Screw the Democrats: or, why I'd rather be a community organizer than be in Congress.

On October 2,  I went to the Annual Fall Party of the National Priorities Project, and, as I might have expected, I left with very mixed feelings.

My longtime friend Jean Grossholtz was being honored, and she honored me with a place at her table.  (That meant I didn't have to pay to attend.) I drove up from Springfield to Holyoke's Log Cabin

Jean is the person who deepened my understanding of what forces shape our lives.  I met her in the early days of   Arise for Social Justice, when she was still teaching at Mt. Holyoke College.

One day when she was visiting Arise she said "Michaelann, you've got to understand what globalization is, because its going to change the face of our world."  Thus I had to learn about things like neoliberalism and deregulation, and I began to understand how much corporations control what happens to us.

Through the years she'd pay other visits to Arise, tipping me off to subsets of globalization such as genetically modified food, the World Trade Organization and the coming water wars.  All of this was years before any of these topics emerged into the mainstream.

Jean is not only a teacher, she is a hardcore activist and organizer.  I'll always be grateful that she made it possible for me to go to Seattle with her for the World Trade Organization demonstrations, where I learned how to avoid tear gas and how to sing "Amazing Grace" with my mouth taped shut.  At eighty-one years of age, she's spending a bit more time finishing her memoirs than organizing, but of course that's a relative statement--she just came back from Europe where she met with her large network of fellow activists to talk about immigration policy.

At the table, Jean told us how she was practicing being gracious for the evening-- she hates public recognition but had finally given in to NPP's director, Jo Comerford, another longtime friend of hers. The room was full of NPP supporters and friends of Jean's, and I saw many people I know but don't see often, people I respect and admire, people I love as individuals but am less comfortable with in the aggregate. 

Jean was called to the podium to receive the Frances Crowe Award, and then she spoke organizing, social change, and the absolute necessity of our all taking responsibility to create a movement-- words I have heard from her before, but she speaks with such passion and commitment that I am always heartened to hear her.

Then several NPP staffpeople spoke.  NPP helps make federal data accessible so that people can understand how our tax dollars are spent.  They have a great website which is about to get even better.  Without hyperbole, the information is infuriating; if the budget was in the hands of the people, we would make very different decisions.   But I remember talking to NPP staff a couple of times about the real power driving legislative decisions.  Why was there no discussion about corporations, campaign contributions, and well-heeled lobbyists?  And this was years before the Citizens United Supreme Court decision striking down spending limits by corporations and special interest groups working to get a candidate elected or influence public opinion.

NPP's keynote speaker for the evening was Congresswoman Donna Edwards, D-Maryland .  She was introduced as someone whose community organizing had helped to bring about the passage of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994, so I hoped to hear at least something about community organizing's role in social change.

No such luck.  Instead, we were subjected to a very boring and way too long harangue about why it was important to vote the Democratic ticket this year,  even though the majority of us were disappointed in the Democrats.  Her speech was largely unmemorable, but I do remember her saying, "Who cares what Robert Gibbs has to say about progressives?"    Well, as a progressive, I cared, because to me it showed the complete disdain the Obama administration has for those who helped to get him elected.  Her other main message was not to support third party candidates, who might spoil the election.  Well, screw that, I thought;  thanks for helping me decide to vote for Jill Stein and to let the chips fall where they may.

Finally the speech was over and the evening drew to a close.  I walked up the hill to retrieve my car and pulled out of the parking lot to head toward my working class city, Springfield.  I pretty much had the road to myself as other cars turned left, toward Northampton and Amherst.

The state of our forests in the state of Massachusetts

The Media Education Foundation has been sponsoring a series of films each Friday night-- free to the public-- but this Friday night is something special.

Chris Matera and Dave Gafney of Massachusetts Forest Watch will be presenting about the threats to our Massachusetts forests.  They'll be bring lots of photos-- and lots of passion-- with them, and engaging people in a discussion of how we can be involved in protecting our forests.                                                                    

January 8    7:00 PM

Media Education Center 
60 Masonic St, Northampton

Fighting the Massachusetts Chainsaw Massacre!                         

