august 2012 agitator - Los Angeles Catholic Worker

STOP THE WAR ON DRUGS!Photo by Mike WisniewskiDIETRICH, cont’d from p.2of the past—think again.In her insightful book, ProfessorAlexander documents the historyand policies of the “War On Drugs”that have led the U.S. to the ignobledistinction of having the largestprison population in the world, over2.2 million, with one in ten blackmen behind bars, while at the sametime creating drug mafias out of theformally functioning nations of Mexico,Afghanistan, and Colombia.Following almost immediately onthe heels of the successful 1960’scivil rights movement and the formalending of Jim Crow segregationthroughout the nation, the Republicansgenerated “Tough on Crime”proposals followed by the “War onDrugs” campaign. They both cameinto being as the new means ofcontrolling black people. It was alsoan insidious strategy for generatingfear of black people in whitecommunities and separating thepopulist aspirations of poor blackpeople from the similar aspirationsof poor white people, thus insuringthat poor and working classwhites would vote for Republicanpolicies and candidates contrary totheir own economic interests. Theage-old policies of imperial powersrecapitulated: Divide and Conquer.What makes me feel a little betterabout my own inability to preciselyname the racial prejudice inherentin the war on drugs is that ProfessorAlexander herself found the issuedifficult to articulate. “The newsystem,” she says, “(was) developedand implement swiftly and it waslargely invisible, even to people likeme, who spent most of their wakinghours fighting for justice” (p.3).Articulated initially by RichardNixon in his 1968 presidentialcampaign as part of his successful“Southern strategy” to gatherSouthern Democrats into the Republicanfold, the War on Drugswas part of a larger “tough on crimeplatform” that targeted racial sentimentsof Southern whites. Nixonfound that by using the racially neutrallanguage of the criminal justicesystem, by appealing to the fearof crime, and especially of blackcrime, as well as to the desire forsafer streets and law and order, hecould create a Republican majorityand Republican victories based onthe hidden agenda of racism.“What has changed since the collapseof Jim Crow,” says ProfessorAlexander, “has less to do with thebasic structures of our society thanwith the language we use to justifyit. In the era of color blindness, itis no longer socially permissible touse race explicitly, as a justificationfor discrimination, exclusion,and social contempt. So we don’t.Rather than rely on race, we use thecriminal justice system to ‘label’people of color ‘criminals.’ Andthen engage in all the practices weleft behind…We have not endedrace caste in the U.S.; we havemerely redesigned it.” (p.2)While Nixon created this successfulstrategy, it was Ronald Reaganwho was able to bring it to its fulfillmentwith his “Just Say No”campaign, which created a federal“Drug Czar” and implemented policiesthat paid local law enforcementofficials for making drug convictionsand created policies that allowed localauthorities not only to seize assetsprior to any conviction, but alsoto retain those assets as “profit” forlocal agencies, thus giving financialincentives to make as many arrestsas possible. As Professor Alexanderpoints out, “It was the low hangingFruit of the ghetto” that became thefavorite target of law enforcementagencies throughout the nation.“Today there are over 7 millionpeople in the United States undercriminal sanctions, prisons, jails,parole, or probation, far more thanany other nation including China.The vast majority are there fordrug offences and 70% of thoseare people of color. We have moreAfrican American citizens undercriminal justice sanctions than didSouth Africa at the height of apartheid”(p.6).In this nation there is a vast prisonindustrial complex that includeslocal and federal policing agencies,federal and state prisons, as wellas private prisons, that all have avested interest in maintaining andeven increasing incarceration levels.In California, the prison guard unionis the largest and most powerfulunion in the state, surpassing eventhe teachers union in size and politicalclout.Our prisons are filled largely withdrug addicts and petty dealers whoare almost exclusively people of color.Ironically, the only parts of theFrancis and Faustino playing chessSUMMER PICNICSBy FAUSTINO CRUZOften in our society, manyof us are faced with thedilemma of what to getfor someone who alreadyhas everything they need, hencethe burgeoning