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RE: RAT Money, value and art
in 1989, as part
of a much a much larger protest against the Guld War, I gave up my
apartment and moved onto the Federal building Plaza- I remained
voluntarily homeless for about 3 months, dedicating myself to
activist work. Yes, people took me in, but I was really " depending
on the kindness of strangers. " It was the most wonderful period of
my life ( that and the 6 months f ollowing) because I was actually
free from the shackles of the system, I was free in all ways-
spiritually, politically, financially.
At the same time ,, although it was personally amazing, it was
probably the least politically effective period I ever had. n
Because of my own decisions, I marginalized myself- I let myself be
dismissed as " just another neo-hippie with no reponsibilities
screaming about social change."
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While it may have been "politically ineffective"--it was still a learning
situation for you. Letting yourself be marginalized is a worthwhile lesson.
Even though you know you can always go back, I don't think it diminishes the
personal power to what you did. Did you change the world? No. But that
doesn't mean it wasn't worthwhile to experience. Every personal decision
carries with it questions of impact--public vs. private.
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Jean Genet , at the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago, talked
about an order of priorities. His point was that protesters had to
be from the middle class or intelligensia simply by the fact that
they were protesting. If they were truly poor, they would be
figuring out where the next meal comes from, not protesting about
overthrowing the system.
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True enough. Would it be better for everyone to be too poor and hungry to
overthrow the system?
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Most peolpe I hear speak about voluntary poverty are not poor. To
them it is simply a concept in solidarity.
Ask a homeless person what thry think of the concept of voluntary
poverty, and I'm sure they'll look at you like you're nuts.
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That's why I mentioned approaching it as a rejection of affluence--of "get
on the net and invest your last $5 in the stock market, which will go
through the roof when unemployment goes up anyway, because it works against
common people like you, which is why we are trying to convince you to have a
stake in your own destruction." Affluence is out there and the average
person on the bus and in the street can't understand why you wouldn't take a
good paying corporate job when offered to you, or why you wouldn't invest in
a 401(k) or trade your stocks on the internet. If you don't have those
things, you should get them. Here in Minneapolis, the corporations are
desperate to find competent people. If you have a temp job and don't
regularly screw up, you will probably get an offer for permanent work. At
least, that's the experience of my friends and me. Turning down such jobs
becomes an exercise in trying to justify your lifestyle as an "artiste".
You see, you can be affluent, but not as an artist. Only if you are willing
to do certain things. Hence, the strings to "living like a republican".
--Laura
"Those poor kids. So young. So nauseous."
--Krusty the Klown Telethon for Motion Sickness
Laura Winton
fluffysingler@prodigy.net
http://pages.prodigy.net/fluffysingler