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Showing posts from April, 2022

As One Human Life Goes and the Atrocities Mount…

    As one human caused atrocity mounts upon another and nature seems to be zeroing in on the human dilemma of just keep on doing everything the same way, just in case the main truth in life is Repetition rather than Love, Truth or Justice, we'll either succumb to emotional overload or straight out overkill. The possibilities of some kind of war are increasing, and plausibility as well as redemption of an actual government that resembles whatever ideal we had of one seems unlikely. The fact of the matter with me is, that I no longer trust my government nor rely on it to give myself credibility. I've worked hard and earned my keep, nearly everybody has. And those who for whatever reason have not, then based solely on their existence as human beings they deserve to reap some of what the great majority have produced. That's simple. But I do not trust my culture either. It is a culture based on skin color privileges as well as a hierarchical system of justice. Within ea

Conversation and Change #4 by Kraig Scwartz History of World Social Forum

                              World Social Forum   After the Cold War ended neoliberal capitalism , no longer fettered by the Soviet Union, expanded to all parts of the world.   Whether it be farmland in Ethiopia, or the fisheries of our great ocenas, the world increasingly came under the control of unbridled “free market” capitalism and the corporations that serve and benefit from those markets.   Under the sway of neoliberalism, governments deregulated their economies, cut back or eliminated social spending,   pushed aside labor unions and promoted “free trade.” Perhaps the major economic hallmark of this post Cold War era was the expansion of world trade through the WTO, NAFTA and other regional trade organizations.  The yearly World Economic Forum held at Davos, Switzerland embraced the  world-wide neoliberal capitalist order.  Yet,  strong resistance to this push for the commodification of the world emerged in various parts of the world, most notably by the indigenous  Zapatis

Conversation and Change #3- by Todd Boyd- My Movement Criteria

  Hello Fred and Kraig Thanks for the input and articles. It’s clear we aren’t alone in this beginning of what we all should do-re-evaluate, re-tool, and re-build our movements through a different language, a language of our own making and not a reactive language of oppression, control, and manipulation. Trying a different way. I like the articles for saying some of the things we are saying. I like the economic equality project because of it’s basic ideas about how wealth is distributed. Since we are building this in situ, I took some of the wiipedia stuff and tried to illustrate some of it with my own thinking. How I see movements and building movements. The best minds of the new world, including Black Lives Matter, Poor Peoples Campaign and many other worldwide campaigns for change are all on the same path. Here’s a sample of what I believe is necessary for any progressive movement.   A  political movement  is a collective attempt by a group of people to change  government po

Conversations and Change #2 by Frederick Foote

  I t is my assumption that there are systems of repression, degradation, and profit masquerading as criminal justice systems in this country. Law enforcement, judicial systems employees, attorneys, prison construction and management industries, and state and local governments each have a vested interest in keeping these invidious systems in place, if not growing. I further assume that these counterfeit justice (or injustice) systems target black, brown and poor communities. Furthermore, I believe we all have a moral and legal obligation to oppose such systems. Historically, and unto this present day, violence has been employed as the government’s preferred method of dealing with aboriginal resistance, racial and labor unrest, and challenges to the status quo internally and externally. In this way, law enforcement has a license to kill with impunity and immunity from prosecution and this amounts to a long history of state terrorism against people of color. Those who are willing to

Conversations and Change #1

 April 1, 2022 Let's Get Started-Apocalyptic Cynicism (Back a few months ago, I read Amid Apocalyptic Cynicism, Lets Embrace Radical Hope in the New Year , the name of an article in Truthout, authored by Henry Giroux, published January 5 th , 2022. I liked the idea of a new language though focusing on Hope to develop that new language seemed worthy of critique, or the need for further discussion. I shared that article with a couple of friends, and we got together on Zoom and talked about the article, hope, change, movements, leadership, and have continued to meet trying to look at what we, as progressives, radicals, revolutionaries have done in the past that’s been successful and what might work in the present to realize a new civil, social system that is both realistic and actual. A new language such as what’s come out of Black Lives Matter resistance. A new language that is defining of our continuing resolve as well as what we need to DO. Language without action is not enough

Think Outside the Box

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