Rather
than interview one or two local people for this
special issue, I decided to send out a questionnaire
to about 50 known local activists working in various
capacities throughout SLO County. More than 30
activists responded, which is an outstanding
percentage... especially since activists are known
for their long hours, hard work, and indecent pay. I
not only feel honored that they answered the survey
but that they placed so much thought into answering
the questions. So my question has been how to convey
to you, the reader, the depth of their responses so
you can enjoy and feel their passion and wisdom.
Well,
pouring over nearly 30,000 words was a pure delight.
The inherent wisdom, the joviality, and the
steadfastness in their various commitments were
moving and an inspiration. I feel blessed to be in an
area where so many people have devoted their lives to
making fundamental changes in this society. The
following activists are involved in such causes as
pesticide watch, permaculture, militarization of
space, globalization issues, the media, the
environment, social injustices, health care
inequities and numerous other causes.The following is
a summary.
WHY
ARE YOU DOING WHAT YOU DO?
When
asked this question, many people were eager to say
simply, "Because I have to." As Todd
Schoenbaum, the main instigator for creating the
Progressive Student Alliance at Cal Poly, writes,
"I'm doing these things to right the wrongs of
the world. I cannot sit idly by while lies and
injustice flourish." Angie King, a very active
advocate for women's rights, answered, "I feel
responsible to make the most of my time on this
planet to make it the best place to be for all of
us." David Weisman, an activist filmmaker
writes, "It's a spiritual thing. As I moved away
from an intellectual approach to how I saw the world,
and began instead to truly SEE the world ,it was a
revelation (I credit the interview I did with the
late David Brower - he said, "Throw away your
bibles and read the earth"). To do so meant
leaving my job, cutting out television, consumerism,
etc. It was the level of distraction that was keeping
me from hearing my own voice." Then he mentioned
his involvement with the OAKS project, a citizen
action group founded by Harvey Rosenfield and Ralph
Nader, where he "received the civic lesson you
never got in school" and continues, "It
fits in with the concept of 'right livelihood' and
most importantly, it JUST FEELS GOOD. Until you try
it, and believe it, it's hard to explain that
activism really is it's own reward. Kind of like a
drug (in a good way)." Cal Poly activist Pablo
Paster answered with an honest, "If I didn't,
I'd go nuts."
Some
answers delved into the feelings of obligation, along
with a sense of gratitude. Bill Denneen, the
eco-elder of the Central Coast, actively involved in
saving the coast (Point Sal, not building a nuclear
plant in Santa Maria, removing vehicles from the
dunes, and numerous other campaigns), answers,
"Payback for surviving WWII, G.I. Bill
education, obligations as a responsible citizen in a
failing democracy." Clayton Whitt, another Cal
Poly activist working with the anti-sweatshop
campaign, writes, "I do it because I could not
live with myself if I didn't. I can see what needs to
be done, and if I in anyway have the resources to
help, then I know that I must." Susan Coward,
general manager of SLONET, brings some levity to the
question by answering, "I want my son and his
friends to have something to thank me for someday,
even when they think I'm a dork." Some responses
were of a very personal one as in the case of Linda
McElver, who has been extremely active in the fight
against Spraying Pesticides (drugs) for fear of a bug
that might destroy the wine (drug) industry, "I
and members of my family have been disabled because
of government chemical industry's acceptable risk
policies. Potentially 100 million chronically ill
Americans don't know they are at risk. A whiff of
pesticides from a neighbor's yard nearly killed me.
My children also gasped for air and collapsed for
months after being exposed to legal pesticide
residues. After my first life threatening asthma
attack from legal pesticides, I called the EPA
Hotline. I asked, "How could such dangerous
life-threatening products be kept on the
market?" An EPA employee at the Pesticide
Hotline told me that there was an acceptable risk; in
other words, I was the acceptable risk to die for the
sake of industry profits. Suddenly there is nothing
else more important to dedicate your life to
changing. An activist was born that day, almost a
decade ago."
Toni
Flynn, a Catholic Worker in the High Desert, who had
been very involved in SLO County with homeless folks
and protesting against such military shenanigans as
the School of the Americas, writes, "I know this
is probably not a politically correct response, but
the truth is that ultimately, everything I do that is
worthwhile is in relation to the radical call of the
Gospel and in relation to the God of my
understanding. And the God of my understanding
embraces the cry of the poor, the weak, the
voiceless, the hungry, the lost, the lonely, the
oppressed, and further embraces the cry of the earth
itself and of the heavens insofar as we humans have
tampered with and endangered the creative balances. I
cannot conceive of other than a non-violent, merciful
God. My activism is activism rooted in
spirituality." Jesse McGowan, an activist at Cal
Poly known for his work with Prison issues, Iraq
sanctions, and the anti-sweatshop campaign, redefines
charity in his answer, "A lot of people think
activism comes from a bleeding heart and a
willingness to do charity. Charity is great, but for
me, it's more about fighting in solidarity with the
poor and oppressed, creating systematic change so
they will no longer need charity."
