APC: Anarchists Organize!

Stefan - one of the more insightful pieces I've seen written on BR re the subject of the APC. Well done.

I echo your sentiment that the appropriately termed 'crisis' in the DTES is not being brought to the eyes and hearts of John Q. Public by the tactics of APC, and quite possibly their cause is being stymied by their own actions. Admittedly, as one of said John Q. Public, I didn't know the APC provided the services to the poor you described. I applaud them for that but how could I have known when all I see and hear are their anarchist antics (and please spare me the complicit corporate media line. The APC tipped-off the news crews before they stormed the Premiere's office and they were more than happy to show up without telling the police).

I've said it in previous posts on BR that if you truly want to affect change in a democracy you have to get mass public opinion behind your cause. That mass opinion is what shapes political agendas because the politicians are after our votes. And that mass public is you and me and the guy or girl standing next to you. If you want to motivate my heart and mind it's going to be done through reason and appealing to my sense of compassion, not by shouting, screaming and hurling eggs at public events where my kid could be standing next me.

Dtefan - this is what i hope BR would be more about. alhtough i thinkwe lack such articles because ppl mostly talk about music, food, venues and events.

what your bringing up is great and i agree. its ridiculous.....to the point where it has turmoiled out of controla and every year becomes a bigger and bigger issues. since workin on easte hastings at shelters and with the UN....talking about the issue of poverty all over the world. for a long tim i though about...how do u bring this issue to the public. what u did is simple and great.

so the question now is? how do we solve the problem? the government is not willing to invest more money. APC's crazu bahavior that seems hostile and ignorant...is just pushing the government's buttons to ignore the issue even more? i think.in order to change thing, we gotta take care of hastings bloack by block!
reduce the exposure of drugs?? how?? we have illegal dealers, black market...and then theres there the marijuana party with pot being accesibly anywhere that even 9 year olds consume it now? so maybe........trying to reduce the amount of drugs wont work!

ok how about morel ehtics...well most of the ppl on hastings have already made up their mind on how they want to live! drugs are their ethics, morals and value......their life is drugs. and alhtough most would like to change, they really dont believe that can, and would rather waste their efforts on getting more change!

ok lets look at housing, shelters and other ait associations- they help whoever comes, wants temporary assistance and etc. u cant take all of hastings and put them into a aid/rahab shelter.

also.........many of the ppl on hastings, because of sucha prolonged drug use, their brain, scientificallt is literally dead. thyere gonna be crazy till they die, even if they get off drugs...thus theres really no way in helping them. im not saying all, but also of them are permanently damaged. theyre neutrasmitted are working no properly and with the drugs...thats engraved in their brain neuron system.

so......really.......we gotta be creative here..but....how do we solve this problem?

i challenge whoever reads the article and my comment to think about this.

Great commentary, Stefan.

The really troubling part (for me) about living in Vancouver was just how accustomed I became to the misery around me. I was beyond blasé. You can't help but soak up that ambient attitude of indifference. Dehumanizing people seems to be a necessary coping mechanism there. So leaving Vancouver has done wonders for my character, needless to say! I've simply never seen people living in earthly hell right beside those living obliviously in temporal latté-toting heaven like I've seen in Vancouver.

The DTES is a nasty profit-mill for a lot of people. That's the only conclusion I can see to explain why that situation has been allowed to fester for so long. Corrupt, corrupt, corrupt.

Voicing your opinion about the DTES is easy. Actually doing something about it is hard. So me giving you my two cents is pretty much worth just that, two cents.

For me the general state of affairs on the east side stems from two things: one, the economic machine that is the drug trade, and two, the culture of Vancouver and the general sense of permissiveness that exists here.

As for the second, I don?t know what it is about this place. People call it Hollywood north, and by that if they mean superficial, unconcerned and pretty much embodying the ideals of things like Scary Movie and YM magazine I?d say it?s a close bet. But that?s somewhat unfair. I think that if Vancouver does have a heart it?s somewhere in East Van. The West End, while nice, seems contentedly oblivious (or worse) indifferent to the realities of the DTES. West Van and West Side, same story.

As for the economics of the situation, they?re a reality. But to be completely honest the money from illegal drug trade is not really made by the east-side regulars (or so I assume, I have no real basis of comparison here). The pushers make from them whatever they can steal/earn quick. Maybe the ugliness of the east side is just the visible tip of the proverbial ice-burg that is the drug culture itself in Vancouver. I?ve worked on Burrard long enough now to see that there?s as much blow in the offices as there is on Main and Pender. Either way, it is extremely lucrative.

Solutions? Who knows really. You can?t legalize it, and not because of the government, it?s the local powers that be who won?t. You can?t tell me that organized crime will EVER let go of a billion dollar industry without bribing/intimidating/attacking any public figure brave/foolhardy enough to try. You can?t come down harder on the users. What they need is HELP, not punishment.

