Two Good Articles About Detroit's EM Protesters on the Metro Times
http://blogs.metrotimes.com/index.ph...ts-em-day-one/
Quote:
...For some of those standing in the cold outside city hall, the question of the day — this first day of a history-making change in the governance of Detroit — is this: Will bridges be built and alliances formed, creating a true mass movement united in its opposition to what’s happening in Detroit and elsewhere; or will the main thrust of opposition remain what appears to be [[on the surface anyway), a protest led mainly by African-Americans who, judging from the speeches so far, see this primarily as a voting rights issue?
http://metrotimes.com/news/news-hits...nger-1.1463720
Quote:
...Here’s the thing that we think is important: This isn’t just a question of black people being denied the vote. It is also about the imposition of the economics of austerity on a city that has suffered tremendous hardship at the hands of the big banks and Wall Street, both in terms of the predatory lending schemes that led to a devastating foreclosure crisis in Detroit, and in terms of equally predatory schemes used to jack up the rates on bond payments.
The emergency manager law helps protect those interests while allowing for legally negotiated contracts with unions to be torn up, and public assets to be sold off. It is about letting the corporate right have its way with us....
...The point, we gathered, was that a seeming liability could be turned into an asset.
That might be true. But even a one-handed person needs to be able to form a fist if they are going to have any real chance in a fight. And for all the attempts to recast this struggle in the shadow of Selma, it is difficult to imagine it succeeding if more fingers don’t come together.
And at this moment, Detroit seems as good a place as any in America for all this to happen.
But one thing is for sure: Having 100 people listen to preachers shout into a bullhorn in front of the Spirit of Detroit isn’t going to stop anything.
