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Posts tagged ‘radical’
Eating Vegan On The Cheap in Richmond
This was originally something I published as a zine. I just wanted to get the information out there more since I’ve almost run out of copies!
Eat Vegan
on the Cheap
in Richmond
Many folks I have talked to about veganism share a similar complaint/concern. They are worried about it being affordable.
And let’s be real- there are many ways that veganism is presented in a classist way.
Some examples:
I have a bunch of vegan cookbooks that call for ingredients that are just totally obscure. I’ve been vegan for 10 years and I’ve never used them. These sorts of cookbooks/recipes can make veganism seem really intimidating and inaccessible to folks.
Another reason veganism can seem classist is definitely the unchecked privilege often found amongst vegans. There are plenty of militant asshole white-dude vegans, for example, who give other people a hard time for not being vegan in shitty ways. These types of folks (though clearly not limited to just white dudes) give the rest of vegans a bad name.
There are some things about a vegan diet that can make it less accessible for low-income people. But there is also a ton of kind of urban legend/misconception type stuff around veganism. This isn’t going to be a total coverage of all info relating to these topics. This zine is for folks interested in eating vegan, and want to/ need to be able to do it on a low-income. I am totally into having these conversations with people though if you want! My contact info is at the end of the zine, let me know what concerns you!
First though, I do want to take a little bit to briefly touch on some of the (many) things that can make eating vegan difficult for folks.
Food Deserts:
“A food desert is a district with little or no access to foods needed to maintain a healthy diet but often served by plenty of fast food restaurants.” wikipedia entry on food deserts. Check out more about the significant and intersectional issue here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_desert
Living in a food desert basically means in this context that it is a lot more difficult for people to access vegan food. There are all kinds of transportation and expenses related to accessing a real grocery store if you live in a food desert, and believe me, the corner store does not provide all of the things a vegan needs to survive.
If you are vegan, and have the ability, (or even if you aren’t vegan), you can take action to try to get more fresh produce and food into food deserts. Simply creating access where there wasn’t access before is both an act of vegan activism and social justice. You can organize a Food Not Bombs meal, or just produce distributions in neighborhoods where people lack access to healthy food. Talk to people to see where the need is, and what the community wants.
Time is Money:
Even when vegan food is affordable and accessible, there is the further complicating factor of whether or not someone can afford the time it can take to cook much of their own food. The convenience of fast food, prepared foods etc. which are mostly available in non-vegan forms is something that folks working multiple jobs, busy with families and kids, taking care of elders, going to school while working, etc. can understandably want to take advantage of. Folks who are low-income, or any of the things listed above, or other things not listed, often are already pretty stressed out, busy, and might not feel like they have the time or energy to make home-cooked meals all of the time. And home-cooked food is certainly one of the healthier, cheaper ways to eat a vegan diet.
There are plenty of other challenges, and I might go into them more in a later version of this zine. But I am a procrastinator, and I want to have resources to offer folks tomorrow- so I’m going to start into the ideas for how to deal with the challenges and difficulties of being vegan on a low income! (more…)
Richmond Needs Community Not Cool
Big news for Richmond, making the Frommer’s 2014 list of 14 places to visit. I can’t muster up the enthusiasm about this that seems to be the mainstream response. 2014 is the 150th anniversary of many battles in the Civil War, and this history is one of the main reasons Richmond made the list. Additionally restaurants and breweries and the rapids of the James are our selling points. I’m not buying.
And the part that everyone keeps repeating – ” While you weren’t looking Richmond got cool” – really makes me mad.
I’m sorry, but some old colonizing asshole “finding” Richmond in 1737 doesn’t make it cool, and neither does some out of town hipsters “finding” and gentrifying Richmond in 2013.
Shockoe Bottom, the controversial potential site of a bad public investment in a baseball stadium, is named from the Powhatan village which once was on this ground, Shocquohocan. And that area is full of historic sites of the slave trade which once dominated Richmond. We have history, no argument there. We have so much history we haven’t processed it all yet.
My argument lies in the fact that Richmond’s history is completely intertwined in our present. Our history isn’t an object gathering dust in a museum for tourists to check out. Our history is a constant battle. It isn’t quaint, or past, or collectible. It’s struggle.
People who colonize ruin the things that make a place ‘cool’. Richmond has a twisted grim history and a future that is really up in the air right now. Don’t yall remember our poverty rate? How about incarcerated folks? How way too much money goes to the police? How money is spent on sports, not schools?
