Miami and the Keys

 

For the final week I’m in Miami and the Florida keys for some much needed R&R (rest and relaxation). It’s an interesting area, reminiscent of Southern California. That’s perhaps unsurprising given that both were previously under Spanish control (albeit the Spanish stole them both from the Native Americans). There are some remarkable ‘coincidences’ in how California and Florida were ‘acquired’ by the American government at a similar point in the expansion of the US. The US invented a pretext to ‘liberate’ California from ‘Spanish aggression’, and it invented a pretext to buy Florida off the Spanish. California as it was under Spanish control covered the current states of Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona and California – a significant area that now accounts for about 50 million US citizens. In the case of Florida, the US was at war with the Seminole nation due to treaties it repeatedly broke, and the war spilled over into Spanish territory. The US claimed an ‘immutable right of self defence’ – ie; an immutable right to exterminate the Native Americans by chasing them into Spanish territory. The Spanish thought they’d be better off out of the whole gig and sold Florida to the US.

Ocean Drive, Miami South Beach

Miami

Miami is a handsome city by the water; North and South Beach are on a separate island connected by an artificial causeway. Spanish is widely spoken, and there is a huge Latin American community in the city. Among them is a significant Cuban ex-pat population – if you go to South Beach try a Cuban sandwich from Puerta Segua. The beach is long, pristine and beautiful. Ocean Drive which runs parallel to it is packed from morning to night with the world promenading in all its finery. Or skateboarding, running, cycling or doing free weights – another similarity with Southern California. Bumper sticker on car: ‘My boss is a Jewish carpenter.’

Washington Ave, Miami South Beach

The area is also known for iconic art-deco architecture, which is partly a result of rebuilding after the 1926 hurricane. There are a lot of amazing buildings, at times it’s difficult to process them because there are so many to take in. We spend Boxing Day chilling on the beach – it’s a lovely atmosphere, and then…..just to remind us we are still in the US: a plane flies over trailing a big banner – ‘fire machine guns @ lock and load Miami’. Well, dear readers, what could be more appropriate for Boxing Day on South Beach Miami? I know you’ll be thinking ‘old baldy’s overdoing it here’ – so we took photo evidence, below:

The Keys

Florida’s keys extend below Miami and to the side of the Everglades. They are a geographical quirk, and can only really be comprehended by looking at a simple map. Key West is the southernmost point of the continental US, being much closer to Havana than it is to Miami. As such it’s very much in the Caribbean. It’s a tightly packed community, heavily driven by the tourist trade (mainly from the rest of the US, but also the rest of the world). But it also has a proper community feel, and is rather an artist’s colony – it reminds me a bit of St Ives with better weather. Its most famous resident was the novelist Ernest Hemmingway, and there are clearly a number of Hemmingway groupies about. The scenery around the keys is really odd, almost pre-historic. The whole system of keys is essentially a natural causeway linked by bridges, and bounded by swamps, semi-swamps and weird outgrowths of greenery in the middle of the sea. It feels fitting that my journey finishes here, concluding at the very end of US-1. The trip down the west coast concluded at most south-westerly point of the US, and now I’m on the opposite side.

Always The Flag. This marks the end of US-1 in Key West

Rounding up

I’ve met some remarkable people in the US doing my research. I have heard some appalling stories. Many of the relatives who’ve had loved ones killed by police have kept going in the face of daunting odds in their attempts to get justice. I’m not at all sure I could do so in the same circumstances. Doing this research has affected the way I’ve viewed the US, and being here during the election madness probably hasn’t helped. Being away for five months has been tough. I miss home, family, friends, colleagues, neighbours, the cat, our allotment. It seems I’m more Yoorpean than I thought I was, and that I’m probably more British as well.

Typical scenery on the drive down the keys – believe it or not, this is the sea

It took some convincing for me to write a blog, but I’ve enjoyed it, and in some ways it kept me sane. Writing things down forces you to think hard about what you think, about what you’ve seen and experienced. And in five months in the US, that covers a lot. My stay must have changed me, but I’m not sure how yet – perhaps I never shall never know. Initially I struggled to write one post per week, but it became increasingly obvious that there were a huge number of things to talk about. If you’d told me back in July that I would eventually write twenty posts and more than 22,000 words I would have laughed at you. I had so many more examples of prescription medication advertisements I wanted to talk about! I also wanted to comment on the long running kerfuffle over US sports stars demonstrating against the national anthem – it says a lot about the US identity triumvirate I mentioned in the last post, but it just got so complicated and I’d have had to have written a whole post on it. Another subject I never got to was the absolute need for a car if one lives in the US and how that affects everything from shopping, to alcohol, to spatial awareness. Finally, I got somewhat preoccupied with the US mania for leaf blowers and leaf suckers, which to me appeared to sum up the mania for organising everything – even nature. I’d like to thank you for reading my observations and for giving me feedback, it’s been one way of staying in touch with the world outside the US. Finally, I’d also like to thank Simon Cheung from Coventry University for patiently explaining all of this poota magic to me. Without him there would have been no blog.

The US is a huge, sprawling country. It is jaw-droppingly beautiful, and I feel I’ve barely scratched the surface of it. My travels have taken me to the breath-taking Oregon coast; whale watching at Monterrey; Yosemite national park; the magnificent delta around New Orleans; the mind-boggling ecosystems around the Florida keys; and the majesty of the Great Smoky Mountains in Fall – these are merely a handful of highlights. It has remarkable urban centres, New York feels so different to Seattle or the Bay Area cities; New Orleans feels different to everywhere else in the US; Miami is more like a Latin American city in many ways; Chicago is a big multicultural mash-up set against the beauty of Lake Michigan. The food has been better than everyone told me (in some cases, warned me) it would be, the people are better informed than most Europeans think they are. They are also remarkably worried about Europe sees the US, and I wonder to what extent this indicates an odd sense of inferiority.

The Southernmost tip of Continental USA. Cuba is 90 miles behind me. Key West, December 30th, 2016.  

I’m not the first person to consider the US to be an ungovernable country. It was set up with a complex system of governmental checks and balances; this has been exacerbated by an increasingly huge and diverse population, and also by states increasingly exercising their power and ignoring federal decisions. In the final analysis, it seems to me that its ungovernable nature might be its saving grace in the coming four years. Goodbye America, I doubt this is my last trip to see you, but I’m glad to be going home.

 

Deep South

This is the penultimate post, so I’ll try and wrap up some general observations in these final posts as well as giving a flavour of where I’ve been in the last two weeks of 2016. I have now been in the US for five months, having arrived in the run-in to an unprecedented election campaign; we now know how that went. DJ Trump has recently suggested accelerating the nucular arms race; deliberately pissed off China; appointed a climate change denier to head the Environment Protection Agency; the equivalent of Mike Ashley (of Sports Direct fame) to be Minister of Labour; and, of course the Secretary of State will no doubt make good use of the specialised skill-set he acquired whilst CEO of Exxon. Looking back at my notes, I can see my fave Trump word used during the TV debates was ‘braggadocious’ – about Hillary Clinton. I think this is a cross between the Italian word braggadocio and something else. It made me think of Don King’s ‘besmirchify’ which, in a just and fair world, should be in the OED very soon. We arrived in the US in the aftermath of terrorist attacks in Nice and Turkey, with the situation in Syria deteriorating. Not much change there. In the last week: terror attacks in Berlin and Turkey, the situation in Syria appears to have got worse, if such a thing were possible. It’s also worth noting that there are still eight thousand US troops in Afghanistan after fifteen years. I wonder how will we look back on Afghanistan in twenty years’ time.