HOW
DID YOU GET TO WHERE YOU ARE NOW?
When
asked this question Pablo Paster wrote, "On a
bike or on foot." Also on a light note, Ted
Rueter, who heads a campaign against noise pollution
writes, "I'm convinced the gods sent me to Los
Angeles to get upset about noise pollution. The city
is amazingly noisy, with car alarms, car stereos,
boom-boom cars, leaf blowers, back-up beepers, cell
phones, 6:00 am garbage collections, jackhammers,
sidewalk sweepers, honking horns, airplanes, and
police helicopters." Sandra Sarrouf from EcoSlo,
the county-wide environmental organization, writes,
"Commitment and passion some stubbornness,
foolishness and a little idealism as well."
Todd
Schoenbaum in all the earnestness that youth can
bring to the table, writes, "I am involved now,
not because of something I read, saw or heard, but
because I thought. I thought about the events of the
world, its current state, the situation here in the
US, about history about how people, animals and
nature have been mistreated. I thought about
everything that was wrong with the world, and just
when I couldn't take anymore, it dawned on me how
fortunate I am. Not only have I not experienced any
of this pain, but I also have the ability to change
it for others. This revelation gave me the
inspiration to start."
WHAT
HAS BEEN THE MOST INSPIRING EVENT IN YOUR ACTIVISM?
When
I asked this, I got numerous stories that would move
anyone to want to become an activist. Vita Miller,
who has been very active in preserving our county
hospital and associated clinics, answers the
question, "when the Board of Supervisors
approved a three-year turn-around plan for General
Hospital." David Weisman tells the story of a
woman he met on the train from LA to SLO, "I
struck up a conversation with an elderly woman from
Avila Beach who had cancer and had owned a restaurant
in that town. Although appearing conservative, she
nevertheless was vocal in her opposition to Diablo
Canyon and her feeling that radioactivity from that
plant could have contributed to her or other people's
cancer - but she didn't know if there was anything
she could ever do to shut it down. She figured
somebody else was working on the issue. I grabbed my
yellow legal pad from my backpack and handed it to
her along with a pen. I told her that she was the
most important person working on the issue at the
moment and then dictated a letter to Rep. Lois Capps
calling for cancellation of the Price-Anderson Act
(which allows reactors to operate by shielding the
owners from liability). She signed the letter and
said she was going to share it with others in her
church group. So, you might say that a small action
like that, starting one person on the road to making
a difference, is as inspiring to me as a giant
rally." Christine Mulholland, a member of the
San Luis Obispo City Council, writes, "To find
out that enough people share similar ideas to elect
me to the City Council!" Mindy Lorenz said
basically the same thing when she wrote, "Being
the first person in the United States to run for the
U.S.Congress as a Green Party candidate in
1990."
Sandra
Pendell, publisher of the Women's Press, writes,
"When I was in Thailand I stayed for a time in a
home for young women, ages 13 to 17, all of whom had
been rescued from situations of forced prostitution.
These young women had been trafficked primarily out
of China, Burma and Cambodia by people they had
trusted. The vast majority of them were HIV+. These
young women had, more than any other humans I have
ever encountered, reason to be bitter and jaded, yet
they were open and optimistic about their lives. They
showed me the resiliency and beauty of the human
spirit."
Linda
McElver was ecstatic when she was placed on the State
GWSS Environmental Task Force "representing
non-governmental public health has resulted in a
series of events that have inspired me. I argued that
there were no disability representatives on the state
task force, gathered support, and was asked to serve.
I realize now that being persistent and not afraid to
speak the truth is essential to affect change."
Meredith Bates, who has been active in organizing for
more women to become more politically active and
aware in Morro Bay, writes, "When 100 women
showed up at a Morro Bay City Council meeting to
protest the lack of women in government positions.
That evening, one woman who had never been to a city
council meeting, told me that she would start going
to meetings from time to time to stay informed."
Rochelle Becker, one of the main forces behind the
anti-Diablo fight, writes, "The dedicated people
in the anti-nuclear, environmental, and peace
movement have been and continue to be my
inspiration."
