/ It simplifies the job. I just say "Banana Revolution," and people gladly take the literature with a smile. Then they read on what's going on in the jungle/ The easiest way to get people involved is to throw a party. And we need people, lots of people (see Banana Party link below)/ The "paws and teeth" of the lion bring death and fear; food though provides life and happiness/ It keeps the lion away, since he's repelled by happy people (he's invited to change though). No camouflage for him here/ It emphasizes the cause, the issues, not the man, the party, who are corruptible/ It makes us the actors of the revolution: WE ARE THE REVOLUTION!/ The names really stick in the minds of people, and make our revolution different... These names become a 'protest vote' against corrupt politics/ It emphasizes food and things real, not risk the famines or scarcities many revolutions --USSR, China, Cuba-- are known for. HUNGRY REVOLUTIONS FEED THE LION/ It challenges junk food, which is low in nutrition and makes us fat. Fast food is also a tool of globalization, being its best symbol (see book 'Fast Food Nation')/ Ours constitutes a 'back to basics' movement, an idea often sacrificed for profit/ It brings up the issue of 'smart consumption' as opposed to consumerism, manipulated by advertising/ People have something better to think other than the afterlife. They need the good life 'here and now'/ It's the antidote to the Banana Republic.
We got some very spicy surveys in Spanish though some can't be translated into English. They ask important questions about the party...
BANANA SURVEY
In preparation for the LIBERATION PARTY, we are doing the following survey so nothing's missing:
Do you like "Chiquita Banana" or "Grande Banana"?
__ I like Chiquita Banana (Banana Republic)
__ I like Grande Banana (Banana Revolution)
The answer is obvious, but HAVING OPTIONS is at the core of our solution...
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MAKE LOVE, NOT WAR?
"Make love, not war," was not just a protest against the indifference and lack of humaneness in Vietnam; it was also a positive statement that love between parent and child, teacher and pupil, fiance and fiancee, and husband and wife is an activity we should try to pursue in the house when work is not necessary. It is the one real source of truth, beauty, and salvation in a community where deceit, corruption, and impersonality seem to be rampant. -Jerome Kagan
And what better way to make love than to give the banana to the roaring lion? The monkey knows that the lion is more powerful than him, and knows he better use his own weapons, so he decides to be funny, that being his natural gift. The story goes like this: The lion roars: “Monkey, I’m made to eat meat, so you better come down right now.” And the monkey replies very cool: “Mighty King, that’s doubtful as the Bible says you were vegetarian, so you can eat my banana…” (T-shirts with the slogan “You Can Eat My Banana” available now!)
Banana Revolution Gear
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Well, if the above doesn't work then try this...
Who will put the bell on the cat? Well, only you can:
-DO NOT FEED THE LION* (we are confronting a Hungry Lion, so he's most vulnerable to boycott)
-VOTE WITH YOUR FEET (leave a Hungry Lion --he needs you more than you need him)
-NONVIOLENCE IS BETTER** (don't dress as a lion --he loves to have any excuse to eat you)
-CRY LION! (the lion's success depends on camouflage, so your alarm may save others)
-NO LION NO PROBLEM!*** (do not accept the beast mentally --mental slavery-- in your life)
*see "The Role of Boycotts"... http://www.commondreams.org/views04/1118-24.htm
**"Violence used against oppression, Gandhi believed, was not only wrong, it was a mistake."
***"Fear makes us the instruments of Power. When we are afraid, we obey." (http://www.fragmentsweb.org/fourtx/powfertx.html)
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"I'm fed up to the ears with old men dreaming up wars for young men to die in." -George McGovern
A REVOLUTION FOR THE YOUNG?
Sorry, guys, but this revolution is for the young --or at least for the young at heart-- who care about the future, and about a quality of life surrounding their needs.
Regrettably, they are not being enticed into politics. Important issues like TRAFFIC SAFETY and BIKE FACILITIES are kept out of the political discourse. Simply, cunning politicians lure the elderly, who are easily duped with the politics of fear.* Remember the 2000 elections in Miami-Dade County. In other words: the Banana Republic relies on the old and ignorant, while the Banana Revolution appeals to the young and hopeful...
* fear of terrorism, communism, etc.
FACT: 80% of the young who don't vote do not live in democracy. And because of this, we will never get bike facilities by democratic means.
Think Like One Planet (awesome lyrics)...
http://camelot.kingarthur.com/leroy/Think_Like_One_Planet.html
YOUTH AND THE ROLE OF HIP-HOP
One of the least-empowered groups faced with the challenges of the Millennium Development
Goals is urban youth. Of the estimated 1 billion slum dwellers worldwide, more than 50% are
under the age of 25. Without access to adequate education or training, they have no prospects for
meaningful employment. They have no say in policies and decisions that affect their livelihoods.
They are victims of a vicious cycle of poverty and social exclusion and are particularly vulnerable
to crime, drug abuse, prostitution and HIV/AIDS.
http://www.eya.ca/wuf/docs/MOT_PROJECT.pdf
'An Appeal to the Young,' a VERY POWERFUL APPEAL by Peter Kropotkin... http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/Anarchist_Archives/kropotkin/appealtoyoung.html
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Something a bit gross, but thought provoking (unknown author, I polished it up a little bit)...