Taken in Montgomery. Reading a description of a slave for sale being ‘about fourteen, very likely and sprightly’ makes one feel queasy

From Atlanta we head into the deep south for a week: Alabama, Mississippi, and finally Louisiana, to return to my favourite US city – Nawlins. Once again, a journey that highlights ever-present differences within the US. Alabama is often held up as dangerous territory for liberals, but we don’t see much of anything during our time there. Over the state line from Georgia it’s increasingly clear it’s more impoverished and also less built up – the two probably being connected. I see my first red cross proclaiming ‘Jesus Saves’, it’s huge, but thankfully, it’s not burning. The overt sense of omnipresent Christian religion is obvious. A sign outside one of the many modern churches we drive past: ‘If it’s His birthday, why do we get all the presents?’ A fair enough question, I suppose.

Dear readers: what can this grand but oddly anonymous building in a back street in Mobile AL be? Further inspection reveals a small plaque round the corner stating that it’s the grand masonic lodge. I’ll let you join the dots on that one.

The Christian religion is without doubt a significant underpinning factor in US identity, to greater or lesser degrees, depending on where one is. This combines with two other key factors: military service, and The Flag. These are the triumvirate of rural America that is beyond question, beyond discussion: basic touchstones of US identity. They link closely to the right to bear arms (under the 2^nd amendment) and the National Rifle Association. These issues are beyond evidence, it’s no use having a discussion about whether the founding fathers’ ‘right to bear arms’ meant ‘the right to have an AR15 with a double magazine firing armour-piercing shells’. One spin- off of the valorization of military service is the remarkable number of veterans programs and offers there are. On TV one is frequently assailed by offers for insurance, banking, travel agents, Medicare, and more, offering discounts to veterans. In a restaurant queue yesterday we heard a middle-aged white guy say he should have the next available table because we was a veteran. A key finding in my research is that if you leave the forces and apply for a police job you automatically gain favourable credit at selection stage. That’s not conspiracy theory, it’s actual policy, and explains the large number of ex-military personnel in police departments. I’d encourage readers to ponder this in relation to the subject area I am researching.

Taken at Selma: plus ca change, plus la meme chose?

Entering Montgomery on a Sunday we’re struck by the eerie quiet – it’s a ghost town. Almost nowhere is open, and there’s not much to do. This is the state capitol of Alabama. What can I say about Montgomery? Not much, other than to point out its history in the civil rights movement. This is where Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the ‘whites only’ part of the bus, was arrested and prosecuted. One turning point in the final movement to sweep Jim Crow practices away from the southern states. Montgomery was a key market/transit town for the slave trade. To its credit, the town has plaques up at various points to explain to visitors the significance of buildings/roads. Another key event was the civil rights march from Montgomery to Selma which is about 40 miles away, this was part of push for black US citizens to get the vote. Selma is another sleepy little town with a chequered past. State troopers opened fire on the (unarmed, legal) civil rights protestors as they attempted to cross the river into Selma after their march from Montgomery. I stand looking at the bridge for a while, thinking: ‘how different is this to state troopers opening fire on the Danziger bridge in New Orleans in 2005 to those black citizens fleeing for their lives from hurricane Katrina and the pitiful federal response to their plight?’

Security

There is an odd brew going on with fear, guns, religion and military service. I’ve commented in earlier posts about the fear quotient in the US, with constant adverts for home security. A common one is for a door intercom linked to your mobile phone so that you can answer it as though you’re at home (‘I can’t come to the door right now, I’m bathing the kids’) – because, as you know, there are always burglars lurking in suburbia waiting until you’re not home. Foucault would have undoubtedly found it hilarious. Another very popular ad is for ADT alarms, again, nice white couple with small child in suburbia ‘you can draw a line in the sand for under a dollar a day’.

Identity

As I’m on a bit of a roll here, what about the use of British actors to do or say things that would be unpalatable if said by an American? One is an ad for ‘poo-pourri’. This features a frightfully well-bred English lady explaining how one needs a product to carry about with one to mask one’s toilet (‘poop’ – what else?) smells. Oddly, she doesn’t mention that this is an American product not (yet) available on the UK market. Euphemism is big over here. I wish I had more time to write about it (it also makes me wonder why there isn’t a euphemism for ‘euphemism’). I digress, all of this reminds me of an observation I read years ago about Hollywood’s need to get British ‘baddies’ into films. Partly to make them more authentic, but mainly because US actors won’t touch those roles with a barge-pole. Need someone to play the commandant of Auschwitz for Schindler’s List? Why, it just has to be Ralph Fiennes. How about Reinhard Heydrich, Nazi architect of the Final Solution for the film ‘Conspiracy’? Darling, it just has to be Kenneth Branagh. Both were US films, the latter is even more remarkable for having an almost entirely UK cast. But have a film (Valkyrie) about a Nazi that tries to kill Hitler? Well, of course, it has to be that rampant heterosexual five-and-a-half-feet-tall-beef-cake, Tom Cruise.

Photo of New Orleans cathedral in the French Quarter, taken December 23rd.

As 2016 has been such a turbulent year, and we’re in Nawlins, which has survived many turbulent years in its time, I’ll leave you with an image to consider for the coming year:

 

 

 

Heading south

As my time starts to tick down in the US, I’m starting to check off ‘final things’. I leave Elon for the last time and drive south towards Atlanta, stopping overnight at Greenville in South Carolina (SC). The oddness of the US can be summed up by two experiences I have, ten minutes apart in Greenville. The first involves a minor contretemps with a well-heeled white middle aged southern couple, mainly because I bought a CD off a black guy in the street. I’m not sure if they were more upset because I gave him money or because I had a conversation with him and shook his hand. Both, would be my guess. They’re probably still pissed that the Confederate battle flag has been taken down from over the state capitol this year. Directly after that, I went to the elevator in my hotel to find two young guys in it, both of whom had video recorders. I say hello; ‘I guess you’re wondering what we’re doing?’; erm, yes. ‘We’re recording a video of the elevator going from the bottom of the building to the top.’ I see. ‘Yes, this is a really old building so it’s got like really old elevators, and we like to go and see them and record them, check us out on You Tube.’ Readers, I urge you to do so by clicking this link. Adrenalin junkies. Leaving Greenville the next morning I drive past a pizza/pub place called ‘Toss’, it’s next to a restaurant called ‘Biscuit Head’. They take their biscuits very seriously down here y’all.

It’s difficult to overstate how seriously religion (by which I mean, Christianity) is taken here. This is a photo I took around the corner from the Elon campus, a not uncommon sight. 

Freeways 

The US undoubtedly has a better system of road transport than the UK. The interstate freeway system was instigated largely by President Eisenhower after WW2, in many ways it remade the US. The train network, a major element in the growth of the US in the late 1800s and early 1900s was effectively killed off by the growth of freeways. I have come to know I-85 and I-40 particularly well. Freeways are really well planned, they have frequent exits, so you’re never short of options for fuel, food, or lodgings – everything is right next to the freeway exit. Having said that, I’ll be glad not to drive on ten lane (by which I mean, ten on each side) freeways anymore – what did we do before GPS?! Am I alone in finding signs that read ‘emergency pull off area ahead’ very funny?