When it comes to raising money for a cause, Marla
Morrissey, the president of the Morro Bay Estuary
Greenbelt Alliance, was totally inspired when she was
involved in "helping to raise millions of
dollars for Habitat acquisition."
Sarah
Elliott, a human rights activist, explores her most
inspiring event while she took the trip to
demonstrate against the School of the Americas in
Fort Benning, Georgia, "It was wonderful to see
so many people from so many different backgrounds all
coming together to fight against the school."
Toni Flynn also attended those protests. These are
her words, "I suppose the most inspiring event
was the time I participated in the gathering outside
the gates of Fort Benning, to protest the School of
the Americas. So many people! Priests and nuns and
university students; North Americans and Central
Americans and South Americans; children and parents
and grandparents. Thousands of people coming together
to practice non-violent resistance against a
U.S.-funded military school that trains South and
Central American soldiers to go home and kill their
own people... namely, the poor. I linked arms with my
fellow Catholic Workers, and with one of my
daughters, and we, along with hundreds of others,
processioned in a funeral march, across the
borderline and onto the Base whereupon we were
arrested. As the military police loaded us onto
buses, we sang! The singing transcended
everything!"
WHAT
HAS BEEN THE MOST PAINFUL?
Most
people had their stories of devastation of either not
being heard or not even being listened to or working
really hard on a project only for it to fall through.
Eric Greening, a well known activist with his vast
knowledge of issues throughout the County (who can be
heard and seen making numerous brilliant comments at
the Board of Supervisors meetings), writes about two
painful incidences, "Painful moments abound, but
the two worst were the loss of the Down Home Blues
Ranch after a multi-year struggle to save it from the
State Water Project, and the final wreckage of what
had been a seven-year effort to achieve a native tree
protection ordinance in San Luis Obispo County."
Mindy
Lorenz, "During my involvement with the
Underground Railroad for Salvadoran political
refugees in the 1980s, I met many individuals and
families who had fled American-trained Death Squads
in El Salvador. One woman in particular spoke to me
about the circumstances surrounding her husband's
brutal murder by the Death Squads. Following his
disappearance, she found him one morning in a plastic
trash bag on her front porch. He had been hacked to
pieces and thrown there. These personal accounts of
unbelievable atrocities changed my life
forever."
Nancy
Ferraro, an active researcher of proposed legislation
and a determined petitioner and letter-writing
campaigner sums up most of our frustration in her
eloquent response, "The most painful event in my
activism is unfolding now. It's the growth of the
military-industrial complex, despite the warning
voiced by President Eisenhower - himself a 5-star
general - the waste of our national substance, and
the attempt at global domination by this complex, the
unraveling of so much that we have gained in
environmental protection and agreements with other
nations on the way to world peace. All this
deconstruction orchestrated by the current Washington
oligarchy is painful enough, but even surpassing that
is the apathy evinced by the general American public
who are either in denial or don't want to stop
entertaining themselves long enough to inform
themselves about what's happening and what they can
do to prevent it."
WHAT
KEEPS YOU GOING?
Pablo
Paster writes, "Yerbe Mate." David Weisman
writes with enthusiasm, "Another great joy that
keeps me going is when new people join the movement -
when I send out an e-mail imploring my non-involved
friends to send a letter or make calls on a
particular issue, and they write back telling me that
they REALLY DID make the call, or send me a copy of
their letter That is a rewarding feeling that
inspires me." Linda McElver soberly writes,
"The untimely deaths of the chemically injured,
brilliant, and caring activists Julia Kendall and
Cindy Duerhing, who, in spite of their personal
suffering dedicated their lives to helping others.
They both helped me when I was very ill. I dedicate
my work in remembrance of them." Suebob Davis
poignantly answers, "My spiritual faith. I
believe that God does not act in this world, so it is
up to us to do so." Ted Rueter echoes her
sentiment with, "The realization that the
problem is only going to get worse if no one takes
action."
Vita
Miller, referring to health care in this county,
declares, "Perhaps the fact that I am so acutely
aware of the injustice surrounding this entire issue,
and as a practicing RN, I see the need in our
community almost daily."
WHAT
IS YOUR SPECIFIC MESSAGE TO THE COMMUNITY?
Christine
Mulholland flatly states, "We have the
opportunity to create a sustainable community in San
Luis Obispo, but we will be breaking new ground and
we must be brave as we approach this frontier."