Learn about the clear cutting of State public forests, watersheds and parks, and the latest developments surrounding proposed wood burning Biomass plants in Western Massachusetts.

Sponsored by the Northampton Committee to stop the War in Iraq and Afghanistan

Dangerous to be homeless: an apology

I wrote a post last month about the death of homeless Northampton resident Arthur Polier. Later I found a comment about the post on BlogoWogo that includes the following:

My son, the son of Arthur Polier read this story and took offence to you implying that his father should die...that is a terrible thing to say.

Despite whatever circumstance anyone person may encounter in their life, we as a society have no right to pass judgement and for your information, Arthur...affectionately known as David, his middle name was a warm and giving person who succumbed to his alcoholism and that does not give you or anyone the right to say they should die.

So let me say first that I apologize to Arthur Polier's family for any offense my post caused. I think the offending portion of the post was: "Police are saying he died of natural causes. What I guess we can say is that it's natural that a 50 year-old man living in a swamp on the edge of society, should die."

There's no such thing as a natural death when you're living on the streets. It is just plain dangerous to be homeless.

Homeless women are at quadruple the risk of sexual assault. Maybe that was in the mind of the homeless woman from Joliet, Illinois when she saved a 10 year old girl from being kidnapped and assaulted last month.

Homeless people are often robbed and beaten-- sometimes by each other. That's what happened when a homeless woman was beaten with a piece of wood last Saturday in Raleigh, NC. She's now listed in good condition at the hospital. (Hope they keep her a few extra days.)

Homeless people are the victim of accidents. Melissa Sjostrom, 33, was crossing the street in Tampa, Florida when she was hit and killed by a 17 year old driver who then fled the scene of the accident. Something very funky's going on with why it the case was closed without an arrest and then opened two months later after queries by the St. Petersburg, Florida Times.

Homeless people can die from exposure not just from the cold but also the heat. Pheonix, Arizona officials and agencies are opening cooling centers and handing out water to homeless people this week, where temperatures are expected to be about 115 degrees.

Sometimes homeless people just die. Back in Tampa, Florida, a homeless man was found dead last week only one day after another homeless man was found dead less than a block away. Neither death is considered suspicious by the police. In Anchorage, Alaska, yet another homeless man was found dead-- the eighth in just a few months-- and this death, unlike the others, appears to be a murder.

Each year on December 21st, the longest night of the year, cities across the country commemorate Homeless Persons Memorial Day, a remembrance of all those who have died without a home during the year. I wait for and works towards the year when the numbers decline-- but it won't be this year.

Nothing natural about homeless deaths

Last Friday, 50 year-old Arthur D. Polier was found dead in a tent where he'd living with his girlfriend in a swampy section of Northampton. Police are saying he died of natural causes.

What I guess we can say is that it's natural that a 50 year-old man living in a swamp on the edge of society, should die.

According to the National Coalition for the Homeless,

The rates of both chronic and acute health problems are extremely high among the homeless population. With the exception of obesity, strokes, and cancer, homeless people are far more likely to suffer from every category of chronic health problem. Conditions which require regular, uninterrupted treatment, such as tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, hypertension, addictive disorders, and mental disorders, are extremely difficult to treat or control among those without adequate housing.
Many homeless people have multiple health problems. For example, frostbite, leg ulcers and upper respiratory infections are frequent, often the direct result of homelessness. Homeless people are also at greater risk of trauma resulting from muggings, beatings, and rape. Homelessness precludes good nutrition, good personal hygiene, and basic first aid, adding to the complex health needs of homeless people. In addition, some homeless people with mental disorders may use drugs or alcohol to self-medicate, and those with addictive disorders are also often at risk of HIV and other communicable diseases.

In Anchorage, Alaska, 6 homeless men have been found dead since May.

In Madison, Wisconsin, a 38 year-old man was found dead on a park bench of "natural causes" earlier this month.