I’ve started to listen to the radio more when I’m on the move. The ubiquity of radio adverts is sort of laughable, and sort of morbidly fascinating. One of the most striking things is how dated a lot of them sound, it’s like being back in the UK in the 80s ‘come on down to Harry’s dry cleaner, the best dry cleaner in town!’. Yesterday I heard an advertisement for a company that: ‘creates heirlooms for future generations’. Come again? On the I-85 across the state line into SC one is again struck by differences between states. Immediately billboard adverts appear to join the National Guard, or the Marines (‘dedicated to a life of courage’). Oddly, neither advert mentions the possibility of being blown up or maimed in Berzerkistan; nor do they mention the likelihood of you being asked to fire on fellow citizens in whatever state of emergency has just been announced. In SC road signs warn ‘littering on the freeway: fine $1000 and prison’. In Georgia it’s ‘dropping trash on freeway: fine $1200.’ Another constant is billboard ads for hospitals: ‘in the top 50 cardiology hospitals in the US’ says one; which I guess sounds better than ‘somewhere between 41^st and 49^th in the league table’. Over the state line into Georgia, I fill up the gas guzzler and stop for McD’s breakfast. All of the ladies serving at the counter are past retirement age. The one who serves me has a magnifier round her neck that she uses to read the screen on the till she operates. This is what it comes to when the safety net is taken away, and I doubt this will get any better in the next four years.

Another billboard ad on I-85. This time for a gun dealer in SC. For those of you who don’t know what an AR15 looks like, now you do. The perfect gift for your loved one. 

Atlanta

I’ve come to Atlanta to complete my 42^nd and final interview. The process that began in Seattle back in July has reached its end, it has covered 17 states. I’ve met all sorts of family members who have been delegated to speak about the death of their loved one. The interviews cover victims who are male and female; young and old; Black, White, Latino and Native American; gay, straight and transgender. I’ve met some extraordinary people and heard some appalling stories. I’d like to wrap up this post by talking about the final interview and identifying many issues that it highlights about the wider research project I am engaged in. Lisa and Nick Messina live just outside Atlanta. Andrew, their only son, was 16 years old when he was shot dead, in the back, by a SWAT team sniper at their home in May 2012.

Andrew Messina

Andrew had been upset and depressed about something that had happened at school and threatened to kill himself. His parents, in a state of worry and concern, called 911 to ask for help. From there, the situation quickly and irrevocably escalated as multiple police units, including a SWAT team arrived at the scene. Nick said their neighbourhood ‘looked like a scene from Die Hard.’ I focus now on the commonalities this shooting has with many cases I’ve covered during my time here. The police acted in a paramilitary way in a situation that in no way required it. Having arrived on the scene, they acted in a way that escalated the problem, rather than de-escalated it. They treated a vulnerable person as a dangerous criminal. The officer who shot Andrew dead had killed before, and been moved from one county police department to another just before this incident. The police tried to portray Andrew as a drug addict who threatened his mother, and a danger to police officers on the scene. These constructions have been proved to be untrue. His parents want to know why Crisis Intervention Training isn’t more common in the US, and why police training and education isn’t more rigorous. These are issues I’ve heard over and over again on my travels.

I sat with Nick and Lisa in their home, ate lunch with them, was humbled by their dignity and fortitude. There were no Christmas decorations, they don’t really celebrate it anymore. As this is the last post before Christmas I wish you all a good break with the people you’re close to, in the hope that we can recognise the things that unite us rather than divide us. Lisa Messina says she’s learned one fundamental lesson through their experience: people matter more than anything else.

 

Baltimore

I’m into my final month in the US and counting down to going on vacation. So my trip to Baltimore takes me through the Atlanta/Greensboro shuttle for the final time. I have stopped viewing airports as exciting places and now see them as somewhere I can work, I’m not sure if this is progress or not. One thing’s for sure: air travel in the US is as mundane as rail travel in the UK (perhaps because there is no functional rail system in the US). It’s packed, it’s bad tempered, people miss connections, people don’t get on flights because they’re full (welcome to the concept of ‘stand-by’; ie; you might have to ‘stand-by’ for the next flight after this one). Thankfully I’ve been fortunate to avoid all of that – Delta has been good to me. On my final trip to Greensboro airport, there is a hold-up on the freeway as two sheep have got onto the carriageway and state troopers are trying to round them up. Can’t they just shoot them?

Killing people has become normal

On the day I arrive in Baltimore, seven people are murdered. When I told this to a class of students I teach, they had no idea – and why should they? It doesn’t get widely reported. Last year there were nearly 350 homicides in Baltimore, a city the size of Leeds. During my time in the US I’ve come to the conclusion that killing people with guns has become normalised. In 2015 nearly 13,000 people were killed by guns in the US. In the UK it was 21, albeit the total homicide number was just over 500 (most people are either stabbed or beaten to death in the UK). The availability of firearms changes the dynamics of social interactions, and of course, some social interactions result in death.

In that sense, I think the police killing of citizens has to be considered in the context of total homicides in the US. Chicago and Baltimore are viewed as the principal ‘homicide cities’ in the US, and in some senses Baltimore feels a bit like Chicago. The downtown area is full of interesting buildings and places to go, the inner harbour is quite dramatic and makes for a nice backdrop to the city. Areas like Fell’s Point, Federal Hill and Little Italy are just like you’d expect American cities to be: vibrant, noisy, full of life. But my guide was very careful to draw clear lines of where not to go, and much of the city is behind those lines. The perpetual sirens are a constant reminder of what is going on in the rest of the city, and the downtown area is visibly and heavily policed.

Concerned citizens

My interviews here have been facilitated by Ishtyme Robinson and Corneilius Scott. Corneilius is chief spokesperson for M.O.M.S (Mothers of Murdered Sons), an organisation that works to try and reduce the number of all types of killings in the city. They offer support, counselling and therapy to mothers who’ve lost sons (and daughters) to violence. Ishtyme works on numerous projects on police brutality across a number of cities in the US. Her current focus is ‘Every Case Matters’ which I think we’re likely to hear more of in 2017. One of the key issues families bring up is the need to move beyond the very well-known cases such as Mike Brown, Walter Scott, and Eric Garner. Their point is that this is an issue which directly affects thousands of people and needs to be understood at that level, this is the point Ishtyme wants to make.

