...Hopes for change live on.
***
News that Kathy Boudin has passed away brought the mixed legacy of the 1960s generation of political radicals back into sharp focus for me. Boudin and her husband David Gilbert were Weather Underground activists who went to prison for their roles as getaway drivers in a botched 1981 Brinks robbery in which two guards were killed.
News reports indicated that she died of cancer shortly after visiting San Francisco, where her son, Chesa Boudin, is the progressive District Attorney. He is facing a difficult recall election in June. He has often explained that his commitment to reform of the criminal justice system is partly based on the experience of growing up with both of his birth parents in prison.
Instead, he was raised by their friends, W.U. leaders Bill Ayres and Bernardine Dohrn.
After being released from jail in 2003, Kathy Boudin became an adjunct professor in the social work school at Columbia University in New York City.
Gilbert was finally paroled just last year.
Meanwhile, the recall drive against Chesa Boudin is largely funded by wealthy right-wing donors who oppose his progressive policies. During his two years in office, he has made diversion of those guilty of minor crimes a priority and has taken other positive steps to reform the criminal justice system.
Very few people in the civil rights/anti-war circles I met supported the violent policies of his parents or the Weather Underground. But the great majority felt and still feel that the injustices of racism, war, poverty, and inequality need to be addressed and eradicated.
His parents tried to tear down the system with violence. They failed. Their son is trying to peacefully reform the system from the inside and facing long odds.
While the legacy of his parents is decidedly mixed, the commitment of their son is to be admired. Hopefully in his lifetime he will succeed.
But for that, it is going to take the rest of us.
Today’s News (33):
Evolution Didn’t Wire Us for Eight Hours of Sleep — Chimps sleep nine hours a night. Cotton-top tamarins sleep about 13. What happened to humans? (Atlantic)
The long and gruesome history of people trying to live forever (WP)
Kremlin Deploys New Troops to Ukraine as Both Sides Gird for a War of Attrition (NYT)
Russia struggles under unprecedented wave of hacking, puncturing myth of its cyber-superiority (WP)
Russia does not consider itself at war with NATO, blames Kyiv for talks deadlock (Reuters)
Ex-NATO commander: Loss of top Russian officers amid invasion unprecedented in modern history (The Hill)
Pelosi, in surprise Kyiv trip, vows U.S. support ‘until the fight is done’ (WP)
VIDEO: House Passes Bill to Allow Lending Arms to Ukraine (AP)
More than 50 freed as UN confirms Mariupol steelworks evacuation (Guardian)
Evacuations from Mariupol plant begin as shelling in east continues (WP)
Ukrainian Official Outlines Intentional Ambiguity on Strikes Inside Russia (NYT)
In Kharkiv, a 24-hour shift with paramedics amid Russian shelling (WP)
‘I Lost Everything’: Pakistani Airstrikes Escalate Conflict on Afghan Border
— The airstrikes killed at least 45 people, stoking fears of a violent resurgence of the conflict in eastern Afghanistan, which has become a base for Pakistani militants. (NYT)
As the Afghan economy crumbles, small businesses struggle to hang on (WP)
US holds high-level talks with UK over China threat to Taiwan (Financial Times)
Only 15% of Eligible Californians Have Received Second COVID-19 Booster (SFist)
COVID's new Omicron sub-lineages can dodge immunity from past infection, study says (Reuters)
Florida lost 70,000 people to Covid. It’s still not prepared for the next wave. (Politico)
Evidence mounts of GOP involvement in Trump election schemes (AP)
The 10 Senate seats most likely to flip in 2022 (CNN)
How a billionaires boys’ club came to dominate the public square (WP)
China meets banks to discuss protecting assets from US sanctions (Financial Times)
Rare Black Moon solar eclipse takes bite out of sun over South America (Space.com)
Long-awaited accelerator ready to explore origins of elements (Nature)
The origin of life on Earth: Life may not have originated on our planet (WION)
Judds, Ray Charles to be inducted into Country Hall of Fame (AP)
Kathy Boudin, Radical Imprisoned in a Fatal Robbery, Dies at 78 (SFC)
Study Finds Chimpanzees Only Other Animal Capable Of Keeping Lid On Friend’s Affair (The Onion)
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