Brightest Young Things was up bright and early to bring you coverage of the 7:00 am aerobics dance party in Dupont Circle on Saturday. The party was part of an event protesting the International Monetary Fund which quickly marched from Dupont Circle southward towards the IMF headquarters.
(First some photos by M.V. Jantzen)
Despite organizer promises, only a handful of the 40 protesters actually sported spandex and aerobicized against the policies of the IMF around a small boombox fastened to the back of a bicycle. "Weak" would be an apt description of the official aerobics dance party participation.
Fortunately, some Brightest Young Things readers showed up after the official protest to stretch, kick and shimmy their way into fitness and fun. "Yeah, we don't really care about protesting the IMF, so we've decided to protest Revlon and animal testing instead," responded one of the neo-aerobicizers wearing a pair of hot-pink spandex leggings. "We plan to keep doing aerobics until Revlon completely stops their animal testing...or we decide to go to Starbucks." "Mmm...mocha chocolate Frapucino!" responded another aerobics enthusiast.
(Next up some photos from John)
The group continued to dance and aerobicize in the Dupont Circle fountain for about 40 minutes, much to the confusion of Midwestern tourists and their children standing nearby. "Heritage Park apartments are a great deal! Why don't you move in now? Why not?" shouted an aerobics protester waving a real-estate sign left behind by the IMF protest group. The sign had been covered with a "Capitalism: Do Not Resuscitate!" caption that had been torn off in a tussle. "I guess the IMF group wants you to end capitalism but also wants you to really take advantage of their move-in offer," said one dancer. "Personally, I'd hold out to see if the place comes with free cable."
We also had intrepid new cute ninja photog Nicole Aguirre on the scene, who totally ate some pepper spray as she documented the mayhem:
Previously in I Heart DC:
- 5/24: DC NEWS YOU CAN (MAYBE) USE...
- 5/23: DC News You Can (Maybe) Use
- 5/23: BYT Patio and Outdoor Dining Guide - Spring/Summer 2012
- 5/22: DC NEWS YOU CAN (MAYBE) USE...
- 5/21: DC News You Can (Maybe) Use
- 5/21: PHOTOS: Artomatic 2012 Opening
- 5/18: DC NEWS YOU CAN (MAYBE) USE...
- 5/17: DC News You Can (Maybe) Use
- 5/16: D.C. NEWS YOU CAN (MAYBE) USE...
- 5/16: Photos: Dance In The Circle @ Dupont Circle
God loves a cheerful giver.
Wait, was this a pro - or anti - 'Flashdance' protest?
BYT indisputably delegitimized itself by turning at apathetic cheek towards the IMF, an organization responsible for the exploitation of millions of Third-World citizens
Revlon was the first cosmetics company to stop animal testing.....in the year 1990 (http://www.caringconsumer.com/company_revlon.asp)
Why beat a dead horse and ignore the current issues? The world bank and IMF are forcing many African countries to adopt factory farming, despite the fact that many of the animal products produced are not culturally relevant to these countries (example factory farmed beef in Ghana). Or the WTO demanding that South Korea import American meat, despite protests of over 30,000 Korean citizens. But all that stuff is only important if you are interested in things that are relevant I guess.
I knew that violence would ensue as soon as Bea Arthur died. Its like the Stonewall Riots all over again.
Its time to take to the street people and march on the lanai. We march for cheesecake, Maude and Broadway. "Shady Pines, Ma! Shady Pines!"
I'm all for satire (and the aerobics theme is great) but this stunt just isn't funny amidst the IMF protest. Pictures of protesters getting injured juxtaposed with spandex-clad hipsters = train wreck. This would have been *much* funnier and more appropriate to do in the middle of the Tea Party protests on April 15th.
What exactly was the point of this protest and what did it accomplish?
So many times we protest things just because it makes us feel good or noble. I would rather see people protest with the purpose of a clear objective. Did this protest shut down the IMF? No. Did it change its policy? No.