Without groups like MOMS, I would have no research project

Through Ishtyme, I also met an extraordinary human being, Burnett (‘Bernie’) McFadden. I am humbled and privileged to be able to speak with her, and to be given consent to tell her story. It is not part of my research project, but I’ve found more and more people affected by gun violence wanting to speak to me; they want people outside the US to hear their story. Bernie had three sons murdered in different incidents in the space of 4 months in 2005. The murderers of Linton (aged 20) are serving life sentences in prison. The killers of Randolph (aged 18) and Reginald (aged 17) have never been brought to justice. Bernie tells me that December is her worst month, because both Randolph and Lindon have birthdays this month. She is thankful that her youngest son, Khayyan, survived (he recently celebrated his 28^th birthday), and feels the special bond they share has enabled her to move on with life, and try and move past the anger she still feels. Like many relatives I’ve spoken with, she feels her close family and friends have supported her through the ordeal, and without them she’d have crumbled. Bernie is extremely active with groups that support and advocate for relatives who have lost loved ones to community or police violence. She’s also proud of her sons for being on the organ donor list, and that they enabled lives to be lived after theirs were taken away. At the end of our talk she tells me: ‘you have to be in this club to understand, but no-one should be in this club.’ One observation I have from my time in the US is that if concerned citizens didn’t start support groups like these all over the country, there wouldn’t be much in the way of support for the thousands of family members bereaved every year.

Babe Ruth, THE all-time legendary baseball player, born in Baltimore. Photo taken at the park where the Baltimore Orioles play

The history of Baltimore belies its current unfortunate, but probably deserved, reputation. After New York it was the second most common gateway into the US for immigrants seeking the ‘new world’. It has plenty of beautiful historic buildings and districts. Famous citizens of the city include Billie Holliday, David Byrne, Frank Zappa, Michael Phelps, and the guy who wrote the Star Spangled Banner. Any city that can produce geniuses like this must have something going for it, and it’s an indictment on the current state of American society that the city is now (in)famous as a homicide capital. I’d like to finish on an upbeat note, and will try to do so with Frank Zappa. A documentary came out about him this year, he’s often portrayed as a total oddball, but watching this makes me think: if that is the case, what does it say about the US? Take a look at the trailer and see what you think folks: ‘not much chance of escaping that cycle then’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

O Carolina(s)

This posting is a little different. I’ve been in North Carolina for 4 months, so this post encompasses my reflections during this time. Since I’ve been here, we’ve had two hurricanes, one riot/uprising, and three states of emergency. And I haven’t even mentioned the election. I’m based at Elon university, which is a private ‘liberal arts college’ near Burlington. It has just over 6000 students, compared to 29000 at Coventry University – it’s all quite different (see photo below). Burlington is typical of the places that voted from Trump. It’s a small-ish town that used to have a manufacturing base driven by furniture production and tobacco farming, but these are long gone, and nothing has properly replaced them. The nearest major town is Greensboro, about 30 minutes drive from here, which has a population of about 250K.

Part of the campus at Elon university.

I have written in another post about Charlotte, which is the largest city in NC, so will turn my attention to other places in the state in this post.  On the way to Greensboro to do an interview, I see an advert for ‘Moravian Love Feast’. Interesting, I think. I do a U-turn and go back to check it out (purely in the interests of giving you the low-down, dear readers). Why am I not surprised, it’s promoting some sort of religious shindig. The further one gets out of urban areas, the more likely one is likely to see such signs. Driving out into the rural eastern part of the state to do an interview in Fayetteville, I’m struck by the increasingly frequent placards on people’s lawns, mile after mile, that say ‘thank you Jesus’. The signs are identical. The countryside is beautiful, dramatic, with fall colours and undulating fields, lakes, and endless Trump/Pence placards. This is small town/rural America writ large.

I also see my first confederate flag in someone’s field out by Fayetteville. Now here’s an interesting fact I’ve learned while being here. The Confederate flag is not the Confederate flag. If that all sounds too Baudrillardian (ie; nothing ever happens, even if it does, it doesn’t), allow me to explain. The Confederacy, being the states that seceded from the Union and declared war on ‘The North’ in the civil war, had its own government. Therefore, it had its own flag. The flag ‘we all know’ as the Confederate standard is not that flag. The one we know is the Confederate battle flag that flew during combat areas in the civil war – hence why it is so divisive: it isn’t even the flag of the Confederacy. You might think this is all ancient history, think again. Some in the south still call the civil war a ‘war of Northern aggression’ (it ended in 1865). Only this year did South Carolina take down the flag that flew over the state capitol (the battle flag, let’s be clear) after much soul searching. To put this into context, check out this excellent short clip by Chris Rock – it pretty much skewers it.

THIS is the Confederate flag

Out in the countryside, another sign: ‘If guns cause crime, matches cause arson.’ That’s clear, then. Out in the east of the state, it’s clear that things are pretty run down, and life is more hand to mouth. The number of pawn/gun stores is really sobering, I guess it must be a tough cycle. You deposit your gun as collateral, or pawn something as collateral for your gun – depending on your exact circumstances at that particular time. Similarly, the number of huge placards on the freeway advertising ‘Gun and Ammo shows’ is on the one hand quite disconcerting, on the other hand, you get normalized to them pretty darn quick. Then again, there are always my favourite ‘no need for metaphor’ advertisements that one sees all over the US. On the drive to Fayetteville I note ‘Hospital’: 1-844-DOCS, and ‘Injured’: 1-800-HURT. You may think – but why not just call 911? Another ‘every day is a school day’ aside – the national emergency number still doesn’t cover 100% of the US – even in the 1990s it had less than 50% coverage. If ever there was a reminder that the US is essentially regional and fragmented, I think this has to be be it.

Seaside Carolinian style

The state has beautiful beaches and a stunning coast. It’s all pretty low key, and all the better for that. We went out to Carolina Beach in mid-October and had 25C and bright sun, watching pelicans in droves, life is pretty sweet when you’ve got a boardwalk, sun, chips (sorry, French fries), and beer (although maybe that’s just me). Then we went up into the Great Smoky Mountains, which are possibly the last word in grandiose, jaw dropping landscapes. They’re part of the immense Appalachian mountain range. Staying in a log cabin up in the mountains was remarkable, wallowing in the outdoor hot tub just drinking in the silence and scenery is something I will remember for a very long time. The Fall colours were just incredible, the scale of the forests and mountains are a reminder of what an incredible country the US is, but also why the Native Americans believed it to be sacred and inviolable.

View from the balcony of our log cabin

Our trip to the mountains incorporated a trip to Asheville, which is a fairly small town, but one that is highly regarded as being the main cool and cultured place in NC. And what do you know – it’s just that. Lots of things to see and do, and friendly people. North Carolina is a beautiful part of the world. But I am persistently haunted by a comment from one of the mothers I interviewed in Charlotte in my first week here, back in the brutal heat of August. After the interview, she looked me straight in the eye and said: ‘you enjoy your time in North Carolina, it sure is beautiful, but there’s a lot of pain in them trees.’

Our view from the balcony of Sky bar in Asheville – part of the Appalachian mountain range as backdrop

Thanksgiving

This week’s post looks at Thanksgiving and some things American. I’ve never seen Thanksgiving before, so it’s interesting to see what a big deal it is. It happens on the final Thursday in November, so it makes for an odd pause prior to Christmas. I’d been advised not to travel the day before or after Thanksgiving, apparently the airports are a nightmare, as are the major freeways. The meaning of Thanksgiving is a bit of a portable feast (pun intended). Apparently it was initially proposed as a national holiday by Lincoln after the civil war as a way of remembering the huge amount of dead. It has morphed into a semi-mythical story whereby now the US gives ‘thanks’ to the gifts of food given by the Native Americans which kept the early settlers alive in the first winters when starvation threatened. Eddie Izzard has a good (90 second) take on it here. I’m not sure giving thanks quite excuses the subsequent near-extermination of Native Americans and dumping of them on reservations miles from anywhere, but then again, perhaps I’m just being grumpy. Anyhoo, it’s good to see traditions are being kept up by firing water cannon and tear gas at them protesting the pipeline in North Dakota (see an earlier post) during Thanksgiving. Back to the obligatory turkey, what could be better than an indoor electric turkey fryer to make the perfect Thanksgiving dinner?