market for neverredeemed gift cards. However, we atthe Catholic Worker are faced withthe exact opposite situation: whatdo you do for someone who hasnearly nothing—no home, not muchmore than the clothes on their back,perhaps a shopping bag or two ofpossessions—and the prospect ofanother bleak night on the sidewalkpavement after a day of the requisitehide-and-seek game with the policeand security forces, who are benton making our poor friends’ lives aliving hell. Certainly the nutritiousfood, over-the-counter medications,and personal hygiene kits which weprovide during regular kitchen daysare vital and greatly appreciated,but the gift that our friends on SkidRow most treasure and appreciateis being treated and loved as theindividual and special recipient andreceptacle of God’s eternal sparkthat they are.Toward that end, through thegenerosity of our supporters, andthe extra help our summer internsprovide, on the last three Fridays ofthe month of July we invited 50 ofour sisters and brothers to be our esteemedguests on a trip to WhittierNarrows Park, where we extravagantlycelebrate the simple goodnessof their being with a sumptuouspicnic.Final preparations begin the daybefore, when the eggs and spuds forthe potato salad are boiled; extraonions, celery, and bell peppers arechopped for the hotdogs and chilibeans, the shopping is completed,and early on Friday morning thebeans are cooked. After a whirlwindof chopping, slicing, pouring,mixing, stirring, unwrapping, packing,and loading, we pile into eitherthe van or the bus with our friends.After a snack of plums and chipsand salsa, the relaxing fun in theidyllic setting begins. It is amazinghow much you can share and learnabout someone in the course of thesimple interaction of tossing thefrisbee or softball around, playingchess or cards, going for a walk,a trip to the nature center, or justchatting. All the while Mike Wiz isexpertly grillin’ the dogs or burgers.Then the feasting begins: heartychili beans, the afore-mentioned hotdogs and creamy potato salad, crispcold watermelon, chips, icy lemonade,and cookies. And just for amoment a taste of the kingdom: alleat and are satisfied.We fully realize that we haveno solution to the many trials andtroubles that our homeless friendsface and that the little we do mightnot seem to make a difference inmost people’s eyes. But even so,if all we do is make a few of thecountless needy feel a little morehuman or plant a tiny seed of hopethat things just might turn aroundfor them, it is enough. We hold fastto God’s vision of what this worldcould be like if all those weapons ofwar were converted into somethingworthwhile. Until then, the nexttime you go on a picnic with familyand friends, think of those lessfortunate than yourselves and send aprayer of blessing their way. ΩFaustino Cruz is an LACW communitymember.country that actually encourage oraccept the building of new prisonsin their midst are poor, white, andrural, and thus we employ poor,white, rural people to guard poor,urban people of color.In every state across the nation,African Americans—particularlyin the poorest neighborhoods—aresubjected to tactics and practicesthat would result in public outrageand scandal if committed in whitemiddle class neighborhoods. In thedrug war the enemy is racially defined…although the majority ofillegal drug users and dealers arewhite, three fourths of all peopleimprisoned for drug offenses havebeen black or Latino…Any notionthat drug use among blacks is moresevere or dangerous is belied by thedata; white youth have about threetimes the number of emergencyroom visits as their African Americancounter-parts” (p.98-99).What we are compelled by ProfessorAlexander and Dr. Maté to realizeis that drugs and addiction arenot the sole provenance of poor andmarginalized people; statisticsconfirm that all classes of people usedrugs. In his book, Dr. Maté, quotesJesus: “Stop judging, take the plankout of your own eye before you tryto take the splinter out of your brother’seye.” If we are to deal realisticallywith the problems of drugs andaddiction, we have to begin to admitthat it is not a problem with blackpeople or poor people or criminals.It is a problem that is shared by allof us, a problem that needs to beapproached collectively in a spirit ofnational repentance. I do not expectthat to happen anytime soon.So, in the meantime, I will settlefor the moderate goals of Dr. Maté:supportive housing for addicts, safeinjection sites, the decriminalizationof drugs, and free medical qualitydrugs to addicts. One of