March 2006

Here’s an interesting article in the New Yorker about relative vs. absolute poverty. A number of people, self included, have pointed out that many poor people in America routinely own items once considered luxuries or are in some other ways better off than poor people, or even, to a certain extent, the middle class were a generation ago. The article takes this as a starting point but then makes the argument that relative poverty, not absolute poverty, is what actually counts, and that relative poverty has real effects. In other words, just because poor people are likely to own TVs now doesn’t mean that poverty isn’t still a bad thing. (Another way of looking at that would be to say that owning a TV or a dishwasher doesn’t really matter much when discussing “poverty” as a concept.)

The article doesn’t really go much into what sort of nutrition the poor in America are getting now vs. a generation ago, and it would be worth examining ways in which the poor might be worse off even in absolute terms than in years past.

And of course, we’re speaking of “the poor” as one large group that might include everyone from the absolutely destitute to those who might be better off but not exactly comfortable. Disaggregating the stories could make a more vivid picture of the situation.

A busy day: While I was in jail, Pie and Coffee was Boing Boinged.
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Nine people were arrested in a protest against the Darfur genocide yesterday at the Sudanese embassy in Washington, DC.

Yesterday morning, several dozen people gathered at the statue of Gandhi at the nearby Indian Embassy, holding signs depicting the victims and survivors of the ethnic violence in Darfur.

They marched to the Sudanese Embassy, where they handed out leaflets to passersby. Several demonstrators spoke, including Holocaust survivor Helen Goldkind. Mrs. Goldkind said:

My name is Helen Goldkind. I am a survivor of Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen. The reason why I came here today is because when I was a little girl nobody spoke out for us. I want to speak up for others. Nobody should have to be punished or killed because they’re of any color or religion. Please, the world should hear us now. There was nothing done fifty, sixty years ago when Hitler did to the Jews what they [motions towards Sudanese embassy] are doing now.

Then three demonstrators stood blocking the bottom of the stairs. A uniformed Secret Service agent warned them that by blocking the stairs, they were breaking the law. Demonstrator Brenna Cussen invited him to join them on the stairs, and he replied, “I don’t wanna get arrested! I respect what y’all are doing. If I get arrested, I’ll lose my clearance.”

After two more warnings, the three were arrested on a charge of disorderly conduct and unlawful assembly. Six more demonstrators came forward to block the stairs, and they, too, were arrested.

The demonstrators had warned the Secret Service about the civil disobedience beforehand, and representatives of the two groups had informally discussed how things would play out. Plasticuffed in the police van, Ms. Cussen commented on the gentleness with which the police treated the demonstrators. “It feels weird. I guess it’s good. It takes the ego out of it. This is about making a statement about Darfur, not being heroes.”

Those arrested were Brenna Cussen, of the Catholic Worker in South Bend, Indiana; Al Guilmette, of Leominster, Massachusetts; David Maher, of West Brookfield, Massachusetts; Mike Benedetti, Ken Hannaford-Ricardi, and Scott Schaeffer-Duffy of Saints Francis & Therese Catholic Worker in Worcester, Massachusetts; and Clark University students Philip Loomis, Ryan Smith, and Lia Volat of Worcester, Massachusetts.

Several of the demonstrators were college students unable to miss more than one day of studies, so the demonstrators had decided beforehand to pay a $50 fine (without an admission of guilt) in exchange for a quick release. After a few hours in holding cells, they were free.

As the men exited the police station, one cop said to them, “You people are doing this for a good cause.”

Afterwards, Al Guilmette, a retiree from Leominster committing civil disobedience for the first time, said it was “quite an experience.” When asked if he’d recommend it to others, he said, “For this cause, yes.”
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This Wednesday, I took the liberty to see My Name Is Rachel Corrie at Playhouse Theatre, London. This play has recently been “postponed” in New York amid controversy. I will let Rachel speak for herself.

I look forward to seeing more and more people willing to resist the direction the world is moving in, a direction where our personal experiences are irrelevant, that we are defective, that our communities are not important, that we are powerless, that our future is determined, and that the highest level of humanity is expressed through what we choose to buy at the mall.

Update: “Nine arrested in Darfur protest”

At least ten people will risk arrest by blocking the entrance to the Sudanese Embassy at a demonstration this week.

At 11:15 AM, Wednesday, March 29, 2006, we will meet at the statue of Gandhi outside the Indian Embassy on Massachusetts Avenue in Washington, DC (map).

We will march to the nearby Sudanese Embassy (2210 Massachusetts Avenue, map), to hold a protest against genocide in the west Sudanese region of Darfur. This protest will continue until 1:30 PM.

Participants will carry enlarged photos of some of the more than 400,000 people killed in the genocide, as well as photos of some of the 2 million people who have been displaced there. Leaflets will be distributed.

Brenna Cussen and Scott Schaeffer-Duffy, who visited Darfur in December 2004, will speak. Seth Shames, the grandson of Holocaust survivors, will also speak.

Group spokesperson Brenna Cussen said:

Getting arrested is a small sacrifice to make to stop the enormous evil I witnessed in Darfur.

The event also involves many demonstrators who will not risk arrest.

For more information, contact Scott Schaeffer-Duffy: 508.753.3588 or theresecw@gmail.com.

If you can’t make this demonstration, don’t miss the big April 30 rally.
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