 

Yours for only $119 from Walmart

Food

A lot of Thanksgiving is unsurprisingly about food. I’ve therefore decided to make some observations on food from my travels in the last few months. Fast-food is a national fact of life, a lot of people eat out regularly and there are a bewildering array of outlets to choose from. Here in the south, they have their own culinary obsessions. The number one being sugar. Sweet tea is available all over, it’s served cold and in huge glasses, and available ad infinitum as free refills. I smelled one, and that was nearly enough to put me in a diabetic coma – I dread to think how much sugar is in it. Biscuitville is a particularly popular southern chain – you know how you often fancy chicken, biscuits and gravy for breakfast, right? Well now you know where to get it.

 

Y’all get y’selves down to Biscuitville for some good ole down home cookin’

Some translations: Biscuits are scones. Cookies are biscuits. French fries are chips. Chips are crisps. All clear? Ribs and BBQ are major southern obsessions as well. Again, a bewildering array of chains cater to them. The other chains our students are most obsessed with are Bojangles, IHop and especially Waffle House (of which there are a number of 24 hour outlets near me, which I think is notable given that we’re in the back of beyond). All of this leads me to think that being a vegetarian in the south of the US is probably not much fun (unless you like waffles every day). Finally, take-away boxes. It is a universal fact that people take food away with them – this includes tiny bits and whole dinners. I’ve seen people order food and not even touch it (but have it boxed to-go), people eat everything that’s free (chips and salsa, for example) and then request the same again in a box to take home, people order buy one get one free in order to take the other one home. I read somewhere that the US throws away more food than any other country on earth – surely there can’t be a connection? We probably need more research on this issue.

On the periphery

At Thanksgiving one is also meant to invite people into the family fold, and to think about those less fortunate than ourselves. On this note, I turn to another major observation from my months in the US. I’m going to use a contentious word – ‘casualties’. The US has more casualties from society than I have seen anywhere. It is clear that there’s not much in the way of a safety net in US society. Some figures should put things in perspective. More than 15% of the population live in poverty (that’s nearly 50m people). For the black population that reads 27%. One in four children is reliant on food stamps to eat. On an observational basis, compared to the UK, there are huge numbers of homeless people, and people who clearly have mental health issues at large in society. I am regularly served by staff who are clearly long past retirement age, people often try to sell me stuff in the street – papers, subscriptions, CDs. All of these people are trying to earn a buck, because if they don’t have money, or if they can’t take care of themselves, it must be their fault, right?

One spin off from this is that a lot more people volunteer and donate to charity than in the UK. I’ve found myself giving out more cash than I usually would, and to all sorts of people. In New Orleans I walked past a tent city every day under the Freeway on the way into the centre – nobody ever asked me for money. On the final day, I saw two women taking food and drinks from a pick-up truck and patiently distributing them. Did they do this regularly? Yes. How did they pay for it? From donations to a church they attended. The land of the free, and the leaders of the free world has all sorts of striking examples of this. To hear students from relatively wealthy families talking with concern about future Medicare coverage at the age of 20 has to be one of the more depressing revelations of being here. Finally, tips. I’ve come to see tips as a form of Capitalist-sponsored begging. One of the students told me she gets paid $2.12 (about £1.60) per hour at a fast-food Mexican place, ‘but I can keep all of my tips.’ It is really frowned on to leave less than a 15% tip in the US, so essentially customers are paying employers a tax every time for the cost of their food and drink. No wonder it’s common to work two or three jobs in order to make ends meet.

Christmas is coming

Many people appear to have taken the opportunity of some days off to immediately put their Christmas decorations up the weekend after Thanksgiving. Given that there appears to be a competitive element to these decorations (a bit like it has become in the UK) this takes some serious work. I drove past one house that had at least 10 santas outside, and all of the assorted paraphernalia you’d expect. External lighting on a grand scale also appears to be a feature of the decs. I heard a great advert on the radio. You know how you’ve always wanted themed pyjamas for the festive season so that all the family can get in the Christmas mood? Sure you do! Well dear readers, pajamagram have got it covered, look no further.

One of the festive options from Pajamagram, called ‘Woodland Critters’. You can also choose ‘Charlie Brown/Snoopy’. Ainchall jes lookin’ too cute? I particularly like the way the children have been not-too-obviously photo-shopped in.

New Orleans

I must first of all admit that I have fallen a little bit in love with New Orleans. It has a deeply troubled history, and some really serious and disturbing issues, but I’m determined to start this post with the positives. Flying in over the delta with the sun glinting off the water is a magical experience. You suddenly feel that you are entering a different place, somewhere distinct and separate from the rest of the US. And that is what ‘Nawlins’ is. The Big Easy. The city where America comes to party (as opposed to gamble, which is Vegas). In other cities you can’t drink in the streets, here it is encouraged. Most bars have a ‘to-go bar’ – people come in and ask for a cocktail to go. It’s a bit confusing if you’re sitting at a bar watching the constant flow of people coming and going. The Mississippi river dominates the city, and what a vast confluence it is. The historical roots of the city ensures that it looks and feels markedly different from all of the other US cities I’ve visited in the last four months. The French originally ‘owned’ (or stole, from the Native Americans – of course) this part of the world. Hence ‘Louisiana’ (after King Louis the whateveritwas), New Orleans, and the state capitol Baton Rouge.

24-7 life in the Garden District

Culturally distinct

Not only is the city distinct in looks, it is distinct in terms of feel. One reason for that is that it has the highest percentage of people living in a US city who were born here. It also has the largest per capita black population of any city in the US. The two women I interview were both born here, and one has never left in her life (with the exception of being evacuated during Katrina, of which, more below). The type of language is different (probably a nod to the origins of Cajun and Creole roots in the city), and the delta accent is very pronounced. It has a real 24/7 feel, in a way that Noo Yoik doesn’t, but purports to. I’m staying out in the ‘Garden District’, which feels again quite different from other parts of the city. Walking in at 8am on the first morning, about 1 mile out of the city, I run across a group of people drinking outside a bar (it’s Wednesday). They wave at me happily. ‘Having a good time?’ – ‘Yeah man’ – ‘Starting or finishing?’ – ‘Continuing man!’ Right, that all seems clear. Music comes from all sides, all over the city. The French quarter is what most tourists head for and there are a bewildering number of places to eat, drink and listen to music. Believe it or not, I am here for the big American Society of Criminology conference to give a talk. It’s set in the not-at-all-culturally-distinct Hilton hotel downtown – a vast behemoth dedicated to corporate capital. I also clap eyes on my book for the first time – the publisher has been kind enough to bring me a copy from the UK. Excuse me blowing my own trumpet – I head off for a celebratory drink in the French quarter.

