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The Cooper Point Journal (May 02, 2018)
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2 May 2018
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the cooper point journal
The Evergreen State College Newspaper Since 1971| May 2, 2018
“NO WRONGDOING”
OFFICIAL REPORT DECREES IN
CASE OF VANEESA HOPSON
4
CHARGES FOR LAST MAY DAY
JUST IN TIME FOR MAY 1, 4 of 9
ARRESTED FACE MISDEMENORS
5
THIS WEEK IN LIT + CRIT
TINDER: ANOTHER SHAPE OF
EMPTINESS
9
The Cooper Point Journal
STAFF
Editor-in-Chief
J a s m i n e K o z a k G i l roy
Business Manager
April Davidson
News Editor
Mason Soto
C o mm u n i t y E d i t o r
Georgie Hicks
A r t s & C u lt u r e E d i t o r
Sally Linn
Comics Editor
Morrissey Morrissey
By Mason Soto
Writers
S eb a s t ia n L o p e z
A b b e y M y r ic k
FROM THE ARCHIVES
Evergreen State College students frolicking with beer and ornages on a state santioned foray into nature,
CONTACT
O f f i ce
T h e E v e r g re e n S t a t e C o l l e g e
CA B 3 3 2
2 7 0 0 E v e r g re e n P k w y N W
O l y m p i a , WA
Email Us
cooperpointjournal@gmail.com
Call Us
(360) 328 1333
Visit Us
O u r We e k l y M e e t i n g
We d n e s d a y s a t 2 p. m .
C o ve r A r t B y
Andritta Bernstien
WWW.COOPERPOINTJOURNAL.COM
© 2018 the Cooper Point Journal
02 WWW.COOPERPOINTJOURNAL.COM
1977. Photographer unknown, courtesy of The Evergreen State College Archives.
HOW WE WORK
The Cooper Point Journal is produced by students at The Evergreen State College, with funding from student
fees and advertising from local businesses. The Journal is published for free every other Wednesday during the
school year and distributed throughout the Olympia area.
Our content is also available online at www.cooperpointjournal.com.
Our mission is to provide an outlet for student voices, and to inform and entertain the Evergreen community
and the Olympia-area more broadly, as well as to provide a platform for students to learn about operating a
news publication.
Our office is located on the third floor of the Campus Activities Building (CAB) at The Evergreen State
College in room 332 and we have open student meetings from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. every Wednesday. Come early
if you’d like to chat with the editor!
WORK FOR US
We accept submissions from any student at The Evergreen State College, and also from former students,
faculty, and staff. We also hire some students onto our staff, who write articles for each issue and receive a
learning stipend.
Have an exciting news topic? Know about some weird community happening? Enjoy that new hardcore
band? Come talk to us and write about it.
We will also consider submissions from non-Evergreen people, particularly if they have special knowledge on
the topic. We prioritize current student content first, followed by former students, faculty and staff, and then
general community submissions. Within that, we prioritize content related to Evergreen first, followed by
Olympia, the state of Washington, the Pacific Northwest, etc.
To submit an article, reach us at cooperpointjournal@gmail.com.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
We want to hear from you! If you have an opinion on anything we’ve reported in the paper, or goings-on in
Olympia or at Evergreen, drop us a line with a paragraph or two (100 - 300 words) for us to publish in the
paper. Make sure to include your full name, and your relationship to the college—are you a student, staff,
graduate, community member, etc. We reserve the right to edit anything submitted to us before publishing,
but we’ll do our best to consult with you about any major changes.
News
.
“MARCH FOR
OUR RIGHTS”
2,500 PRO-GUN ACTIVISTS GATHER
ON CAPITOL BUILDING LAWN TO
COUNTER PUSH FOR GUN CONTROL
By Mason Soto, Georgie Hicks, and Jasmine Kozak- Gilroy
2,500 people gathered on the Capitol steps. ALL PHOTOS J.KOZAK GILROY.
On April 21, gun-rights
activists gathered at the Washington State Capitol for an
event they called “March for
Our Rights”, rallying on the
grounds and steps of the Legislative Building, the majority sporting pistols, rifles, and
shotguns strapped to their
backs and waists. The event
follows “March for Our Lives”,
a national campaign organized
by students and activists who
want to change gun policies in
reaction to school shootings.
The Olympia event appears to
be a part of a larger network of
March For Our Rights events
being organized across the
country with financial help
from an organization of the
same name which identifies itself as, “students defending the
2nd amendment”. Among the
crowd of around 2,500 people,
some wore quasi-military gear
and armor, wielding flags and
signs for different libertarian
and far-right groups. “Don’t
Tread On Me” flags flew
among the countless U.S. flags,
and several flags from the extreme anti-government organization The Three Percenters,
who militantly oppose gun
laws and claim infringement
of constitutional rights. The
Three Percenters have gained
infamy for serving as volunteer
security details for far- right
and “alt-right” events. Other
signs bore slogans like “Ameri-
can By Birth… Gun Owner By
Choice”and “Guns Save Lives”.
