Two articles have recently caught my eye. One deals with the paranoia surrounding crime in Buenos Aires, and the government's response by deploying 2,500 gendarmerie to the south of the city. This dpeloyment is credited, in the article, with a decrease in crime in the area. Another article recounts that labor unions demanded a safe workplace, and the government responded by deploying 4,000 gendarmerie on the trains.
This deployment is part of a pattern. Often when neoliberalism arrives in a country, increased law enforcement is not far behind. The extreme inequality that accompanies the deepening of capitalism is thought to require increased policing to jail, threaten and harass the increasing unruly masses. Police are there to maintain an unequal economic order.
Their deployment is only a band-aid solution to a false problem. No, it is not even a band-aid solution, because it only increases the root cause of crime and violence. When police start arresting and disrupting communities, it worsens the cycle of poverty, reducing opportunities, empowerment and creating desperation. Deploying police is rash and based in fear. These decisions will not solve the issue of crime, but instead intensify the desperation to climb out of poverty, by any means necessary.
A more effective solution to reducing crime would be to reduce inequality. If people have their basic needs met, they have reduced incentives to steal. Reducing inequality can be accomplished through any number of means: income caps, wealth redistribution, socializing sectors of the economy (or the whole economy)
Police deployment increases inequality, reduces human rights and normalizes the militarization of everyday life. It is indeed sad that, albeit not surprising, that states are increasingly following the "New York consensus" with regard to increased policing and incarceration.
For more information on the subject see: Loic Wacquants Three Steps to a historical anthroology of actually existing neoliberlism
And the news articles: http://www.argentinaindependent.com/currentaffairs/nilda-garre-no-increase-in-crime-in-buenos-aires/
http://www.argentinaindependent.com/currentaffairs/newsfromargentina/four-hundred-gendarmes-to-patrol-buenos-aires-train-lines/
Decolonization, Migration, Radical Potential of Stories, Global Solidarity, Mobility, Intentionality in the Daily
Life in the Grave
Me, I like the sun on my face. The unavoidable reminder of life is exactly what I'm looking for, after all. The sun comes and goes. Behind a cloud. Behind the tombs I jog past in the cemetery. But I know it will always come back, except for that singular and quickly approaching time when it won't.
Breathe in, breathe out, in, out. Respiration. Decay. CO2. The ironies of running through a graveyard are multiple and always unsettle me, even if the initial shock has gone. The stark edges of the tombs the size of young trees create a breathtaking landscape of stone, harboring coffins of nutrients. Surrounded by death I am working for life. Striving for life, yes. Not only in times as in years, but also in those timeless moments I so seek with lovers. Thank you, the dead, love of the dead and fear of the dead for providing a framework for life.
The captivating thing about this graveyard is that it´s like a mausoleum without a roof. It has narrow passageways walled in on both sides by ten-foot tall blocks, squished side by side. The ornate ones, elegantly littered with intricate scripture and majestic images, are neither garish nor imposing next to the solemnly plain and humble.
But my breathing has not stopped. Leaping out of a shadowed hall across the wide road, I feel the sun again. The temperature rises noticeably and pleasantly. The shadows are stark and running through ten feet of sun does not provide much time until I am back in the shadows, where it´s cold and comfortable.
This mix is beautiful. Exactly what anyone with a beating heart wants: harmonious habitation in a way that only seems possible for the dead. Only here can you find antiquated elegance of European architecture, side by side with the massively efficient exemplars of modernity. The coalescence is unique, and, like so much beauty, is best manifested by actively sharing appreciation with someone. The stuff of life, if you will.
The sun and the drugs made us unbearably light as we walked. Cycling into spring, we feel alive. Eternal moments marveling at the decrepit shells of this once-wealthy city, we are fascinated by the mingling that has resulted from the decay. Large, colorless and uniform buildings cast shadows over their neighbors´ grand balconies and large oak doors. They rest peacefully in their indifferent dependence.
There we were-clinging to life, squeezing all we could out of each other. The day had just begun and, as usual when together, in the best way possible. Some touching, some coffee, a smoke and the sun if it's around. Comfortable. With him, I need not strive or worry about sociability. It is and we are. It is in these fleeting moments of eternity that the contradictions are most palpable and yet most bearable. It is in these moments when I feel I am getting the most out of life for its similarities to how I imagine death--without strife, feeling alone without being alone, an eternity with nothing as far as I am concerned.
