‘Raise Your Voice’ Archives
My Sister’s Ghost
from the series Raise Your Voice By PETER MOLENAAR Peter Molenaar Home again from ponderosa pine and snow-covered peaks… Heidi Hernandez was an accomplished horsewoman who, for a living, scrubbed clean the places meant for tourists. Her children will carry forward her opposition to all forms of oppression. In her memory: If it is true (as some people say) that consciousness is a product of the evolution of matter. Then, let it be said that our Mother Earth gave birth to a splendid spirit… named Heidi! To the gathering she declared: those who vote for Little-Boy-man will receive visits from my ghost. Naturally, son Micah’s Latina child plays with daughter Laura’s Asian-Indian babies… and then there is Lani. Lani expresses an indigenous Hawaiian aspect, to which she has recently added expressions of significant affections for another female. Smile, please. Which reminds me that, a few years ago, the Steel Workers Union convened here. I wrote at the [...]
The F-word Matters!
from the series Raise Your Voice By PETER MOLENAAR Peter Molenaar Here the f-word refers to the potentiality for a home-brewed fascism, i.e., an open dictatorship of the most chauvinistic sector of our capitalist ruling-class. Note: the false patriotism fostered by these imperialists infects our national consciousness, while Zionism, the ideology of the Jewish ruling-class, infects Israel. Hey, Biden is an imperialist, but he isn’t a fascist! So, what is to be done in the electoral arena this time? Well, Biden’s refusal to negotiate with Russia, even as they amassed their troops, suggests what? To this we must add his vacillating complicity with Israel’s genocidal displacement campaign. Clearly then: WE CAN NOT ENDORSE HIM. Yet, the conversation is ongoing…. MN 350 (headquartered at 4407 E. Lake Street) recently posed the question to its membership. After elaborating my opposition to Biden’s imperialism, I railed against the one who sells playgrounds to [...]
Raise Your Voice: Babies of the World Unite!
By PETER MOLENAAR 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 [...]
