What happens when the political becomes personal? Then who has the power?
Does Stephen Harper because he’s our prime minister? For sure. Does Oprah Winfrey because she’s a multi-million media celebrity who likes to share her political views and ideas? Yep, she’s got some sway. How about ordinary citizens who come together to champion certain causes, or try to tackle certain socio-economic problems? Do they have any political power? Darn right they do. And they’re what MakerCulture politics is all about. People, united in cause, working together to spread a message and set changes in action.
Whether at the local, provincial, national or global level, examples of MakerCulture politics are everywhere. And in this episode we’ll open your eyes to just some of these movements. We’ll show you that political power is not limited to a select few with high profile positions. Rather, it’s everywhere there’s people coming together to make change happen.
London activism: Empowerment Infoshop
There’s an American and Canadian flag that says “United We Fall” right above the dining room table, and a Barack Obama poster above the door with the words “You won’t make change” scratched across it.
This is the headquarters of Empowerment Infoshop, a radical information centre in London, Ontario. And those are just two signs among many that show the political views of the shop.
It’s not that the members dislike Americans, but they are frustrated with capitalist systems and mainstream governments. According to Anthony Verberckmoes, the facilitator of Empowerment Infoshop, he and his activist friends aren’t the only ones unhappy with the current government.
“There was just a poll that came out… and 20-something per cent of the Canadians in this poll were against the capitalist system,” said Verberckmoes. “I mean, that’s a fifth of the Canadian population. That’s an enormous number.” In London, Ontario there is a growing number of activists who are taking action to make political change.
Verberckmoes is one of those activists. Common Cause is an Ontario-wide federated anarchist organization that recently added a London chapter. Verberckmoes is a member of the group as well as Alex Balch, a Fanshawe College student.
Balch says Common Cause members are putting their political plans into action. “We’re trying to get a free school organized now,” said Balch. “Also a lot of members are active within unions and trying to push for anarchist organizing methods and we have workshops and educational and stuff like that for the public.”
Another up-and-coming organization in town is the London Activist Assembly which was created in September by a group of the University of Western Ontario Students. Heather Graham, a founding member, says the assembly, is also against capitalism and large corporations.
“The fact that everything is being turned into a business and it’s very hard for individuals to promote their own skills, their own services and their own needs, separated from the consumer culture that we live in — that’s been a very big issue of ours,” said Graham.
She says the assembly is largely into guerrilla campaigning which involves things like posting stickers around the city to promote their political views. Both Common Cause and the London Activist Assembly agree that with the growing number of Canadians getting frustrated with government bodies, Canadian activism is sure to increase in the coming years.
from ‘How MakerCulture Is Reinventing Politics’ -thetyee.ca
