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Ca r·ny forthispaper i NE WSLETTER g www.m•••ws ..... website. . __ . [email protected] ematl [!mdex] 401 Main, . 6A 2T7 604-665-2289 J)JUJfi t•UOHIBI'riON· IN J)'I'ES IIEYONJ) - 1\ UIAI..OfJIJE - SJ\'rtJill) 1\ Y, 22, 2()12 !)::l() J\)1 - ():()() J•)J UOWN'roWN US'I'SIIUI, VANCOlJVJ\U, Be: IJNt: lmEn t:OAS'I' SJUISD 1'111tRI1'0RY Ill N (J: DJmOAIL\D Pt."'flmSON SMAU - Blffi1 .\l{ BUD OSIIORN - t•OJrt' 1 \NU AC'l'IVIST SUSAN llOYD - 1U JTDOU ANN LIVINtJS1'0N - OIU;i\NIZJm VANDU CHORUS ANU ..

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Page 1: September 15, 2012, carnegie newsletter

Ca r·nyforthispaper i eE~15

•2012

NEWSLETTER g www.m•••ws ..... website. . __ . [email protected] ematl [!mdex]

401 Main, Va~ .6A 2T7 604-665-2289 ~!te:/fchodarr.org/taxonomy/term/3

I~N))JNG J)JUJfi t•UOHIBI'riON· IN '1'01~ J)'I'ES Al~J) IIEYONJ)

- 1\ f~OMtUJNI'I'Y UIAI..OfJIJE -•

SJ\'rtJill) 1\ Y, SI~I•'r 22, 2()12 !)::l() J\)1 - ():()() J•)J

()J•I•J~NIII~I)II~Ili•J\Itl{ UOWN'roWN US'I'SIIUI, VANCOlJVJ\U, Be:

IJNt:lmEn t:OAS'I' SJUISD 1'111tRI1'0RY

1~1~1\'rtJ Ill N (J:

DJmOAIL\D Pt."'flmSON SMAU - Blffi1.\l{ '1'01~ (~IIAJNS

BUD OSIIORN - I)'I'J~S t•OJrt' 1\NU AC'l'IVIST SUSAN llOYD - 1U JTDOU ANN LIVINtJS1'0N - OIU;i\NIZJm VANDU CHORUS ANU ~HJ(~U ~IOIUt ..

Page 2: September 15, 2012, carnegie newsletter

a thousand crosses in _gpp~nheimer park

when eagles circle oppenheimer park we see-them feel awe feel joy feel hope soar in our hearts the eagles are symbols for the courage in our spirits for the fierce and piercing vision for justice in our·souls the eagles bestow a blessing on our lives

but with these thousand crosses planted i:n oppenheimer park today who really see them feel sorrow feel loss feel rage our hearts shed bitter tears these thousand ·crosses are symbols of the social apartheid in_our culture the segregation of those who deserve to live and those who are abandoned to die

these thousand crosses silently announce a social curse on the lives of the poorest of the poor in the downtown eastside they announce an assault on our community these thousand crosses announce a deprivation of possibility

for those of us who mourn here the mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers the uncles, aunts, grandmothers and grandfathers the sons an:d daughters the friends and acquaintances of those members of our community

of a thousand dreams of a thousand hopes of a thousand yearnings for real community lost to us but memorialized today

brought finally into a unity here in this community park this park which is the geographical heart of the downtown eastside these thousand crosses are a protest against the abandonment of powerless and voiceless human beings

these thousand crosses speak to us resoundingly collectively to warn us that to abandon the wretched the miserable the scorned the scapegoated makes a legitimate place for abandonment in our society and this abandonment will go right up the social-ladder

but to truly care for lives at the bottom will make a place for care and this caring will ensure that no one be aban~oned

Page 3: September 15, 2012, carnegie newsletter

these thousand crosses represent the overdose deaths of drug addicts who are not the only drug addicts in our society but only the most visible the most naked because the poorest but these thousand crosses reveal a culture pretending to be about life and health and hope but permeated wit~ death_o:~_n~ disease and de~pair these thousand crosses bear witness not to a culture of care and freedom but of carelessness and addiction

E_n_y Q!!_~_oL~l:!~~tlhQU~<!nc:l cms.s.es._could easily_.representmy own-death doctors at st. paul's hospital asked me after an overdose why I was still alive? and that is a question each moment puts to us a question each one of these thousand crosses puts to each of us why are we still alive? for what purpose? our purpose is to live in community and community is care care for one another care for those least able to care for themselves care for all care in action and there is no one to care if you do not care there is no one no one at all to care if I do not care bu,t it would be a betrayal ofthese thousand who have died to call them victims to victimize them in death because in truth they are martyrs these thousand crosses symbolize the lives and deaths of a thousand martyrs the word martyr means one who bears witness one who suffers misery for a long time-o'ne who is killed or persecuteB

for adherence to a belief an enculturated belief that pain the pain of trying to live in this abusive abandoning crushing and excluding socio-economic system that this pain must be individually managed the erroneous belief that suffering can be relieved outside real community outside care

these thousand crosses of these contemporary martyrs bear witness not only to their drug overdose deaths but to the uncounted deaths in the downtown eastside deaths of drug addicts from suicide and aids

and so we are all abandoned if one is abandoned so we are all uncared-for if one is not cared for

-butifwewoataspeaKOf real health and of true community we must let these thousand crosses direct us toward those aboriginal tribal communities and other real spiritual communities where when op~ individual behaved destructively the entire-community gathered and asked one question what is wrong with us? w~~t is wrong with us that this member o"r our community should behave in this way?

Page 4: September 15, 2012, carnegie newsletter

but in our culture we reverse this spiritual truth and blame the individual solely for his or her fate and the perpetuation of this _lie costs us costs us the lives these thousand crosses represent costs us how many more thousands of lives?

costs us heavily

costs us in so many many ways

and from this moment here in this community park this park of great care where the streets and alleys and hotel rooms of the downtown eastside the killing fields of the downtown eastside are transformed into living testimonies and memorials of those who have brought us together today in oppenheimer park where children play birds sing young people create and seniors gather these crosses are planted like seeds in our hearts

what will be the fruit these seeds bear? will it be a stronger commitment to compassion and justice for every member of our community? a commitment to those most disabled? most abandoned?

a commitment to do whatever is necessary to prevent a thousand more deaths by drug overdose in the downtown eastside?

will these thousand crosses these thousand seeds these thousand memorials burst forth into new life for those who will not have to become a martyr to our social madness around drug addiction but will care burst forth in our hearts in our lives in a new way for the sake of others and for the sake of ourselves? I believe these crosses these seeds are already bearing fruit hope stands right now right here in this park at this moment hope is standing here hope in each cross hope in each of us

when these thousand crosses are planted in this park who really see them are awakened are called forth to community to care and who really see these thousand crosses are called tG- be hope soaring in the hearts of those for whom hope is gone soaring in courage and blessing as when eagles circle oppenheimer park.

hope

BUD OSBORN

Page 5: September 15, 2012, carnegie newsletter

Does Canada have a ''drug problem''? -What do we mean when we talk about the drug problem in Canada- a society where a robust market in both j

legal and illegal substances exists, and where the use of a wide range of drugs has become common place? What role does drug policy and other social and economic policies play in creating Canada's 'drug problem'?

