Tick Tock Sheptock

On Tuesday, August 23rd at 1:51 PM much of the east coast of the United States experienced an earthquake. As a homeless advocate, I must say that I'm glad that there weren't any reports of serious damage to non-governmental buildings and, as far as I know, no one was made homeless by this earthquake. However, the wall near my bed at the CCNV Shelter now has a hirzontal crack and I'm wondering how much of this large building which holds 1,350 homeless people (one-fifth of DC's homeless population) has now been compromised. At the time that the quake struck, I was walking down the sidewalk toward the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library where a lady friend and I were planning to feed and show the movie "Freedom Riders" to a large group of homeless people. As I passed by the construction site which is adjacent to the library, I noticed that many of the workers were standing idle and heard one of them say that he heard a rumble which he thought was a su...

When will the national movement implement "stronger tactics" that effectively usher in the "revolutionary change" that we are working toward? Well, Gerald Celente of Trends Research Institute (a think tank on worldwide socio-economic trends) has predicted that this country will see food riots, tax rebellions and revolution by 2012. And his long track record for accuracy has some people worried. But you don't need to be a well-paid academic to see that societal conditions are ripe for revolution. The news is chock full of reports of increasing unemployment, a worsening housing market and struggling families. The U.S. economy is so bad that Obama himself recently told people in a small town in Iowa that he doesn't believe that Washington knows best (and it doesn't). People have begun to polarize around Tea Party/Congressional demands on the one hand and the demand for the state to fund human need on the other, with there having been a strong u...

While my previous post described how I got to the U.S. Social Forum and some of the interesting connections that I made, it didn't address what was discussed in Detroit. However, some very interesting things were said there. I'd be remiss if I were to fail to address some of the ideas that were set forth. Bear in mind that there were over 1,200 workshops of which I only attended about 5. (Many of the workshops were 4 hours long.) Even so, I picked up on certain themes that were common to many of the groups and individuals that I encountered -- in the workshops, in the halls and at other venues like nearby restaurants. The most common theme was that of revolution. Some people spoke with great anticipation about the revolution that promises to arise (objectively) out of the increased social awareness that people across the country are developing. Some spoke of wanting a more subjective and deliberate effort to force our national government to care for its poorest, most vulnera...

I just spent 5 days in Detroit, Michigan at the U.S. Social Forum -- a gathering of about 17,000 activists and advocates for a wide range of social justice issues. While it proved to be quite the productive gathering (from where I stand anyway), getting there wasn't easy for me. The fact of the matter is that these things cost money -- something that I never have much of and, in spite of many people admiring my homeless advocacy, I get very little money for what I do. (I'm obviously not in it for the money, but because I care about the issue.) So, helping the homeless pro bono keeps me as dependent upon the kindness of strangers as those whom I help. I got involved with the DC Metro Social Forum in March of 2007, just 3 months before the U.S. Social Forum in Atlanta (which I didn't attend). However, I was heavily involved in the planning process for this year's U.S. Social Forum. During the run-up to June 22nd, 2010, members of the DC Metro Social Forum held fundrais...

Direct action is activity undertaken by individuals, groups, or governments to achieve political, economic, or social goals outside of normal social/political channels. (Wikipedia) England has begun to bring closure to the events of January 30th, 1972, also known as "Bloody Sunday". On that day 14 people were killed and 12 wounded by the British military during a non-violent protest. The Saville Inquiry (1998-2010) has concluded that what the soldiers did was "unjustified and unjustifiable". This country had its own "Bloody Sunday" on March 7th, 1965 as police beat 600 peaceful protesters during a march for voting rights for Blacks. Then, on May31st, of this year nine people were killed by Israeli soldiers as the civilians attempted to break through a blockade in order to deliver humanitarian aid to the residents of the Gaza Strip. The fact of the matter is that holding a non-violent demonstration doesn't guarantee that the police and military won...