I mean honestly Richmond isn’t cool – its complex. If you blaze ahead with fancy lofts and art galleries while ignoring the people who live here already you will ultimately ruin everything that once drew you here. And aside from ruining the character of this place, you will cause harm to people who live here.
There is some potential for tourism or development to help alleviate suffering in Richmond. But within the context of capitalism and the institutional racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia etc. that permeates our culture I don’t see how. Bringing more people or money to Richmond won’t just trickle down automatically. Any attempt at drawing in tourists ought to be working closely with community organizations to make sure that impact is a positive one for the parts of our communities which need it the most.
I think that the people of Richmond are proud of our City. But there is something not right about attempts to be proud about gastropubs and new breweries and high end retail, which aren’t things that represent most Richmonders.
Stop telling people Richmond is cool. Why? Cool is attained with privilege. And a lot of folks who live in Richmond don’t have that kind of privilege. Bringing in fast development and fancy yuppie venues won’t help Richmonders.
Its not cool to be poor, hungry, homeless, without mental health care, without healthcare, stopped and frisked by the police based on racial profiling, without work, without living wages, without good public transportation and without engaging schools. These aren’t just generic issues, they are issues Richmond faces moreso than many other places.
Richmond has a higher poverty rate than surrounding areas. 25.3% is the official poverty rate in Richmond according to the Mayor’s 2013 Anti Poverty Commission Report. So 25.3% of our citizens living in poverty, which isn’t cool. We are twice as poor as the national average, and two and half times more poor than the state wide average.
One of my strongly held personal beliefs is that my life is only as good as the lives of the people around me. It is in my best interest for my neighbors to do well. Unfortunately I think some Richmonders feel this way, but think the best way to accomplish a good life is to push out the people who aren’t doing well and replace them with people with more money.
The Fast Food Workers Strike and VCU Living Wage Campaign are just two of the many campaigns in the works to make Richmond a better place. There are community organizations on the ground, doing grassroots work to alleviate poverty and suffering, and doing battle with the oppressive institutions. They need the spotlight, they need our support because they are doing work with and as the people who live here.
Don’t come here unless you are coming to help and stand in solidarity with the struggles around these issues.
The bottomline is – I don’t want to live in a place that’s cool. I have a lot of values, and cool isn’t one of them. I’d rather live in a place I could be proud of.
Photo Essay: First Fast Food Worker’s Strike in Richmond
The beginning of the march from the Hull Street Library to the McDonald’s on Hull. I counted well over 50 people in the meeting room at the library, and more folks showed up as the strike went on.
There were many hand made signs reflecting the passionate thoughts and feelings of fast food workers on strike.
At the McDonald’s people energetically chanted to demand $15 an hour. The rain didn’t dampen spirits.
Aside from Fast Food Workers and their families, members of other unions came out to show solidarity.
There were multiple speakers, reflecting the diverse range of supporters. SONG- Southerners On New Ground a lgbtq organization in the south was there and gave an excellent speech. A local Reverend also spoke. The cohesiveness of the crowd was amazing.
March Against Mass Incarceration – A good movement builder
Photo by Ira Birch, me and Phil Wilayto from the Virginia Defenders of Freedom Justice and Equality at the march!
Yesterday I attended the March Against Mass Incarceration, organized by Collective X. The rally met and parade started in Clay Abner Park. A huge, huge ‘Thank You’ to Collective X for organizing this event over the past few months, and collaborating with so many other local people and organizations to do so.
Some friends at the march- photo credit to Kontra RVA
There were speakers from a variety of anti-prison organizations there. Unfortunately the weather was gloomy, and it wasn’t the best for standing around listening. The marathon also made it difficult for folks to arrive and so the whole thing started late. But it was really great to see so many passionate people and to all get some exercise and networking together.
a picture I took from outside of the crowd at the MAMI rally and march
Two things I struggle to navigate with these types of events are how to best accommodate and be accessible to kids and differently abled participants. I would love to hear from folks who are kids or struggle physically with marches about what they might want to see changed in the future, or what is possible. I find this complicated, because I think that aside from the empowerment of participants, marches are vital for visibility of movements. I want to see marches with long routes, through highly populated areas. But I recognize that long routes aren’t accessible. I was carrying a fairly heavy medic pack, and I was definitely feeling the burn towards the end of the march.
The heavy medic pack in question- photo credit to Kontra rva
There were also folks with dogs (who I love, love, love seeing at these types of events) who ended up having to pick up and carry their dogs. It is also important to note that for many folks bringing a dog isn’t just a fun thing to do, but they might need their dog because it is a trained service dog.
photo credit to Kontra RVA
Kids also have shorter legs, and sometimes shorter or different attention spans. Figuring out how to truly make events all ages is important. I feel like this may sometimes mean keeping speakers shorter, or providing childcare or activities (like upcoming Wingnut Kid Kits which will be launched at the VPA in January).