And what can be done to generate healthier and more meaningful ways to help citizens negotiate the complex terrain of substance use in our society?

In 2009, Canadians used a wide range of substances. These included alcohol (77%), tobacco (17%), cannabis (25%) among youth aged 15 to 24 and ( l 0%) among all adults, psychoactive pharmaceuticals (26%), cocaine or crack (1.2%), ecstacy (0.9%), LSD (0.7%), speed (0.4%), methamphetamine (0.1 %). Most Canadians will navi­gate this array of substances without encountering serious problems. But for others, there will be very real and devastating uences on their lives and those around them.

. - ~ Substance use has risks and benefits Canada has seen thousands die from drug-related overdoses, contract HIV and hepatitis C from injection drug use, and struggle to access drug treatment, harm reduction and primary care services. Many more have been arrested for possession of drugs or trafficking illegal substances resulting in lifelong criminal records. Others have lost it all - their housing, friends, family, jobs and sense of hope in their struggle to overcome a dependency on alcohol or other drugs. The majority of Canadians will not develop problems with substance use. They may or may not use drugs, and if they do, it could be for pleasure, to relieve physical or psychological pain, or as part of social, cultural or religious settings. When we think of the 'drug problem', is the problem actually about the substances themselves, or is the use and impact of these drugs directly linked to deeper challenges in our society? Issues like poverty, economic and fi­nancial stresses, abuse, mental illness, lack of belonging and meaning in life, and physical, mental or spiritual pain? Which policies are working to prevent and reduce harm and which policies actually contribute to the harms related to the drug trade and substance use in Canada?

Learning together to create a new drug policy for Canada. How can we create drug policy and thoughtful social and economic policy that help shape healthier attitudes, re­duce harm in our communities, and decrease the levels of violence, organized crime and corruption within our public institutions? How can we best address the commercialization of legal substances as well as the robust criminal markets that thrive on the sale of illegal drugs? These are some of the questions that CDPC is committed to exploring as we engage Canadians from all sectors. We will consider the effectiveness and the impact of poli­cies currently in place that aim to prevent and reduce harms associated with alcohol, tobacco and other drugs, regulatory policies and the commerce related to legal and illegal drugs in society. We hope you will join us.

"We need to recognize that it's not deviant or pathological for humans to desire to alter their consciousness with psychoactive substances. They've been doing it since pre-history ... and it can be in a religious context, it can be in a social context, or it can be in the context of symptom management."

- Perry Kendall, Provincial Health Officer Rriti"h r"'"""h:n

Page 6: September 15, 2012, carnegie newsletter

Our Vision for Drug Policy in Canada The Canadian Drug Policy Coalition is calling all Canadians to help us bui ld a movement that will transform

drug policy in Canada. The CDPC envi sions a safe, healthy and just Canada in which drug policy and legislation as well as re lated insti­

tutional practice are based on evidence, human rights, social inclusion and public health. The CDPC aims to achieve a society that understands the complexity of substance use and embraces a policy

framework that recognizes that problem drug use is a complex social, economic, cultural and health issue. It is time that we reshape the way Canadian health, social and legal policies respond to alcohol, tobacco and other drug-related problems. We need policies that empower people to play a role in creating their future as equal par­ticipants in their learning and healing and to receive the support and compassion they need to get there. Drug poli· cies need to contribute to individual and community health and and be evaluated on these measures.

As we connect with Canadians tbe Coalition will: • approach issues and policies based on sound evidence, respect for human rights, social inclusion, belong-

ing and principles of public health • support politicians to take strong leadership and facilitate iqformed and honest dialogue • ensure drug war rhetoric and promoting a 'culture of fear ' around substance use is a thing ofthe past • build leadership towards real so lutions.

It's time to chart a new path The current approach to Canada's "drug problem" is not working. It relies far too heavily on the criminal ization of people and punitive policies. It's expensive, wasteful, ineffective and damaging to those who are most in need. It is time for innovative solutions. The Coal ition will advance policy and program innovations that will have a profound impact on reducing the

harms related to substance use in Canada. We will address issues of equity of access to health care for people who use drugs, stigma, and the legislative

changes needed to end the criminalization of people who use drugs . We will put fo rward new ideas for developin! an alternative regulatory scheme for all drugs in line with public health and human rights principles that will im­prove community health and safety.

Our initial focus is to bui ld a coalition for change and to propose new directions for Canadian drug policy.

Take Action and Join the Coalition now!

The Metro Vancouver Alliance (MVA) Leadership Trainin~o: on Thursday, September 20th at 5 pm in the Learning Centre on the Jrd floor of Carnegie has five spots for members. The Carnegie Community Centre Association is a member ofthe MVAand all the Board members are taking the training. Ifyou think this is of interest to you, please sign up in the Jrd floor Program Office by Sept. 19th.

Page 7: September 15, 2012, carnegie newsletter

Residential School Blues Sung to the tune of "Heartbreak Hater'

When I was a youngster Many Moons ago

One day a Black day came and took me far away

It was the Indian res school Blues the res school Blues

It was the Indian res school Blues that took me far away

The Catholic Church, the government the assholes in control

took all the Sisters & Brothers and stuck us all away

To rotten Indian res School the res school Blues

The rotten Indian res Blues they stuck us all away

They took away our Spirit They took away our pride

They wanted to take the Indian out that all of us have inside

It was the Indian res school Blues the res school Blues

It was the Indian res school Blues that kept us all sooo Blue

Our bodies were broken & beaten our souls and pride erased

They raped the innocence from us and threw it back in our face

Those rotten Indian res schools the res school blues

But through all the pain & sorrow thru all the bad repare

There were many broken arrows but there were also survivor bows

Some of us kept going with heavy hearts to two

Some of us would not give in to those long-robed dictator assholes

Those fricken Indian res schools those res school Blues

Indian Residential Schools from HELL are now disgraced

They took a whole great Nation and tried to eliminate our RACE

Those rotten res school blues

Those Catholic controlled & gov't woes the res school Blues

You can't defeat a god nation that's had so many woes

You can't destroy a good nation especially their True, Honest Souls!