For a start you might want to go medieval in terms of penalties for drug possession/trafficking. One-year minimum and stuff like that. But then you put extra financial strain on the system with all the pushers in lock-up. It?s cheaper to slap them on the wrist I guess.

I don?t know. I?ve got a headache. And all I ?use? is nicotine (which, in this town, I?m already unpopular enough because of)

This is a far better, more concise, piece of work compared the one-sided dribble that Jamie Lee Hamilton attempts to write.

Great job!

I agree with your follow-up commentary Stefan. It is due to both the profit-driven mechanism of the drug trade AND the enabling attitude which mascarades as tolerance. That's why anyone who proposes anything that deviates from soft-touch "harm reduction" ideology is immediately accused of "waging the drug war" (and let's make no mistake: whatever its merits, "harm reduction" is pure ideology, not medical science).

You're totally right that the DTES is just the most visible tip of a much larger iceberg. There's plenty of designer drug use going on in corporate offices, luxury condos and Kerrisdale living rooms.

Lee, that's a great way to put it, indifference masquerading as tolerance. I know this is the west coast and all, and I was raised here, but when it comes to drug abuse it?s not as easy as granola. Anyone who has known an addict or (god bless?em) helped them recover, knows that the cure is as brutal as the disease. The sweats. The rages. The depression and desperation. It?s not pretty but it is where you stare the addiction in the face, not the person.

I know a young guy whose meth addiction became so bad that he locked himself in his apartment for a week with no outside contact except from his dealer. It took until a few of us from the office went to his high rise apartment and almost broke down the door to make sure he was still alive. One guy (a former addict) went with him on the ferry to Nanaimo to a ?very amiable? (read: wimpy) rehab clinic. He lasted three days. The guy had worn a suit to work, grew up in a very affluent neighborhood and had everything he could have wanted. But he chose the drug.

What I?m trying to say here is that the gloves have to come off when dealing with the issue. The drug and its pushers pull no punches so going into with a somewhat ?we have to try to understand? attitude won?t cut it. I think what we have to understand is that the hardcore addicts are our version of medieval lepers. What they need is help that is as hands-on and brutal as the addiction they?re facing. Nat a Sam Sullivan ?we?re assembling a committee?.

What does this mean? I really believe the penalties for drug possession have to be increased. I don?t if a Taiwan tolerance level is called for, but hey, maybe. If the state wants to lean on the pushers it could. The state is still the biggest bully on the block, if it decides to be. But that won?t happen until this feel-good ?poor them but check out my tan? attitude of English Bay decided it really want to help these people.

Jeez, my two-cents are getting thin by now eh?

As a new arrival to your fair city I have thought about the problem alot. Is the solution to crack down on the pushers? To arrest everyone doing something illegal? A NYC Tipping point solution?

Do we lock them all up at Riverview and do a mass forced detox, then find them all jobs and houses and integrate them back into society? Well even if we start thinking about denying people their freedoms there is no way that could done given the current level of investment in the social services here.

Its not just about housing, or health/addiction services, or policing, or City Hall doing something positive for the DTES residents, its about all these things, working efficiently, in conjunction with each other to find individual solutions for individual people in need. And that costs money, which is obviously not being spent at the moment.

But do the residents of DTES want help? What percentage would stay clean if we offered them medical, housing, and job assistance? Will it ever come to a point where we need to make these decisions for them?

I have don't have an answer, because there is not one answer to the problem that is the DTES. It will require many different agencies doing a whole lot more, and alot of drug dependant people deciding that they want to clean themselves up, the combination of which, unfortunately, does not look that likely.

Looking back on my post, it looks really negative, and thats a real shame, that such a wonderful city has such problems. I think that Vancouverite's ambivalence needs to be channeled in a better way, and City Hall (and Ottawa for that matter) need to stop having committe meetings and start doing some positive work.

Stephan, this post is great but i do have some questions and comments.

We all know that part of the media and police stragegy is to pigeon hole APC as the only group doing anything on the olymipcs. This makes them more vulnerable to be targeted by the police. As a lefty, I constantly have to remind myself that framing the APC as violent/immature/anarchists is part of a larger corporate/conservative agenda.

I totally understand your frustration but I am interested the ways in which people think APC should "get organized".

What would organization against the olympics and gentrification in the downtown eastside look like? Would it involve only dialogue or other tactics like protests?

When people are dying on the streets and being evicted from their homes, who are we to say that pouring water on a fax machine is violent? Even Ghandi saw destroying property as part of pacifist project against colonial rule in India. Isn't it really the state and its policies against people living in poverty that are violent?

Also, if you don't like the tactics being used by APC, shouldn't people then get out and do something else to stop the gentrificaiton of the Downtown Eastside?
I think though that we all need to reconsider what is 'violent' and support a diversity of tactics, even if we are not willing to risk engaging in them.