Eighteen individuals spoke
to the roaring crowd, many of
whom were veterans or running for either local, state, or
federal office. The founder of
Patriot Prayer, a far-right “free
speech” advocacy group, and
U.S. Senate candidate Joey
Gibson opened his speech
with a nod to the Proud Boys,
an organization designated
by the Southern Poverty Law
Center as a hate group. A
loose network of local organizations originally started by
Vice Media founder Gavin
McInnes, The Proud Boys espouse “Western Chauvinist”
ideals and the Pacific North-
Armed protestors wandering towards the counter protestor area with several flags, one sporting a black hankerchief in his left pocket.
west chapter membership is
widely known to feature heavy
crossover with Patriot Prayer.
Gibson shouted out into the
audience, “How many Proud
Boys in the crowd today?”,
and was met with screams
and applause from the crowd.
Continuing, he said, “We
have an empire above us that
wants to brainwash you, that
wants to consistently steal from
you, steal from your family, take
from your community,” Gibson said. “They will brainwash
our youth to go out to march
to give up their own God-given rights. It is out of control.”
Jared Gavin Bonneau, a
citizen running as a candidate for Congress in the Fifth
District of Washington, wore
an AK-47 stropped across his
body as he delivered a speech.
On leftists who are aiming
for stricter gun laws, Bonneau
said, “They’re out there protesting the government to strip
their right away from them,”
later calling them “mentally
ill” and “crazies”. “We need to
go on the offensive, we need
to push back with everything
we got,” he continued. “We
don’t need more gun control, we need more freedom.”
Gibson concurred, saying,
“It’s time for those who believe
in freedom to be more aggressive… We don’t have to have
less freedoms in this country, we need more freedoms.”
The crowd featured dozens of “Don’t Tred on Me” flags alongside U.S. ones.
MAY 2, 2018 / THE COOPER POINT JOURNAL 03
News
Vaneesa Hopson pictured with her son. COURTESY OF HEATHER SNYDER.
EXECUTIVE
DIRECTOR OF PORT
OF OLYMPIA
OUSTED
FOLLOWING PORT DEMILITARIZATION
CONTRAVERSY, FOGGY
CIRCUMSTANCES LAND DIRECTOR
ON ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE
SHERIFF DECLARES NO
WRONG DOING IN DEATH
OF OLYMPIA WOMAN
NO CHARGES TO COME AGAINST POLICE AND
PARAMEDICS AFTER CHEMICAL RESTRAINT LED
TO DEATH OF LOCAL MOTHER
By Mason Soto
On February 7, Vaneesa Hopson roamed outside her apartment
building before dawn, barefoot,
searching for help, frantic and out
of her normal state. She pulled a
fire alarm, and a neighbor called
the police. Within hours, she was
handcuffed and held down on
her cement parking lot by officers
from Olympia Police Department
(OPD), then sedated by paramedics with a class of drugs called
a “chemical restraint”. She would
lose her life as her body reacted to
the drugs authorities forced into
her. Two months later, a report
by the Thurston County Sheriff ’s
Office declared that no criminal
wrongdoing could be found by
either police or paramedics that
were involved in the incident.
Vaneesa was a 35 year-old
woman who worked as a nurse
before she moved to Olympia
in 2015. She lived at Evergreen
Vista Apartments with her eight
year-old son, and her family remembers her as a caretaker and
as someone who was trying to get
back on the right track. Her sister
Crystalyn Asbach lives in Centralia, and she has cared for her nephew since the tragedy happened.
Paramedics cited an official handbook titled Thurston
County Medic One Protocols
to justify their decision. An official from Medic One told the
Olympian that this incident did
not allow for a supervising physician to help make that decision.
The Sheriff Office’s report says
that Olympia police Sgt. Bryan
Houser told paramedics to sedate
Vaneesa to “prevent unnecessary
use of force” due to the “unusual
strength” that the victim apparently exhibited. A video shared on
Twitter by witnesses and neighbors show three officers huddled
over and surrounding Vanessa
who struggles as she is laid on
the cement driveway and kept
there, crying for help. The drug
administered goes by the name
Versed and is a form of midazolam, a benzodiazepine sedative.
Much of the research around
the use of chemical restraints
mainly discuss the advantages
and disadvantages of each drug. A
2004 study published in the Journal of the Society for Academic
Emergency Medicine states that
among other chemical restraints,
midazolam is preferred because of
how quickly it sedates and passes,
but most of the sedatives used in
these situations carry similar risks
in terms of things like interaction
with other drugs. More recently,
midazolam has come into the
national spotlight because of its
use during lethal injections for
prisoners on death row last year,
when prisons in Arkansas and
Oklahoma rushed through and
botched a series of executions.