The Indian is still alive in us! YEAH!

No more Indian residential school blues!

Sylvia Josephine Merasty

Whisper softly in my ear Only saying things I want to hear Sweet I ies that make me feel tine but only for a little while A dashing smile and sugar-coated lips A tongue that sways with

the persuasion of kids Your body and mask reassure Your eyes are the only way I know

what's actually there Cold and empty you look at me ·Eyes begging me to believe Begging me not to see So !let it be Easier to ignore than fight In the end it's just another night

Scissor strapped across the bed You are red, violent red You try to hide under a mask this is just another daily task Emotions play in your wide eyes Revealing to me hidden lies the ones you cautiously stow away to be dealt with on another day I can see insecurity But I let it be My head fi lled up with smoke Body flaunting Lips taunting Eyes so haunting An Open-Close case is what you want me to think But I see through you.

Wendy Johnstone _j

Page 8: September 15, 2012, carnegie newsletter

The Word on the Street Carnegie Centre- Saturday, September 29

Please note that all workshops at Carnegie Centre will be on a sign up "first come, first serve" basis.

)essions have a 15-person maximum unless otherwise noted. Registration sheets will be available in the

office at Carnegie Community Centre Sept. 1, 2012.

IN THE CLASSROOM (3rd floor, room 2) 10-12:00 Need Your Handwritten Work Typed?

Come to the Type-Up! 1:00-5:00 Controlling the Means of Production: A Chapbook Workshop with Mercedes Eng Chapbooks -- short, self-published, handmade books ­-allow writers to get their work circulating quickly and cost-efficiently. This event is a short information session on the importance of the chapbook as a strat­egic tool for writers, followed by a works hop where participants can make up to I 0 copies of their own I 0-12 page books . If possible, bring work on a memory stick. If not, participants are strongly encouraged to attend the Type-Up from 10 am to noon where they can get their work entered into typed form at. Participants will have the opportunity to sell their books the next day at the Festival. (All materials sup plied free of charge.) IN THE THEATRE 3:00: HOST: Elee Kraljii Gardiner: V6A: Writing from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside

This is a book of creative writing from thirty-two writers, emerging and establis hed, who have been a part of the DTES community. Their stories, poems and essays are an act of self-determ­ination that portrays the DTES as a site of creative energy and human dignity. Co-editor Elee Kraljii Gardiner and three contributors will read from the

helping raise awareness around issues related to homelessness, addiction and mental health. For the Word On The Street festival, Megaphone wi ll feature three writers who participate in the workshops. 4:05 Christine Lec lerc wi th a Poetry Workshop Christine Leclerc is a Vancouver-based author and activist. Her essays on tar sands pipeline resistance have appeared in This Magazine and WordWorks . Energy-related poems appear in Issue 72 of West Coast Line and her supertanker-related work includes "Oilywood." Leclerc is excited to share a power­packed poetry workshop on cl imate change, poetic form and tar sands supertankers in Burrard Inlet. 5:15 HOST: Elee Kraljii Gardiner: How to Do Your Best Live Reading with Hal Wake

Join Hal Wake, artistic director of the Vancouver International Writer's Festival, for a workshop on author readings. Designed to equip you with the too ls to do the best possible live readings of your work, this workshop will teach you how to prepare and practice, overcome nerves, breathe properly and use your voice effectively. Its goal is to turn public reading from something you dread into something you are prepared for and anticipate with pleasure. (20 people ma.;--c) 7:00-9:00 HOST: Diane Wood: DTES Poets Open Mic Poetry Night Diane Wood and the Downtown Eastside Poets have held monthly open mic poetry nights for many years and have published several chapbooks. Come on down and join DTES Poets, T he Word On The Street Vancouver poets, and others, for a lively night of open mic readings. Sign up for I 0-minute reading slots will be first-come first-served.

anthology. (Arsenal Pulp Press $19.95) Carnegie Association at Word on the Street 3:25 HOST: Rhonda Shanks, Writing Workshop 11 - 5:00 Sunday, September 30 Coordinator, Megaphone is a magazine sold on the VPL Central: 350 W Georgia St streets o f Vancouver by homeless and low-income vendors. The magazine also runs a series of writing Featuring issues of the Carnegie N ewsletter. past & workshops at treatment centres, social housing present, with copies of The Heart of the Community: buildings and community centres in the Downtown The Best of the Carnegie N ewsletter, current Help in Eastside and downtown Vancouver. Many of the the Downtowll Eastside booklets, COs- Bud Osborn's stories and poems from the workshops are then poetry and the Music Program's . We are the People' . published in the magazine. The writing workshops There may even be copies of the Wa/ki11g Tour of the

give marginali zed residents of Vancouver an opportu- ._s.i.de•'•v•al•k•M-o.sa•t•·c.s •. C- o•m•e•s•a•y•I•1e•l•lo• t•o• L• i•s•a •&- P•a•u•l.- .. nity to tell their own stories in their own voice while

Page 9: September 15, 2012, carnegie newsletter

GOOD NEWS!

For more information, please contact (} Jason Bouchard, Coordinator at: \ Email: [email protected] Phone: 778-879-9843

The DTES Small Arts Grants Project is back to provide funding opportunities for Individual Artists!

1 o view our online gallery, please visit: http: /Iva ncouverfoundationsmallarts.ca/

Carnegie Community Centre is very happy to announce that the Vancouver Foundation has refunded this successful project, and with added support from Vancity, and Nuba, we will once again offer 64 grants of up to $1000 to artists living in the Downtown Eastside.

Applications are now available at the information desk at the Carnegie Centre. Deadline for submission is Tuesday, October 9th, at 4 PM. Successful grant recipients will be announced in late December/early JanuMy 2013.

Do you Love the DTES Market as much as we do?! Are you tired of this "us against them" attitude when the reality is we move into this

neighborhood because we LOVE the people who live here with all their colour and flare?

Stand up and be counted LETS KEEP THIS MARKET I

The place where once a week All of us come together to share stories and treasures and understanding. And sadly, yes, sometimes recoup our stolen camera ;)

BTW: the fresh produce sold at the Sunday Market is grown in garden across from Save on Meats!! local , fresh , ethical , organic and by the residents! ! !! Come on lets prove we aren't a bunch of gentrification loving douchebags!

