[Peace-discuss] response to Carl

[Danielle Chynoweth]

Carl (and audience),

You have misrepresented my statements.  

I said that that if you were asking me to fight for 24/7 free speech in
the mall - going so far as to kill the project over that issue - I would
not.  Why?  Because I am a "fake liberal"?  Stop making straw men so you 
can feel superior - enough already.

My statement was a strategic rather than philosphic statement.  If
everyone was ready to drop everything and make 24/7 free speech in the
mall THE priority, then I am ready to join YOU.  I did not at all get a
sense from the group that they were ready to make this this biggest fight.  
If it was the biggest fight, you would have organized a giant force on
this issue well before last Sunday.  What I was explaining what the
magnitude of a fight it would be and where I thought I could make change
NOW given the support I have (which is often very little). I was not 
explaining my philosophical stand on free speech versus business 
interests. 

Since the AWARE meeting you have spent zero time working on this issue
since you prefer to talk rather than organize.  I am an organizer.  I have
spent many hours on this issue since the AWARE meeting.  I have fought
with Lincoln Square and city adminstrators, called Mort, Susan, and Durl,
and taken the lead on this - because it is the right thing to do for
Urbana.  My goal is to do as much as I can to make Urbana a better place
rather than stay on my high horse, insult my allies, get nothing, and cry
like a victim on the outside of the gates.

Too many of my fellow progressives prefer "purity" over engaging those
around them to make change.  Change is made by putting one foot in front
of the other, not by flying high over everyone else looking down on them
spouting criticism.

Don't e-mail me back your whitticisms, start organizing!

peace out,

- Danielle


> Did I understand Danielle (a member of the Urbana city council) correctly
> when she seemed to say that, if she had to choose between free speech
> ("24/7") and business interests in the new mall (because the developers
> "wouldn't go for it"), she'd choose the latter?  That may be a general
> opinion on the supposedly liberal Urbana council, which notoriously placed
> business interests before those of its citizens in the Wal-Mart matter,
> but it seems to me a serious mistake.  Perhaps that political work will
> have to start at home for Urbana residents. --CGE