15,000 Progressive Activists in Detroit: Why No Media or Respect?

[annabanana]

http://www.alternet.org/story/147341/the_u.s._social_forum_deserves_a_lot_more_attention_than_the_destructive_tea_party_agenda

It’s not surprising that the mainstream media is paying little attention to the 15,000-plus community organizers and progressive activists gathered in Detroit, Michigan this week for the second United States Social Forum. After all, the center-left political establishment isn’t paying attention either

[xchrom]

1. Recommend

[bluestateguy]

2. But look! Over there! It's 150 white men with boobs at a teabag rally!

Call the networks and the cable news channels for 24/7 coverage right now!

[SpiralHawk]

8. +1

too true.

RepubliCorporate mass media will never report on actual citizens movements to improve America.

[druidity33]

3. K&R

I was at one in Boston a few years ago (5?)... LOTS of interesting people and ideas. It was an inspiring experience. Actually gave me some hope for a while. Came back to Western Mass and started a group for Barter and tried to help promote a local currency. Still working on these things...

These events should be talked about more broadly, and the local community should be a greater part of the agenda...

Cheers


:)

[Cal Carpenter]

4. The local community was a huge part of the agenda

Half of the first day and half of the last day were devoted to workshops about Detroit, led by activist and other groups from Detroit. There were lots of local labor and worker's rights groups, environmental groups, social services groups, both established nonprofits and less 'official' activist committees. There were tours of Detroit from different angles (eg labor history, urban gardens). Various Detroit churches were present and organized marches and things throughout the week.

I have some criticisms of the social forum, no question, for example there were 100+ workshops at any given time, and 3 or 4 of them would be about the importance of collaboration and coalition building - wouldn't it make more sense to collaborate and just have *one* workshop at a time about that? LOL.

Although this is only the second USSF (the first being in Atlanta in 2007), not sure what you went to in Boston but it must have been a different thing.

[druidity33]

13. it was the Boston Social Forum

I didn't realize there was a different org that does USSF. Anyway, it was in 2004 and there was a lot of overlap from the Solidarity Economy Conference which i think happened the week prior that year. I left the BSF more jazzed about Currency issues than anything else. I agree completely about there being too many workshops all at once, thankfully they were on diverse enough topics that i could choose favorites.

I did not see the variety of Local groups you describe while i was at the BSF, to be sure there were a few groups, that were prominent on the agenda, but i recall at the time wondering why the "dreamers" i was listening to weren't actively working with the "doers" i was meeting there.

Anyway, i hope the SF phenomena continues to spread as it is potentially a unique problem solving device for our current complicated societal travails...

;)

[immune]

14. on the local currency issue

I don't know if you saw this article in Time Magazine a few months back, but there actually has been some publicity about it.

I see this as one of the specific areas we should be working on in our own places: not enough money to go around? Print some!!!

http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1865467,00.html

[Lydia Leftcoast]

5. Because ever since the corporate media realized (during the Vietnam War)

that movements need publicity, their reaction to action on the left (the REAL left) has been silence and/or ridicule.

That's what we do in this country instead of grabbing activists off the sidewalk and dragging them into SUVs with blacked-over windows. We ignore or ridicule them.

[SoCalDem]

9. They routinely show up for papier-mâché puppets or "hippie"-looking-people

or when people overturn cars or burn stuff..Peaceful protest? not interested..

[spanone]

6. americans only see what the media allows them to see

our perspectives are all skewed

p.s. who gives a fuck about prince henry?

[G_j]

7. 15,000-plus community organizers and progressive activists

simply don't exist to the center-left political establishment.


:shrug:

[malaise]

10. They need teabags

or some other RW agenda

[Jkid]

11. I found your answer right here

They're not wealthy or rich. Besides the local mainstream media rather report the latest murder instead of real change. The instant they show real news, they'll be out of a job due to a lack of audience that would be too busy on real politics, not political horseraces.

[Cal Carpenter]

12. Nor was it focused on partisanship and elections

While the overall connection or shared ideology there was quite vague - there was very little focused around electoral, party politics.

It doesn't feed so well into the divide-and-conquer, dichotomous mentality of pop media, the D vs R thing.

[IOKIYAL]

15. Aren't their progressives with crap load of money that can start a cable channel or something?

do like minority groups did when they weren't getting attention - start your own. not a blog, not a radio station, a cable channel where you can reach those OUTSIDE of the bubble.

[amborin]

16. K&R