04 WWW.COOPERPOINTJOURNAL.COM
Other information from a website
by and for medical professionals called Life In The Fast Lane
lists “medical instability” as one of
the indications that midazolam
should be avoided. Witnesses reported to police that they thought
she was on drugs, and hospital
tests from that night show some
levels of synthetic marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, and
ecstasy, of which interactions
with the administered drug are
under-researched. Issues of when
and how to restrain, and who has
the authority to restrain are at the
heart of dialogue going on since
Vaneesa’s death, as well as conversation about what social conditions allow for such a tragedy.
In Hopson’s wake, the community organized to bring to
light problems with policing, and
there were several public meetings revolving around police accountability and de-escalation
tactics. Her sister Crystalyn participated in a panel on alternatives to chemical restraints at Traditions Fair Trade on March 5,
along with other speakers affected
by the institutions that make up
policing and mental health care.
Folks shared a YouCaring fundraiser on social media to help
the family deal with memorial
costs, though at the time of writing this article only a small portion of the goal had been raised.
By Mason Soto
On Monday, April 23 the
Port of Olympia Commissioners placed Executive Director Ed
Galligan on administrative leave
after years of voices from the
community demanding change
and accountability over widespread controversy surrounding
military shipments and fracking sands coming through the
port, as well as public interrogations of Galligan’s particular
work by citizens and colleagues.
In their meeting that Monday, after discussion among the
three members of the Commission and Galligan in closed
chambers, Port Commissioner
and Evergreen Faculty Member
E.J. Zita called for the motion
to put Galligan on leave, and
the vote was unanimous. As the
Director steps down after thirteen years in the position, Airport Director Rudy Rudolph
will act as Interim Director.
Port Commissioner Joe
Downing said that it is “time
for change” in regard to why the
decision was made. Intentions
for what direction this change
will go were left unclear. The
Commission has had tensions
with Galligan over many things
in the past few years including
issues about his $151,000 salary, the use of the port for shipping fracking proppants, and
military cargo through the port.
The community has a long
history of resistance to certain
uses of the port, and direct actions have put pressure on the
city to make change. Protests in
2007 led by a coalition of groups
under the name Olympia Port
Militarization Resistance stood
out against military shipments,
and the protest blockades and
confrontation with police last-
ed 13 days. Earlier this year a
blockade on train tracks downtown aimed to stop the shipment of fracking proppants.
In 2016, Zita was part of a
dialogue that called out Galligan for falsely claiming that the
Port was not engaging in military cargo shipments for Joint
Base Lewis-McChord. Emails
between the two Port employees published on Zita’s Facebook that fall show how after
Zita asked about the possibility of military shipments and
whether it would take a public
records request for her to find
out, Galligan said that to his
knowledge there was no such
deal. Later, on social media and
at a public meeting Zita alleged
that Galligan did in fact know
about the plans with military
business and that he obstructed
his duties through withholding
that knowledge from the public. Other commissioners dissented. Zita also opposed the
pay raise he was given last year.
Last May, the Olympian
published an article discussing
how employees of the Port react
to criticism at public meetings
from the community, specifically with regard to fracking sands
and Galligan, and quotes from
the Commissioners exhibit a
belief that targeting individual
positions is disrespectful. In
this view, the Commission itself should be criticized, but as
Commissioner Bill McGregor
said, “no staff member should
be subject to any criticism.”
In the year since, it seems
the Commission has decided that ousting Galligan is a practical measure
the Port Authority needs.
Community
ILLUSTRATION BY MORRISSEY MORRISSEY.
Brietbart Covers
Day of Absence
By Georgie Hicks
On April 27, a flier containing details for a Day of Absence /
Day of Presence event at TESC
was picked up by far-right news
organization Breitbart. A community-run version of the event
is being held in response to the
official cancellation of the event
by the school. Breitbart’s article
opens with a quote by New York
Times columnist Bari Weiss
calling Day of Absence “a day
of racial segregation,” referencing controversy surrounding last
years event where, unlike other
years, white students and staff
were invited to voluntarily leave
campus to engage in anti-racist
workshops, instead of students
of color leaving campus as in
previous years.
The Brietbart article includes a screenshot of the flier,
which appears to have been taken from Instagram, as it appears
on Evergreen AlumBenjamin
Boyce’s Twitter. Boyce runs a
YouTube channel featuring videos with titles such as “Is Academic Feminism Literally Cancer”, and “Is Evergreen a Cult”
as well as hosting a section titled
“#ExposéEvergreen”, a riff on a
student activist hashtag started
last year during the spring protests.
