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Arcangelo Corelli, Baroque, CNN, Henryk Szeryng, Republican National Convention, Spain, Tampa Florida, Voter Suppression
- La Folia
During the Baroque era in music (1600-1750), the Folia, a musical piece that probably originated in Spain, became very popular. I did not intend ever to mention the Folia until I went to my WordPress Reader yesterday and found myself reading about instances of genuine folie or madness. There is nothing mad about the Folia, but there is madness among Republicans. Let us look at two events I found “unsavoury.”
The Camerawoman Incident
Reading through various posts, I learned that two women attending the Republican National Convention, in Tampa, Florida, had thrown nuts at an African-American CNN camerawoman shouting “this is how we feed animals.” For details, see CNN Camerawoman Hit With Nuts (EnStarz). Needless to say, I quickly reworded the headline so it would read CNN camerawoman Hit by Nuts,” using nuts in its pejorative acceptation. Folias in music are lighthearted, but throwing nuts at a coloured camerawoman and calling her an animal shows genuine folie, madness, not to mention sufficient bigotry to sink a battleship.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (29 August 1809 – 7 October 1894) stated that “[t]he mind of a bigot is like the pupil of the eye; the more light you pour upon it, the more it will contract.” That definition would apply to the nut-throwing incident that took place in Tampa. The bottom line here is that we are witnessing bigotry and racism.
The Voter Purge Incident
As I continued reading your posts, I learned that a woman would not be permitted to vote because she could not produce the photo ID (identification) Florida (R) and perhaps other states are now requiring of voters. Does exercising one’s right to vote require of voters that they possess a driver’s license or a passport? Some persons are too poor to own a car and therefore do not have a driver’s licence. Moreover, some persons are also too poor to travel. Consequently, they do not have a passport. Demanding a photo ID therefore seems an unreasonable request and voter suppression could prevent President Obama from being re-elected, which would be a catastrophe.
This second incident, the photo ID (identification) incident, demonstrates that Voter Suppression is not only unreasonable but that it constitutes a discrimatory practice that could keep away from Election Polls the elderly, the disabled, the poor and persons, in particular coloured individuals, who may feel their social status does not allow them to exercise their right to choose a leader, a misconception voter suppression is bringing to the fore. These people were slaves and two idiots threw nuts at them calling them animals.
In fact, Voter Suppression may well be in direct violation of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 “a landmark piece of national legislation in the United States that outlawed discriminatory voting practices that had been responsible for the widespread disenfranchisement of African Americans in the U.S.” (Voting Rights Act of 1965, Wikipedia) Voting is an unalienable right in the United States of America.
But enough is enough. Let us hear a Folia that is not madness: folie. The Folia moved beyond Spain, so we will listen to a Folia Variations composed by Arcangelo Corelli (17 February 1653 – 8 January 1713), an Italian violinist and composer of the Baroque era.[i] Our main performer is Russian violinist Nathan Millstein (13 January 1904 – 21 December 1992).
Related Post: The Right to Vote: “It is wrong – deadly wrong… ” Photo credit: Wikipedia © Micheline Walker 30 August 2012 WordPress ____________________ [i] For information on the Folia, see Hemiola07’s Blog, a WordPress publication: http://hemiola07.wordpress.com/2011/01/18/food-for-thoughtcorellis-la-folia/
Micheline's Blog 
very nice
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Thank you.
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About voting and required photo ID: how can one check that the same person doesn’t vote twice or more otherwise? – unless some long-lasting “stamp” on the hand is used?
In Belgium, by law, we are always supposed to wear our “ID card” (“carte d’identité”) in a purse or pocket (it is not our driver’s licence) if we’re out of the house, but people mostly comply if driving (police always asks for driver’s licence and ID), or travelling to another city. (Germans imposed this during the war – soon forgery became an art! – and when the country was freed, the government decided it was useful.)
Small kids only need it if going abroad. It isn’t expensive at all, and must be changed every 10 years at City Hall. Passports, on the contrary, are renewable every 3 or 5 years and are expensive, whereas my driving licence, till 10 years ago, was the same one I had purchased at eighteen (same photo too – I’m 66)!
Have a super WE!
PS. Je connais plusieurs personnes qui ont été opérées de la cataracte et ont eu l’impression d’avoir une nouvelle paire d’yeux! Bon courage et tous mes voeux, chère Micheline. Vos billets sont un régal.
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Here in Canada, we use our health-insurance card as photo-ID. Everyone has one. But when there is an election, the government sends every citizen a card indicating that you must vote and where you have to go to vote. They also provide a phone number so voters who are disabled or will be away that day can vote. On election day, voters take this card and give it to a préposé who has a list of voters. When the préposé takes the card away, he or she also crosses the name of the voter off the list. There is one card per citizen. It is not possible to vote twice. It’s a very easy process.
The US problem is bizarre. In theory, they too have a list of their citizens to whom a card could be sent and put away or destroyed the moment the citizen has voted.
I will be voting on the 4th of September: Quebec general election. I received my card almost three weeks ago. It indicates that if I cannot go to the election poll on the day the election is held, I have to phone so that arrangements can be made for me to vote.
There is one piece of good news. A judge of the Supreme Court (US) has challenged the legality or constitutionality of voter suppression. Voter suppression is obstructionism and it is in direct violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1965. The Republicans know that African Americans will vote for President Obama and they are doing all they can to keep African-Americans from voting, which their duty and their right.
Quant à la cataracte, j’ai tant de mal à voir que je souhaite qu’on me libère le plus tôt possible. J’ai hâte d’avoir na nouvelle paire d’yeux.
Bisous, Micheline
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Thanks for all these precisions. It looks like your Canadian system is the same as in Belgium but for the type of ID. We can also make arrangements, if sick or abroad.
Tous mes voeux pour les yeux, bisous, Lou – dites-vous “un bec”? à Ottawa, mes enfants avaient ramené cette jolie expression de l’école 😉
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Yes, the Canadian system is probably quite similar to the Belgian system. It’s very simple. The “préposé” takes your card and crosses your name off the list. Merci Louvain & Bises, Micheline
P.S. Oui on dit encore un bec, mais rarement. Bises et bisous vont bientôt supplanter bec.
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