Show your support COME OUT NEXT SUNDAY and visit us

Gentry FOR The DTES Market This was taped on a pole somewhere, with a picture of vegetables that didn 't scan but was in co lour anyway ... Odds are it was up prior to Sept 71h when, according to a story in 24 Hours, the City paid heed and gave a thumbs up. There was a " wish tree" like in a children's storybook, and I guess whoever at City Hall thought "Well, a civilized protest" (in language they can be condescendingly patronizing about) "Let the wee people have their fun." When we talk about the DTES way of doing things, about being forced to vend because of poverty, about using po les for posters because that's how our community communicates, about having to share ?.n SRO with a stranger because of real exploitative capitalism sliming its way to the surface, no one there can get what we're talking about!?! Most other neighbourhoods could learn a thing or three from what's happening in the DTES.

Page 10: September 15, 2012, carnegie newsletter

Ode to a Spartan Warrior

Austerity your holy sacrament Self-righteousness your sword Your visor pride and spite Your stand on principle a lways adversarial A 20th century bloodsport Metal spikes and spurs Defile, denigrate, refute Vapid, weaker minds - in cruel rituals No more battles to be fought: Man to Man Face to face in perilous mountain passes on higher ground to test a Knight's Valour His will to die- gloriously Mythical heroes - Achilles and Hector Avatars - alter egos Now clash in cyberspace Escape into digital galaxies -games of war Your stallion shot through with pain & rage Exiled from life prematurely Trapped within granite walls Shackles of your mind -a gloomy harness Your emaciated stall ion screams

The "Rich NaZi Bitch got a ~al Bad ltCh

Over at Cottonwood Community Garden Be one nazi itch sure has a hard on keeps on hassling me for the crime of sleeping under one of "her" trees, keeps yelling "Ain't no camping allowed in here!" everytime she sees me even come near she don't see it ain't 'camping' for me ain't recreation I do for free It's my life but you can't see You being well off, maybe even rich Got so much time to do nothin' but bitch it's surv ival for me sleeping under "your" tree but one day after all your poor folk bashin' someone gonna rise up give yer ass a real good thrashin'

Some of us tryin' to escape the goody goody hotels with the bedbugs, the human bugs the ones getting' a thrill wakin' you up 'cause they want some brillo or the one-eyed bully extortionist

Against this injustice silence transgression sepulchre

• gives everyone's arm a real good twist some of us just wannabe free

But you remain aloof- defiant. Your last stand: C lutching the arcane code of Spartan virtu Seeking refuge amidst the ruins of a last, fated game of chess where the outcome (as he knows) is both irrevocab le and non-negotiable.

Laila Biergens ~---------------

Fall

When summer nears an end And we feel like going around the bend We can find a new path and wend

that's why we all under '·your" tree so before you start hassling the poor be thankful you got a front door 'cause if you ever thought about it maybe you'd see it ain't a l roses

sleeping under "your" tree

Dickie Slingshot

there is certainly nothing to fear. Other people are there to enjoy and it can really buoy up your spirits.

When you leave the park and you feel a spark

our way somewhere we don't have to spend an arm and a leg; we can fend

of renewal, you can say, "Hey man, winter's comin' but I'll hear the strum min' and face the cold days with a heart full of praise!

off the blues and go to Oppenheimer Park where our souls we can mend and pick up anew our agend a

The music is wonderful to hear and Joyce Morgan

Page 11: September 15, 2012, carnegie newsletter

Carnegie Community Action Project (CCAP)

Newsletter Read CCAP re Se tember 15, 2012

Why does the DEOD matter? Zoning policy protects the low-income community

The Downtown Eastside

Oppenheimer District­DEOD for short- is the heart of the Low-income community for a reason. It is the only neighbourhood in Vancouver that is protected against real estate development by city policy. Because of these protections the DEOD io.; the most low-income neighbourhood in the city. Tt has the most low-income hou sing., the most services

s: )>

z (/) -l

Panta@ .12) I Carnegie Ctr

and re<;oun.:es for low­

income people. :mel rhe fewest condos and boutique restaurants. The area has been protected against the ongoing condo storm which is pounding the rest of the Downtown Eastside by a simple piece of c ity policy that acts like sandbag levees against a storm.

lnclusionary zoning

The policy city council

0 c:... c )>

z () r ;::<;:

Q m (/)

0 ~ 0 :0 z m

CORDOVA

HASTINGS

. PENDER

Downtown Eastside Oppenheimer District boundaries

uses to make real estate

investment ~md condo dcvdopment unattractive to investors and devdopers is called "inclusionary zoning."' It's called inclusionary because in the DEOD any new building, even an addition to an existing building, legally ~as to include 20% social housing. So far no private developer has managed to plan. build. and sell a condo project in the DEOD

ALEXANDER

POWELL

I m

'"0 ~ :lJ r z m () ~

m (/) (/)

Page 12: September 15, 2012, carnegie newsletter

and make enough of a prollt to make their investment worthwhile in their eyes.

"Development incentives"

ln most neighbourhoods city hall gives developers and properly owners bonuses and incentives for building condo towers. For example, in the spring of 2011 city council changed building regulations in Chinatown so that developers could build high towers where they used to be forbidden. Property values shot up by an average of about 100% that year. And by. the anniversary of that rezoning

2

Development incentives mean evictions for low-income people

one new condo to\vcr had already been approved ("The Flats" at 219 E. Georgia) and three more major condo towers were goi ng through city approval processes: a 10-storcy project at 1 89 Keefer, a J 2-storey tower at 633 Main St, and a 17-storey tower at 61 1 Main. CCAP calls city rezonings that allow developers to make more money "incentives" for development. It 's a kind of government welfare for the very rich .

The DEOD is different from Chinatown and the other areas in the Downtown Eastside because rather than give incentives to developers to build expensive condo projects city policy is to make condo development Jess attractive and keep property values down. Property owners. investors, and developers hate this kind of thin& and are always arguing against this city policy. They like it when the government intervenes in development to give them more benefits, but they don't like it when government policy keeps profits down.

If every neighbourhood in Vancouver was governed by inclusionary zoning then developers would have to make do and there would be nothing special- from a city-policy point of view -about the DEOD. But the DEOD is special because the city doesn't put such barriers to profit and deve lopment in other neighbourhoods. So even though the land in the DEOD is cheaper than almost anywhere el-;c in the city, city policy protects it from the

Page 13: September 15, 2012, carnegie newsletter

real estate storms that are making people homeless elsewhere.

Controlling the rate of change

To be clear, inclusionary zoning hasn't actually created any ne\v housing for low income people and isn't really a good policy for creating new housing that people on \'-''clfare can afford. In the DEOD, inclusionary zoning is what planners call a ··rate of change mechanism.'' 1t keeps developers from building condos that have all the ripple · ' ' 1

effects of higher rents in stores and hotels. yuppie stores, more policing and harassment of low income people, and displacement of low income people. We still need the federal and

provincial governments to fund more new self contained housing that people on welfare can afford. But inclusionary zoning will give us some time to lobby for good programs and get the governments that will fund the housing.

