‘Raise Your Voice’ Archives
Time Won”'t Wait
By Peter Molenaar Gone is the brush pile which housed the winter”'s flock of sparrows. It was a cold day then. Does the city inspector harbor a mean spirit or merely a sense of duty? It is warm today. The sparrows are sampling freshly strewn seed. And so”¦ Will the Occupy Movement return as a visible hub around which broader movements revolve and develop? It depends. Occupy has yet to formally resolve its internal debate on the question of tactics. Should we publicly disavow actions of a provocative nature? Or should we consent to the concept “respect for diversity of tactics”? It would seem that common sense dictates two things. Don”'t pull stunts which satisfy the agents of reaction. Don”'t pull stunts which alienate potential allies. What then is the difficulty? “Respect for diversity” does have a nice ring to it and there are kind hearts among us who prefer to avoid [...]
Tough Love & Anarchists
by Peter Molenaar Just south of Lake Street and just west of Chicago Avenue, there appears to be a significant block of resistance to the home foreclosure crisis. Bobby Hull, Vietnam War vet and life-long worker, will not be moved. Quite right: face death, pay taxes, pay the Man, have your home equity stripped, bail out the banksters, and then face eviction. The Occupy Movement is now mobilized to defend the Hull family. Yes, folks, the Occupy forces have retreated from the downtown “Peoples”' Plaza”, but yet meet continuously, are active on many fronts, and will reclaim territory come spring. Blustery late afternoon, February 17th”¦ A celebratory street festival was under way in front of the Hull residence ”” such a fine sequence of Hip Hop artists and speakers it was. Excellent work, but here is the catch: In no small measure the event must be credited to young people who identify as “Anarchists”. Lucky for me, I tended an outdoor [...]
Smile Back Big Time
By Peter Molenaar January 14th, 2012”¦ Marv Davidov, the world-renowned activist who quietly resided at 2615 Park Avenue, has passed. All of us would do well to “google” his name. The numerous tributes are rich in content. Should you open “The Wild Reed” site you will find him pictured smiling from his death bed. Freedom Rides, 1961”¦ 40-plus days behind bars, “We were the first group of integrated prisoners in Mississippi prison history.” The freedom songs prevailed. This was the “moment of blessed human solidarity” which determined the remainder of his life. Sometime around 1970”¦ My small circle of student friends found itself among the many hundreds amassed outside the Honeywell (war) production facility. Marv Davidov stepped forward to proclaim: “Any person committing an act of property damage will be considered by the body of this gathering to be an agent provocateur.” I was deeply [...]