People involved in past Day
of Absence events refute the
idea of it being a “day of racial
segregation” and assert that it
is a long-held tradition focused
on learning about race and antiracist ideology. In a recent interview with The Cooper Point
Journal about the schools decision to not hold an institutional
Day of Absence / Day of Presence President Bridges said last
years event was, “taken hostage
and held hostage by external
groups misrepresenting it and
then using, exploiting it, to advance their own causes” also saying that the choice to not hold
DOA/DOP is not the fault of
the event itself but that, “ it is
the fault of extremist groups using us, and I put the burden on
them.” The community-made
flier shows a pyramid with the
words Day of Absence on it, below which it says “decolonize/
deinstitutionalize” and “A day
for us, by us”.
FOUR OF NINE ARRESTED FACED WITH MISDEMEANORS
By Morrissey Morrissey
After almost a year, prosecutors have charged four of
the nine people arrested following the May Day protest in
Downtown Olympia in May
of 2017. The charges include
misdemeanor rioting, pedestrian obstruction, failure to disperse, and disorderly conduct.
One year ago, protesters in
Olympia gathered at Fourth
and Capitol to continue the
Pacific Northwest tradition of
May Day demonstrations. What
started as a stagnant gathering
of about 100 people, most of
whom wore facial coverings, developed into a night ending with
the arrest of nine protesters.
Protesters held signs with
slogans like “Delete the Port”,
“Burn Banks, Grow Gardens”
and one demonstrator with
food to share held a sign reading “snacks” with the “a” circled
to form an anarchy symbol. A
sound system was present and
according to some sources, there
was a general “festive mood”.
The group took to the streets
and marched eastward through
downtown chanting anti-racist
and anti-nationalist sentiments
in unison. The march came
to a stop at 4th and Jefferson.
Invigorated and emboldened by the then-recent November 2016 train blockade
at which locals delayed North
Dakota-bound oil fracking
sand from leaving the Port of
Olympia, the May Day protesters then began to build a
blockade with pallets drawn
from nearby alleyways onto
the tracks at 4th and Jefferson.
Soon after, a group of around
50 riot-gear clad cops gathered
and began to march, first west
on 5th and then east on 4th toward the newly erected blockade. Nine cops were reported to
be injured by flying rocks during
this movement. Cops proceeded
to fire concussion grenades and
pepper balls into the crowd.
Protesters with reinforced
banners held their ground for
some time and the march continued north, through the transit center and back to it’s point
of inception. In this time, the
windows of two downtown
banks and the downtown Star-
bucks were found to be shattered. Eventually, the crowd dispersed into many directions and
a number of protesters were arrested by local cops and held as a
group, face down on the cement.
One detainee sang loudly
and lively the Italian anti-fascist
hymn “Bella Ciao”, a song that
was created in the 1940’s and
sung by the Italian resistance
movement in the Italian civil war
and during the fascist German
occupation of Italy in World
War II. The song, which opens
with the lines “This morning I
awakened, Goodbye beautiful,
This morning I awakened, And
I found the invader”, has since
been held close as an anti-fascist
hymn of rebellion and freedom.
With May Day only a week
away, there is reason to believe
that the timing of the charges
is not coincidental. During the
hearing in which the terms of
release were set, the prosecutor
made a point to request that the
four protesters be served with
an exclusion order from downtown Olympia, stating that it is
“important because May Day is
coming up.” This request for an
exclusion order could very possibly be to deter further protests
this year, which would continue
the U.S. tradition of demonstrating on May 1, a day which
has been nicknamed May Day
or International Workers Day.
The day of demonstration
started in the 19th century as a
way to celebrate the efforts and
serve as a reminder of the worker’s right movement. May Day
started as an annual reminder
of the Haymarket Affair which
took place in Chicago in 1886
as a demonstration in solidarity with workers striking for an
eight-hour workday. After the
death of eight workers in Chicago at the hands of Chicago
Police, a demonstration which
started peacefully ended with
police confrontation and the
arrest and exceciution of eight
anarchists. Since then, anarchists and labor activists alike
have been gathering annually
to commemorate their deaths
and rally for workers rights.
MAY 2, 2018 / THE COOPER POINT JOURNAL 05
Arts & Culture
ANDRITTA
BERNSTEIN
artist interview
by april davidson
The first time I met Andritta was two years ago when we were in the
same program at Evergreen. We had both transferred in as Juniors, both
from Seattle, both wanting to do and study art. After our program together we went down our own creative paths, myself towards writing
and Andritta towards ceramics. For months now I’ve been watching
her Instagram stories with awe as they fill up with images of her clay
cups, vessels and urns. Most pieces are created to be useful, to hold things
(nourishment, remains) but is also carefully decorated in abstract marks
and shapes. Evidence of her experimentation is everywhere. Her works
cover a range of textures from smooth and curved, angled, glassy and
course. Where her work stays visually consistent is in her color choices
which are decidedly earthy. Murky and muted greens, pinks, browns
and off-whites swirl and crackle across the thick, opaque surfaces. On a
cloudy afternoon I met her in the ceramics studio on campus. She showed
me where she works while we talked about referencing the body, why
she’s not interested in showing her work in galleries and why process is
often more important (and more fun) than the final product.
