Why does universal health care scare so many otherwise rational people?

Why aren’t people more scared that the worker slapping the bun on their burger makes minimum wage, doesn’t have health insurance, and can’t afford to stay home from work when they have a cold or the flu?

Why don’t U.S. citizens feel they deserve healthcare, mandated maternity leave, universal childcare, free college tuition and a clean environment? These programs are routinely expected in most other developed countries. The U.S. is the outlier, with a small group of elites convincing the population that the necessities of life must be purchased in a market economy rather than part of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

People in the United States are comfortably sandwiched in between a friendly Canada, a (semi) friendly Mexico – despite President Donald Trump’s xenophobic attacks – and two massive non-hostile oceans on each side. The vast majority of residents speak just one language and have had only the limited option of choosing between the same two major political parties since 1864.

Monday, March 2, 2020, 7:00 PM
This award-winning documentary, executive produced by the Anthony Bourdain, aims to change the way people buy, cook, recycle, and eat food. Through the eyes of chef-heroes like Bourdain, Dan Barber, Mario Batali, Massimo Bottura, and Danny Bowien, audiences will see how the world’s most influential chefs make the most of every kind of food, transforming what most people consider scraps into incredible dishes that create a more secure food system. Location:  Drexel Theater, 2254 East Main St., Columbus 43209.  Sponsored by Green Bexley. 

What I loved about playwright Willard Manus’ Show Me a Hero is that it introduced me to Greek freedom fighter Alexandros Panagoulis, a significant historical figure I’d never heard of, and brought back to life the legendary journalist Oriana Fallaci, whom I was somewhat familiar with. The UK’s Independent dubbed her “arguably the most extraordinary journalist Italy has ever produced.” The fabled Fallaci (here called Luisa and played with feisty fire by Lisa Robins) joined the Italian anti-Mussolini resistance when she was only 14.

Presumably due to her early participation in the anti-fascist movement when the college dropout became a journalist Fallaci specialized in interviews with controversial political leaders, often revolutionaries like Vietnam’s Giap, Palestine’s Arafat, Libya’s Qaddafi and Cuba’s Fidel. She also interviewed reactionaries, such as mass murderer Henry Kissinger, who later rued their interaction. (Like Jared Kushner and Stephen Miller, Kissinger’s existential angst is that he wanted to be a Nazi - but was born a Jew.)

Thursday yet another mass shooting was committed by a military veteran, this one in Milwaukee. Virtually all military veterans are not mass shooters. Many peace activists are veterans. Many everything under the sun are veterans. But mass shooters are very disproportionately military veterans.

Some mass shooters who are not veterans are acting out a pretense of being in the military and/or are using military weapons. Militarism impacts a society in many ways. But one of them is through the violence of veterans, people who have been trained and conditioned to engage in violence but not always guided successfully into nonviolent post-military life.

Among males aged 18-59 in the United States, 15% are veterans.

Among male mass-shooters aged 18-59 in the United States, 36% are veterans.

A mass shooter is well over twice as likely to be a veteran.

Friday, February 28, 4-6pm
Community Grounds, 1134 Parsons
Join BQIC for our monthly community outreach program, Free Resource Fridays!
Free Resource Friday is a monthly, donation-based initiative to provide free resources like food, clothes, and hygiene items to folks living in predominantly Black, low income neighborhoods. On the last Friday of the month, volunteers distribute items, share information, and provide support for local communities in need.
All are welcome, but QTPOC take priority within the space.

If you'd like to support Free Resource Fridays by donating materials, or if you'd like to get involved by offering a skill-share, mini-workshop or educational class, contact us! We are always looking to foster and strengthen our partnerships in the Central Ohio community.

Location and times for goods drop-off TBD

If you would like to volunteer your time by passing out event flyers in the community, send us a message and we will get you added to the volunteer list! Stay posted here for more updates about group flyering days prior to the event.