THE GOBLIN NEWSLETTER 116 - STINK BOMB

The election is approaching & I have been working hard on not just writing about my increasingly nuanced & mild views on politics. However, I am listening to the city council candidates for my district talk about the election & so I want to as well. The majority of candidates are focussing on bread & butter issues, which is great. It does indicate that Portland is uncomfortable enough to focus on these basic issues instead of the usual “wacky lifestyle” & “saving the world” themes that defined the city in the past. When it comes down to it, the bread & butter issues become divisive when people have highly contrasted methodologies for getting the bread & butter. For me, I realize that I am centrally concerned with an environment where my work can thrive. This requires a certain amount of mental & moral flexibility, some extra money to spend on these non-essentials & a general agreement in society that art is worth it, that commerce can be a great vehicle for art & that the more people who are able to participate in these things, the better. So, nothing earth shattering or extreme, pretty straight forward & hard to argue with.The thing is, there are two extreme wings that are fighting over the bird. When I use terms like left & right, I’m speaking to where these associations are now, not trying to define ideals, history or whatever. Portland has a small, very loud extreme left & the rest of Oregon has a quieter extreme right. The two occasionally have used Portland as a battle ground for their SCA type fights. As you might be able to tell, I have no time for this. Neither do the majority of Portland’s working class. These are luxury beliefs, big “what ifs?” from people that rarely deal with “the other”. I have been “the other” amongst “the other” my entire life. What I expect from society/government is to keep the lights on, clean the streets & don’t let too much bullshit go on. I have done my own chaos my entire life, but it has always been about balance & contrast. A stink bomb isn’t noticeable if the halls already smell like shit.