06 WWW.COOPERPOINTJOURNAL.COM
Arts & Culture
So, I know you, you’re my friend and I already know that
your mom is an artist and also does clay work. Was clay
always your primary material? My mom draws and
when I was younger that was my introduction to art.
Well my mom did everything but my dad also did ceramics. When I was younger I was super into drawing,
painting and photography. Eventually I started making
jewelry and then I started playing with clay and making ceramic jewelry and that’s when I really got into it.
Last year you and I were in a theory heavy program
that focused on selection of materials. Describe your
draw towards clay, what kind of conceptual or intuitive attraction brought you to work with this material?
I really connected with the work of Anni Albers,
she is very process oriented and tactile. I think clay
speaks really perfectly to that. You have to prepare
your materials and think ahead. It’s not instantaneous and that’s what draws me to it. The finished
object isn’t necessarily what I’m in love with but just,
all the time I’ve spent making it. But there’s another
side to it, there’s that long process but it’s also really forgiving where something like metalworking
isn’t. [in metalworking] everything has to be cut perfectly and if you mess up you have to start all over
again. Whereas clay you can kind just squish it a
little more and then along the way all these amazing
things can happen like, oh I didn’t think about it that
way and now I have this amazing texture or shape.
That’s cool. How do you see yourself as an artist working in this very physical form when so much of consciousness is wrapped up in the virtual world?
I kind of see it as a refuge in that way. I get really
caught up in my media stuff but it’s becoming increasingly more abstract. I really hope to just continue to work with such a tactile material because of
how grounding it is. It’s not that media can’t be play-
ful but there’s just something so playful about making things with your hands. Looking at the world
through a social media perspective how constantly
looking at that fills you with anxieties about yourself. You can’t help but be comparing your work or
physical being to others and I think this material
gives you an opportunity to be separate from your
phone and be present with yourself, your own mind.
You’re working with a material that’s so physical
that you can only focus on your own sensations. Most
sculpture seems like a way of referencing the body.
You know, i’m actually struggling with that part of
what I’m making. I don’t really want to reference the
body. Sometimes when my works are interpreted
they’ll say, “oh this reminds me of the female form”.
But that’s not necessarily something i’ve been thinking about. One thing with my projects that I want to
achieve is to not be referencing...I don’t know I want
to a way to not reference anything that is recognizable.
Clay seems so much about physicality in the first place
but I totally get it. I hear what you’re saying about
like, okay just because I’m a woman artist and I’m
making these curved forms it’s like, “fuck you” can
people say something besides the fact that it’s feminine? (both laugh) I get the same kind of comments
about my work and it’s frustrating because it’s about
so much more, but I think in way those responses are
so indicative of what it feels like to be a woman (both
laugh). It’s like, cool you’re just seeing this nice curve
and you’re not seeing all the labor that goes into this
and all the other meanings like, carrying, holding and
preserving things. I also wonder about the body a lot
and how to talk about it without explicitly showing it.
That’s what i’m trying to figure out. I want to create like, future symbols. Maybe that sounds corny
but I love to imagine new visual languages that don’t
reference that the current symbolic order or selective history. In critique, if anyone uses something
that looks like any recognizable symbol there are
so many connotations about it....I just want to be
channeling a deeper sense of emotion rather than
literal messages. And I don’t think you can do that
by using a visual language that we currently have.
There’s definitely something important about developing your own language. It will be difficult for people to
understand, not everyone will want to learn your language but to create one for yourself anyway is satisfying.
I like thinking about my work not being able to be
interpreted. At the recent artist lecture with Rob
Rhee, he talked about how people really wanted
him to explain his work but he felt that his work
spoke for itself and that it was much more about
the process. So he decided to explain it through
the process of making it. That really spoke to me, it
made me feel empowered about not needing people
to interpret it as I thought of it while I was making it. I mean I’d prefer them to not interpret it in
certain ways (both laugh) but it’s out of my control.
What seems most important to you is the process of making, which is sometimes harder for a viewer to connect
to because they don’t see it, they’re not there. Unless you
know alot about the material it becomes difficult. People
who haven’t studied a lot of art still judge works of art
based on how skilled they perceive them to be. I think
that’s what gets frustrating for me. It’s great to be able
to feel like you don’t have to explain your work and that
goes back to what you were saying about usefulness.
Yeah exactly. For me, my goals are not about showing
my work in galleries or being on display like that. I want
it to be touched and more of a humbling experience.
Continued on page 11.
MAY 2, 2018 / THE COOPER POINT JOURNAL 07
Arts & Culture
Come cuddle up like this fruit. MONIKA10607, VIA PIXABAE.