Maybe it also means having parade floats kids and dogs and elders and folks with less mobility can ride on? I don’t have all the answers, but I’m pretty sure everyone in Richmond is smart enough to come up with a variety of solutions that will work for a variety of needs. Our movements will be stronger if we can figure out how to include more folks, and what they need to be included. Listening will be a huge part of this.
I had a great time at the March organized by Collective X- always nice to come together with so many friends. Photo credit to Kontra RVA
I was a volunteer street medic, but luckily we had no need for medical help. However, it is definitely good practice to have some trained medics at these events. We took the streets from Leigh to Adams to Broad to Harrison and back down Leigh. There were no arrests or altercations during the march. My understanding is that Collective X had someone or someones who as police liason ensured we would not be attacked by RPD. The bike ushers did a great job of corking intersections and helping to escort the march and keep everyone safe. There were also NLG trained legal observers, and no doubt, copwatchers in attendance.
Richmonders have taken to the street in greater numbers and more often this year than I remember in the past. We’ve had the VPA, March Against Monsanto, May Day Parade, Halloween Parade, Critical Mass Bike Rides, and this March Against Mass Incarceration. I hope we keep this momentum up, building our movements, empowering each other, and fighting for a better world.
I also see Richmond getting better at taking the streets and organizing marches and parades. More folks are organizing, and more folks are participating. We need to incorporate things like continuing education and self care into our movements to ensure we can keep this up, and so we can do it all better in the future.
In January of 2013 the Virginia People’s Assembly will meet and March, so stay tuned for information on that (below cut).
Much love, and see you in the streets!
No seriously, in the streets, join us next time! Photo credit to Jack Johnson of FNB and WRIR!
Links to relevant organizations and background info below:
Mo Karnage’s Top Nine Reasons A Stadium in Shockoe Bottom is a Terrible Idea and Mayor Jones is a Douchecougar
Mo Karnage’s Top Nine Reasons a Stadium in Shockoe Bottom is a Terrible Idea and Mayor Jones is a Douchecougar
______________________________________
Dwight Jones is a scumbag. A scumbag with a plan to develop Shockoe Bottom, and undoubtedly gain some personal reward down the line. The idea of moving Richmond’s baseball stadium from the Boulevard to Shockoe Bottom has been brought up repeatedly, but the public doesn’t enthusiastically support such a change. In fact, the drive for this change of venue seems to be coming out of nowhere – or mostly from some local developers/land owners who would profit by the move.
Momentum against Mayor Jones’ stadium proposal has been ongoing. This week it was revealed that the Mayor’s plan has added bells and whistles. These additions to the stadium plans are a transparent attempt to trick citizens of Richmond and City Council members into feeling like they must support his proposal despite the multitude of reasons baseball doesn’t belong in Shockoe. This new, larger, plan will not stop the campaign against a stadium in Shockoe Bottom. In fact, his newest attempt should create more momentum against this proposal and Jones’ shitty politics.
Here’s my top nine reasons why (it was going to be ten but I got hungry):
1) Food – The Mayor has added to his proposal the development of a grocery store in Shockoe Bottom. This should not sway you towards his plan, for a couple reasons. Shockoe Bottom already has one grocery store. Although, not my personal favorite, it exists and is available to the local population. Outside of that area, Richmond has many Food Deserts (one ‘s’ not 2, NBC 12, cause with dessert you want more, with desert you do not. p.s. hire me as a copy editor please). A food desert is an area where the local population does not have access to healthy, affordable food. Mayor Jones isn’t really helping Richmond’s population by adding a grocery store to a non-food desert zone. Neighborhoods such as Highland Park and Manchester pop into mind as places in need of a grocery store.
2) Utilities – Mayor Jones has added to his plan the repair of the water/sewer utilities in Shockoe Bottom to try to entice people’s support. Here is why this is a problem- the City has an obligation to maintain and repair public utilities and that has NOTHING TO DO WITH BASEBALL. Richmond already has the world’s highest known water utility minimum rate. We already pay too much for our water utility – and we shouldn’t have to support the bad public investment of a baseball field in order to have our utilities repaired.