A 42-year old homeless, incarcerated man was found dead in his cell on June 12 in the Webb County, Texas jail. he appears to have fallen from his cot but his death is possibly due to complications of heart disease.

Robert "The Lion" Allan, only 41, died suddenly in Camden, UK on Tuesday. Mr,. Allan is being lauded by his friends as a tireless fighter for social justice.

Photo of Robert Allen

Am I unfair to cops?

This may be the most defensive post I've ever written, and I've thought more than twice about it, but after a number of recent accusations both on this blog and in Springfield/Northampton forums that I am a liar, filth, and damaging the lives (!!) of police and hospital personnel, I decided to go back and take a look at my previous posts to see: am I really too hard on law enforcement?

In the two years I've been writing this blog, I've posted 781 times. Fifteen of those posts have mentioned the police-- that's a bit under 2%.

In fact, I could have posted much more about the police than I do-- there are many items that catch my eye that I'd like to share. But I happen to have two very close family members in frontline law enforcement, and there are so many other things to write about-- why go out of my way to choose to write about things that might alienate my family? It's a balance I find myself weighing every time I post about the police.

Of those fifteen posts, I have never engaged in name-calling-- the closest I've come is calling the actions of the New Orleans Police Department in setting up homeless people by leaving valuable items in parked cars and waiting until a homeless person broke into the cars as "sleazy."

So: four of the posts were about police actions regarding homeless people-- cutting up their tents, arresting them at demonstrations-- facts not in dispute. One of the four was sympathetic to the position of the police.

Two were about people who died after being tasered. Facts not in dispute.

Two were about SWAT raid-- one where a 92 year old woman was killed in a botched drug raid where the ex-officer on trial said he was forced to lie to cover up the facts; one where a small town mayor's home was raided and his two dogs shot to death. Facts not in dispute.

Two were primarily about policy issues where the police were mentioned, one over police departments confusion over the new Massachusetts marijuana law, and one about the Mass. Supreme Court expanding the powers of the police to frisk people on the street. I did say I thought that would make the police happy.

Two of the posts were complimentary to the police, in particular about how swiftly they acted to catch the murderer of a local homeless man.

One was primarily about the rapes and beatings of sex workers in Springfield which quoted Sgt. Delaney of the Springfield Police Dept.

And five were personal.

Three of them were about friends and what I considered to be overzealousness on the part of Springfield Police when it came to finding their behavior suspicious. Guess those depend on who you believe.

And two were about my own experiences. One happened many years ago, when a police officer lied about how he obtained evidence when I was arrested for possession of marijuana. (The case was dismissed.) The other was about my being arrested at a protest where, besides being charged with disorderly conduct, I was also charged with assault and battery on a police officer. She had her hand on my arm, and supposedly I pulled myself out of her grasp and she sprained her wrist. It was entirely bullshit, and both charges were dropped when the officers failed to appear in court.

My recent post "Police Brutality in Northampton?" does seem to fall into a different category. What I did was repeat an entire email sent to me by someone who was at a Northampton rally about an alleged incident of police brutality. I've been trashed by a number of people and all I can say is that if I'm proved to be wrong, I'll admit it. But the truth is, I may never be able to be proved right. The truth may never come out.

The degree of institutional power held by law enforcement stacks the deck against the average person here in Western Mass. and everywhere. Last week Springfield's toothless Community Complaint Review Board was disappointed when only two people showed up at Springfield City Hall to hear the board's first annual report. Why should anyone have bothered? All the board can do is review the already completed decisions of Internal Affairs, and return them to IA if the board doesn't agree with IA's conclusions. This, however, mandates no action on the part of IA.

"Alejandro (board chair) said the board determined none of the 43 use-of-force complaints it dealt with merited being returned, though he said police officers in some of those cases were ordered to undergo additional training." Springfield Republican. Well, that makes me feel a whole lot better.

I remain as interested in the truth of the alleged brutality in Northampton as anyone else. Let's hope we get to find out.

Police brutality in Northampton?

