I
recently saw a bumper sticker that read “When we fight back, they call it
‘class warfare’.” I share the sentiment. The Bush Republicans’ latest class war
offensive was the attempt to grease the “Paris Hilton tax cut” (eliminating the
tax on inheritances of over five million dollars) by combining it with a long
overdue increase in the minimum wage. This was too much cynicism for some of
the moderate Republicans to swallow, and it failed to get filibuster-proof
majority.
With
the way this administration is so religiously heaping economic, geopolitical
and ecological debt on our children, I’m not surprised when the young and angry
want to lash out at anything that resembles the ruling class. In Petaluma, I
guess that must be a subdivision called “King’s Mill.” I don’t know who was
responsible for the vandalism there last month, and I may be wrong that it was
youth. But I don’t think so.
I
remember when I transferred to UCSB in 1971, two years after the student
demonstration/riot that burned the Bank of America. The Vietnam war was still hot; Nixon had not yet revealed his secret
plan to end it (drop more bombs... sound familiar?) One afternoon we heard
there was going to be demonstration at the newly rebuilt B of A. I considered
joining in, but something made me stop. A group of people were running past my
duplex, headed for the Bank. I recognized them as party people; definitely not
politicos. From what they were saying it was clear that for them the
demonstration was just another kind of street party. What did they expect to
accomplish, or did they care? Version 2.0 of the Isla Vista B of A looked like
Fort Knox meets the Alamo. Nothing there was going to burn, baby.
The
people who painted “eat the rich” on the King’s Mill garage doors somehow remind
me of those Isla Vista party protesters. Do they really think their targets were
part of the corporate elite and neo-conservatives that are now running the
country? And even if King’s Mill residents are “the rich”, do
the “protester” think vandalism will help? I’m sorry, kids, but it’s stupid. It
just turns everyone against the cause.
My
Isla Vista friends and I challenged big business in a different way. Fed up
with the monoply prices and environmental policies of chain grocery stores like
Safeway, we opened up a storefront food coop. Over a thousand of us funded and
staffed a real grocery store the size of a 7Eleven. It was a lot of work, but not
only did we save money and keep the profits in town, we had a great time and
learned a lot about business. “Oink of Amerikka” could build a fortress bank
and repaint its walls, but Safeway couldn’t shut down our “Fud Coop”. It’s
still open, over three decades later.
A
related topic: the monthly “critical mass” bike rides that cross Petaluma during
the evening rush hour. I understand the concept – riding in mass gives the cyclists
the power and respect they don’t necessarily get when riding alone. And to the
extent it empowers the riders, most of them under 20, to bike instead of
driving (to school, sporting events, etc), I support it. But during the few I
rode with, too many riders were oblivious to safety or legitimate motorist concerns
(no helmets or lights, weaving unpredictably and taking up two lanes when one
would have been enough.) A result of this is when solo riders follow the rules
and ride in the vehicle lane instead of the gutter or sidewalk, motorists (who
are, regrettably, ignorant of those rules) are inclined to think we trying to
be “in their face”, Critical Mass style.
My
suggestion to young people who want strike a blow against the Bush Oiligarchy
and their Hoily Wars: de-throne the auto, right here
in Petaluma. Stage a “die-in” at the SUV dealers. Mass ride to high school at
least once a week, and demand that the car parking spaces closest to the
building be converted to covered, secured bike parking. If the school just
won’t cooperate, start taking your bikes into the classroom.