My running, much like the tombstones, is not for life, but the imagination thereof. What I actually chase is a version of what the cold corpses in the neighborly containers have long since accomplished on a permanent basis. If I kill myself, it will be out of desire, not out of fear.
On the political potential of free bells
Amsterdam Soundscapes recordings
As people with socio-political agendas, we have to be careful and strategic in the actions we choose. Backlashes and excessive use of energies and resources are easy pitfalls if projects are not well-thought out. A campaign to deliver bells free to bikers would be low-cost if done in bulk, could carry stickers as extra motivation to funders and would create a presence, both at the moment of distribution and sustained throughout the life of the bell.
1) One way to prevent backlash is to promote what is seen as the public good while promoting your specific initiative. Argentine auto clubs were specifically adept at this a century ago. Printing maps, mechanical guides and articles explaining the importance of automobility for modernity, they managed to turn the polluting toys of the wealthy into a national priority. As alternative transportation is gaining traction, we should seize upon this opportunity to gain legitimacy in the public's eye by doing things, free-of-charge when possible, to promote alternative transportation and have a publicity campaign accompany it.
2) Cars are loud. Their growls fill our streets and even our homes, making it hard to concentrate, let alone enjoy being in public space. One thing that has always struck me about cities like Amsterdam is their sound scape. When we change horns and motors for bells and pedals, the city is instantly more enjoyable. The sounds of the car take up SPACE. The noise pollution crowds our cities, making the presence of these motor-monsters evident, omnipresent and unforgettable. Bells are a great way for bikes to take up a reasonable amount of sound-space in a friendly manner.
Bells are a pleasant way to communicate with others on the street. The communication would contribute to increased safety, respect and awareness of complete streets. A campaign to deliver free bells would be an effective way to increase the amount of cycling, safety on the streets and presence of bikes on multiple fronts.
As people with socio-political agendas, we have to be careful and strategic in the actions we choose. Backlashes and excessive use of energies and resources are easy pitfalls if projects are not well-thought out. A campaign to deliver bells free to bikers would be low-cost if done in bulk, could carry stickers as extra motivation to funders and would create a presence, both at the moment of distribution and sustained throughout the life of the bell.
1) One way to prevent backlash is to promote what is seen as the public good while promoting your specific initiative. Argentine auto clubs were specifically adept at this a century ago. Printing maps, mechanical guides and articles explaining the importance of automobility for modernity, they managed to turn the polluting toys of the wealthy into a national priority. As alternative transportation is gaining traction, we should seize upon this opportunity to gain legitimacy in the public's eye by doing things, free-of-charge when possible, to promote alternative transportation and have a publicity campaign accompany it.
2) Cars are loud. Their growls fill our streets and even our homes, making it hard to concentrate, let alone enjoy being in public space. One thing that has always struck me about cities like Amsterdam is their sound scape. When we change horns and motors for bells and pedals, the city is instantly more enjoyable. The sounds of the car take up SPACE. The noise pollution crowds our cities, making the presence of these motor-monsters evident, omnipresent and unforgettable. Bells are a great way for bikes to take up a reasonable amount of sound-space in a friendly manner.
Bells are a pleasant way to communicate with others on the street. The communication would contribute to increased safety, respect and awareness of complete streets. A campaign to deliver free bells would be an effective way to increase the amount of cycling, safety on the streets and presence of bikes on multiple fronts.
Making Our City
I present to you a resource--a resource to make your own city. Inspiration to empowerment and advice that can provide just the encouragement needed to change your city!
From our friends in Toronto, we have Urban Repair Squad's DIY Infrastructure Practical Manual
Sick of dangerous streets? Feeling inspired to transform your environment. I would never ever, of course, encourage illegal actions, but I do find this manual very interesting.
What intersection or street is dangerous in your city?
What street do you feel threatened while biking on?
What would be the way to fix it?
What are some creative additions to this manual?
From our friends in Toronto, we have Urban Repair Squad's DIY Infrastructure Practical Manual
Sick of dangerous streets? Feeling inspired to transform your environment. I would never ever, of course, encourage illegal actions, but I do find this manual very interesting.
What intersection or street is dangerous in your city?
What street do you feel threatened while biking on?
What would be the way to fix it?
What are some creative additions to this manual?
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