I got this following message by email this morning from my friend and fellow Arise board member Keely:

I went to the rally yesterday and I wanted to update you all.
People have been VERY hostile to this information getting out, many listserves that I am on have been home to heated debate with area residents making exclamations like "Come on this is Not L.A." Or " There Is no story. It was made up" to "if its true why is in not in the police blotter"--Come on, since when have the police kept record of their own brutality??!!?? These things do happen--even in th happy valley!


The following is information of what allegedly took place in Downtown Northampton this past weekend.
Here is the information as it was told by Al's best friend Aaron @ yesterday's rally:
Al is a Black Disabled Veteran. He was arrested at Urban Outfitters for alleged shoplifting. Aaron believes that when the police brought him out of the store and around the corner there were reports of Al yelling "You are really hurting me!" It is at that point that Aaron believes (based on eye witness accounts) that the beating ensued. It is believed that Al received many blows to his face (and probably body as well). Aaron reported that he was notified of the arrest and proceeded to gather bail money. Aaron arrived at the Police station sometime after the arrest (I'm not sure how much later--it might have even been the next morning?) Aaron said that he was here to bail Al out. The officers began processing bail. It was at that point that an officer went to go retrieve Al and found him unconscious (later to be deemed in a coma) in his cell. Al was NOT breathing at this point in time and the officer returned to report to Aaron that he "had come bad news," It appeared his friend had suffered a Massive Heart Attack. Aaron said that it was was clear at that point in time that Al had NOT been monitored while locked up. The police were ONLY aware of Al's condition because they had gone to retrieve him for bail. Once at the Hospital Aaron was disturbed to see the extent of Al's injuries.
Al's bottom jaw was injured so badly and that it was knocked so far to the right that "Al can look down to the side and see his own jaw!" His upper lip was completely split open horizontally and his eyes were swollen shut. Al's family came to Cooley Dickinson and they, as well as Aaron and members of Poverty is Not a Crime, have reported that all doctors and nurses at Cooley Dickinson Hospital who have cared for Al have said "There is Nothing wrong with this man's heart. He did not have a heart attack" Aaron reported that Al has no spleen and due to this feels pain much more intensely than most. Aaron said that the medical professionals believe that Al's body went into a coma as a way of coping with the intense pain he was experiencing. It is not known for how long Al laid on the cell floor, not breathing, nor the extent of brain damage due to an extended period of time with no oxygen going to his brain. Al is currently at Cooley Dickinson, in and out of consciousness.

Action MUST be taken!!! Please make the following phone calls:
Mayor Higgins should have an earful--413.587.1249
WE MUST PUSH FOR AN INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION!

Police Chief Russell Sienkiewicz---413.587.1100
The arresting officers AND the officers that left Al bleeding and unconscious in a cell should be suspended without pay effective immediately

Even if you are NOT a resident of Northampton I urge you to make these phone calls--because we ALL do business in that town, purchase items in that town, are patrons at its stores and restaurants, or work in Northampton! We ALL have a stake in protecting our Disabled Veterans! We ALL deserve to feel safe.

Black youth beaten, then arrested! Will there be justice for Jason?

Picture this: you're a pre-med student sitting in your UMass dorm room with a couple of friends when one friend looks out the window and sees two white guys looking in. One white guy says he wants to be "friends" with your female friend; when you go to the window and tell them to go away, they start calling you "nigger" and one of them breaks your dorm window. You call a friend to come over for support and when he enters the dorm, the two guys force their way in. One of the guys throws the first punch, hitting you in the face and breaking your nose. You've got a small knife with you for protection because you fear for your life and you use it to defend yourself. You've told a friend to call the police, and when they arrive, at first they put you in handcuffs-- but after further investigation, they release you.

The next day you go down to the Amherst Police Station to file charges against the guys. Instead, you're arrested and charged with attempted murder!

That's what happened to Jason Vassell on February 8, 2008. While the two white guys admitted to be drinking that night, one was charged with a misdemeanor and the other not charged at all.