the greatstories that Dr. Maté tells is aboutDr. William Stewart-Halsted, whofor decades was the Director ofSurgery at Johns Hopkins Institute.And he was a lifetime morphine addictas well. He was a great surgeonwho lectured and taught and reformedthe very practice of surgeryand he daily used morphine for mostof his adult life (p.325). We haveto remember that the legal drugs ofalcohol and tobacco kill more peoplethan all the illegal drugs combined.Here at the Catholic Worker, dailywe see the effects of the War onDrugs in our Skid Row neighborhoodwith petty dealers and addicts“jacked up,” harassed, and arrested.We see thousands of police manhoursdevoted to protecting therest of society from people who areessentially the poorest of the poor.We thus unequivocally call for thecondemnation of this hypocriticalWar on Drugs that is nothing morethan a war on the poor, specificallyon African American poor. We callunequivocally for the decriminalizationof all drugs and the immediaterelease of all nonviolent drug addictsand dealers.Should we take such a reasonable,though unlikely course, we couldrelease 75% of our incarcerated inmates,close three-quarters of ourprisons, reduce crime by at least50%, and reduce our police force andbudget by the same amount. If wetake the profits and crime out of illegaldrugs, we could restore sanity tothe drug mafia nations of the world,resurrect the U.S. from her mass incarcerationnightmare, returning heronce again as a land of the free.Dr. Maté and Professor Alexandershow us how we have created amalicious and punitive system thatprojects the sins of the righteousand upright citizens onto the mostvulnerable members of our society.Just as the ancient Greeks projectedtheir own sins onto the marginalPharmakoi, sacrificing them asscapegoats to “cure” civic unrest andpromote unity, so do we project our“sins” of addiction on to contemporarymarginal drug addicts seeking a“cure” for social unrest and impetusfor unity. The word Pharmakoiderives from the same etimologicalroot as pharmacacy, which meansa strong drug that can be either acure or it will kill you. If you taketoo much of the drug it can becomea poison. Some would argue thatunlike the ancient Greeks we havealready over imbibed.ΩJeff Dietrich is an LACW communitymember and editor of the Agitator.Jeff recently had his book, Brokenand Shared: Food, Dignity, and thePoor on Los Angeles’ Skid Rowpublished by Marymount InstitutePress (see back cover for purchasinginfo)6 / AUGUST 2012

ONTHE LINEPLOWSHARES UPDATE(See page 5 this issue for full story)In an unprecedented action, theDepartment of Energy (DOE) and thegovernment’s contractor on Wednesday,August 1, ordered a “security standdown”at the Y-12 nuclear weaponsplant until further notice. All nuclearoperations were halted and all nuclearmaterials (specifically highly enricheduranium) were placed into vaults whileplant workers focus solely on security.The order by B&W Y-12, and supportedby the National Nuclear SecurityAdminstration (NNSA), comes becauseof severe security lapses whichallowed three anti-nuclear activists topenetrate the plant’s highest securityarea undetected early morning July 28.B&W Technical Services Y-12manages the Y-12 National SecurityComplex for the DOE and NNSA.The Y-12 National Security Complex(built as part of the Manhattan Projectduring WWII) makes, dismantles, refurbishes,stores, and manages all U.S.nuclear weapons and weapon componentsamong other related matters.This apparently is the first “securitystand down” in all nuclear operationsbecause of nonviolent direct action byPlowshares/anti-nuclear/peace activists.An October 8, 2012 trial date hasbeen set. —blogs.knoxnews.comMORE RESISTANCE NEWSEarly morning July 4, veteran Plowsharesactivist Fr. Carl Kabat celebratedhis 2nd annual “July 4th Inter-dependence Day Action” with a defencingwitness at the new NuclearWeapons Parts Plant in Kansas City,MO, with the intent to “de-fence” asmuch as possible the 170 acres surroundingthe facility.Fr. Carl’s motive was to “allow all ofthe Holy One’s deer and other animalsthat once used the former bean fieldfor its habitat.” He continued,“Besides the bolt cutters to de-fencethe property, I intend to take a clawhammer which could be used forwhatever need arises and some sugarwith me....what I would like to do andwhat I will be able to do are two verydifferent things. May the Holy Onebless us and have mercy on us.”Fr. Carl is charged with two countsof trespass and one count of propertydestruction. He will appear inthe Kansas City Municipal Court onAugust 21. Each count carries a maximumsix months in jail and $500 fine.