[Date Prev][Date Next]
[Chronological]
[Thread]
[Top]
Re: RAT Charging the Bulls in a Bear Market
RATS:
this has been an interesting read. i wanted to relate
an experience in a similar vein:
Wooden Shoe Book & Record Shop...an anarchist,
all-volunteer collective bookshop...has been in philly
since 1976 (a staggering feat in the USA). it was
housed in a tiny basement space that was often missed
when you passed it's downstairs entrance in the
street. it survived because it had virtually no
overhead, it had low rent, and needed, literally, to
earn about $50 per day to succeed.
a somewhat "suspicious" fire gutted the store (and
much of its contents) early on ash wednesday morning,
1997. we had to find a new location. after much
searching, we found an ideal sized location, with
lower rent than most storefronts (though it was twice
what we used to pay)...right off south street (it's at
508 S. 5th in case anyone's interested).
we were in a quandary though...it would cost
considerably more to keep the store afloat, our rent
would increase each year (unlike the old place), and
we'd have to do lots of things that sacrificed some of
the "D.I.Y"-ness of the store. the only way we could
(and do) succeed would be to stay open later (the old
store opened from 12-6 every day), have a much larger
inventory, and do work to actually GET customers to
come inside. our overhead was much higher now.
well, i think that despite the grumblings...a fair and
intelligent compromise occurred: we still kept the
"info shop" happening, it's also a wobbly shop, we
still act as a clearing house for radical actions,
causes and events, we still have room for flyers and
posters and free literature...but we also are sure to
stock things that will sell to the south street crowd.
now, tower books around the corner has closed down,
and the shoe may stand to become even more successful.
the goal was (and i hope still is) to buy a space
outright after enough money was made (nobody earns any
money from the shoe). the store still manages to keep
its original vision and purpose, but it's adapted to
encompass a broader audience.
i bring this up because i am reminded of the book
"bolo'bolo" by P.M. (published by Autonomedia)...he
suggests that revolutionary/radical activities survive
best when they incorporate a multi-class approach
("the A-B-C deal workers"). and i agree. too often,
movements isolate and alienate one class faction
because the assumption is that all "x" are the same
and antithetical to our movement. granted, i am a
child of extreme poverty and i've always been poor
(housing project & welfare family poor)...but i don't
want to alienate interested folks with $ to spare. i
believe in the subversion of the "regular" folks...too
often we preach to the converted and become
self-contained, marginalized movements that are
unapproachable by 'regular' folks...i believe that
there is room in revolution for "normal" people, who
go to mundane jobs each day and try to survive...it's
all in the presentation and the way you open your
arms.
alfred
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Auctions - buy the things you want at great prices
http://auctions.yahoo.com/
---------------------------------------
To [un]subscribe to the rat-list, send an email to "majordomo@ratconference.com"
with [un]subscribe rat-list" in the body of the message.
For information on other functions send a message containing the word
"help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message.
---------------------------------------
You may also [un]subscribe on the web at http://www.ratconference.com/cgi-bin/web_domo.pl?list=rat-list