Ari - I sympathize with your standpoint but at the same time, I feel at least, you have to be a realist. The logistics of individually addressing each and every case isn't logical. Individual solutions for individual cases works great if it's a therapy session with rational, co-operating human beings. Make no mistake, many of the poor souls on the DTES are, quite literally, zombies. They've damaged themselves to a point where they can no longer make rational decisions thus, again for me, necessitates I guess what you could call an ethical imperative. The majority of themselves will not change because they no longer have the ability to which again shifts the burden onto those capable of doing it for them (if you subscribe to the whole 'my brother's keeper' thing).

What it still comes down to is the will of the electorate. Vancouver wanted bike lanes on roads, non-smoking bans, same-sex marriage, etc., if the will of the electorate actually decided it wanted to do something about the DTES other than ignoring it then the state would move in that direction because it's power base, the vote pool, would dictate that.

Kelly - People are hungry, high and homeless. They're dying. I understand that. But the APC must possess the wherewithal to contain their emotion. Now more than ever because the media's eye is on them

I don't think you can really compare Gandhi to this issue very smoothly. There were cultural, ethnic and religious lacings between the Indian/British divide throughout his efforts in India, conditions that don't exist within the situation of the DTES. An Indian going into a Englishman's office to dump water everywhere in protest is a statement even just visually, a Caucasian doing the same in a Caucasian man's office doesn't instigate the same visceral reaction.

You can't play causality here, saying that -well they're dying here so we're gonna attack you there'. It might feel good but it's an action based on emotion rather than strategy. Honestly Kelly, what can things like this TRULY accomplish besides about a week's worth of media attention and year's damage to public perception? The APC has the spotlight right now so maybe try sending level-headed open letters of protest and request to editors of papers and news broadcasters. They'll look at it now and maybe even publish it because the public is aware of you. The APC has to focus on changing public perception of itself and of its efforts in the DTES away from, I'm gonna say it, a neo-left anarchist mob who excels at smashing windows, calling police pigs, and grabbing media attention by being vandals while spewing things like 'we're fighting for the right'. The APC isn't this, but as far a Joe Public is concerned, it is. The APC needs a PR campaign, not a Guerilla one.

The APC has a chance now maybe not to win more public support, but by doing something a little more mainstream at least sparking a reasonable debate over their actual merit which in turn would cast eyes to what the DTES really looks like which is, after all, the main goal isn't it?

I'm past two-cents now, going on a dime I think.

Stefan,

I think you made an important point when you suggested Kelly write a letter to media or government now, because the APC has the spotlight. This is exactly why I think the APC is doing important work, even if they sometimes seem over-the-top. By pushing the envelope, constantly, the APC is keeping the issue of housing on the front page. Calm, "organized" protests are not going to grab headlines. Also, the APC is setting the boundaries of the debate. If they take a position that is so far to the left (ie: cancel the Olympics to pay for housing), the rest of us start to seem "moderate" when we push for things like an Olympic housing legacy. If the APC weren't out there, I think the people you call "organized" would have a lot harder time pushing this issue to the forefront.

I'll also take a second with my two cents about harm reduction. I think people have forgotten that harm reduction is not about encouraging drug use. At base, it is about keeping drug users alive and as healthy as possible. Truth is, most users will try to stop at some point. I think our task is too make sure users stay alive, avoid things like HIV and Hep C, keep some contact with services, and have a treatment bed available for them when they call. I wouldn't leap to throw everyone in forced treatment (which has a history of not working so well) until there's enough beds on demand for all the people who WANT to quit. (As far as contact with services, that's one thing the Safe Injection Site has been very good at. People who use the site regularly are more likely to go to detox.)

Thanks for raising this issue, Stefan.

You're right that "harm reduction" can alleviate some of the misery for the most desperate and extreme cases. But the problem with it is, broadly speaking, twofold:

(1) it is too often presented as a stand-alone solution rather than a single pillar of a much more comprehensive whole which includes prevention, enforcement and treatment; and

(2) it is too often applied by its proponents as a normative measure for the general population, rather than a highly specific last-ditch effort to salvage already-ruined lives. Hence, you have outreach groups publicly proselitizing "harm reduction" even to the non-using population (as YouthCo has done within the highly vulnerable HIV-Youth community, to give one concrete example). By doing so, they kick the bottom right out of the 'prevention' bucket, so to speak, while simultaneously bolstering their own arguments for more grant funding to 'study' the problem further.

Great posting, Stefan. I agree with Sarah that APC tends to push the lines in order to make the news. But i admit that i was also surprised, and felt that the trashing of the premier's office was just a bit too aggro for my own liking.

Also this just in: trashing Campbell's office may not have made the NY Times, but Cunningham's arrest did. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/28/business/28vancouver.html?_r=1&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fSubjects%2fO%2fOlympic%20Games&oref=slogin

great article.