100% social housing tomorrow

Since 1982 the 20o/c inclusionary wning rule has kept the DEOD low-income but there have been recent signs that 20% is no-longer enough. The most important

example is the ''Sequel 13W' condo development planned at the old Pantages property on the I 00-block of East Hastings, right behind Carnegie. The developer had his condo dream approved by the city with the 20% social housing requirement and without a rezoning. He has v.·eathered massi vc conununity opposition just to get through the approval stage.

Pantages is not the only problem

In the spring of 2012 CCAP found that property values have been going up in the Oppenheimer district too. Three SRO hotels were bought in 2011. one of them- the York - for sure

by a gentrifying developer. A developer is sitting on a proposal for a market-rate apartment tower across from the cop shop on Main. And CCAP suspects that one owner has bought up a bunch of neighbouring propet1ies along Hastings Street and on Main north of Hastings, often a precursor for development.

When the 20% inclusionary zoni ng rule was made city planners chose that number because that was the percentage of renters in Vancouver who were in ''core need'' of housing- paying more than half of their

3

Page 14: September 15, 2012, carnegie newsletter

incomes to rent and living in unhealthy and insecure conditions. More recent stats are that that number is now more like 3)C/'c of renters.

The trurh is that working class and low-income people in Vancouver arc experiencing a housing emergency. 30 years of inclusionary zoning in the DEOD should teach us that the government can in fact do something about the Vancouver housing emergency. There is nowhere this emergency is more drastic than the Downtown Eastside. but we need social housing and shelter from the storm everywhere in the city. That means we need different level s of inclusionary zoning in different parts of the city: 1oning to protect the low­income community in the DEOD and the DTES and zoning to create more low­income affordable housing throughout the city.

CCAP is calling for a four circles of care housing policy. with the heart of the low­income community at the core: 301.

the Viaducts): 70% social housing at wclfareipen~ion rate;

• Rc:-.t of the DTES: 1/3 social housing at welfare/pension rate, l /3 low-income working peoples· social housing , and I /3 market housing;

• Vancouver outside the DTES: 30% social housing.

-LD.

11\/CLU$ fON'A'lJ

l..o.;J rJG

• DEOD: I 00% social housing at welfare/ pension rate;

• Hastings Corridor and Thornton Park (with

~oc 1A-L HOUSI~

(_ \ \'j"--'IDE AT

4

Page 15: September 15, 2012, carnegie newsletter

(

Get well soon Wendy! CCAP\ tireless organizer/researcher Wendy Pedersen will he taking a medical leave for several month~.

Ivan Drury and Jean Swanson \Viii be at­tempting to pick up her work load, so if you have a CCAP cal l for Wendy, try Ivan at 604 7R I 7346 or Jean at 604 729 2380 instead.

lf you want to ~end good-wishes and love to her you can email her at wendyccap(a.;'grnail.com

See an example r~la sweet email sent to W'endyfrom one commu­nity member:

Wendy.

I just read the news that you aren't well. and are taking leave from your post at CCAP, DNC. everything DTES until January. I hope you will get the rest and care that you need. You're a role model for me, and an eternally committed social justice and housing defender. The DTES is lost without you. I am crossing my fingers that you'll be back in the hood soon. as usual, speak­ing our for tho~e who are victimized by poverty, food insecurity, and unsafe. hardly affordable housing option'>.

Gentrification would be rampant too. with­out your public prollle.

Wendy, you're one in a hilliun . Without you, the Pantages site would ~till he dan­gerous and unhealthy. or would probably have been condoized already.

There would be no useful LAPP. DNC, and probably kss level headed facilitation . I hope you'll get well soon. Thank you for

your leadership, courage and determination in defending women's rights too. You're irreplaceable. Take care.

Steve B.

5

Page 16: September 15, 2012, carnegie newsletter

What do Downtown Eastside residents have in common?

What do you think is the main thing that DTES parents like about the DTES community? When CCAP asked a group of sex workers this question, they guessed things like .. the school:· and "the playground.'- \\'hen they learned that the top thing parents like about their

community is: ''Kids learning compassion

and kindness towards others and non­judgementalness.'' they were quite taken aback and moved ro tears. When parents

found out how the sex workers responded,

they were moved as well.

In the spring of :20 I I CCAP organized a series of workshops between different groups of Downtown Eastside residents to find out what we all have in common and how we can build community between

6

groups we sometimes think of as separate. The story above io; one example of what we found; we're all closer than \VC think.

We asked question s ro get at these

insights and then shared these insights with different groups to build solid and

meaningful community relations and

solidarity between marginalized people

who may not otherwise have opp01tunitics to connect and learn from each other. Learning like this can help reinforce the values of this community as a place of non­

judgementalncss and help to preserve its future.

This is what happened during CCAP's smal l project to bring together 4 groups of people t<J talk about community 1ssnes

Page 17: September 15, 2012, carnegie newsletter

separately, and then find common ground together. The 4 groups who participated were sex workers, GBLT2IQ, sing le parents and Chinese speaking seniors. The project finished in June.

Each group met separately and talked about • the good things in the DTES community as well as the bad things. Then they met and discussed common ground. A114 groups <~greed that there was a strong sense of community in the DTES and that we need more good social housing.

As a result of the project:

• A very interesting list of good and bad things about the community W<lS created by marginalized sectors of the DTES and this can be used to build better understanding, tolerance , policies etc

• Four peer leaders were mentored, gained more skills in community organizing and can become more influential community leaders in the future;

understanding of who is interested to talk about their community which is an important first step in developing leadership in marginali zed sectors of the DTES;

Some of the 40 participants are staying in touch with CCAP organizers and already participating in events without actively encouraging them. They could become influential community leaders in the future .

• One of the peer leaders published an at1icle related in a local newspaper related to the results of the project;

The project was funded by the Vancity Community Foundation.

• Everyone who participated, including the coordinator, has a better

7

Page 18: September 15, 2012, carnegie newsletter

61h ANNUAL WOMEN'S HOUSING MARCH

All welcome forth\: DTLS l'o"""cr of \\'omen#~ r;1 "~ Annua1 \\'omen~., ~1.trdt r\,r Hnusing .U'Id .h.brch A~.lHhl Pov~rt~' - r :ea'it.~ brinJt y('lu r drum~ and regalia

Saturday September 15 @ 1:30pm Starts at Cordova and Columbia, DTES

Unceded Coast Salish Territories

• H:,mts {Ill Proplc-1 uot Profit {rJ1 Re.r! fs,nt~! • Hflmf!'. nt1f {t.iiil

• ll.>u<rng. Chlltk~r~. 1111ot 1/,•,tlt!<ea" jM AI/I • /-lome> llDI P'l•tii'IC,• • Rent Control uot Sot1al Colli rei' • No ft.,dions ,mJ No Gmlntirnll<'u'

Some websites to look at http ://ccapvancouver.wordpress.com/ Virtually everything we're up to at CCAP gets posted on this blog. Click on the reports tab to read CCAP's reports.

http://dtesnotfordevelopers.wordpress.com Website for the Downtown Eastside Not for Developers Coalition and the campaign to stop the Sequel 138 condos on the 1 00-block

http://raisetherates.org/ See the Raise the Rates website for updates on the campaign to ra ise welfare and basic wages in BC and the fight for justice, not charity!