Robert Thrasher, the on-call police lieutenant of the UMass campus police, appears to believe the event was a drug deal gone bad. (Vassell, being black, had to be a drug drealer, right?) This was true even though, according to the Valley Advocate and Vassell's attorneys,

Thrasher was in possession of police records that described numerous incidents involving Bowes; in at least one case he was charged with a civil rights violation for attacking a black man. Bosse’s rap sheet is similarly lengthy, and includes two incidents in which he became physical with the police. Once—nine days before the incident at UMass, according to court documents—he attacked an off-duty Hispanic police officer and an Asian fireman; in another incident 25 days after his encounter with Vassell, the record shows, Bosse attacked a mounted officer and his horse. It’s since been alleged that the two run in a gang-like group who call themselves the “East Milton Mafia.”

Jason was told by the UMass administration that he needed either to withdraw from school or face expulsion. Jason, who still hopes to become a doctor, chose to withdraw rather than have an expulsion on his record.

Much of the UMass student body and a number of professors feel the whole process has been tainted with racism and have formed the Justice for Jason Coalition along with many community organizations. They've mobilized to be in court for every hearing for Jason, who is now living at home with his parents in Mattapan.

On January 15th Northwestern Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Dunphy Farris asked the judge to move Jason Vassell’s case out of Hampshire County, claiming that Jason’s supporters and defense had distributed sensitive information about the case to the media to infect the jury pool. The Judge promptly informed Ms. Farris that all documents, including the Motion to Dismiss, are in fact public court documents.
The Committee for Justice for Jason Responded to the request by releasing the following:
“At this hearing the Deputy First Assistant District Attorney now in charge of prosecuting Jason, Elizabeth Dunphy Farris, was clearly concerned by the support that the Committee for Justice for Jason has continued to mobilize for almost a year now. The fact that the prosecutor and the DA’s office are getting uncomfortable, frustrated, and accusatory is due largely to the success of the Justice for Jason campaign in shining a spotlight on this case. District Attorney offices and police departments around the country rely on the lack of transparency with most court cases. They thrive on the secrecy. But now this DA office is scared…scared of having to be accountable to a public that they have, until now, kept in the dark. The DA is elected by her constituency and must therefore be accountable to that constituency. It is clear that DA Scheibel does not want to be accountable. This case and the DA’s racist choices therein highlight the need for an open and transparent criminal justice system–both here in the Northwestern District and in the country at large.” Justice for Jason.

In spite of the substantial community support Jason Vassell is receiving, the outcome is far from certain.

Three events are coming up to assist with Jason's defense and to show widening community support.

On Wednesday, February 18, at the Hampshire Superior Court in Northampton, MA, the judge will be hearing a Motion to Dismiss filed by Jason's lawyers “on the grounds that the defendant has been selectively prosecuted because of his race, in violation of the rights guaranteed him by the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and Articles I and XII of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights.”

On February 21, a Silent Auction will be held to raise funds for Jason's defense because although Jason's attorneys, David P. Hoose and Luke Ryan of Amherst and John Reinstein from the Massachusetts ACLU are working pro bono, there are a number of other costs. The Justice for Jason Coalition is still seeking donations of goods and services.

Then, on March 7, if the Motion to Dismiss has been denied, organizers are calling for a national march in support of Jason Vassell. Organizers can be reached at justiceforjason@gmail.com.

If there's anyone out there who believes that racism automatically came to an end on the day we elected a Black man as president, Jason's case reminds us how far we still have to go.

Help hide the homeless: Northampton aims for anti-panhandling law

It's not too hard to pretend that poverty doesn't exist in Northampton, MA, if that's what you want to do. Street kids tend to blend in with college kids, the housing projects are tucked far away from downtown; and a scattering of tents by the railroad tracks aren't visible from the highway. Just about the only time poverty and homelessness is really in your face is when you're approached by a panhandler.

