Sorry for the lengthy silence. I’ve missed you! I’ve been thinking about so many Enough-related things lately – somehow I live this charmed life in which creative anti-capitalist projects and conversations surround me – and I’ve been wanting and planning to write about them all here, but, well – I haven’t. But I will! I guess I’ve been busy, with many things, some of which I am going to tell you about now. Also, let’s be real – it was winter, and sometimes winter can tend to drag on, and for some of us who are from Texas the lack of warmth and sunshine can have the effect of my life completely falling apart a slight decrease in productivity. But the sun is back and cherry blossoms are blooming all over Philadelphia, and I’ve been wearing shorts and sitting on my roof and planning a garden and I’ve been filled with joy and exuberance and also, of course, anticapitalist fervor. The feelings go hand in hand, really. We should make up a new word for anticapitalism, something positive, don’t you think? Because when I say I’m against capitalism, what I really mean is that I’m for, you know – liberation and people taking care of each other and collectivity and spiritual wholeness and cherry blossoms and such. Anyway, the point is, I really do believe in my heart that springtime = more writing on Enough. And that doesn’t just mean me and Dean, it means you too! Okay?
Meanwhile if you’re looking for something awesome to read, have you seen the new issue of make/shift? That is a good magazine. I highly recommend subscribing – every time a new issue comes out, I can’t believe how delicious and satisfying it is. AND in the latest issue there is a conversation between me and Tiny a.k.a. Lisa Gray-Garcia of POOR Magazine, which I would really like for you to read. POOR is incredibly important to me, as evidenced by the ten million times I have referenced them on this site, and I am very excited about the interview with Tiny because she is brilliant and because she articulates ideas about things like interdependence and community reparations that are integral to my work and my life and maybe to yours as well. Please read it and then tell us what you think by writing an essay for Enough.
A few more things in the works that I’d like you to know about:
1) My friends from the Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign are launching a huge march/caravan from New
Orleans to Detroit today, ending at the U.S. Social Forum, to demand healthcare and housing for everyone. PPEHRC has a long history of organizing poor people’s marches as a movement building strategy, and they have a huge network of member organizations all over the U.S. doing incredible work. I’m yearning to join them on the march but am prevented by other responsibilities – if you live in or near any of the cities along their route, you should connect with them so you can bring your people out to their march in your town. I hear they’ll be updating the blog on the PPEHRC website with dispatches and video along the way, and of course if you can you should come to the USSF. Maybe I’ll see you there?
2) If you are a person with class privilege and lefty politics who wants to talk more about leveraging privilege and resources for grassroots movements, may I suggest that you consider coming to Resource Generation’s Donor Organizing Institute? It’s in the Bay Area from May 21-23, and I am co-facilitating it with the wonderful Nicole Lewis from RG. The website suggests that the deadline for applying is very soon, but I suspect that if you’re running late with planning you could finesse your way in (or just ask). Feel free to contact me or Nicole if you want more details.
3) And finally, this seems as good a time as any to publicly state that, in fact, I facilitate many things. Yes, it’s true, I not only write about the personal politics of resisting capitalism but I also speak and teach workshops about these things. I created this website about it under a cloak of secrecy a couple months ago and didn’t tell anyone because it it felt strange and individualistic and public in away that Enough doesn’t (it has a picture of me and everything). But then I realized that I will never fulfill my dream of having conversations with everyone in the world about the ways that capitalism impacts our souls if I don’t announce that that’s what I’m trying to do, so there you have it. You could bring me to your conference, school, organization, or local collective infoshop bookstore and we could talk about all this in person. I can’t wait.
More to come, I promise, and meanwhile I hope you have cherry blossoms in your town, or some local blooming thing that is equally amazing.