In the future, we should give thought to steps and actions that can actually lead to change rather than just making us feel good and look like dicks. I get so tired of all the protesters from Manasas coming into our District and smashing windows of local businesses. Maybe if the protests led to some sort of policy change, but they don't.
I'm all for "Hey, Hey! Ho, Ho!" and "This is what democracy looks like!" But, those are just chants that don't do anything except stroke the ego of the protesters themselves.
How many protests does the NRA organize in DC? None. What has been their legislative legacy? A mountain. The NRA organizes into action while we too often just organize to whine amongst ourselves.
Just saying.
blunted, i'm pretty sure they're lending some support since they featured the whole thing so prominently. i believe they are deploying a little playfulness here.
You guys have been missing out on Funk the War though. We've been running a militant mobile anti-war disco since 2008 and have hit 600 people at the peak and it's basically a giant outdoor club night with paint.
You should totally make sure to go to the next one.
www.funkthewar.org
so because the protest was pointless, byt was justified sending in the clowns to mock it? pointless of not, the protesters hearts are in the right place.
Seriously??? FORTUNATELY, BYT you showed up and saved the fucking day. Do you even know what the IMF is or why it's so fucked? Of course you dont, or you do and you don't give two shits, because it has nothing to do with shopping or $10 cocktails or getting your picture taken at clubs so everyone knows you were THERE. You feign culture by showing up to art events, when you have no interest or concept in the artists' actual vision, you just pose in front of something, drink the free drinks and then head straight to the nearest bar where you know the bartender because you think you're important enough to not pay like others do.
And let's get real: we all know you guys dont give two shits about animal testing, a) as the lovely Meghan noted, Revlon already discontinued animal testing. b) you ALL wear more leather and suede than i see in most other scenes. c) you rep more meat-centric restaurants than veg ones. Go vegan and go protest Huntington Life Sciences if you care so much. Vivisection, whaaaa? Just because you have a fancy website doesnt mean that's free license to spew narcissism and ignorance. Or i guess it is...
Egomaniacal fucks. You are more apathetic and more hollow that anyone that actually gave a damn to be out there for legitimate reasons. Go choke on a frappuccino.
Oh and dont send one of your pervy, lecherous photogs (I'm talking to you "sexy" fitsum) to a metal show, flash shit in my face despite my clear non-consent and then not even rep the correct band when you post the pics.
No, really, go choke on a frap before you go out to the next event with no clear intentions or hypocritical bourgeoisie alterior motives. You are not welcome. If you really REALLY are into something, for legit reasons, that's fine, come along and join in, get fucking maced, have PASSION for something, go volunteer places instead of being hungover all weekend. WAKE UP.
............This is where things get tough for me........I actually have a large critique of protest tactics in DC, but it comes from inside the radical community......Groups like the IMF are no joke. Liberal economic organizations such as this have been wreaking havoc across the globe for decades, and typically (though, true, not always), they are simply meeting demands of nefarious US corporations. At any rate, this could be a good opportunity for some of the more cadeted readers of this website to go to their friend google, and learn about the ravaging of people, animals, and the earth.
Challenge of the day:
Put down your "mocha chocolate Frapucino" and spend ten minutes "caring." It's ok, you can fake it, just try..........
The point of this protest was to literally shut down the meetings. Unfortunately this is extremely difficult given the amount of people that came, and the ratio of cops to protesters. However, the protest did delay the IMF meetings. Additionally, we wouldn't even be having this dialogue if it weren't for these protests. Creative protests, like this, are also much more media friendly, and give a non-violent and safe avenue for protesters who are not willing to risk arrest. There was an 8 minute long segment on the news talking about the protests and the reasons behind them. (http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=77167730935&h=JN1Sv&u=OkOlU&ref=mf). Protests like these bring attention and help inform people about what exactly is going on, and recruit people to come out to the next action, so that one day, we might actually shut it down. These things take time, nothing happens overnight
Jackie I love you
sorry that was the wrong link. This one is good:
Guys, it's a friggin' blog. No blog ever gives left-wing actions any sort of cred. That's a nature of the medium. Blogs are largely ruled by snar and an inability to take things sincerely or actually revel in any kind of popular push against power. Also, it's a nightlife blog. So you can't expect them to cover something without a serious dose of snark because that's what the medium demands. We kicked ass, we looked fabulous, we had some serious successes throughout the weekend, we stoop up to serious police violence that sent someone to the hospital with a broken knee, and we're going to keep on going.