&
UP
COMING
THU. MAY 3
Gallery Boom Fan Art Show
11 a.m., May 3 - May 15
Gallery Boom
SAT. MAY 5
Saturday Morning Cartoons (at
Night)
8:30 p.m.
Greener Organization
Grow Good GRuB Annual
Plant Sale
STUFF 2 DO
May 5 - May 11
GRuB
Goat Milking 101
9:30 a.m.
Lost Peacock Creamery
By Morrissey Morrissey
SUN. MAY 6
Maid Café Volunteer
Orientation
3 p.m.
Evergreen State College Library
TUES. MAY 8
“Gemini” Film Showing
7 p.m.
Capitol Theater
WED. MAY 9
David Archuleta
7:30 p.m.
Capitol Theater
THU. MAY 10
Healthy & Season Meal
Planning on a Budget
6 p.m
with Christy Goff at GRuB
FRI. MAY 12
No Child Wet Behind, Family
Fun & Run Festival
THURSDAY 5/3
SATURDAY 5/12
Gallery Boom Fan Art Show. 11 a.m. Free.
Le Voyeur. 10 p.m. $5-15.
I am very stoked on this art show. Or rather, the middleschooler that lives inside me like some sort of ghost or nesting
doll is super excited and hopeful that this fanart show has
some good-old-fashioned SasuNaru. What a throwback that
would be! From Thursday to Sunday this upcoming week,
Gallery Boom on Adams (under Planned Parenthood) will
be featuring local artists’ odes to their favorite media, from
movies to manga. You’ll even be able to vote for your favorite
pieces, although I’m unclear what they will win. According
to their Facebook event, locals are even encouraged to enter
art into the show. Guess that means I’ve got to get busy,
the phantom inside me which begs neverendingly for more
Naruto fanart ain’t gonna appease itself. And I might even
win a mystery prize! Cool.
It’s springtime now and you know what that means! Time
to be sweaty. But in a sexy way! Come to Le Voyeur on
Saturday, May 12 at 10 p.m. to dance in the weird, cramped
space of Le Voy’s oddly unventilated back room. DJ Real
Tree and Mezcla Profunda will be in charge of music
which leaves you free to dance hard, laugh a lot, live life
fully, pour an entire vodka tonic on your body, and make
out with a stranger. Now that’s what I call fun! Donations
will be being collected, so show up with at least $5 or risk
looking like Scrooge McDuck (the least sexy duck). Benefits go toward anti-SESTA/FOSTA action!
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Literature & Critique
Tinder: Another
shape of emptiness
by Grey
I had a Tinder for three days, two weeks
ago. I have three pictures of myself from
the last year and all three of them accept
my disgust with ease. They do not appear on my tinder that I no longer have.
Rather, I offer the shapes of who I was
before, up against a disgust that was before and is continuous. This has nothing
to do with the way that tinder holds me.
Or, it does and I don’t think about it; I
don’t think that things have the ability
to hold me. I was told to write the thing
that disgusts me and all I can wonder
is how does one really write themself ?
Up against an image we can no longer
look at that never actually exists? This is
not what I mean to say about tinder. Or,
it is and I don’t think about it. There is
one photo of me in a cafe I used to love
taken by a friend I also used to love, or
was once beginning to love and never
made it so far. If you could say that love
is a distance, objects on tinder are much
further away than they appear. Or, I tell
myself and I don’t think about it. There
is another picture with a friend who disappointed me, and I think I look cute.
Then I think about how disappointment
works, and I am looking at a picture of
myself again, and this is how tinder holds
me. Or, it doesn’t and I think about it. I
don’t know how to answer the rhetorical
statement “about me”, so I have someone else do it for me. Because it’s easier
that way, or maybe they’ll say something
nice and I’ll feel better even though it
isn’t honest. This is different than how
on okcupid I said I was practicing radical honesty. okcupid doesn’t hold me like
tinder holds me. Or it does, and I can
only think about it. “Looking for u know
who to do u know what u know where.
Gay corduroy cowboy.” This is about me,
and this is how I am held, and I don’t
know how to spell corduroy. Sometimes
I look at people and sometimes I look at
their pictures. Sometimes I decide who
they are and sometimes I decide I can’t
know them. Sometimes I decide I want
to know that I can’t know them. None of
these things make sense to me but I decide on them anyways. Or, I choose them
so that maybe they will choose me, re-
ciprocally. Or, this is what I like to think.
And then we found each other, or tinder held us in this way. And then I asked
him about which self was being held.
The real one or the third one, or how do
you know which one is real? And this is
how we held each other. Or, how he was
held in the way that space so often works
in one direction, on tinder. And, how I
was held in the way that space so often
works in one direction, on tinder. For two
days he didn’t respond. I wonder if this
meant that it was the self that wasn’t real.
How else could he tell me? Or, maybe
silence is the only way to communicate
what’s real. How else could he tell me?