This is why you should not allow anyone to call you BOSS...
In the beginning of humanity, when God created the human body, the vital organs started an argument over who should be the BOSS. The BRAIN explained: "I should be the BOSS, since I order the function of all of you." The EYES argued: "We should be BOSS, because we guide the whole body." The HEART claimed: "I should be the BOSS, since I carry the blood for all to function." "In that case," protested the STOMACH, "I will be the BOSS, because I feed everybody." The LEGS declared to be BOSS since they carried the whole body. And it was when the ASSHOLE demanded to be BOSS, that everybody got angry. It only said: "I will be the BOSS... And if not, I declare myself on strike." Then it shut itself up for five days... The BRAIN was feeling dizzy... The EYES got cloudy... The HEART threatened to stop... The STOMACH was exploding... The LEGS were shaking... Then everybody cried: "LET THE ASSHOLE BE THE BOSS!" And since then... ANY ASSHOLE CAN BE BOSS!!!
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I guess you can call us an "Epicurean Revolution"...
"Pleasure and happiness here and now"
Epicurus of Samos, the Greek "philosopher of the garden" who lived 341-270 BC, was an ancient sage who left us an enduring message of optimism. His teachings conveyed a fundamental conviction that individuals can live in serene happiness, fortified by the continual experience of easily obtainable pleasures. All we really need to satisfy ourselves, he informs us, are the sustenance of nutritious food, the comfort of a secure living environment, the comradery of good friends, and the assuring wisdom that the nature of the larger universe is benign.
But although Epicurus' hedonistic ideal is easily achieved, it's not quite as readily believed. Many of us are disposed to believe that a pleasurable life necessarily entails the winning of riches, fame, and power, only to come away feeling anxious that we still don't have enough--the goal slides forever forward, like the proverbial carrot hanging on a string. Meanwhile, religions proclaim that a pleasurable life on earth is not even desirable, but that we must strive instead for a blissful afterlife, which may be earned after a lifetime of toil and strife. Here the carrot is so far deployed into the future, that one cannot live long enough to seize it--nor can we really tell that anyone else has ever succeeded in doing so. Epicurus, by contrast, challenges us to examine the nature of the universe scientifically, to analyze the root causes of grief and anxiety, and to put pleasure and happiness in their place--here and now.
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And, if you need any Biblical validation, there's this interpretation full of symbolism...
"The wolf shall also dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together..." (Isa. 11:6)
Hicks’s Peaceable Kingdom
'The Peaceable Kingdom' paintings portray a delicate balance of difficult and unresolved issues. The lion-ego poses the greatest threat. The wild animals are seemingly domesticated and brought into line with loving kindness. However, their expression of pop-eyed puzzlement is not lost on any viewer. For the moment, they are behaving themselves, eating bovine food and not the little lambs.
http://www2.gol.com/users/quakers/Hicks_Peaceable_Kingdom.htm
Well, perhaps the banana is the key to taming the lion...
"In the Middle Ages, the banana was thought to be the forbidden fruit of paradise by both Moslems and Christians."
"the woman saw that it was good to eat, the fruit of this tree! how good it was to behold ! it seized one with the desire to act with sagacity!... she thus took a fruit and ate of it ; she also gave some to her husband close by and he ate... So their eyes were opened and they became aware of their nudity : they bent leaves of the fig tree to be make loincloths..." http://perso.wanadoo.fr/martine.morenon/modesty5.htm
So, if Satan made Eve eat the banana, shouldn't we try to make him eat banana too? But, of course, I'm only speaking in parables...
Tantra and Religion
Why has religion specifically said sex was to be restricted or in some cases prohibited? Frankly, it is a form of control. The masses shouldn't be too happy, they might not conform.
http://www.tantraattahoe.com/tantra/tantric-sex-positive.htm
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Money is a great problem in monkeys too!
http://ming.tv/flemming2.php/__show_article/_a000010-001546.htm
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Well I'm glad somebody else besides me noticed the connection between bananas and revolution...
Bananas and the Revolution
Peter Schata
There is a long political history behind bananas becoming the fifth most important food commodity in the world. They were one of the first products where no expense was spared to create world markets for this unmistakeable fruit, turning whole countries over to banana production, with stooge dictators controlled by the USA, in what aptly became known as 'the banana republics'. Half a century after the big Hollywood-style banana campaigns, the banana reflects ever more clearly a world economic system concerned only with the kind of 'growth' that means control of the markets and massive profits. What happens to the environment or to the people, who produce and consume the fruit of such intentions, appears to be irrelevant.
In our democracies there is little self-determination, and we only need to look at poverty and unemployment in Europe as well, to raise doubts as to what is meant by 'free trade'. Such distortions of language that hoodwink millions of people into accepting their lot, need to be challenged and overturned. New language means new ideas, new concepts. This is the revolution. We are this revolution!
Such a revolution is especially important if we are to find ways to shift from the current forms of egocentric globalisation to a global society that recognises the actual interrelatedness of all human beings as well as our interconnectedness with the planet that supports us.
Why the Banana Revolution?
Needed: A Continuing Sexual Revolution
Martin Luther King
There's Hope...Love and Laughter!
The Banana Party
HOMEPAGE
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