Marcy,
Is it the word "confrontational" you dislike, or the concept? Do you
believe that it's essentially true, as Einstein said, that "Great
spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre
minds?" Or do you subscribe more to Rodney King's idea -- "Why can't we
all just get along?" Should we of "great spirits," or great
understanding, hide our lights under a bushel? Or stand up and speak
truth to power? Confrontation doesn't have to be arrogant or violent --
Gandhi was quite confrontational.
I love luxury too, it's just the costs and limitations imposed by
trying to plan large-scale LP events around it that concerns me. And
it's not just the luxury, it's the generic blah-ness of the venues the
LP chooses. If we were talking *real* luxury rather than these feeble
bourgeoisie attempts at it -- for example, being able to lie around on
pillows in our bath-robes under the stars while serenaded by belly
dancers and troubadours and being hand-fed multi-course meals by ladies
and gentlemen of pleasure, with reenactments of historic battles for
entertainment and complimentary massages and hot mud treatments every
evening in an architectural setting along the lines of the Taj Mahal --
well, that would be just fine by me. 8)
Yours in liberty,
<<< Starchild >>>
Hi Starchild,
I never said a word about Hip Hop music!! And I agreed with you that
we should follow the example of the Hip Hop Convention attendees, and
start being more active. Where we differed is (1) I do not like the
word "confrontational", and (2) I love "luxury"!...in conventions, in
fund raisers (thank you Rob), etc. So, again, how about we all
commit to a schedule of tables in public places to sign up the
undecided?Marcy
Hi Marcy,
I wasn't suggesting that we organize LP gatherings around hip-
hop
music and culture. Simply that we could take some cues from the
organizers of the National Hip Hop Political Convention. I listedwhat
I thought were the "key points" in my message below, and did not
include playing hip hop among them (though a bit more than we havenow
couldn't hurt). Also, my mention of having a radical,
confrontational
approach was not a reference to the music, but to the rhetoric. I
don't
think we should try to be rude/offensive to the general public, but
we
shouldn't be afraid of telling people the truth.
On a side not, I'm not quite sure why you put "luxury hotel"
in
quotes. That's what hotels like the Marriot, DoubleTree, Hyatt, and
the
other usual LP convention suspects often call themselves. There's
sort
of three categories in accomodations -- those being the top end,
places
like Best Wester, Comfort Inn and Days Inn in the middle, and Motel
6,
Super 8, and most of the little mom & pop places at the budget end.
Yours in liberty,
<<< Starchild >>>I would like to join Mike Denny in also thanking Starchild for the
inspirational article on the Hip Hop Convention. I would alsolike to
add a couple of observations: (1) We at the LPSF, or for that
matter
most who attended the LP Convention at the "luxury hotel" are past
the Hip Hop stage; can learn from the Hip Hop activism, but not
necessarily copy the unique Hip Hop style. (2) Although Hip Hop
might have the general reputation of being "confrontational," Isee
nothing radical or confrontational about signing up voters,
attending
workshops on leadership, or gathering peacefully in a
convention; I
propose we start with the sign up part by committing to a
schedule of
tables at public places from now until the November election.
Marcy
--- In lpsf-discuss@yahoogroups.com, "Mike Denny" <mike@d...>
wrote:
Excellent observations Starchild...I agree completely.
Michael Denny
Libertarian Party of San Francisco
(415) 986-7677 x123
mike@M...
www.MichaelDenny.netFrom: Starchild [mailto:sfdreamer@e…]
Sent: Tuesday, July 06, 2004 11:11 PM
To: libertystudents@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [LibertyStudents] How it can be done - Natl. Hip HopPolitical
Convention a potential model for future LP gatherings
From an article about the event held June 16-19, 2004 in
Newark,
New
Jersey, as printed in The Black Commentator, July 5, 2004:"The 3,000 young people who attended the National Hip Hop
Political
Convention in Newark, New Jersey, June 16-20, were determined to
define
themselves through a politics of struggle - to begin to redraw
the
map
of the world through the prisms of their own experience...
We are here today as young people under the hip hop umbrella,"
said
Ras
Baraka, the 34-year-old Deputy Mayor of Newark, New Jersey, and
one
of
the organizers of the event. "Politics is about the seizure of
power,"
Baraka told the crowd. 'Some of us don't understand what that
means.
Our kids think that seizing power is standing on a corner and
doing
the
things they usually do.' Each of the 500 official delegates from
17
states had registered 50 voters to earn the right to represent
their
generation.
With a seriousness that wholly contradicts hip hop stereotypes,
conventioneers fanned out in the scorching sun over threeconnected
campuses - Essex County College, Rutgers-Newark and New Jersey
Institute of Technology - to attend 50 workshops on everyconceivable
aspect of organizing."
The following key points from the three short paragraphs above
bear
noting:-a focus on the convergence of art and politics
-3,000 young people attending (the recent LP convention had howmany
young people out of the 800 or so attendees?)
-event held on college campuses (not in a luxury hotel)
-"workshops on every conceivable aspect of organizing"
-use of radical, confrontational approachFurther details on the event available here...
http://www.hiphopconvention.org/
A radical anti-establishment youth political movement will
rise
again.
When it happens, will we be ready to ride the wave of change?For a brighter tomorrow,
<<< Starchild >>>Yahoo! Groups Links
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