June 08, 2003
(Updated) Protester Reports On Doing Time With the PBA, Writing Essay On 'Trouble'
Note: This post has been updated. Any and all updates appear at the end of the original post.
Over at Alliance Watch, they've got two items written by an Edith Mirante, one of the occupiers of the Burnside Bridge the day after the war in Iraq began, who were sentenced by a Multnomah County court to write a two-page essay and perform community service. The pieces in question -- one of which is the essay itself -- were originally published by The Portland Alliance.
Why is this relevant to a website such as Alliance Watch, which monitors the activity of the Portland Business Alliance? Well, this is why:
Glen, our "crew leader" (minder, guardian) appeared, issued us bright orange vests, and informed me that no, I could not wear a political button. We were also forbidden to speak to members of the public. The first of many short, lurching van trips brought us to Central City Concern, where we sat in a computer classroom. Glen then treated us to a session in which we were invited to examine our "thinking errors," as the handout put it. He also offered to sign any of us up for computer training as our ticket to "dream jobs." Glen had mentioned that he works for the Portland Business Alliance, so I raised my hand and inquired about PBA's role in this "community service." "Oh, the Portland Business Alliance runs it. And pays for it," he replied.
Now, someone has to run these community service programs, of course. Although I recall that the one time I had to do community service, I was placed with a non-profit. Still, it's not unusual for duties such as garbage detail in parks or on city streets to be considered appropriate community service activities.
Mirante's point about why letting the PBA run such a program is unseemly is this: "You get arrested because you are protesting or otherwise acting/looking in a way that the PBA considers unsightly," Mirante write. "Then you are used to pick up trash in order to beautify the PBA's theme-park/mall vision of downtown."
In terms of, shall we say, political aesthetics, I agree it's an ugly set-up, although I'm hesitant to ascribe quite as much direct power to the PBA as is she. I'll admit to being more than a bit quesy at the idea of the so-called "thinking errors" session, but I doubt that's the sort of thing unique to whatever community service program the PBA operates. And I also doubt that every single PBA staffer is working from some sinister corporate playbook.
Far more important to me in this story of punishment is the matter of the essays. In fact, when I had first heard about protesters being required to write essays about more proper ways to protest and how to stay out of "trouble," I had tried to contact one of them for permission to print their essay here. I never heard back -- and no, it wasn't Edith Mirante.
In Mirante's essay itself, having to explain how she got into "trouble" to begin with, she says this of the Burnside Bridge occupation:
This particular intersection could be considered the very nexus of our city, Portland. Burnside Avenue divides north from south, and the bridge it leads to crosses the Willamette River, which bisects east and west. We were at the center of our urban compass rose. We were also at the dividing point in the pattern of seasons -- Winter had just given way to Spring. And our country had just crossed the line from a kind of peace to a pre-emptive war opposed by most of the world.
As for what sorts of "trouble" Edith Mirante, says she would like -- and the rest of us ought -- to be concerned with avoiding, you'll have to click through to Alliance Watch and read for yourself. I'm left to wonder, however, if the court ever responds to such assignments, because it's likely not quite what the presiding judge had in mind.
Update
The program in question is the Portland Community Court Project. There is a FAQ page with details on how it functions. Before I make any further comment on the Portland Business Alliance's involvement, I am awaiting further information both from the Alliance and the Community Court Program itself.
Comments (1)
Aaron on 10 Jun 2003
Excuse me for being cynical, but isn't the PBA's practice of using community service workers to clean the sidewalks outside PBA members' property (such as Nordstrom) the equivalent of replacing paid workers with slaves?