Thus the City of Northampton is getting ready to pass an anti-panhandling law which, while not banning panhandling outright, prohibits asking for money while sitting on a park bench or standing on a corner, or asking anyone while they are waiting in a line, or within fifteen feet of a public telephone, bus stop, bank or ATM. You also can't be within five feet of a building entrance or fifteen feet of a parking meter or overpass. What's left, you might ask? Not much. And if you break this restrictive law, you can be fined from $50 to $300. This makes a lot of sense-- you don't have money so you are fined-- and if you don't pay the fine, then what? More unnecessary criminalization. The Daily Collegian covered this story well earlier in the week.

Why ban panhandling? I can hear the downtown business people talking about how panhandling drives away businesses. Beyond that, many people are uncomfortable when asked for spare change. Well, then, just say no!

My own rule is, one person a day. I live too close to the margins myself to do more than that. But as tight as my own budget it, at least I have an income.

Arise member Caty Simon has formed a group in Northampton called Poverty is Not A Crime. That group, plus the Freedom Center, the ACLU and Social Change in Mind are all fighting this ordinance. If you live or shop in Northampton, call Mayor Claire Higgins at 413.587.1249 and let her know: help homeless people, don't criminalize them. Leave panhandlers alone!

Photo by Emily Grund/Collegian

Winter shelters close, homeless encampments grow

"The Amherst, MA Survival Center is starting to get more calls as emergency shelters are closing. People need tents," the email began. "Do you have one hanging around that a homeless person can use until they get on their feet? Please... we only have 2 left and the phone is ringing off the hook!!!"

Thus begins the annual ritual of closing winter-only shelters, not only in Massachusetts but around the country. For the most part, homeless people won't be moving from the shelters to housing, although Springfield, MA's homeless coordinator says 7 of the 12 people in the overflow shelter do have housing waiting for them. Elsewhere in the state, Northampton's Cot Shelter will close on April 30. There are already 50 to 90 people sleeping out on the Cape, according to Cape Cod Today, in 40 or so small encampments.

In Plano, TX, many of the homeless people that had to be turned away by the Samaritan in this winter have been sleeping in their cars in the parking lot of the local library-- at least up until now. The City Council passed an ordinance on April 14 forbidding any parking in the lot between 11 am. and 5 pm. See if you buy this one: "Joyce Baumbach, the director of libraries, said the ordinance isn't just targeting homeless people. "Some of the neighbors do use the lot for extra parking or if they have company overnight," Baumbach said. "They will also not be allowed to park overnight anymore." NBC5 Dallas/Fort Worth.

Pinellas Hope shelter in St. Petersburg, FL has raised enough money to stay open through the summer, although on a greatly reduced basis-- 75 guests a night rather than the 250 it's housed over the last five months. Turlock, California's winter shelter closed at the end of March, but not quietly:: 150 homeless people and allies protested on the steps of City Hall. Earlier in March, "Vice Mayor Kurt Vander Weide, Councilmen Ted Howze and Kurt Spycher voted against extending the B Street shelter in downtown by 30 days, citing reasons of political ideology and the weather." (!!) Modesto Bee. When Springfield, Illinois closed its SOS shelter, also at the end of March, one option the homeless there used to have is now denied to them: camping on the library grounds. The city made it clear it's not going to be allowed this year.

Sleeping out isn't always very safe. Two homeless men burned to death in Olympia, WA when a canopy strung between two trees caught fire and fell on the men during the night.

Half of Madison, WI's homeless population of 3,400 is unsheltered and walking the streets, but they're not feeling very welcome these days. Two unsolved murders in two months.has put the community on edge and a lot of suspicion is focused on homeless people. Chicago Tribune.

As cities and towns and the people who live in them struggle economically, seems like there's not much left for the people who have theleast.

FOURTH homeless man in a week found dead

On Saturday, another homeless man was found dead, this time in Northampton, MA. Craig Carpenter, 42 years old, was found near the Super Stop and Shop. Police said he appeared to have died of exposure after having fallen asleep while intoxicated.

I know the City of Springfield wants to "share the responsibility" of homelessness with surrounding communities. Perhaps the deaths of four Massachusetts men in one week-- one in Springfield, one in Northampton, one in Westfield and one in Waterford, CT-- is a sign the city is succeeding?