These pictures are great and I really appreciate that. If you want to see bad blog coverage, check out DCist. Commenters seriously called for us to be murdered. And that was on a thread where people were talking about the People's Economic Forum, not any of the street protests.
We're still winning and snark don't change that.
Thanks again for the photos looking sweet!
(This is John who wrote the piece)
I should be clear that the neo-protesters weren't sent there by BYT. They just happened to be there when we showed up to cover the event. They indicated that they read about the protest on our website after we provided it publicity.
From talking with the second group of protesters, it appeared that their intention was to join the anti-IMF crowd after reading about it on our website. However, they weren't necessarily embraced by the first group. They also were less-than-impressed with the turnout of the anti-IMF crowd (which was 30, maybe 40 people total). Given the lackluster turn-out, they told us that they decided to split off at that point.
I thought that action was itself became a critique of the carousel protests in the District. That itself became a story and I gave it space here. I was open to more engagement from the core group of anti-IMF protesters, but they weren't as engaging. It was the second group that offered up their impressions and opinions.
No one is owed free coverage or publicity - especially from a site that is run exclusively by volunteers. However, the pictures that Nicole Aguirre provides of the core group of protesters do more to tell their actions than any other coverage I have seen in D.C. That's a lot of free publicity for the anti-IMF crowd. And again, Nicole didn't set out to give them publicity, but her photo coverage ends up telling their story in a compelling way.
The only involvement that BYT had in this protest was to give it publicity beforehand and to cover it when it took place. I didn't see any similar coverage. Yes, this posting is a bit snarky but it doesn't assign an opinion of the IMF either way. It merely records the impressions of what happened.
@Jackie: this is going to sound less than generous, but given your (completely true-to-life!!!!! EXCEPT YOU FORGOT ALL THE DRUGS!!!!) analysis of BYT, I am going to go ahead and guess you don't actually know anything about the IMF, you just know that you hate it because you're liberal.
Hey John, I'm totes okay with this post.
The only thing I would quibble with is that you guys are kinda falling into the same trap of making the numbers a big deal. You could either go "Oh man the numbers are low and this isn't like 2000 when we had 45667675625 people at the protest" or you could, more realistically, go "HOLY FUCKING CRAP THERE ARE PEOPLE WILLING TO GO OUT AND PROTEST AT ALL AFTER 8 YEARS OF BUSH DESTROYED POLITICAL DISSENT AND THE POLICE BEAT THE EVER LOVING SHIT OUT OF ANYONE WITHIN THREE BLOCKS OF THESE THINGS."
So the numbers were, in fact, pretty fucking good. Also keep in mind that we had four major actions that day and pulled in about 300-400 people overall.
and it was 7 in the morning on a saturday. That speaks volumes about our dedication.
Again, great photos!
Hey Becca, I'm pretty sure Jackie is a radical, not a liberal. You are likely a liberal. <3 and kisses!
Good thing we have BYT to take a serious topic and use it to focus on the three douche friends they have left. This seems to be the protocol for BYT these days... find protest, house shows, parties, etc (where people are actually trying to change things and make a difference) and show up just to talk shit about them later. Rather then interviewing actual protesters the "reporter" only speaks to a couple of hipster crashers. That's fuckin quality! Then there is the juxtaposition of the morning aerobics march with the afternoon block. Are you sensationalizing BYT? They were two different marches why is this not mentioned? Why is the only commentary about the afternoon march in which police brutally beat and maced protester "We also had intrepid new cute ninja photog Nicole Aguirre on the scene, who totally ate some pepper spray as she documented the mayhem". WOW! You showed up to take the pictures but I guess you were to lazy to right a separate story... it must have been happy hour somewhere.