These are questions I’ve never answered
because I never asked them. And then I
offered him someone else, someone who
might need him. And I continued into
silence, still wondering about the reality of our relation. Because I think that
things can’t hold me, and this is how tinder held me. And then I deleted my self,
or my fake self, or my third self, or my
reality. And this is how tinder holds me.
This space is the shape of a light that
comes from nowhere. There are shadows everywhere that resist the betrayal of their source. It is as if you
have told them not tell me, as if this
light was real and I must find it myself.
You are sitting. You are looking at
the shape of an openness, of something not yet filled. Or of something
else, as this space does not fit nicely
into a binary of potentials. Yet it subsists, in the sense that it subsumes.
When does it change?
When do you forget it?
I cannot conceive of it in moments; it subsists. One day it has color and the next day
it has color and the next day it has color,
and again. And always underneath it hides
its shades of grey in various intensities.
How
many
cups
of
coffee have you drank today? Do
you drink coffee? When is the last
time you waited in line? Do you wait
in lines? How many times have you
occupied a different space in the last
10 seconds? 10 minutes? 10 hours?
10 years? How does action inform silence? What is the sound of your echo?
Who are you?
There is only the moment when I notice it being noticed outside of myself.
The shape of an exterior sight outside
and among the translucency. This is continuous. This day it has color, and again.
When did you notice it last?
I think of color in the way that I think
of time. That what is understood about
it is outside of itself and what it is is
underneath itself. Both color and time
arrive within and outside of themselves. This is how language works.
How do you feel it in your body?
What do you do next?
And the next day it has color and the next
day it has color and the next day it has
color and the next day it has color and
the next day it has color, and again. And
the next day it has color and the next day
it has color and the next day it has color,
and again. And the next day it has color
and the next day it has color, and again.
And the next day it has color, and again.
And the next day, and again. And the next
day it has color in spite of this, and again.
***
This is the moment in which
I felt it
When did you notice it?
I conceive of emptiness in shades of grey—
in the sense that every thing is always
some sense of grey underneath the affect
of its offered color, underneath its unrequited vibrations. A surface echoes various intensities of key. All at once the walls
are black; this is an opaque oppression.
On a scale from one to ten how intense was
it?
Outside of doors and windows it is more
saturated. In the sense that I am no longer
inside of it but it is inside of everything
and I am inside of everything. The opacity
thins into inescapable translucency that
shows itself underneath itself, and again.
Do you notice it now?
ILLUSTRATION BY MORRISSEY MORRISSEY.
MAY 2, 2018 / THE COOPER POINT JOURNAL 09
Opinion
COMIX
Not a Comic Morrissey Morrissey
10 WWW.COOPERPOINTJOURNAL.COM
Shell Liuxing Jay
Opinion
RUBY THOMPSON.
Continued from page 7.
That’s great. I think It’s important
to think about where you want your
art to end up being. I’m into the fact
that it’s not about being in a gallery but wanting to exist in life.
Yes
you
put
that
perfectly.
To have my work exist in life.
There seems to be a structural quality about
the museum or gallery that prohibits people
from spending time with art works. When
you’re in that white cube it’s like, eternal death.
You can’t touch anything, you can’t sit
down, you just have to keep moving.
There’s never anywhere to sit!! (both laughing) You’re just, uncomfortable. There’s
nothing to eat, you can’t laugh, you can’t
have fun. It’s where objects go to die.
(Laughing)
yes!!
So do you see yourself making objects to sell? Or
less about putting them on the market and more
about exploring how people interact with them?
I plan on spending more time [with the material], I don’t want to say mastering but just really getting to know it a lot deeper. I would like
to make functional forms to sell but long term
I would like to be in a position to teach others how to work with clay. All my experiences
with clay and watching people who are working with it for the first time is just a wonderful
thing to observe. Because it’s so fun!! I would
love to be in a situation where i get to regularly
introduce people to the feeling that clay can
give. Until then I want to just continue to play.
It does some like what the process is about
is immersing yourself in an experience. It
seems like there are very few opportunities for people to engage in a physical activity that is non-threatening and joyful.
Absolutely. The first day in the studio we
made some pinch pots and every five minutes
we had to pass it off to the person next to us.
That was intense in the sense of like, “hey I
just made that and i’m connected to it and
and now I have to pass it over” but these forms
eventually evolved and I was just laughing.
Not everyone was laughing but I was having such a great time and I didn’t even really
expect to go to school and feel so silly. I expected to take the work very seriously. I’ll
never forget that day. I think of working with
clay as a kind of sharing rather than telling or asserting something on other people.
I like that, it’s about sharing and connecting
I
know
it’s
so
corny
No! It’s so sweet! Ok I’m trying to think
of what else, what other things should we
know about Dritta, that artist. Are you comfortable with being known as an artist?
