Anarchist and Socialists Invited to Union Church – Bay Ridge – July 29, 2017 – Free
I didn’t realize the Union Church was so political. The Bay Ridge for Social Justice group has invited socialists and anarchists to speak on the topic of: “the ramped up efforts by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that threaten the most vulnerable among us” at the Saturday, Union Church on July 29th from 2-4 pm – All are welcome – invitation here – 7915 Ridge Boulevard.
I am not that familiar with anarchy. If I was 19 or 20 years old, anarchy and socialism might interest me. But we know socialism has failed in many countries – this isn’t an opinion, it’s a fact. Anarchy doesn’t seem like it fits well with Bay Ridge either. Today I asked five people to name someone who was an anarchist and everyone named Ted Kaczynski, the unibomber.
While the topic of their discussion looks great, it’s odd that they are running this type of meeting EIGHT months after Trump became president and increased use of ICE.
The Socialists want to have a socialist-type discussion where everyone agrees with them and nods their head, yet it’s odd that The Union Church is participating in such a political discussion. I could understand if they were having this type of discussion with a more even distribution of ideas, but that isn’t the case here. It’s also weird they would have this type of discussion in July, when most people are away on the weekends. *Today Jeff Sessions talked about defunding santuary cities, but this meeting was planned a long time ago, so it isn’t that.
The socialists called this “a panel and community discussion.” Usually a panel contains a lot more than a representative from TWO groups and usually it is a lot more diverse. It’s also labeled as a family event (LOL, this means that one or more of the organizers has kids and was too cheap to get a babysitter. Why would anyone bring a child to this n the weekend when they could be at the park or beach with their family?)
The meeting description reads: “In this environment of Islamophobia and intensifying anti-immigrant sentiment and policies, we want to build a community that is not simply tolerant but just, equitable, and free from fear.” Again, the description sounds great – but the timing for this meeting is probably to push the socialist candidate on the community. Sadly, the socialist candidate was silent last year when their was a problem and there’s also some missing money in our community, but the socialists don’t want to talk about that. It’s weird that he didn’t offer his church for the meeting, but then again it’s probably to bring into some kind Bay Ridge people who are interested in community-building.
Groups on the panel include:
1)The International Socialist Organization (ISO) “The ISO is dedicated to trying to bring about a completely different society, free of all oppression and built on the principles of solidarity and democracy. ISO has organized around issues relating to anti-imperialism, climate justice and educational justice.”
2) The Base “The Base provides a foundation for fostering the ideas and theory of people who have either a preliminary background in political thought, or who have not grappled with political theory at any level. Furthermore, they will help establish a framework where creative modes of sharing will be encouraged, with the goal of spreading these modes beyond the confines of the space itself. ”
The group “Bay Ridge for Social Justice” really doesn’t live up to it’s name. The group walks around the neighborhood once a year to tell Muslims, rather than bringing people together to admire and appreciate culture. They also protesting in front of Nicole Malliotakis’ home in Staten Island, but other than that have been pretty quiet. Social justice isn’t needed just for Muslims, but for many oppressed cultures.
Hugs,
marlene
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