3) Housing – Jones’ plan calls for 750 apartments to be developed in Shockoe Bottom along with the baseball stadium. Richmond does NOT have a housing shortage. What we do have is a shortage of low income and affordable housing. If public money and support is to go towards any development of new housing it should be housing for the folks who need it the most – low income, elderly, single caregiver, etc. Sorry out of town yuppies and future gentrifiers, we have to take care of our own first. We need to prioritize the people who currently live in Richmond, and make a Richmond for us, not for folks some developers wish lived here.
4) Parking and Public Transit – The proposal includes the creation of 1,700 parking spots. In Richmond, we have our priorities wrong. We are putting effort towards creating more parking spots, which studies show will just create more demand. Instead, we should and NEED to be focusing on drastic improvements to our public transit systems and options. Why do I say need? Well, because in 2015 there is going to be a giant bike racing event here, which will draw crowds of over 450,000 . The UCI Road World Championships is a bike event, which no doubt will mean some roads are shut down for the races. Richmond roads, parking and public transit all lack the capacity to take on that many people for 9 or more days. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t give a flip about the bike event itself, but it’s a great jumping point to push for better public transportation.
5) Salomonsky is a crook – Developer H. Louis Salomonsky is a crook, convicted of conspiracy to commit extortion by trying to bribe a City Council member in 2004. More recently he tried to manipulate reality to score historic tax abatement that he didn’t qualify more. I dunno yall, sounds like a bad person to be involved in a development partnership with. Who knows the types of behind the scenes deals that have been going on with this guy involved in the planning. Not the type of thing public money should be invested in, certainly.
6) This investment perpetuates patriarchy and homophobia and transphobia – I wrote a much longer op-ed on this issue which I will link at the bottom. But basically, professional sports like baseball, are cis-men only sports, and putting public money to support baseball or football unequally ends up supporting men and a patriarchical culture. Women, trans folks and non gender conforming folks, never have a chance to play on the Flying Squirrels and are disproportionally involved in these endeavors.
7) Racism and Sacred Ground – This point seems painstakingly obvious, but a Flying Squirrel doesn’t suit an area historically known for being a site of slave trade and the African Burial Ground. Richmond would do well to remember our historic racism in order to better confront our modern racism, and we need to give space, respect, and dignity to those historical sites in Shockoe Bottom. I’ve said it a thousand times but I’ll say it again – No one ever suggests putting parking or a baseball stadium on Hollywood Cemetery. Think about why that is and why these two sites look so different today. We have a legacy of racism, and we have to begin unwinding it somewhere.
8) If this was really such a great financial investment, don’t you think private investors would just do it? – It is a well understood fact that sports complexes like this proposed one, do not economically benefit the surrounding area enough to make up for the public investment. If a new stadium was economically sound, I think the Flying Squirrels would fund it themselves, or get private investors. There is a reason they are trying to blackmail Jones and Richmond Citizens for a new stadium- cause it won’t make enough money. We already built one bad investment sports stadium this year (see Redskins Training Camp is Racist and A Bad Investment), Richmonders can not afford a second bad investment in sports.
9) The people do not want it – Residents of Richmond are not clamoring for this plan. Mayor Jones is not responding to a cry for help or a dream emerging from the people. Mayor Jones is responding to that funny smell money gives off. Mayor Jones is trying, really, really hard to create a demand that just isn’t there. He is using all kinds of tricks to make it appear that people want this stadium, and that this stadium is a done deal. Neither are true. Below are linked several polls as well as an online petition showing this to be true.
Basically, ballparks are bad public investments, this particular location is particularly bad, and the bells and whistles Jones has attached to the baseball plan are ill informed, ill executed ideas which show a basic lack of understanding of both the needs of Richmond and the effective ways to meet those needs.
To Dwight Jones, I say, we all die one day, and I’m thinking your grave sounds like a super place for a game of catch.
– Mo Karnage
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If you don’t feel sufficiently informed by the above points, please educate yourself around this issue. Some resources that can help explain it to you:
To hear about the 2015 bike event- (more…)
untitled poem
Fast food strikes, martin luther king jr, civil rights, syria, military machine, people getting hustled, friend mugged, friends lost to drugs, stadium on sacred burial ground, vcu taking over this town, and the people in charge might be brown but they still work for capitalism and keeping their brothers and sisters down. We need an autonomous zone. A place to call our own. Where they can't take our friends away and we can keep eachother safe. People are scared and rightly so wed rather live to see our babies grow. But we won't get that anyways the odds arent good. Babies don't last long in a nuclear gmo capitalist pesticide neighborhoods. If you make it past the police and the jails a life of working to be exploited awaits you. Until we work together the worst fate of our neighbor is ours too.
Mo Karnage 
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