—For more info and updates you cancall Fr Carl directly at 618-910-2979FIRE DAMAGES CW HOUSEOn July 2, at 1:30pm, an arsonist setfire to the porch of Unity Kitchen inSyracuse, NY. No one was injuredin the blaze, but serious damage wasdone to the porch, office, and bedroom.For 42 years community membersAnn O’Connor and her husband PeterKing have served the homeless fromUnity Kitchen. The house can berestored, but it will cost approximately$100,000. There was no fire insuranceand the kitchen has remained closed.This is a special trial since Ann isdisabled and confined to a wheel chairbecause of severe arthritis.If you can offer financial assistance,please make checks payable to: UnityKitchen Community and send to:Unity Kitchen CommunityP.O. Box 650Syracuse, NY 13201Phone: 315-478-5552—syracuse.comU.S. EMPIRE EXPANSIONThe Obama administration has set thecourse for further U.S. military expansionacross Asia-Pacific as it cultivatesrenewed relationships with nations tofurther expand the amount of militarybases throughout the region.This translates into rebuilding formerU.S. bases that were abandoned sinceWorld War II and the Vietnam War.These include: Thailand, Philippines,Japan, Australia, Guam, South Korea,Singapore, and Tinian, among others.The so-called Asia-Pivot is anaggressive and intimidating policythat involves an increased militarypresence throughout the region in anunprovoked scheme to contain risingChinese economic and military influence.The bellicose posture has increasedtensions between the U.S. and Chinaand China with its weaker neighborsin subservience to U.S. demands. It ispredicted that within one year we willsee a shift in Chinese foreign policyby the new leadership that believes itmust respond to escalating public anti-U.S. sentiment caused by the increasingU.S. threat. Signs have alreadyemerged of a potential harsh reaction.This scenario, along with apparentU.S. plans to bomb Iran, sets the stagefor a major nuclear powers confrontationwith a potential World War IIIendgame. —news.antiwar.comU.S. SURVEILLANCE STATECell phone surveillance has surgeddramatically with over 1.3 millionrequests made last year by governmentand law enforcement agencies tocell phone companies for users’ data,including “text messages, locationdata, call logs and ‘cell tower dumps,’in which the wireless carriers providepolice and federal agencies with all ofthe phone numbers that connected toa particular cell tower in a period oftime.”The New York Times reported thatthe total number of people affected“could be several times higher than thenumber of requests” since one requestmay involve many individuals.The Times reports that “AT&T alonenow responds to an average of morethan 700 requests each day,” threetimes the number of requests from2007, while Sprint had the largestnumber averaging 1500 requests a day.— commondreams.orgHOMELESS BILL OF RIGHTSRhode Island became the first state toenact a “Homeless Bill of Rights,” thatincludes nine guarantees for homelessindividuals. — commondreams.orgOn The Line is compiled andedited by Mike Wisniewski.THEHOUSEJOURNALJeremy Kronmiller and Jeff were, onJune 4, arrested for blocking the drivewayat the CCEA (Central City EastAssociation) office, a notorious BID(Business Improvement District). Theprotest included L.A. Community ActionNetwork (LACAN), Occupy L.A.,Occupy Skid Row, and the LACW.After a few days both were releasedand as of yet no charges filed. We alsoaccompanied longtime friend and stalwartadvocate of the homeless, AliceCallaghan, to the grand re-openingof the remodeled New Genesis Hotel.Shame on the Skid Row Housing Trustfor re-designating housing units reservedfor the desperately poor of ourstreets to the upper-middle class thatgentrification serves.Jeff’s sister and brother-in law, Annand Tom Smet, hosted a fabulousfete for our many kitchen volunteers.Among the many delicious treats washer famous pulled pork recipe, aheavily laden dessert table, and plentyof music, dancing and festivities. Allenjoyed an afternoon well spent withthe folk who make our work possible.David returned no worse for wearfrom the steaming jungles of Colombiaand the equally hot environs ofKansas, where he attended a familyreunion. Chris Spicer from theChicago White Rose Catholic Worker,recently released from Cook Countylockup for a NATO protest, droppedby for a quick in and out and regaledus with his stories of resistance. Handsomecurly-haired Jason Ebinger, fromsister