I 'm sitting at Café Espresso in the Anchorage Building in San Francisco. The café mochas here are first rate. They serve them in a bolo glass with fresh whipped cream and they have just the right amount of Ghirardelli chocolate and the correct amount and strength of espresso all for four bucks. That may sound a little steep but remember you are in the heart of Fishermans Wharf.

Although the coffee here is excellent; the name of this establishment is not. Naming your cafe "Café Espresso" is like naming a grocery store, "Store Grocery." Perhaps the owner spent too much time thinking about his menu what type of glass to serve his drinks in. I imagine that he has a wife that he refers to as "wife," and a son, whom he and his wife call either "son" or "boy," which kind of reminds me of those old Tarzan movies.

Tarzan used the same system for naming; "Come here boy!" he would yell, and Boy would come. There are still a few Tarzans around.

* * * * * * * *

I have sired two boys. After last week's Live 8 Concerts they had lots of questions about Africa. We talked about the current situation Africa and how over 9,000 Africans die daily from starvation, malaria and AIDS.

The older one proudly displays his White "One" Band and even tried to get some to distribute at his school.

As an aspiring musician he wanted to know why Bono, a rock star, would be so concerned about Africa.

I told him it was a story at least 20 years old. We talked then I slapped in U2's film Rattle and Hum into the VCR and played him a couple of relevant songs from 1988.

Later he wanted me to explain Aparthied to him. It's a tough one to explain.

Two days later, I observed Conner, the elder, slashing away on his new Les Paul and inciting his younger brother Ian to play the crowd.

"Ian, you be the crowd," he said. "When I say APART - TIDES I want you to start yelling and go crazy, okay?"

"Okay," agreed the humble one.

Conner hit pretty close to the three-chord formula, paused, and then yelled "APART -TIDES!"

And of course, young Ian went crazy, yelling his fool head off. (Don't laugh. You did the same damn thing at the last concert you went to.)

It's hard ro comprehend or explain how insane the doctrine and practice of apartheid was.

The lesson is clear; every time we hear any word that supports or upholds racism, we should - all of us - yell, scream and go crazy until the damn thing stops and we can fall silent in thanks to God and man for its abolition.

* * * * * * * *

I wrote years ago about hearing my own name recited over and over and how it sounded strange, like something a tribal chief would say in a Tarzan movie - you know what I'm talking about - the tribal chief steps out of his hut, looks Tarzan in the eyes and says, "Oougon kai polo?"

"Me Tarzan! Let Jane and Boy go!" Tarzan says as the tribesmen hold him.

"AAAACCKK!!" screams the chief, "MAUG-UM MALROW!MAUG-UM MALROW!!"

The other tribesmen go apeshit over this, knowing that the chief has assigned Tarzan to certain death. The command "MAUG-UM MALROW," (as you may know) was the universal command for Tarzan to be taken away to the snake-pit, or tiger-pit, or whatever pit had not yet been used in a Tarzan film.

* * * * * * * *

Well, 20 years ago the Tarzan's were still in charge in South Africa, and they had built a tower named the Taal Monument. I saw a picture of it in The San Francisco Chronicle years ago. It looks like this:

The Taal Monument was built by the government of Pretoria to "honor" the Afrikaans language - the white man's language - the language they had hoped to make the universal language of South Africa.

Of course, at the time, the predominantly black-skinned population of South Africa resent this Babel-like monument. To many of them, the Afrikaans language is synonymous with Apartheid. They protest, and the Tarzans dig more holes and fill them with more Tribesmen and their children.

To the Tribesmen, the Taal Monument looks like this:

The resemblance is striking, don't you think?

Both of these symbols depict attempted unification gone bad. The former was very expensive, required lots of concrete and steel, and offends large sections of the populace. The latter can be formed with a human hand - free of charge - and can be used to salute other drivers on the road or can be saved for special occasions to add visual emphasis.

It doesn't offend as many people - probably because it's smaller.

* * * * * * * *

The attempt to enact one universal human language is really an attempt to have universal control over human life and thought. There are stories about towers similar to the Taal Monument going back as far as the book of Genesis. There, in the plain of Shinar, the people desired to "make a name" for themselves via one language and set about building a tower that would reach into heaven (Genesis, chapter 11). God was displeased and ended up confusing their language so that they couldn't communicate, scattering the little bastards all over the globe. Take that!

The Taal Monument is an answer to the question "Why did God do that?" The more I learn about language of men and the towers of men - the more I see how they almost always use them to destroy or control other men. God did them a big favor then and now.

Orwell's 1984, the selective rewriting of national histories, the potent Babel of the Ad-men on 5th Avenue, or the religio-speak of various sects, cults and fundamentalists are all the attempts of men to "make a name" for themselves - to reshape the human condition and the rest of the world in their image. Usually those who resist this imposed universal language (in whatever version it presents itself) are given a Taal Monument as a sign - or its equivalent.

In South Africa, those in power and weilding Apartheid had to be scattered and their babeling nonsense wiped away like the shit it was.

What should now be done with the Taal Monument?

I suggest tearing it down, or better yet, leave it up as a monument to human stupidity and cruelty. Only it should rigged so that all the exhibits should employ all eleven official languages of South Africa. And just for fun…they should all have those little "touch here to play narration" buttons so they can all go off at the same time.

Sometimes a little babel is a good thing.

*******

But back to the present.

A different type of Aparthied exists today. It's a larger and more subtle version and is world-wide. A continental problem has become a global one as Africa is, as some describe it, is "on fire", and as Bono and others point out, if it happened almost anywhere but Africa to dark-skinned people we would not allow it.

In other words it is still Aparthied, it's just inter-continetal now. It is politically, economically, and racially-based, just as the original doctrine was.

Therefore the African emergency is primarily an issue of JUSTICE not charity.

The problem is huge. I've read alot of criticism of Bono and Geldof recently and Live 8, mostly from pretty cynical folk. Being cynical myself, normally I'd join them except what they say is flatulence.

One guy said that the rock stars should just donate the money to save Africa. Problem solved.

Idiot.

He is comparing a bald tire with Texas.

Bono and Geldof have been consistent for twenty years in using brains, political saavy and celebrity to create awareness, political pressure and create VOICE all over the world for a dying continent. It was such pressure and the Live 8 concerts, marches, press, etc... that got the numbers for AID and debt relief kicked up as high as they became.

Without them can't you just see Dubya saying "We need to move past and beyond the Millenium agenda for Africa" ?

Which essentially means, we aren't gonna do shit because we need money for our wars.

"I'll send my wife to do a two hour 'fact-finding mission'" and show American compassion."

Which is comparing a silver tea spoon with Texas.

*******

So we are back at square one where we need to yell and scream at the top of our lungs (VOICE) whenever any form of APART-TIDES rears it's ugly and demonic head.

There was a lot of that going on at Live 8.

 

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