Sandra Sarrouf simply puts it, "Every action
counts as little or grand: Buying local, buying
organic, re-using, recycling, buying recycled, not
buying, being a conscious consumer, etc." Susan
Coward nails it on the head when she writes,
"'The Media' should be 'Our Media.' We need to
make sure that parts of the internet, television and
radio are not available to corporate concerns. Jello
Biafra says the mantra of the 'mainstream corporate
media' has changed from 'all the news that's fit to
print' to 'shut up and shop.' He's right. People need
to know this is a critical time. We're on the verge
of becoming slaves to a few giant media machines and
we smile and give them more money. We're about to be
rammed from behind on the congested freeways of
Consumerville. If you think you're the one deciding
what you watch, what you read, or what you hear,
think again. (And I'm not even a conspiracy
theorist!) If the community media movement is
successful, you'll have more choices, not
fewer."
IF
YOU EXPERIENCED BURN OUT, HOW DID YOU WORK WITH IT?
David
Weisman, who truly knows, writes, "I had to take
a break from the listserves and the constant flurry
of urgent actions. I think the challenge for activism
is to recruit more people. If it weren't always the
same six people showing up for every meeting, we
wouldn't have to do so much, and the division of
labor would make it more efficient for all concerned.
I find solace in nature; that helps me reconnect to
the spiritual basis of 'why' I care." Linda
McElver writes, "Be honest with your abilities,
prioritize, don't be afraid to say you have to take a
break. People generally are very understanding. If
you get demanding people on the phone, don't be
afraid to ask them to volunteer. There are a million
things to do; be thankful at the few accomplishments
you can do a day. They can and do make a
difference." Toni Flynn honestly reveals herself
when she write, "I have a depressive inclination
and sometimes it sneaks up on me. I take the time now
to tend my body and my soul whenever I feel on the
edges of burn-out. I spend time in solitude, in
nature, with my grown children, with friends who know
me well and with whom I can just 'be.'"
Sarah
Elliott takes another slant on the subject altogether
with, "When I experience 'burn-out,' I try to
remember all the people who are suffering. Their
suffering doesn't quit when they are tired, so I
can't quit either."
Jesse
McGowan writes, "I go do something fun like surf
or play drums to take a break. Whenever I see a young
activist with a lot of heart and super dedicated, I
become a little worried that they will get burnt out.
'Pace yourself. Don't feel like you have to do
everything,' I say."
WHAT
CAN YOU SAY TO OTHERS WHO ARE JUST BEGINNING?
David
Weisman relates the story of how his ranting and
raving on his soapbox did nothing but alienate
people, and it reminded him of a story of a
professor, who after returning from the Rio Summit of
1992, was shocked that his colleagues resumed their
lives as if they had heard nothing at all at the
Summit. "After also failing at the 'ranting and
raving,' he simply chose to live his own life as
purposefully and principled as he could. An
interesting thing happens when you do, Those around
you who really have 'the inclination' look at your
role model and begin to ask questions. And once they
do, they have invited your participation in helping
them get involved and share in the benefits that come
from a service-oriented and purposeful life."
Bill Denneen answers the question with wit and
wisdom, "Prioritize - you can not save the whole
world. Avoid burn-out by taking time to enjoy what
you are trying to protect. Pick one area you feel
strongly about, study the subject, learn all you can
and then vote, write letters, talk to people -
participate and lead." Meredith Bates echoes Mr.
Denneen with, "Go for it! Take a risk, don't
wait until you 'know everything.' Lots of energy
comes from intuition. Turn your anger into energy
towards change."
Mary
Pat White (an avid activist at the Newman Center at
Cal Poly and organizer of various protests and
speakers) writes, "Do not get discouraged by
injustice. One act of courageous non-violent protest
is morally stronger than the greed,
self-righteousness, and indifference that surround
us." Nancy Ferraro spells it out, "Find a
group of like-minded people to help keep your spirits
up, and find your niche in the larger scheme of
things. Don't feel you have to carry the hero's
burden; just do what you like to do and do the
best." Mindy Lorenz lightens it up with,
"Pace yourself. Do what you can do each day with
energy and joy. Keep a sense of compassion and a
sense of humor. It's a spiritual practice and a lot
of fun."
Fun-spirited
Susan Coward tells us, "You'll have a lot more
spare time if you ignore your activist passions, but
you'll spend that time gritting your teeth about what
SHOULD be done. So just do it. Take on all things in
moderation, though. Activism, like chocolate, can
make you feel exultant when it's a part of a
well-rounded life, but it can make you sick if you
try to live off of it."
The
questionnaire was created and summarized by Bob
Banner. If you are interested in seeing the entire
collection of answers, give him a call at 805 544
9663 or email him at editor@hopedance.org.
