Published by Sarasota Indymedia March 09

Civil Disobedience Stirs in Sarasota

Did you see this SH-T Forum posting on Sarasota tent cities? http://forums.heraldtribune.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/3941081465/m/7431051858?r=5771076068#5771076068

The author’s expressed wish has come true: public words have sparked public dialog. In turn, public dialog has revealed much more.

First, the open comments in response to the forum contribution illustrate a sharp divide in both opinion and insight on the very timely topic of Sarasota-based economic refugees. Those with glib or even snide responses are legitimate contributors, yet I can't help note that they are woefully under-informed and mercifully inexperienced on this matter. The majority of people who are living in existing Sarasota and Bradenton tent cities (both open and secret) are average, normal and responsible people who experienced many months of household budget cuts: Cable, telephone, AC/heat, beer and other luxuries are long gone by the time a tent city becomes a viable and even desirable option. The details of their stories may differ; the broad strokes are similar.

Second, the prospect of a Sarasota tent city is a top-of-mind topic among Sarasota’s Limousine Liberals. I attended the DESC annual fundraiser last night, and over the $8 cocktail that preceded my $100 plate I learned that a Sarasota tent city is being considered or planned. A little bit of Googling this morning added healthy flesh to the subject’s bones and led to this response. (Please note that I am no Limousine Liberal, and am circling the event horizon of foreclosure myself. At this point, $108 is not going to make or break my outcome and it was well invested in learning the mood, dialog, and priorities of self-proclaimed difference-makers.)

The gift of public discourse on the local ravages of our global economy has revealed an important and (IMHO) fabulous fact: Civil disobedience has started. Neighbors have banded together to hide a tent city from authorities. Another’s voice has drawn a line in our local sand over selective law enforcement. Somewhere in my college days I coined the phrase, “What this country needs is an economic Martin Luther King.” Today, I can hear the far-off thunder of his or her voice rumbling its way toward Sarasota. What better place to illustrate the real fulcrum of the socio-economic divide. It is so very much closer to every back yard than most realize.

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