By PETER MOLENAAR
Smith Foundry,
November 10, 2023:
Joe Vital of the East Phillips Neighborhood Institute had alerted me to a 5:00 pm rally at the front entrance to my place of longtime employment. Yes, I too was appalled that federal inspectors had seemingly been compelled to intervene after years of disrespect leveled at our community by the state agency (MPCA). I would enter the scene with mixed emotions and some trepidation.
Note:
The splendid rally was, in no small measure, the handiwork of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization. FRSO has been at odds with the CPUSA (Community Party of the USA)for many years. However, they mostly greeted me with warm affection. So, perhaps there is hope.
As it happened, I asserted myself and the gatekeeper to the speaker’s list gave me a pass. My co-workers were to be commended for having sacrificed their health and longevity for the sake of their families. On the other hand, nobody has the right to diminish the development of children born to this community.
I closed by confessing that, years ago, I had made the molds for the giant drill bits, which are now again being deployed in Minnesota’s boundary waters to determine the range of copper/nickel deposits there. Indeed, for the sake of profit, Smith Foundry is willing to diminish the health and longevity of our Mother Earth.
Meanwhile…
Ponder the emotion of Palestinian mothers who can not reach their babies beneath the rubble.
Peter Molenaar advocates a broad united-front, even as he describes socialism as the future solution.