Believe it or not, houses like this are ten a penny in the Garden District

Whilst at the bar, I notice an advert on TV. Readers, you’ll know by now of my fascination with the US mania for advertising prescription drugs. Thankfully, I watch this one with the sound off and a jazz band playing in the corner of the bar – I think it aids the message. Clearly it’s another brand of Viagra, or something for erectile dysfunction. I don’t catch the name, so I’m going to invent one. Let’s call it Hidraulyx. Scene one: attractive white middle aged couple on beach at night hugging near blazing open fire (can you see what they did there?) Scene two: Same couple, near huge open French windows with the wind billowing through gauzy-hangy things. The lady looks so happy and grateful! Shouldn’t the chap be feeling that? Confusing, I digress. Scene three: Same couple, in separate baths, looking through a big open picture window while holding hands. Who has separate baths, let alone ones that look out of picture windows? Anyway, it’s good to be clean. Americans also have a bit of a thing about perceived cleanliness. The supermarket I go to back in NC has wet wipes by the trollies, everywhere seems to have hand-sanitizers, and many people carry them around with them. Maybe it’s the result of being in such a heavily populated country. Or maybe they’ve got OCD.

Katrina

I’ve saved the worst for last. The impact of Hurricane Katrina on the city cannot be overstated. Parts of the city are still being rebuilt today, and there is a lot of unhappiness about what some of the locals call ‘ethnic cleansing’. This states that tens of thousands of black citizens who were evacuated have not been able to come back because rents have gone up, and the city is being gentrified in their absence to prevent their return. Years ago I watched, and cried (and raged) repeatedly, through the majestic four-hour documentary made by Spike Lee called ‘When the Levees Broke.’ If you can’t watch it all, try watching some – it’ll tell you all you need to know about citizens, the government, power and corruption. I will close by telling you one story from Katrina, told to me by Rebecca Glover about her nephew Henry Glover. On the third day of the disaster, Henry, his brother and friend went out to try and find water as the family had run out (as it had for tens of thousands of others). They had nearly run out of food and insulin (which their cousin needed). On a strip mall near their home, he was fatally shot by a police officer on a balcony a block and a half away who ‘feared for his life.’ The officer used his own private rifle with a telescopic sight, one that cost $5000 and had to be imported from Switzerland. The bullets were also special bullets that had to be imported from Europe.

Henry Glover, dumped in the car that police later set alight. This photo was taken by a press photographer and later used in the criminal trial against the officers involved

His colleagues then stole a car, put Henry’s body in the trunk, drove it onto a levee and set fire to it – claiming the death occurred in the chaos and confusion post-Katrina. Henry was identified using a DNA match from his son. His skull was never found. The Glover family are convinced the skull was kept as a trophy. The officer who shot Henry was sent to prison for 24 years, he appealed and was released after one year on a technicality. The officer who set the car alight was sent to prison for 17 years, but that was reduced to 11 years last month. The other three officers involved were found not guilty. The leading civil rights attorney in the city, an amazing woman called Mary Howell, told me that the mayor is now in prison, the police chief had a mental breakdown, and one-third of the police force deserted, never to return. Courts are still dealing with cases, including the infamous Danziger bridge case, which was just settled after 11 years. Mary reckons an untold, and untellable number of people were killed (by other people) in the aftermath of Katrina – it was a perfect time to settle scores.

Mary Howell: the leading civil rights attorney in New Orleans

 

 

 

 

Boston

My visit to Boston begins with a break in routine. In order to get a direct flight I go from Raleigh-Durham airport at ‘shit o’clock’ (quaint Danish phrase that nicely sums it up, I think). That means I stay over in a motel by the airport the night before. One of the things the US does really well is motels. I have been amused by the native’s reactions to me staying in motels (and have amused the natives in turn). They are horrified – why not stay in a hotel? One of the reasons is that hotels are incredibly expensive compared to Yoorp. As a rule you’d be struggling to get a bog standard hotel room for less than $200 in any city, let alone the bigger ones. My motel by the airport costs me $60. You have access to cheap laundry facilities, your own fridge and nuke oven – what’s not to like? The other reason I prefer them is that you actually get to talk to people. I meet my neighbours having a tab, one of them has a dog called Elvis.

Chance encounters

The US is a country of surprises. I wander over to the nearby gas station to buy a pack of beer, I have a bit of a chat with the guy behind the counter. Am I English, he asks? We introduce ourselves, he’s Adan from Guatemala. Can I ask you a question, he says – sure, of course. ‘Do you think there will be a war between Russia and the Ukraine?’ Well, I say, that’s a very good question, while thinking ‘this was not a question I expected to be asked by a Guatemalan in a gas station in nowheresville NC.’ We have a good chat about it, he wishes me a good night. I trudge back to the motel – Elvis has left the parking lot.

Motel chains I have known: Super 8, Motel 6, Extended Stay America

Peace and violence

I have been looking forward to visiting Boston (‘Bahwston’), and it doesn’t disappoint. Logan airport is by the water and it makes for a dramatic descent. It’s a brilliant bright sunny fall day. My first stop is Dorchester (‘Dawchestah’). It’s an interesting area. Boston has a huge Irish population, most of it is based in the south side (‘Southie’). The rest of it resides in Dorchester, side by side with a sizable black community. I walk past a corner store that’s just had a pallet of Guinness delivered, and have jerk chicken with rice and peas next door. It’s a nice reminder of my home city, a long way away across the ocean. I have an appointment with Clementina Chery, who runs the Louis D Brown Peace Institute. She set the organisation up after her son was killed in pointless violence. The organisation now supports families who’ve been affected by all types of violence. It’s the sort of set up that just humbles me, the sort of thing that society needs more of. The determination and spirit of the team that work in the centre is immense, and it needs to be with the challenges they face on a daily basis.

 

Clementina Chery: head of the Louis D Brown Peace Institute

I’m staying out at Fenway park, which is the home of the Boston Red Sox. It’s interesting to walk around it, especially given the Chicago Cubs have taken the world series (see a previous post). The area is also a major meat market, with gangs of both sexes out on the lash – it’s all a bit like the Skydome, but with different accents. My interview the next day is in Roxbury. Similar to my trips to New York and Chicago, this is an area that tourists don’t know exist. Walking through it I am struck by the number of ‘do not loiter’ and ‘do not trespass’ signs. But who would loiter or trespass here? Every store has advertisements for what sort of food stamps it will accept. I don’t take any photos as I don’t want to draw any more attention to myself than I already have as a tall, bald white man. Once again, I am surprised by the library I turn up at which is state of the art: sparkling glass and stainless steel. The US library system scores big again.

My final interview is downtown on the ‘North Side’ at the offices of Howard Friedman, a civil rights attorney who does incredible work. Afterwards, I have a number of hours left before I head for Logan airport. The older parts of Boston are beautiful – it is a handsome city, and the Yoorpean influence is obvious. For readers not cognisant of the relevance of the city to the UK, the Pilgrim fathers landed not too far away, hence the significance of Harvard university, which was set up in the image of Oxbridge. In particular, I want to go and look at the statue of John Winthrop. Winthrop is sometimes highlighted as the father of American exceptionalism, something I said I would come back to. Dear readers, in the aftermath of the Trumpster as Prez, I think it’s time.

