It promises to be a long hot summer in Old Strathcona this year. The clash of cultures has already begun, especially in the pages of the Edmonton Journal. Reactionary City Aldermen, local yuppie businessmen and even the Old Strathcona Foundation have aligned themselves against; "punks, pot smokers, panhandlers", and those folks who just don't seem to think life is all about consuming more and more.
For the past several months Alderman Starozik has been ranting on and on about the high crime rate in Old Strathcona, even implying that prostitutes were plying their trade in the area. Not one to let the facts get in the way of her campaign to clean up Whyte Avenue, Starozik was contradicted by local police who told the Journal that they had no evidence of any prostitution in the area. Local hip capitalists and yuppie businessmen like Angus Pecover of Polly Magoo's & Gravity Pope, Brian McClary of Von's Fish and Steak House, Rahim Jaffer of Grabbajabba have been quoted in a recent Edmonton Journal article about how offended they are with panhandlers in the area. Pecover has been as outspoken as Starozik in his attacks on panhandlers, the poor, punks and pot smoking demonstrations in Gazebo Park. He used to have a soft spot in his hip capitalist heart for panhandlers now he just sic's his dog on them.
It's a case of Hip Culture versus the Community. This alliance is a natural development of Whyte Avenue over the past ten years. It has floundered into becoming ooh-lala-laa so trendy and yuppie. Corporate sponsered activities like the annual Silly Parade are OK. Smoke-ins, Anti-NAFTA demonstrations and Gay Pride Parades are not apparently.
The Old Strathcona Foundation has gone from being an activist "save our historical site's" committee to a self sustaining bureaucracy, justifying Don Belanger's position as Director, dedicated to law & order and yuppification. Ironically the organization itself has become the corporate advocate for business trendiness that it was originally designed to combat. Belanger has teamed up with Angus Pecover to make Whyte Avenue 'safe for business'.
Like other 'hip' cultural businesses on Whyte Avenue, specializing in over priced ethnic clothing and fascist shoe sales, Polly Magoos brings us a safe and sanitized Third World. Why travel to the real Third World, and have to face all that icky poverty and despair, when we can buy their tourist garments and knick-knack's right here in Edmonton. Mr. Pecover relishes the money he makes. First by exploiting the poor in the countries where he buys his wares cheap and then by exploiting the 'alternative' crowd by marking them up. He is laughing all the way to the bank. Unless of course some poor person panhandles in front of his store. At last Mr. Pecover shows his true colors, and reveals the secrets of his success; buy cheap and sell dear and to hell with the poor. Or to quote Scrooge; " Are there no workhouses?"
Whyte Avenue is a victim of its' own success. Local coffee shop owners are complaining about the vagrants siting at their tables on the sidewalk. Well excuse me, but who the hell told you that your business could monopolize the street? Sidewalks are provided for our use as citizens, paid for with our tax dollars. These businesses should be thankful we don't charge them for using our public thoroughfares. But hey that's business' take what you can and take some more. Sell what people want but don't be responsible for what they do with it.
Unlike a shopping mall, that is a private corporate space, Whyte Avenue is public space. Unfortunately some people like Belanger, Pecover and Alderwoman Starozik would like to see it become an open air mall; corporate space not public space. The signs are becoming more obvious. Suddenly Gazebo Park, a green patch of public space, has been declared private property. Property in fact of the Old Strathcona Foundation. A sign tells the public that the park is now closed between 11 PM and 7 AM. This would be funny if it wasn't ridiculous. How do you close an open air park?? What gives the Old Strathcona Foundation property rights to this public space? That they restored a water fountain on the site? What's the difference between siting on the grass at 11 AM or 11 PM? What about the Pagans and Morris Dancers that have celebrated Mayday at sunrise in the Park? Will they face arrest for their religious and cultural practices?
It is obvious that success has gone to Old Strathcona's head. The businesses and Foundation are beginning to forget that their success is only possible because of people. People have created the aura and air of a small town in Old Strathcona. That feeling has been there for over thirty years. Businesses have come and gone but people have always strolled along Whyte Avenue.