BYT you are no better then groups such as late night shots. Liberals can be self absorbed hypocritical ass hats too. And just like LNS you have planted the seeds of your own demise. I'm not the only one to say this but you are no longer welcome in this city. With our backs turned all that is left for you is to continue hanging out with the same handful of quickly aging hipster, at the same handful of bars no one goes to, taking the same picture over and over again (fitsum). As my friend Jackie said "go choke on a frap" END YOUR MISSORY NOW!
ah. maybe that explains the death wishes.
OK-my turn.
First of all-before anyone talks to me or anyone at BYT about protest or "changing things" please move to former Yugoslavia for the period from 1991 to 2000 and then after you've lived through that and those protests and the changes they HAD TO make, then we can talk.
Second of all-BYT is a decidedly apolitical site, and we have PURPOSEFULLY made it like that (some atheist propaganda here and there aside). I mean, we take politcal issues AND MAKE PLAYLISTS ABOUT THEM
Third of all-Did any of your so called proper media even cover this? If they did, I did not see it.
Fourth of all-What we do is we take pictures and mostly impartially report about things THROUGH PICTURES. I think that pictures Nicole took probably show WAY MORE about this protest than any "proper" write up would have.
Fifth of all-no one commenting on this post is a radical. Trust me.
Love you all and thank you for reading.
ExplodoMcHappyTron: That is a very thoughtful, and insightful, critique of this coverage. Thank you. I will keep that in mind as I cover future events.
And thanks for offering your critique without resorting to name-calling, prejudice and agism.
Do any of you hipsters remember April 16th, 2000? It was the first IMF / World Bank meeting after the Battle in Seattle. The Global Justice Movement was at its apex and tens of thousands of protesters converged on DC. Michael Moore spoke to the protesters and the Indigo Girls performed on the Ellipse. Less than 6 months later that all changed on September 11th, 2001. In the 8 years since then the Global Justice Movement has been unable to regain the interest and numbers due to the smokescreen of war in multiple countries. I applaud the efforts of those working to try to change the status quo, but unless you have people working on the inside of IMF & World Bank AND have protesters clamoring for change on the outside, the policies of the IMF & World Bank will still continue to ravage the world. Anyways, I thought that the aerobics were a lot of fun!
Like I've said a million times, I'm okay with this post and I read this site and it would have been absurd to expect something deeply political and deeply super super serious from here because that's not what this corner of the internet is for and that's good. I like BYT and read it for the nightlife calendar since, in my other life, i've been a party kid for like a bazillion years.
But Svetlana, I'm one of the organizers of some of the events over this past weekend and yes, I am a radical and I know some of the people commenting on here and yes, they are radicals.
And FYI, my family is from East Germany, i.e., before the Wall came down. My mother almost died in a Baader-Meinhoff bombing, other relatives died trying to go over the wall or spent stretches in jail. And even other relatives were flat out Nazis, which is fucked up obvs. So I think I can speak about radicalism and social change. I'm okay with everything up until someone tells me that they can decide I am or am not a radical. That's personalizing things to an unfair point I think you should take that back or at least reconsider that statement.
And again, I fucking love Nicole's photos and plan on pimping the shit out of them. Thanks for sending someone out to cover this and I really hope you guys keep doing that. <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3
ExplodoMcHappyTron, my sincere apologies. It is just whenever someone busts out the old "put the frap down, wake up" routine-I get all edgy.
Word, John. I totes appreciate that and again, thank you guys so so sososososososososodtwgytr much.
And to everyone else: No one on here said we should be shot. Not calling for my death is like the minimum level of success, I think. They could have not posted hot pictures and said we were stupid fart heads and it would still have been the best blog coverage in all of DC. But they did post hot pictures and didn't call us stupid fart heads so I think we can mark this in the "FTW" column.
Coincidentally, the underwear parties in the former Yugoslavia circa 1994 were totally deck.
you know it.
