[statecom-discuss] Getting away from ecological issues?

Sun Apr 13 21:44:01 EDT 2008

Hi all:

As a black man who'll be 62 on April 22 [ make checks to Green-Rainbow Party or use plastic ----- address and plastic instructions are at green-rainbow.org]. I would just like to submit that those few of us who are people of color in the GRP have never been allowed to get away from ecological issues. Some examples:

Roxbury is one of the 14 or 15 cities in the US where toxic waste and trash is dumped in bulk in communities of color.

All of the drama around the proposed Level 4 Biolab takes place in a geographical area which has working class and people of color populations: South End, South Boston, Roxbury.

Lawrence, New Bedford, Fall River, Worcester, Springfield, Holyoke all have communities of color and working class communities.

There are many more things that could be cited, especially since last weekend when --- in commemoration of 40 years since Dr. King's assasination, a gigantic conference was held by activists of color in Memphis Tennesee. The topic? Green Stuff!!!

So I have a hard time understanding how we're getting away from ecological issues. Maybe a more accurate statement would be that our conceptions of ecology are based on our socialization, especially that of race, class and gender ----- and how we've yet to struggle around these questions in such a way that we build a movement to sustain all kinds of life. A movement that moves beyond the present capitalist, duopolistic, global imperialist, ad nauseum social order under which we presently live.

In struggle, 
Gary Hicks 

Mike Heichman <mikeheichman at verizon.net> wrote: Hi Betts,

I changed one of the addresses of your message to the statecom-discuss 
list instead of the statecom list. This is the place for discussion.

If our party is going to be successful,  I believe that we need to spend 
much more time on our internal growth. I am heartened that my proposal 
to State Committee to "get SPWG moving again" has been so well received 
by some members of SPWG and at yesterday's meeting. After there was a 
SPWG report at the meeting, I withdrew my proposal because I am hopeful 
that my efforts have played a small part in getting SPWG moving. (Note: 
I also want to recognize that you and other members of SPWG have also 
been voicing these same sentiments.)

I believe that an essential part of our strategy must include "internal 
education". While we never got around to discussing it, I was very 
pleased to see that Grace's proposal for a discussion on feminism (one 
of our key values) had strong support.

While I was a paper member of the MA Greens, I came into the GRP through 
my involvement with the Rainbow Coalition Party.

I have been a serious political activist now since 1970. I have been 
active in various movements for peace and social justice. I am proud of 
my own history  and development. At the same time, I must admit that my 
understanding of ecological politics is not very deep. When I listen to 
people like you and Elie Yarden, I feel like I'm in elementary school 
and that I have much to learn.

For me, one of the strengths of the party is that we are a 
multi-tendency party. I don't think that there are many other members of 
the GRP who view the party that way. If our different tendencies will 
improve our efforts to have respectful dialogue we will become a  deeper 
and richer party.

Part of that respect means that we need to acknowledge that each one of 
us is on our journey and at the same time we are attempting to move 
forward together. I am blessed because there are people like you in our 
party that care so much for the future of our planet. I'm 61 years-old 
and there is a chance (maybe not a good one) that I will live for many 
more years and die a relatively speaking a "natural death". I have far 
less hope that my daughter, who is 17 years old and who is sitting next 
to me watching a stupid TV program as I write this letter, will lead a 
long and healthy life and die a "natural death".
There is nobody that I love more in the world than my daughter.

At the same time, my daughter is female and biracial and lives in a 
sexist and racist society. We live in Dorcheter and we live with fear 
while many of our neighbors are suffering from living in a very violent 
and hateful society. I grew up in Chelsea (and lived there until June, 
1991), one of the lowest income communities in the state and have been a 
teacher from 1970-2004 and a substitute teacher ever since. For most of 
the children who I have taught over the years and for most of my 
neighbors, the "ecological crisis" does not have a deep meaning.

I have been part of an "educational system" that has been murdering the 
hopes and dreams of many of my children for decades. Both inside and 
outside of my school I have worked in their behalf. My daughter is a 
11th grader in the Boston public schools. For close to that time, 
improving her education, the education of her classmates and all of the 
children in Boston has been a major part of my work.

Let us work together and create a stronger bridge between  our 
ecological values and our work  for  peace and for economic and social 
justice.