Winthrop is credited with a speech in the 1620s that proclaimed: ‘We must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us.’ This was to be the promise of the new world. Today, we tend to forget the focus of the ‘new world’ in a literal sense. America was to be everything the old world was not. It would shake free the shackles of class and destroy feudalism, it would open up opportunity to the hard-working and give land to the poor. The idea of exceptionalism took root in these beginnings. Much has been written on it, I will try to sum it up here.

America became seen as the chosen country, and thus it’s citizens were chosen people. This was reinforced by religious freedom (another reason to flee the old world), but religion also became a significant marker for being considered a ‘proper’ citizen. The legacy of this remains, for the US population, but also the rest of the world which is considered to be less important, less virtuous and less principled. Centuries of slavery were ignored, presumably because the slaves weren’t chosen people but were instead chosen to help those exceptional people get rich. The genocide of Native Americans is overlooked, after they helped Winthrop and Co avoid starvation in some of the early winters. Perhaps they weren’t exceptional and had the odd idea that particular groups weren’t more special than others, and that we all had to live in the world and be its guardians? To refer back to previous posts, the battles rage on in North Dakota over the pipeline. The Chosen People have decided to elect Mr Trump to make them great again, but what will the cost of that be to everyone else, and ultimately, to themselves? My next post from the land of the free will be from New Orleans.

 

 

 

Election

Brexit, part 2?

Well, dear readers, it seems that the US and the UK are more alike than we thought. I appear to have left the UK in the middle of an existential crisis only to be confronted by another one in the US as it undergoes post-election trauma (or at least half of it does). In what seems to be a reprise of Brexit, the US has chosen the Trumpster for president. Similar to Brexit because it’s seen as a rejection of the established order in favour of a ‘new broom’. One of Trump’s constant exhortations at his rallies has been: ‘we’re gonna drain the swamp’ – the swamp being portrayed as the ‘dirty’ elites in Washington DC. Similar to Brexit because all the polls got their projections wrong, and the Republicans predicted this would be the case in the run in to election-day. Similar to Brexit because the US has chosen to look in on itself rather than out to the world, just like the UK did.

Sign outside pub in London before the election

The wrong sort of democracy?

But that’s democracy, we can hardly complain it’s the ‘wrong sort of democracy’. There has to be an attempt to understand how and why this result occurred. I’ve had a lot of emails from friends and family totally confused in the last few weeks. They ask: what about his comments about women, about immigrants, about ethnic minorities? What about the fact that he comprehensively lost all three televised debates? What about his dodgy business practices and his pride in tax evasion? Much has been written about the fact that this election has been about who you don’t want as president, rather than who you do. Therefore, I think it’s important to consider this observation first.

Photo taken in Chicago at the weekend. It now seems Hillary Clinton might be in the dock as a result of Trump’s victory

A lot has been made of the fact that much of the criticism of Hillary Clinton was based on her gender, and that many of the attacks on her wouldn’t have happened to a male candidate. There’s something in this, but I think it’s difficult to explain how disliked Clinton is in the US without actually being here. Many Democrats find it difficult to support her. Trump pounding away on the: ‘you’ve been in government 30 years, and look what’s happened’ line clearly struck a major chord in the country, particularly in rural and ‘small town’ America. Then there’s the general perception that she’s not trustworthy – also something a lot of Democrats feel, not least because it was felt she tricked Bernie Sanders out of the nomination. This being the case, even active Democrat supporters are ambivalent about her as a candidate. It’s not a good start point from which one tries to win a campaign.

Staying on message: understanding Trump’s appeal

Looking back over my notes I can see how my views about Trump’s chances have oscillated since being in the US. In July, I thought it was possible that Trump could win. Towards late August and early September it looked like he’d blown it. Then he rallied, then the televised debates apparently showed that he’d tanked. By late October he was back on message, reading from a teleprompter, not tweeting crazy things, free from the inconvenience of televised debates and able to charge around all over the country firing up his supporters. He has stuck to a simple message and repeated it over and over. Issue one: jobs must come back to the US and the country must rip up/renegotiate it’s trade treaties to support home grown jobs, particularly in ‘traditional communities’. This explains Trump taking traditionally core Democrat states such as Michigan and Wisconsin, where these jobs have migrated.

Issue two: the US has to hold back the ‘tide’ of immigration. This is seen as code for the white community being under ‘threat’ of being a minority in ‘their own’ country. If you live in Iowa, Nebraska or Kansas, this is a scary thought. If you live in Miami, Los Angeles, Milwaukee or Charlotte this has already happened, and you just shrug your shoulders. This also explains why major cities voted Democrat but the same state voted overall Republican – rural and ‘small town’ America heard Trump’s message loud and clear and turned out in higher numbers than in 2012 and 2008. Issue three: law and order is a major problem, particularly in cities, and he wants to ‘get tough’ and ‘crack down’ on it. The third message dovetails with the second: cities are out of control, and that’s partly because they’re not as ‘American’ as the rest of this great nation.

These are the central planks of Trump’s success: Clinton not being an attractive candidate, and his three oft-repeated messages. Also similar to Brexit, no-one seems to know anyone who voted Trump. This seems to underline the split between communities in the US. In US history, this group is sometimes called ‘the silent majority’, and one of the reasons why Republican activists were sure they’d win in the days running up to the election; everything they were hearing on the ground didn’t tally with what the pollsters were saying. It was described as the ‘leaners’ – people who lean in close to you and murmur ‘I think I might vote Trump.’

The new leader of the free world

In an election characterised by the question ‘who don’t I want to be president?’; rather than ‘who do I want to be president?’ it seems the winner may be handed a poisoned chalice when it comes to actually trying to run the country after such a toxic campaign. Whatever the election result, it might be that the United States is the ultimate loser in this election.

 

Denver (Guest Post)

Guest post

I was lucky enough to spend my time in Chicago with one of my best friends, Todd. He offered to write a guest blog on Denver, and introduces himself here: I have known David since 1999 when we were both studying with the Open University while living in Copenhagen. He was studying criminology and I sociology. We have managed to have fun on a number of continents and remained like brothers since. Thus I am honoured to write a guest post on David’s blog. As if by some sort of cosmic destiny, the stars aligned for me to conduct research in the US at the same time as David in a similarly topical, if slightly less gruesome, subject matter. I am currently a PhD student, my thesis is a multi-sourced investigation into issues arising from the implementation of the recreational cannabis market in Colorado. I have been published in international journals and presented at international conferences on drug policy and will speak on cannabis at the first annual Institute of Cannabis Research Conference at the University of Colorado Pueblo next year. It is a week before California and other states will vote on similar ballot measures in what David has described as a toxic political environment. I am in town to attend the Denver Marijuana Management Symposium, Cannabis Growers Expo and interview senior cannabis regulators and industry leaders including Jorge Cervantes, the legendary cannabis grower who gets mobbed by his fans after a presentation. So I have a kind of unique perspective to offer on a visit to Denver.