@svetlana, I think people are just on the defensive and that just sends political discourse down the tubes.
and now, back to my life of reading comic books and huffing glue and *not* getting the shit beaten out of me by beefy dudes with badges who are not engaging in consensual homoerotic roleplay.
Mentioned twice on a post I didn't even contribute to. My bourgeuois whatever social media youth market penetration superstrategy is fiya! Seriously, Jackie, if you're who I think you are, you're pretty damn cute.
Whatever Fitsum, it's ALWAYS your fault.
I'm appreciative that Brightest Young Things was out there and took some very pretty photos... but to snark in our direction about the fact that there wasn't enough spandex??? And then rip up one our painstakingly handmade signs and make fun of our resourcefulness???
(The rote endorsement of a giant coffee corporation that drives creative, local-art-supporting, autonomy-fostering neighborhood coffee shops does not help to lend you leftie or artist cred.)
Again, thanks for the photos, but a bit more brain-energy would be really helpful next time. Ask: Whose side are we on?
Next time you're out at one of our creative forms of resistance, and you want to spray something with your cynicism, point your snark-nozzle at the bad guys.
"Bad guys" = hilarious. Because the IMF is "bad". And radical leftists are "good".
I guess when you simplify international economic policy into cops and robbers it's easy to be that self-righteous.
Hey, I'm the douche in the spandex. Yes I am a douche. No, I don't know much about the IMF aside from what i heard from the protestors at the protest. My friend said there was aerobics at dupont saturday morning. I am a morning person and happen to own pink tights. We slept for 3 hours, got up and headed down there and then found out it was a protest. I don't go online, i don't read byt, i could give a hoot if people think i'm an asshole who wears spandex, because I am.
We showed up. the protestors seemed to be cool and embraced us, they told us about the wrongdoings of the IMF. I'd probably agree with them. But we thought it was aerobics, we didn't know there would be photo people, and we weren't gonna protest something we knew jack shit about.
Protests usually suck and smell like patchouli but these guys were cool and were down to do some warm up stretches before getting tear gassed, so I give them props.
you guys should keep blogging about the byt sponsored attention whores that aid in the killing of little foreign children.
peace
-The spandex douche
Thank you to Nicole and John for covering this event. Speaking as the Director of Photography for (we at BYT wear many hats) this website, and the person responsible for asking Nicole to cover this, we will continue to try to cover as many alternative goings-on's as we possibly can.
When looking for things to cover I keep an eye out for creative people doing radical things. BUT please do not confuse, being radical does not mean that whatever you are doing is necessarily creative.
Speaking not on behalf of BYT, in fact, a lot of times I find radical actions to be destructive, the antithesis of creation. BYT thrives in a city that is overly politicized. That is the point people. Politics is the game in this town. And if you're looking for mainstream coverage then get a publicist and director of communications and go talk to the Politico.
To the people who are spewing some serious hatred in our direction... i.e. Jackie and Rob...
For the record, the contributors to this website seriously amongst DCs most forward looking and supportive people in this community. Some from among us got it together to get up at 7am to cover something, and they might not have even known what they were getting themselves into.
But guess what? They learned something. And as a result we are all learning something, and all your assumptions about who we are, and what we do, are completely and totally based in your own self-righteous assumptions about how far above and how much smarter you are than people who know how to have a good time...
Seriously, I'm sorry we have put you off so hard. Next time you're around one of our contributors, introduce yourselves, I think you'll find that we are filled with (gasp!) integrity.
IT'S TIME FOR CREATIVE PROTEST! THE VIOLENT PROTESTS WILL ALWAYS FAIL TO CREATE SOCIAL CHANGE IN AMERICA!
Up With Spandex, down with violence!
cale used the word "deck."
Oh wait, there was a protest involved in this? Lame. Now I'm glad I didn't go. *sips on his mocha frappo*
Yo Dakota, GET MACED!!!
