[lbo-talk] Dispiriting Suburbs?

[Jesse Lemisch]

I always disliked Malvina Reynolds' "Little Boxes.... all made out of
ticky-tacky," etc., as contemptuous of people, including suburbanites, who
live in those little boxes. I was therefore quite surprised in reading
Bettina Aptheker's excellent new memoir, Intimate Politics, to hear that
Reynolds was a Communist. It had been my experience that Communists,
regardless of their other problems, did not insult potential constituencies.
But there's no doubt that contempt for suburbia was very much a part of the
New Left.

Jesse Lemisch
----- Original Message -----
From: <chuck at mutualaid.org>
To: <lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org>
Sent: Wednesday, October 18, 2006 5:17 PM
Subject: Re: [lbo-talk] Dispiriting Suburbs?


> > James Heartfield:
> >
> > What I find depressing in the LBO discussion is that
> > the radicals have turned their faces against working
> > class aspirations, leaving right-wingers like Joel
> > Kotkin to champion their ambitions for
> > self-betterment. No wonder suburbanites vote
> > Republican, if they have to put up with the blanket
> > condemnation of their lifestyles from radicals here.
>
> In my last e-mail I was harsh about suburbia, but that's my gut, political
> take on the suburbs. But being a middle age anarchist who has returned to
> the burbs where I grew up, I've come to understand that the situation here
> isn't all black and white. The suburbs really do encourage conservatism,
> at least when it comes to protecting home values, raising children and
> other stuff that  aren't really tired to a political party. At the same
> time, there is more diversity here than 20 years ago. Political viewpoints
> are more diverse. Republicans here kvetch about the liberal Republicans
> who represent JOCO. I can find radical books at the corporate bookstores
> and organic food at numerous grocery stores. The burbs also have their
> share of grassroots activism--I know of three grassroots campaigns that
> are happening right now in southern KC.
>
> But there is so much to criticize about suburbia. I've done plenty of that
> over the years, so I want to point out here that my recent experiences
> with the burbs have given me more to think about.
>
> I think that we radicals are too often stuck in outmoded thinking about
> social issues. Most people want to have their own home and most Americans
> associate that with a single-family house. Why would you want to live in a
> cramped apartment if a house was cheaper? Even in urban Kansas City, you
> can find decent houses that are pretty cheap compared to living in
> apartments.
>
> What is the radical alternative to this?
>
> Chuck
>
> ___________________________________
> http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk