Not in Hibernation

A number of important events have occurred this past week. There is no real way of ranking them. One is not more important than another. They are indicators of where the nation is heading.

Parents of Piccolo

One was the Parents of Piccolo Occupation of Piccolo Elementary School, 1040 N. Keeler, in Chicago, Illinois in response to Chicago Public Schools threat to fire the school’s current teachers and revamp the schools. This event was important for a number of reasons.

It was a protest staged by the parents and students in support of their school. It is expected that the Teacher’s Union would stage a protest of some sort; it is not status quo for the community to rise up in objection to decrees handed down by the selectmen. The meaning hear is pretty clear. People are getting tired of being pushed around by those who are elected to represent them. They are taking direct action to make their displeasure known.

The Parents of Piccolo[1] are not activists. They are quintessentially people who “want to live their lives within the acceptable norms of the sub-culture in which they were born. They want to assume that the political leadership, while questionable in competence, will not adversely affect them if they keep a low profile.[2]” They are citizens of Humboldt Park.[3] The heavy handed treatment by the CPS (Chicago Public Schools) brought the citizens to action.

From Friday night to Saturday Afternoon there were approximately 15 parents, children, and community activist (Occupy Chicago was there in support of the action) inside the School, and another 50 outside the school camping out. Political math being what it is, they represent roughly 65,000 people. Over the course of 20 hours, risking arrest by the Chicago Police Department, they managed to get the CPS to pay attention to their concerns[4].

The other reason this is important is that it was not an Occupy Chicago event. Members of Occupy Chicago supported the The Parents of Piccolo[5] in their action with technical know-how, and moral support throughout the night. Once again the members of Occupy Chicago proved their heart and heads are in the right place to aid the citizens of Chicago. As you might recall, Occupy Chicago came out in support of Pastor Corey Brooks in support of his Occupation to put an end to community violence.[6]  

A Helping Hand

Another event that received little fanfare is AnonCoOp. In brevity, it is sufficient to say that the much maligned Anonymous is floating an idea to reach out to the community in pragmatic ways.[7]

 

Importance

Both of these events show that the activists of our current era, unlike the misconceptions concerning the majority of Hippies of yesteryear, are actively engaging average people to build community in a spirit of compassion for the well being of the citizens. It doesn’t get any better than this. 

On Clout

As we found out this week, Illinois ranks third in United States in official corruption.[8]  As the Sun-Times article points out, we’ve suspected this all along (it is, yet, another reason that Occupy Chicago exist, and is worth watching). That is not exactly news worth mentioning. Chicago is the third largest city in the United States. It is the capital of Midwest commerce. As such it is also under proportional scrutiny. A city this size requires such scrutiny. We are not exactly a lawless community, but there is a certain free-wheeling, devil-may-care attitude when it comes to legal and ethical proprieties when almost a tenth of the nation’s population is jammed into 234 square miles.[9] Varying, complex, economic, and sociological reasons are well document to explain why the art-of-the-deal out ways legal and regulatory restrictions. All of that is kind of a given. In Chicago is it simply explained as clout.

Mike Royko[10], the famous Chicago journalist, and personal inspiration, explained in Sez Who? Sez Me[11], that “Clout” is not influence. Clout is the ability to move around the laws of the land due to personal influence to achieve a personal goal that is usually not aiding the population at large. So, in spite of the Social Networking gage known as Klout, you may have influence, but if you are not using it to wheel-and-deal with the big boyz to line your own pockets, it is not clout. I am sure Mike would wish that the rest of the world would get the word straight.

On Another View

A video by Anonymous which was passed along from Los Angeles became the inspiration for a number of videos this week. Its point of origin in this Globalized world is Germany.  

Cobbling together some of my own recordings, I produced four one minute video spots in support of the protest which will inevitably come to Chicago the weekend of May 18, 2012. 

Side note and Shop Talk

Mike Royko[12], and his fictional counterpart, Carl Kolchak[13] are my journalistic role models.

As too future issues of www.chicagofwz.info, I am going back to weekly installments. There is just too many blogs out that demanding your attention, and I'd prefer not to add to the noise. If you are active in the movement in any way, you life is hectic enough already. 

---

[1] Piccolo Elementary Specialty School. (n.d.). In education.com. Retrieved February 19, 2012, from http://www.education.com/schoolfinder/us/illinois/chicago/piccolo-elem-specialty-school/

[2] Potts, C. A. (2008). Wealth, Women and War (p. 10). Dallas, TX: WordTechs Press.

[3] Humboldt Park, Chicago. (2012, February 17). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 14:28, February 19, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Humboldt_Park,_Chicago&oldid=477444138

[4] Trakhtensky, R. (2012, February 18). Piccolo Parents Call Victory After School Occupation. In Occupied Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 19, 2012, from http://occupiedchicagotribune.org/?p=505#more-505

[5] Piccolo Elementary Specialty School. (n.d.). In education.com. Retrieved February 19, 2012, from http://www.education.com/schoolfinder/us/illinois/chicago/piccolo-elem-specialty-school/

[6] Sunday, Occupy Chicago, South Side Rooftop Reverend Encamp. (2011, December 4). In Chicago I.W.W. . Retrieved February 19, 2012, from http://chicagoiww.wordpress.com/2011/12/04/sunday-occupy-chicago-south-side-rooftop-reverend-encamp/

[7] @MissRevolution_, . (2012, February 16). AnonCoOp. In #Occupy: The Chicago Free Web Zone. Retrieved February 19, 2012, from http://occupythewhole.blogspot.com/2012/02/anoncoop.html

[8] Janssen, K., & Spielman, F. (2012, February 15). It’s official: Chicago is nation’s corruption capital . In Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved February 19, 2012, from http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/10659504-418/its-official-chicago-is-nations-corruption-capital.html

[9] Chicago. (2012, February 19). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 16:07, February 19, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chicago&oldid=477658322

[10] Mike Royko. (2012, February 11). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 16:13, February 19, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mike_Royko&oldid=476315672

[11] No citation given

[12] Mike Royko. (2012, February 11). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 16:13, February 19, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mike_Royko&oldid=476315672

[13] Kolchak: The Night Stalker. (2012, February 1). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 16:24, February 19, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kolchak:_The_Night_Stalker&oldid=474348437