8

V •ty vu..t v.ver anc1 +~. ·~daticn Support for this project does not necessarily imply Vancity or Vancouver Foundation 's endorsement of the findings or contents of this newsletter

Page 19: September 15, 2012, carnegie newsletter
Page 20: September 15, 2012, carnegie newsletter

Aboriginal Front Door Society 384 Main Street 604-697-5662

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Join us at:

PLACE: AFD, 384 Main Street WHEN; Every WEDNESDAY- Starting Se t. 5 2012 TIME: 5:00pm to 7:30pm

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Page 21: September 15, 2012, carnegie newsletter
Page 22: September 15, 2012, carnegie newsletter

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There was a time behind the point of no return we we're young and angry people and we had the whole world to burn 109 East Hastings was our sun every star was a band and every gig was followed by a party no matter how much you drank you would never forget, every weekend was an inebriation exhibition of light the punks and the hippies got along just fine it was the pigs and the skinheads we had to fight with a third eye tattooed on the backs of their heads about as clever as pure ignorance would ever get, like the Exon Valdez bursting into the fountain of youth. At 15. I was playing the Smiling Buddha, by 16 I had a tab the world was ours now this is completely nothing but the truth oh yeah they tried so hard to stop us from using our brains we had the ideas and knew exactly how to spit them out, after awesome gigs headlined by D.O.A. the SUBHUMANS or any touring band that got across the border or out of province or England ... Those days were chaos nothing but disorder I saw so many incredible bands and being in a punk rock band NO EXIT we got to back up some pretty cool acts but being sinister-handed made some situations a little more difficult but I welcomed every challenge this was spur of the moment do it yourself land and that's what punk rock was about every weekend at the Buddha there was something extra special and that was where the party is: the Hacienda. Wank manor. The Plaza. 110 and \52 west Hastings. The Water­front and so many more that crossed the awesome threshold and the music it screamed of anarchy as energy and anti-authoritarianism wannabees I threw 3 years of schoo l away and I'd do it again, some may disagree but punk rock hit Vancouver around '78 & I didn't get in until 1980 and by the end of '83 it was

beoinnina to seal its fate I wasn't even able to get 0 t>

welfare by the end, a v ision of longevity was waking up alive the next day by the door being pounded on by a very large and angry man from Long and Made screaming where the---- is our mono block amp these guys are excuses for breakfast and the excuses could wind up with several ambulance bills, the granl street and undertones massacres were a bit before my time and the pigs and the rich truly thought punk rockers were mentally ill which of course back then both were

crimes and the Smiling Buddha was considered an asylum for the insane parents told their children tales that left them screwed-up I sometimes wonder how much cash these people had that blamed us for their 5 or 6 digit therapist and hospital bills, like a bad hair day two thousand years in the making; booze begat drugs then heroin became the eleventh commandment we all began forsaking I watched my best friend die then next morning I spent the last of my Confiscator

pay cheque and quite possibly my conscience went out & bought some more, some of the best musicians played inside those rotting walls a lot of them are dead or worse went into that next nothing unlimited fall then came A silence quieter than a nothing but JOY division universe the Buddha became an anti­historical who cares about it forget about it just more useless space trying to pass as folk love then it got swept under the floor, like falling down a flight of razor blades ... Vancouver was number one in self­mutilation in all ofNorth America in fact also in ambulance bills {unpaid} my own I am proud of no doctors no stitches just memories of long-sleeved shirts we wear the wounds of time yet this organ called skin hung around us like a cage but somehow it manages to heal, like a Larry Flynt [Hustler] love-in right in the miqdle oflran people despised and wondered about our motives they just couldn't under­stand it was the Reagans and Thatchers of our time and very briefly a joke named Joe Clark who got lost in the light as well as in the dark our music was a way to point out the pointless wars to this day they use the same cards somehow expecting a better brighter deal, officer Dawn made sure we were all within shouting distance even when right in front getting cuffed and roughed up do what you can we will fight you we had unlimited resistance yet for every advisory a dozen more devolved how I truly miss the gloriousness of what once was to me the best of those strange days, inopportune was the beat we unfortunately had to take and that was and is a shame-- look at this city now it's "sanitized sidewalk sleeping keep your eye on your everything you own shopping cart" they continue "now grow up and stop that bull---- weeping go paint Daisies on your cardboard box coffin or plant dead nowers ifyou like just hurry up and fade far far far away, I 09 East Hastings will always be stuck some­where in my soul forever and a day. I try to listen to what the 21st century has for music and I almost

Page 23: September 15, 2012, carnegie newsletter

vomit and feel sorry for this generation that to me has not only lost but never had awesome music to play not just punk thieves metal classical prog? rock and depression rock such as Joy Division who would have to say this, "This is the crisis i knew had to come destroying the balance I'd keep" nothing lasts forever than again once in a blue moon a flash back or memory opens the floodgates and out pours those feelings you've always kept why can't tomorrow be ' another yesterday, there is so much more could be done but my mind and hands feel at least for now this much has been done thank you Smiling Buddha. Nancy. Lachman. Igor.[EY! !YOU Got I.Q.?] the Doorman Enforcer & everyone living & dead take care.

By ROBERT MCGILLIVRAY.

*Women speak out against pipelines, Friday September 2 1, 7pm at Aboriginal Friendship Centre *The War Stops Here! Gathering against drug prohibition, Saturday, September 22, 9:30am-6pm at Oppenheimer Park *What we are hearing in the DTES Local Area Planning Process, Friday, September 28 at the Japanese Language Hall, time TBA.

The Spirits of Lysha Garry Gust © 2012

In a parallel dimension to that of Earth, is Lysha. 25,000 years ago the Lyshans occupied Earth for almost a century. After harvesting certain rare minerals, and creating homo erectus, they returned home. Within the biogenetics of homo erectus they implanted an extremely rare gene that would reoccur only in one individual every two thousand years. This, the Messiah gene, gave superhuman mental abilities to its possessor. Over hundreds and thousands of years the homo erectus gene pool became infected with a disbanded molecule that affected a small portion of the growing population. Those who were actively infected with the gene banded together in a secret society, the Platts, which would eventually rule the world as we know it today, even though no one outside of themselves knew of their existence.

