Posts Tagged ‘Peter Molenaar’
Raise Your Voice:
Headstone Markers By PETER MOLENAAR Note: the stone for my own “resting place" has been chosen, hopefully ahead of time. December 30, 2021… Readers of the alley know Sue Hunter Weir is this neighborhood’s “master of cemetery.” It was at the American Swedish Institute’s open house that we chatted while tabling for the paper. She was stunned to learn from me that Lynne Mayo had passed away in September of 2020. I had only just recently come to know this myself… no thanks to COVID. It was via the 17th Avenue Community Garden that Lynne had become a “significant friend” some 20+ years ago. As life went on, geography and our common activism created occasional encounters, the last one taking place at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, a venue that day for a global warming protest. Why had she turned her head away? I realize now that a cancer was developing. Hey, I am grateful for the imperfections [...]
Raise Your Voice – Sitting Bull vs Jeff Bezos
By Peter Molenaar This parcel of territory, this domain of the Alley, if you will, has imprinted upon the writer’s mind since employment at Smith Foundry began in 1979. He was also, at that time, a volunteer at the Paul Robeson Marxist Bookstore, located in DinkyTown. A poster of the iconic Sitting Bull was prominent on the wall there. So then, I was pleasantly surprised to find Curt Brown’s MINNESOTA HISTORY article (Star Tribune, Sunday, December 12),: “Looking back on Sitting Bull’s visits”. I had no idea that Sitting Bull had toured the Twin Cities on two occasions subsequent to Custer’s last stand. He actually attended mass at the Assumption Catholic Church in Richfield! As far as the eye could see, far beyond seven generations, what spirit did the sitting bull manifest… reflection, contemplation, meditation, even serene contentment while chewing the cud? Such was the nature of his namesake. These were [...]
Raise Your Voice
Local World News By PETER MOLENAAR It is said that no small part of the world had its eye on our 2021 elections. As it came down, 7 of our 13 member city council are newly elected; 8 are people of color, and there are 3 who identify as “Democratic Socialists”. Congratulations Minneapolis! On the other hand there was, I think, an element of unprincipled opportunism in the mix. Question: What is the sociology of our persistent low voter turnout and, for the sake of democracy, what is the solution? Within the immediate purview of the alley community, we must uphold the election of incumbents Jamal Osman (Ward 6) and Andrea Jenkins (Ward 8).On a personal note, I am delighted over the election of Jason Chavez (Ward 9) and Robin Wonsley Worlobah (Ward 2) inasmuch as they have elevated the banner of socialism. Indeed, Worlobah managed to defeat the “wildly popular” Cam Gordon of Green Party fame. As a matter of principle and practical consideration, [...]