Oh totally. With the development of this practice it has become part of my identity and for the
first time I feel like I can firmly say that I am an
artist. But maybe not in the institutional sense.
by April Davidson
ARIES 3/21 - 4/19
LEO 7/23 - 8/22
SAGITTARIUS 11/22- 12/21
TAURUS 4/20 - 5/20
VIRGO 8/23 - 9/22
CAPRICORN 12/22- 1/19
Whatever is going on in your social or private
life is making it hard to respond or even recognize your goals. You’ve a little stuck right
now but you haven’t gone off track yet. Don’t
let shared intimate or financial issues push you
to the point of saying too much, too soon. Try
to avoid talking right now, more is yet to be
revealed. Play your cards close, keep your head
down and focus on winning.
Money and self-esteem are in short supply right
now, probably due to some kind of restriction
that makes you hyper aware of what you don’t
have enough of. Miscommunication with partners can hurt but it isn’t necessarily a reason to
move on completely, there are probably some
expectations to manage. Rather than focus on
what’s lacking, try making the best of what you
have now.
GEMINI 5/21 - 6/20
There have been, or will be, some delays or disappointments in plans or efforts you’ve made
towards your social life. As you come up against
limits try not to take it personally, you still have
options. Someone you’ve been talking with has
been giving you inaccurate information. There’s
something behind the scenes that in your excited haste, wasn’t obvious. You’re going to want
to slow down and figure out what’s really going
on before you make a mistake.
CANCER 6/21 - 7/22
A hidden desire or project seems like it is in
conflict with partnership rules. Talk about it
with them first before you make assumptions,
adjustments could be possible. This will be the
only way to cut through any confusion, you
must speak plainly in order to find out what is
real. By giving your trust to another this way, by
providing your facts and reasons, you are moving towards self-sufficiency and pride in your
support systems.
Pressure from your obligations, duties or physical limitations is putting stress on your friendships or group associations. People will respect
you more for sticking to the rules/commitments
you’ve made, don’t worry so much about missing
out. If you’re feeling lonely and lost try opening
yourself to other options socially. It’s important
for you to take a step back before you trust plans
and promises, consider what’s going on at home
first.
Career options or your public image are more
limited than they might seem. You have a lot
more work to do in order for you to get what
you want. Exaggerated expectations or wishful
thinking will be the pitfall of your relationships
involving money or intimacy. Tune into the facts
rather than what you think might happen. Use
extra care when discussing issues of finance and
listen! Successful handling of the truth will enable you to make your dream real. t.
LIBRA 9/23 - 10/22
Your ability to explore new opportunities is
challenged by deep rooted issues from your past.
Adjustments must be made at the foundation
before you can begin to live your ideals. Carefully consider which bonds you can trust and
be open to something brand new. Don’t expect
things to be clarified any time soon but trust
that a satisfying conclusion involving intimacy
and security is on the way.
SCORPIO 10/23 - 11/21
Choices involving strict boundaries around
debts and bonds have been made that affect you
but are outside of your control, you must make
adjustments. Try aiming higher than before but
remember that your success depends on what
happens behind the scenes. Ask yourself if what
you thought you wanted is truly good for your
health. Personal growth requires challenge and
risk, it doesn’t always feel pleasurable or satisfying.
You’re spending too much money or energy on
all your cuties. Check yourself before the universe checks you. Your babes will still love you
whether you can take them out to brunch everyday. Consider that you cannot be truly generous
without taking care of yourself first. Your big
visions and plans match your big, beautiful feelings but you’d be more successful in expressing
them with words that are measured and specific
in the moment.
Routines have gotten harder to maintain. You
want more discipline but that might be a tall
order at the moment. Just pick the most sensible
option at any given moment and make it work.
In this way you might even find a new way
of doing things you never considered, including your attitude towards your home situation.
Place no rush or pressure on your domestic life
but there will be a culmination where you realize what is best for you personally.
AQUARIUS 1/20 - 2/18
Obscure fears or clandestine guilts are restricting your fun, creativity and ability to express
yourself. There’s a feeling of a hostile environment but ask yourself if navigating these restrictions is really your responsibility. Your ability to
keep things light and remain open to multiple
options will help you move through. All your
connections benefit greatly from the freaky
glow of your light.
PISCES 2/19 - 3/20
There will soon be a favorable announcement
about a travel, education or legal matters. Before you rush ahead with the big plans consider
how a relocation will truly affect you. Don’t act
on anything right away or invest a lot of money,
there will likely be other beneficial developments that could complicate matters. What’s
happening is a bigger issue around improving
daily routines, choose domestic options carefully.
I think some people steer clear of that word because of all the connotations that come along
with it which are very masculine and capitalist. But it’s hard to come up with a different word to describe that part of yourself.
I think of being an artist as having different ways of communicating, rather than verbally. I like to think of myself as an artist as
the way that I navigate through the world.
MAY 2, 2018 / THE COOPER POINT JOURNAL 11
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