The only problem the Platts had was every 2ooo years when the Messiah gene was once again reacted in an individual. When this occurred the Platts made great efforts to.do away w ith the threat to their opulent Society. Within recorded history, two such individuals were

r:rr~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Jesus ofNazareth and Adolf H itler. Both men were II destroyed by the powerful machinery of the Platts'

Flu Blitz- October 09- October 26th.

Shift times: 8:30-noon; 12:45- 4:15pm Monday to Friday We are in need volunteers for all days and shifts of

the blitz. Volunteers work directly with nurses helping them navigate the neighbourhoods, helping to register and recruit people to get flu shots and acting as an overall assistant to the nurse. If interested call 604-363-0559 or s ign up at the Old Buddhist Temple 30 I East Hastings, October 9th & I Oth

Community Volunteer Resources Vancouver Coasta l Health

"Volunteer for the health of it"

control of propaganda medias and altered historical publications.

While the rest of us live, struggle, and die, the Platts become increasingly more powerful. But the spirits of Lysha are emanating stronger pulses upon our planet in preparation for their return. Manv of us sense these pulses and the messages within the1~. The message is to expose the Platts and subdue them

before the Lyshans come.

What I Did on my Summer Vacation

I went across the street and sat under a tree. I couldn ' t afford to go much further away .

By Sam Snobelen

Page 24: September 15, 2012, carnegie newsletter

Downtown Eastside pro forma With Postscipts

Perhaps the most ridiculous cliche current, that par­ticularly inane favourite of newspaper columnists, is to begin an article with Don~ get me wrong, but ... , ostensibly to warn the so-called reader that some out­rageous opinion will presently be conveyed- either a piece of so-called common sense, which, the colum­nist, no doubt taking the world of newspapers in gen­eral as the world in general, will declare, as if the columnist were the first to say it, is in fact uncommon, or a vent full of what the columnist considers verbal magic (calisthenics), by which, of course, in an appar­ently more constrained form, the columnist makes whatever,it is we refer to when we say a living - but in fact to b~st the c~lumnist's reputation of being quite apart from the newspaper world, of which the col4mnist is an essential component. (The television world, incidently, abuses us in an identical manner.) Naturally, far from it being a whim for the columnist (ornery talk show host) to appear to step out of the role of newspaper person, it is all they are paid for. They must make the newspaper's (network's) trickery and essenBal mendacity less evident, or more so-called palatable, by providing so-called opinion and outrage, in comparison to which the outrageous and menda­cious so-called hard news seems reasonable and even believable. It is neigh impossible for newspaper columnists to step out of their roles, certainly in their columns, just as it is impossible for newspapers to step out of their mendacious and misleading roles, and just as it is impossible for us to step out of whatever it is we refer to when we speak or think of our so-called roles or what we would have to refer to as or roles if we tbund it necessary to consider ourselves as having them.

What we can express about our roles is certainly the extent of what we so-called know, of what we can know, according to, for example, the academics who have recently invaded the Downtown Eastside, proflu­ent with pro forma so-called community access pro­grams (referring to, in all cases, their access to fund­ing and whatever educational victims they can find

among the people of the Downtown Eastside who both know they exist and don't contientiously ignore them), so-called research projects, preliminary, follow-up, and continuing studies, surveys, trials, whatnots, all in an attempt to do, or appear to mean to do, something I cannot (nor can they) possibly imagine, but which everyone seem to be sure needs to be done. Now that they are here in numbers, as they say, however, it would be dangerous indeed to remove, attempt to remove, or even, in all cases, criticize, faintly or harsh­ly, them. We would thereby embody the ungrateful that we most certainly represent anyway, were we to question, if we were ever offended enough to set aside our pessimism and express anything to them at all, this or that about their expertise. Yes, it is certainly now dangerous, quite literally dangerous, to challenge the academic invaders who are teaching us how to appear exactly as they always knew us to be anyway, as the mendacious photographers and videograpbers who recently went about making (are making, and will make) sure we still look as they know we really are pictured us, acclaimed and financially rewarded as they were for this intellectual and photographic, this spectacular travesty. Not only are these academics trained and right-thinking (as in missionary) paid emissaries of people in so-called high places, who grade, lecture and recommend them, but they have choice and voice, lots of voice, even to the extent of being operatic with voice, of being almost entirely composed of voice, an aura of voice surrounding them (etc.), pen and paper (and a place to use them), books (and shelves to store them in), computers, associa­tions, advisors, grants, sweets to stick to their resumes,

Page 25: September 15, 2012, carnegie newsletter

three or even more laundry loads worth of clothes, apparent mental health (which is mental health), the pall of competance, a place to eat and cook as well as stuff to e<h and cook there, and whatnot, all of which serves to tnake them powerful, influential and danger­ous. Yes, I am talking about more than academics and the Downtown Eastside - I am talking about the rather ridiculou~ blind faith, a faith entirely contrary to every experience everywhrre, in every big and small case, at all times, that we have in so-called expertise and knowledge, or the concept of expertise and knowledge - but I ani talking about academics and the Downtown Eastside quite literally. (The unconditional lack of response i got to the three pages I submitted to the so­called Mission Statement committee at Carnegie, a criticism of the anti-historical and superficial approach

the comrrhttee took to the process, for example, only re-enforced my own pessimism, and convinced me that the idea of expertise is so ingrained as to be indis­tinguishable from, say, breathing.) The rules so-called down here are - jobs for academics (and enforcers), and as for the rest of us, we contrary and irritating, or, to use a more realistically patronizing term, feisty folk, we get to either listen or be studied, or both, try their computers, and, incidentally, have our pictures taken (but don't bother asking for a copy).

Postscripts

If you are happy in spite of it all, they'll either think you simple, easy to work so-called with, and try to execute whatever it is they execute when they think they are providing help, or else they 'll think they somehow contributed, and take it as proof of their validity. Of course, if you' re sad, you'll only prove

their necessity, and they might try to be of so-called assistance even so. No wonder so many disappear fre­quently into their SROs or wherever.

Some of the art programs that are happening here are also burdened with this heirarchy of so-called expertise, and a Gachet ad elsewhere in this issue even assures us that so-called Outsider Art is "an area of major interest," for, no doubt, the academics, whose primary functiol\ is to come up with, and enforce, these labels. It's just that I wish people here (or any­where) would stop repeating as absolute everything someone with a degree in this or that says, usually to obtain funding or to increase marketability, to reduce discourse to a set of concepts in which only academics have fluency and by which they maintain their appar­ent expertise etc.

