> So the the folks who own happy hour bars, night clubs and pizza stands who probably mostly serve college educated
> professionals are the main face of capitalist domination today? Interesting theory.
Make up your mind. Are you concerned about gentrification or are you just interested in scoring cheap debate points? How do you think gentrification works? Why should the assholes who make money off of serving alchol to yuppies from Vienna get some kind of free pass from anti-capitalist activists? Perhaps you can point out a cooperatively run business in Adams Morgan that was targeted by activists?
> "I have one friend who lives near 18th and Columbia Rd. He's an older
> white radical who has lived there for years. He doesn't have much money
> and is facing increasing pressure to move out as young white people take
> over his apartment building, which used to be more multi-ethnic and
> working class."
>
> Well, you could join the various tenant and homeowner organizing groups who are
fighting rent increases, and for property-tax relief for low income
residents.
You could join with the the already long list of community, labor,
tenants and
reiligious groups which are pushing the DC City Council to adopt Mandatory
Inclusionary zoning which would require all new buildings in DC to put
aside a
percentage of their new housing for low-income residents.
>
Been there, done that. When I lived in Arlington, I was a member of the BUGATA tenant's union. While I was a member, we managed to prvent the sale of our apartment complex--which mostly housed working class Latino families--from being sold to a capitalist developer. We managed to get our complex transferred to a nonprofit that runs several complexes in Arlington County.
Over in DC I worked with Mayday DC and other housing groups. Mayday DC is an organization of homeless people. Their actions have been very effective and have managed to re-open and open new shelters at critical times, such as the coldest week of winter.
> But spray painting circle A's and being rude to yuppies is probably more
likely to help your friend and other
> working class residents out in the meanwhile.
Ah, you liberals. Always outraged over spraypainted grafitti. You want your social change without the actions that will be required to make it happen.
> "If you are going to start smashing capitalism, you have to go where
> capitalism is, right? ;-)"
>
> Well it is DC you know and it seems like one could find slightly more suitable
targets of "capitalist oppression" to trash if that is your idea of
social change.
I mean we have the White House, Congress, the IMF, World Bank, embassies
of various
evil governments and you folks can only manage to pick on a strip of
hipster bars. Its kind
> of like choosing to smash up Greenwich Village as opposed to treking a
few block over to Wall Street.
>
Hello? We've done all of those targets! But you seem to not understand a critical concept--we are not trying to lobby government to make changes. We are interested in taking direct action against capitalism and building a movement to make those changes. Besides, it's just horrible, stupid strategy to target the White House and the Congress all of the time. The anti-war movement has a single track mind about symbolic protests in front of those buildings and they've accomplished nada.
Chuck