A community is more then just businesses and cultural elite's. A community is people, who have the space to express ideas, to hold parades, marches and demonstrations. To hold fairs and open air markets, and yes for people to panhandle. It is someplace for people to wander, to sit, to talk, and communicate.
The ancient markets were more than places to buy and sell, they were gathering places for the community. In ancient Greek the Agora; meant market place. This was more than just a bazaar that sold goods, it was where democracy began, it was where people came from their homes to gather and talk and argue politics and philosophy. If by chance a peddler sold their wares, such as a cool drink or kafe, then it aided the common discourse. But selling didn't dominate the ancient Agora. Nor did selling dominate the medieval marketplaces.
Only under capitalism have we allowed the market to be dominated by businessmen. Only under capitalism could we come up with vagrancy laws that forbid free public gathering without being compelled to buy something, or consume something.
It isn't the panhandlers, or the pot smokers that have created problems on Whyte Avenue. It is businessmen. More bars have opened, more hip clothing stores, more coffee shops. All vying for business, crowding the narrow sidewalks with their tables and chairs. If crime has increased it isn't peaceful demonstrations, or parades, or protesters or even panhandlers that have caused it. It is because of the proliferation of businesses, open late, that people are tempted to indulge in vandalism or theft. And this has increased because business tempts those who don't have with a veritable cornucopia of goods to be had. And if you don't have them then you are a nobody. Yuppie culture rules, hip capitalism dominates Whyte Avenue, and Alternative culture is bought and sold like anything else. To have social status you must consume, be it CD's, Doc Martins or nose rings. Those that don't consume aren't cool. Indeed they are the poor, riff-raff, the undesirable, 'those people' not us cool people.
Crime is part of capitalism. In capitalism people are only valued for what they consume. Work is only as valuable as the profit made from it. Under capitalism those that want, and there is lots to want, will get theirs anyway they can. Mr. Pecover and his fellow businessmen understand this quite well, it's called getting something for nothing.
The cynical attempt to create a public hysteria about panhandlers, crime and pot-smokers aren't the real issue here. The real issue is that these businessmen would be quite happy if everyone on Whyte Avenue was their customers. There are poor people in this city and some of them are trying to make end's meet. They will gravitate to where people are, to beg, panhandle or sell Spare Change. And why not? Like business, panhandlers gravitate to where people are. The question is why are they poor? Why is it there are more poor people than ever? Could it be that like the Third World countries, Pecover rips off to make a living from, that have no social programs, we too are becoming a province with less and less protection for our citizens. Ask Ralph and his government. Ask the businessmen who support Ralph . Hip Capitalists who think profits are more important than people. Businessmen who would restrict our freedoms to line their own pockets.
If Businessmen on Whyte Avenue and the Old Strathcona Foundation get their way we will see increased police on Whyte Avenue. We will see an increased restriction of our right to free assembly in the Parks, to freedom of speech, and freedom to protest.
In the interests of our community and our freedom we should:
BOYCOTT POLLY MAGOOS AND GRAVITY POPE.
AND ANY OTHER BUSINESS OR ASSOCIATION THAT WOULD RESTRICT OUR RIGHTS.
EVEN MORE EFFECTIVE ARE SIT-INS.
WATCH THE MEDIA, SEE WHICH BUSINESSES ARE TRYING TO RESTRICT "PANHANDLERS, PROTESTERS, PUNKS AND POT-SMOKERS".
TARGET THESE BUSINESSES, AND HAVE A SIT IN AT THEIR SIDEWALK TABLES AND CHAIRS.
DON'T BUY ANYTHING!!! (THEY REALLY HATE THAT)
THE TABLES AND CHAIRS ARE ON PUBLIC PROPERTY, IF THEY DON'T WANT YOU TO SIT IN THEM REFUSE TO MOVE UNTIL THEY REMOVE THEM OFF THE STREETS.
THAT WILL HURT THEIR BUSINESS.
LET THEM KNOW THAT THIS IS POLITICAL.
WE ARE PROTESTING THEIR
ATTEMPT TO RESTRICT OUR COMMUNITY TO ONLY THOSE WHO SELL AND THOSE
WHO BUY.
Originally published in SLUR Magazine June 1995
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