You’re in Broncos Country

Locals will be quick to tell you that while cannabis is part of the State’s history, it does not define the state. To get my foot in the door I decided to experience Denver for itself. That starts and finishes with a game at Mile High Stadium in “Broncos Country”.  I ended up getting a lift to the game by some Broncos fans staying at the hotel. I had intended on using Duber (its like Uber but for Doobie smokers) but that had fallen through.  They were military and offered some unique insights into some of David’s themes – militarism and US exceptionalism. I had been aware of a base in Colorado Springs but apparently there are decent numbers in Denver as well. I assume it is something to do with the altitude that offers a strategic advantage although David, with his sniper gene, would probably be better positioned to make a judgement on that. Of course their truck was an enormous monstrosity, it is the Coloradan way.  After some consultation David thought the edgier contents of those conversations breached the publishing guidelines of this platform so the details are not the story here. It is the pattern of getting pleasure from killing people, it is about racial prejudice and it is about extreme misogyny. It reminded me of last time I was in Denver at a night club when an attendee said he wanted to rape some girl there, and having seen my face, followed up with “only joking I didn’t really mean it”. However, to emphasise that no one fits neatly into any sort of box, these gentlemen were also kind and proud and very helpful to me. I did wonder if they would have been so magnanimous had my skin been a different colour. You didn’t need psychic powers to guess who they would be voting for in the forthcoming election.

An essential pregame ritual in Denver is tailgating – no not following too closely behind a car, but consuming copious amounts of beer in the car park before an event. For me, I decided on some of Snoop Dog’s line of cannabis infused chocolate to assist in reaching a euphoric state although in truth a corpse could probably rouse herself in that environment. Talking of beer, cannabis and Colorado I was reminded of some of the discussion points in the academic literature regarding cannabis and alcohol being complements or substitutes, that is, if people smoked cannabis would they do so instead of alcohol or together with, and in what ratios. Several studies indicate that while cannabis consumed independently is less harmful than alcohol consumption, combining both substances into a session can have worse impacts. Until recently I hadn’t been aware of the significance of the craft beer industry in Colorado, or the royalty status offered Coors brewery, so it is a point I imagine alcohol companies considered at length as to whether to support or oppose cannabis legalisation.

They need not have worried and my reasoning reverts to one of man’s primal needs – thirst. Given Colorado has a very dry climate, beer is a commodity that is always going to be in high demand. Add to that “cotton mouth”, a common side effect of consuming cannabis and you have an almost perfect synergy of vertical integration. It’s so perfect in fact that one is drawn to contemplate conspiracy, especially when one considers the Governor’s background in breweries. Connect those dots … Indeed, statistics show alcohol sales increased in Colorado last year however the sample period also includes the Broncos winning Super Bowl 50 so that could well be a confounding factor in my admittedly not very scientific theory. Regardless, a clear observation has been a certain amount of lizard tonguery or should that be tongued lizardry?

I have been saturated by information on cannabis from insightful chats, conference presentations, inspections of industrial facilities, Uber drivers and the general openness of those involved to pass on their extensive knowledge through to personal experiments. Clearly there are a lot of smart people in the game however there is still lots of guesswork going on. Strain names and genetics are particularly hazy on credible documentation. Labelling is inconsistent and containing dubious information, while testing for both potency and contamination require highly complex sets of analytical procedures, that have yet to be standardised. Meanwhile, given the complicated steps involved in validation of cannabis testing methodologies, there is little incentive to refine or improve processes.

Strain review – Jesus OG (veritas)

Bought from Peak Dispensary on Broadway in Denver. For detailed product information see image below – as you will note many contaminants are listed.

Strain was purchased on the advice of the bud tender/ health adviser to assist with sleep disorder. I had been diagnosed previously and offered prescription sleeping pills to address the issue – something that, due to fears of addiction, I was keen to avoid. The bud tenders said it was named because after you smoke it you wake up the next morning and say “Jesus what happened last night.” I had also told them I wanted a variety that didn’t make me feel groggy the next day, usually known as the stoners hang over. I was assured Jesus OG would make me wake feeling rested and energetic.

Cannabis consists of approximately 100 cannabinoids and hundreds of compounds. Little remains known about how these cannabinoids act either independently or in unison (known as the entourage effect). One such cannabinioid, cannabinol (CBN) has been claimed, at least anecdotally, to have a sedative effect and be particularly suitable for those with sleep disorders. However I did not manage to locate any dispensary that offered a product with CBN on the label. Indeed as can be seen, only two cannabinoids are listed with THC clearly dominant at 27%. Most people consider THC to be the component that correlates to disco time and 27% is an extremely high reading for flower (as opposed to concentrates). Some of the nuances on how to read a lab label can be found here.

Predominantly an Indica strain (often associated with “couch lock”), the bud itself from the container was dense, covered in crystals and very smelly – all normally excellent signs. When reviewing different varieties of cannabis it is important to try and remain as consistent as possible with baseline metrics. Ensure that dosage is the same, take note of whether before or after food, mood, and hoped for result of the medication. As mentioned, in my case it is the moderate to severe insomnia that requires treatment. The result? Yeah sure it knocked me out but I have never had trouble falling asleep, my issue is about waking up a few hours later and not being able to get back to sleep.  In this regard the strain, disappointingly, did not achieve the hoped for results. Perhaps if I had re-medicated in the middle of the night I might have gone back to sleep but I am not looking for a medicine that requires a 3.00 am dosing. Again, a more consistent baseline would have been if the experiment was undertaken in my own bed under more familiar conditions.

A homeless problem

The publisher guidelines for this piece hover around the 1100 word mark, and I have already exceeded that and tried to wedge a few more in via the author bio so there is much to tell and so little time to tell it. However there is one more theme I specifically wanted to touch on as I think it relates to some of David’s overall observations – homelessness. This is one of the issues that has been getting coverage in the context of marijuana laws in Colorado. Many people are quick to point to legal cannabis being a driver behind the large number of homeless people in the city. Others contend this was already an issue with the overall numbers down over the last 10 years. As always accurate data is needed and hard to come across, that is just a fact of any research involving homelessness. So the issue was on my radar before I hit town and I was curious to make any observations. Certainly I saw 3 or 4 large homeless communities in and around the city. I didn’t speak to any homeless people, although I did give $5 to the guy below in exchange for a photo.

The Colorado Coalition for the homeless  established in 1984 would be a great place to start looking, however I unfortunately just ran out of time on this trip to follow that through. Undoubtedly this is another issue that includes what I think David called intersectionality, where multiple complex fields cross over. It is therefore simplistic to just blame cannabis, however we should be equally cautious of findings that singularly discount the plant as being relevant. Even just the obvious impacts of increased real  estate prices in Denver can in part trace themselves to the cash only cannabis industry and necessity for warehouse space. So that is my 2 cents worth on this matter, certainly some food for thought I hope.

So remember, Denver is not defined by pot although legal access is certainly a nice to have for a city when planning a vacation. Surveys by tourism offices demonstrate that travel to Colorado is still dominated by skiing visitors from out of state, however for the first time they are acknowledging cannabis. The Breckenridge region for example has a policy not to advertise cannabis activity but not to shy away from it if asked. It does not take a huge leap of imagination to envision a relationship of sorts between the snowboarding community for example and cannabis. But make sure to also enjoy the city for itself. Must do events include a Broncos game, a concert at Red Rocks, stand up comedy and craft beer (but those stories will have to wait for another time). If you are looking for the hard core nature experience you will need to venture a bit further from Denver into the mountains, so I will add that to my list for next time I visit Colorado.