On a different topic, and for those to whom this day and the history it represents has an ftcknowledged, or even not entirely unacknowledged significance, Yom Hashoah, the 27th of Nissan, falls this year on Tuesday, April 19.

Dan Feeney

SADHANA The pain will not set in It will be revealed as having always been there -

Thoughts put off- not thought about at all just the first line or so - dismissed as bootless speculation

Yet the universe moves as independent from wishes/dreams/fantasies and the feeling is that the perfect Ideology is biding its time .. in the shadows ... Time to start for home.

Start with the first step and have faith. What else is there in a world gone crazy? With people quite happy to cut out ) your tongue and make you eat it.

paulr taylor

Page 26: September 15, 2012, carnegie newsletter

Dan Feeneyt Expertiset and Political Judgment

In his article ·'Downtown Eastside pro forma ' (Carnegie New•sletter. Apri115/0l) Dan Feeney "ams us of the danger of experts who come to tell us what" s good for us, and he is dismayed ''that the idea of expertise is so ingrained as to be indisting­uishable from. say, breathing."' Dan is right. ln our fragmented world of specialists, expertise has bec­ome too closely associated with power and control.

"'We are managed, not governed,"' Ursula Franklin said. Experts presume to kno'v what is best for us. They measure us with their slide rules, and turn us

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into nwnbers. True. mathematics is the language of technology and business. but it is not the language of human beings trying to make sense of their experience.

Managerial elites manage us with technological skills that stress cost-effectiveness and efficiency. Their world involves systems and quantification_ and is far removed from the real \vorld of suffering people. The introduction of a hostile management culture into welfare offices is a good example of expertise gone mad. Experts figured out that a vicious dog approach to people seeking help could bring about a b% to I 0% decrease in ·welfare caseloads. This brutal approach undermines every decent thing our country is supposed to stand for, and turns welfare offices into centres of rage and distrust- much to the dismay of w·elfare recipients and social service workers.

In the 20th century, large administrative systems and sophisticated technology have distanced people from each other. Governments and senior officials (experts) have become so removed from the realitv of poor and unemployed citizens that they have · ceased to see them as hmnan beings. They don' t seem to be aware of the anguish, despair and anger that impossibly low welfare rates and draconian

consent forms can cause. They tend to see the people they're supposed to be helping as stereotypes. and therefore non-human. and in falling into their offici­al expert role, they become non-human themsehes. Rationality and efficiency, taken to their logical conclusion, lead to the criminalization of poor and homeless people, and then to Auschwitz and the Gulag.

Bureaucratic culture (both private and public) sees society as an object of administration, a collection of problems to be solved, a garden to be weeded, or a resource to be exploited. Morality, in the context of management, becomes the commandment to be a l~yaJ. efficient and diligent worker.( I) Adolf E1chmann was all of those things. Expertise as technological decision-making, tends

t? ~eparate ~eason from feeling, rationality from hvmg expenence, and efficiency from ethics . The society that surrenders to the rule of technology, the rule of the expert, will eliminate the human face of the other - the one who reaches out to us. Citizenship is the antidote to expertise. Citizens, not

experts. fought to end the Vietnam War. Citizens, not experts, worked to curtail the nuclear industrv Citizens, not experts, fought environmental -. pollution. Citizens, not experts, fought against the freeway prqject that would have destroyed part of downtown Vancouver. Citizens, not experts, fought to save Strathcona from highrise mania. Citizens, not ~xpe~s, are fighting to protect aU peoples from the lDlpenal globalization of the transnational corporations. Citizenship is an expression of our deepest need for

ea~h oth~r and for the land. Citizens believe they can b~Ild thelT community in such a way that aH persons w~l! have the opportunity and resources to live fully. C.h.zens uphold the common good which is democ­racy, and they exercise their political judgment to carry fmward this vision of liberty, equality and communi!) .

Political judgment looks at the decisions we need to make as a community in the light of all that is meaningful to us in our history and traditions. It is a form of public seeing that sees because it cares and it ~aves beyond the coercion of specialization ;o the wtsdom of shared experience. Dialogue is essential to political judgment, and dialogue requires mutual respect and intense listening.

Farrell Toombs reminds us that dialogue is imposs-

Page 27: September 15, 2012, carnegie newsletter

ible when one person thinks he/she knO\:vs what is best for the other. and he says, '· ... we fail when we attempt to train experts to correct the situation of subordinated persons. Our only course is to question our own fundamental assumptions together ... " (2) As Lila Watson, an Aborigine Elder from Australia, has said, " if you have come to free me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, come let us work together.' ·

And come, let us talk together and exercise our power of definition, whether it be through the committees of the Carnegie Community Centre Association, the committees of Community Directions, the Carnegie Newsletter, The DERA Newsletter, the Downtown Eastside poets, the Downtown Eastside musicians. four Comers Community Savings, V ANDU, the Portland Hotel, the Downtown Eastside Women' s Centre, the

Do\\n town Eastside Seniors, the Interurban Project, or any other group that meets together and supports its members for the common good. " Language is always the crucial battlefield," Benjamin Barber said. "Left to the media, the bureaucrats, the prof­essors and the administrators, language degenerates into one more weapon in the armory of elite rule.' (3)

By SANDY CAMERON

( I) Modernity and Holocaust, by Zygmunt Bauman, Cornell University Press, 1989.

(2) For every north american Indian who begins to disappear. 1 also begin to disappear, by Farrell Toombs, Anansi Press.

(3) Strong Democracv. by Benjamin Barber, University of California Press, 1984, page 197.

Wild Dog Man

~ ~--/ -- il

[n these tough times People treat their dogs Better than the Poets Then a carney travelled At night to many planets Chained to the coffee cup Cigarettes in the morning Then insanely throvro. Out into the front lines

/ .1 ~

. . '

t !

·.; "" Who Flies the Kites?

Strange how many of us squeeze out our kids from flying their own "kites" . I have seen this happen on the beach, and by extension. in the class room. in public debate, in family politics .. .. snatching away the feeling of success from those who need it most, And it is done through insecurity, fear, through the shriveled spirits of the bully, the po\verful, the privileged few.

SamRoddan

A spiritual path for two Soul brothers to find Bill Bisset by Jugo Juice The Wall Centre nearby And Jimmy Hendrix is About " rock and roll'' A wild dog running free In the warm air at night

That ship sailed in May Why hate what you love? That Flight Path to June The fires burning higher Blame the newspaper box A match made in heaven A yotmg, hot soccer player At a train station in Munich Then corning to life again Hearing the masters voice.

Daniel Rajala

Page 28: September 15, 2012, carnegie newsletter

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