Love,

Mike Heichman

Betty H. Zisk wrote:

>I am going to ride on this message (which I dont fully understand) to get
>some thoughts out. They arise from my experience in Calif last weekend which
>focused on oral history of early Green mvt. (Unfortuately though the title
>of the project promised a focus on first twenty years we never got beyond
>the first five years. Prject was filmed. I can give a report on it if you
>might find it useful. But here are my thoughts (not in order of importance)
>and they may be unpopular:
>1) I think we have somehow lost sight of one of our 10KV--an ecologcal
>focus. Lorna Satzman has long been sreaming about this (I mean strident
>tones) but dammit she is right. That is one reason that I (and Owen in a
>lonely effort)supprted her campaign in 04
>2) I realize the GRP is now a merged party (and I was asked about how we
>accomplished that when I attended the Green Party Meeting. I am a proud
>member of GRP and said so. But I realize that with the focus on poverty and
>mortgage problems and the like that we have shifted away from focus on what
>I consider a more burning issue: ecol wisdom I realize that people are
>suffering right now. But I want to keep an eye on long range as well. I
>think predictions on global warmimg are probably accurate.
>
>I have note from my 1987 era --intervmew with John Andrews along with
>otthers. I am still ditressed by idea that peace and justice issues should
>be so separated from ecol values. This was the ideal on which our orginal
>green groups were founded. I am not posing an either/or solution but an
>inclusive one. Betts Zisk
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: platform-bounces at green-rainbow.org
>[mailto:platform-bounces at green-rainbow.org]On Behalf Of Daniel Melnechuk
>Sent: Sunday, April 13, 2008 3:28 PM
>To: State Committee Official Business
>Cc: platform at green-rainbow.org
>Subject: [Platform] Reminder about minutes and the bylaws
>
>
>Hi All,
>
>Just thought that this would be helpful reminder about our bylaws
>regarding minutes. From the bylaws, all meetings of the party are to
>produce minutes and make them available to all members of the party
>no later than 14 days (see the bylaws below). Subcommittees and
>working groups are a construct to allow particular topics to get
>extra attention from time to time but are a part of a committee (SPWG
>is a working group of statecom). Therefor a subcommittee or working
>group is a part of a committee and by logical extension, intent, and
>by the openness principle of our party, is subject to the same
>consideration as per the bylaws even though the term subcommittee or
>working group is not explicitly listed below.
>
> From the bylaws:
>
>5.6 Minutes must be recorded at every convention, state committee,
>administrative committee and working committee meeting of the Green-
>Rainbow Party, and shall be made available to all members no later
>than two weeks after the date of the meeting. Except for conventions,
>minutes shall be read, amended and approved as necessary at the next
>following Green-Rainbow Party meeting of that committee.
>
>We are all very busy. Hopefully 14 days is enough time to get minutes
>posted to the appropriate committee list. Now the part of reading the
>minutes at the next meeting, i hope we don't interpret that to mean
>out loud!
>
>Peace and Justice,
>Daniel Melnechuk
>Party Treasurer
>State Committee Representative, Third Middlesex State Senate District
>Procedures, Structures and Meetings Committee
>Tech Committee
>
>
>
>On Apr 13, 2008, at 9:39 AM, Gracegrnrnbw at aol.com wrote:
>
>  
>
>>hi, Platform Folks - Iti s clear that work has been done on
>>choosing focuses
>>for Advisory Ballot Questions and that language has ben worked on -
>>thanks for
>>that work.
>>
>>And clearly, meetings have been held to come up with Advisory
>>Ballot question
>>language - decisions were asked for at Statecom yesterday and we
>>still have
>>no notes published of the meetings (whether of the whole platform
>>committee or
>>sub-groups) - please post these so we know what is happening?
>>
>>Thanks in advance, Grace
>>
>>
>>**************
>>It's Tax Time! Get tips, forms and
>>advice on AOL Money & Finance.
>>
>>(http://money.aol.com/tax?NCID=aolcmp00300000002850)
>>_______________________________________________
>>StateCom mailing list
>>StateCom at green-rainbow.org
>>http://www.green-rainbow.org/mailman/listinfo/statecom
>>
>>    
>>
>
>_______________________________________________
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>
>_______________________________________________
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>http://www.green-rainbow.org/mailman/listinfo/platform
>
>  
>

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