house the Open Door, completedhis bookend visits to our home, aroundseveral months in New Zealand, beforeheading to Atlanta then to St. Louis.We ended up with the nicest batch ofinterns. First on the scene was HunterLink, who arrived a month early. Anenterprising baker, handyman, talented,soft-spoken Virginian with a singingvoice very reminiscent of RufusWainwright. Nicole Linsmeier, a legacy,being the niece of former communitymember Eric DeBode and AliceLinsmeier, both now of sister houseHalf Moon Bay Catholic Worker, alsocame primed to work with a readysmile and natural hospitableness.Celsiana Warwick, a native Californianand Classics PhD candidate,regales us with insightful analysis ofHomer’s Iliad, as she works our servinglines. Andi Hinnerkamp, takinga break from her studies at CreightonUniversity, brought her can-do attitudeand stick-to-it-tiveness to our downtownkitchen. Josephine Burns, ourfriendly returning Canadian neighbor,Tomas Weiler, our guitar-strummingSan Juan Capistrano Nicaragüense,and Barbara Robinson fresh fromwelcoming a beautiful bouncinggrandbaby, rounded out the group.This year the lineup of summer pro-gram guest speakers was particularlyimpressive: Kim and Steve Baggarlyand young son Martin, from sisterhouse Norfolk Catholic Worker, presenteda moving Wednesday morningand Friday afternoon culture critiquedealing with Steve’s participation inPlowshares actions and protests atthe various military bases in Virginiaand DC, including his storied standperched on top of a B-52 bomber holdinga peace banner. Mollie Lowery,of Housing Works, gave a down-toearthtalk on the necessity of firstdoing whatever it takes to get the manyhomeless mentally ill and addictson our streets into housing and thenworking toward treatment and keepingthem housed. General Dogan ofLACAN spoke of his organizing workto create community on Skid Row andforcing the city and police to recognizethat the poor have rights and needsthe same as anyone else. Dan Hirschscared the beejeezus out of us bystressing the gravity of climate changeand relating the criminal conduct ofthe Nuclear Regulatory Agency, thepower companies, and the lobbyistswho routinely risk the public healthand court disaster by refusing to followeven the most modest of precautionsin the operation of the various nuclearpower plants throughout the country.Ched Myers paired the Biblical murderof Naboth and the theft of his vineyardby Ahab the king of Israel andthe theft of the island of Hawaii fromits native people by U.S. businessesbacked by our sorry government.Peter and Meg Lumsdaine came byfor another round of explaining howsimple it would be to interrupt the hitechwar machine at Vandenberg AFBby becoming a faithful presencein the surrounding back country.Rosemary Radford-Ruether gave anearnest talk on eco-feminism and thedisaster that a domination system haswreaked upon our world in violationof the Biblical covenant between God,Her people, and the land; and thenguided us in a spirited liturgy celebratingGod’s gifts of earth, air and water.L.A. Catholic Worker Historian andEpiscopal priest Larry Holben gavetwo erudite talks on Peter Maurin andDorothy Day’s twin visions of a justsociety based on tzedakah and theroots of the Catholic Worker; and conductedtwo beautiful liturgies, at thehouse and kitchen after serving.Rufo Noriega, Miguel Trejo, andMick McEniry joined Hunter, Tomasand I with sledge hammers, pick axesand pry bars to take out the rutted andcrumbling asphalt that was making atrip through our cross garden a trickyproposition. After we had broken upand hauled away the broken black top,local contractor Otto Vasquez, a memberof Highland Park All Saints EpiscopalChurch, and his crew laid downsturdy new concrete for a fractionof the going price. We have alreadyadded a colorful flower bed to brightenup our spiffy new “patio” area.Finally what would our summersbe like without the opportunity totake our wonderful friends on traditionalpicnic outings? Replete with hotdogs, potato salad, chili beans, andthe opportunity to take a break fromthe rough streets of Skid Row, one ofour grateful friends remarked, “Nobodydoes hospitality like the HippieKitchen!” The same goes for the hostessesof our spectacular summer poolparties: Mary Nalick, Ann Mulder,and Patty Carmody. The opportunityto cool off, enjoy the company of somany good friends and sample greatfood definitely put a smile on everyface. We pray that your summer isfilled with as much fun and joy as ours.House Journal is written byFaustino Cruz.CATHOLIC AGITATOR / 7