Seriously: 10 years of WTO/IMF protests, I *still* have no idea what the issues are, and I'm not a complete idiot. When I was 22, my girlfriend went to 2000 protest in DC, got her head smashed by the marshalls, and spent a couple of days in jail. We lived together for two years, and I *still* never got a coherent case out of her or any of her friends. This debate is conducted on the level of "you suck! no, you suck worse!", and the "Battle in Seattle" was most notable for the breaking of windows and destruction of cars - /no one/ heard anything that hadn't already woken up somehow convinced that they needed to "be there" (@you, Jackie baby!)
While I know these issues are important, and that there are very serious people involved with these events and the movement in general, you're being drowned out by tactics that celebrate a certain pointless, desperate anarchy in the face of reason and respect for your audience.
Seriously, example "anti-WTO" signs:
- CAPITALISM: DO NOT RESUSCITATE!
- WORLD TERRORIST ORGANIZATION!
- WTO KILLS FARMERS!
Seriously? The WTO /kills farmers/? That's something I'd like to know about. I want to know about the times the WTO has gone out and killed some farmers. Let me google that. Ok, here's the story behind the sign:
http://www.all4all.org/2004/03/629.shtml
This is a guy who showed up at a WTO protest with that letter, and then killed himself to make his point. That sucks, and I feel for him, so I read the letter. Here's the thesis, the effect free trade had on his life:
---
Let me go back to the story about the situation in Korea. Our fears became reality in the marketplace. We soon realized that our efforts could never meet the import prices. Similarly, we had to see that our farm size (1.3 ha on average) was a mere one-hundredth of those of large exporting countries. Imported products were flooding the market everywhere, and we had to run from crop to crop in search of new “niche” markets. But almost always, we met the same friends, producing the same crop as us.
It is true that Korean agricultural reform programs increased the productivity of individual farms. However it is also a fact that increased productivity simply added more volume to over-supplied markets on which cheaper imported goods were driving down the prices. Since then, we have never been paid more than our production costs. Sometimes, prices dropped suddenly to one fourth of the normal level. What would be your emotional reaction if your salary dropped suddenly by a half without your knowing clearly the reason?
---
My emotional reaction would be that that is very bad, and I also have some realization that you don't just go out and get another job if you're a farmer in korea. I get it. My best friend in high school's family farm went under a few years ago. I get it. But you know what the flip side of that coin is? FOOD IS CHEAPER. It's easier for people to buy FOOD. If I were a savvy, heartless pro-free trade marketer, I might wage a campaign against "greedy" farmers trying to "exploit" their countrymen so that they can cling to an outmoded and now usurious tradition. See? Story's are told from both sides, but numbers don't lie. Food is cheaper now.
I know - you're about to start yelling at me about how the food flowing into those countries is now killing those people somehow, or is bad because it's genetically modified, or how all of this is bad because the money paid for that food is now going to flow into the global economy via Pioneer instead of local farmers, and business is bad and capitalism is involved so of course it's all evil, but behind all of those sentiments is one simple fact: freed trade makes things cheaper, and food, in this instance, is less expensive for everybody /else/ in Korea.
(I'm leaving out the fact that major trading partners don't generally go to war with one another, but we'll do that one another time.)
Own up and tell me you're protesting to make it more difficult for people to buy food (and steel, and rubber, and blankets, and cameras, and gas masks), and I'll come to your next party/protest/whatever with bells on.
"Blogs are largely ruled by snar and an inability to take things sincerely "
damn thats news to me i thought we were ruled by jigglypuff
Its cool I don't have to say much else other than I'm glad your site exists so I know what places to avoid the attention longing coke-ho's and gents of DC. Be about something.
ROPED: doing his own thing over on the 'show:
http://shitshow.brightestyoungthings.com/comments.php?DiscussionID=285
there's the drug accusation I was waiting for! thanks Matthew!
I love people like Matthew VanGasbeck who prejudge. Awesome.
like you said, Policies set by the WTO, WB, and IMF, disproportionately hurt small-scale farmers by driving the prices down. This makes the products artificially cheap, but that does not mean they are healthy alternatives to local or domestic food products. Specifically in South Korea, the meat was being protested because the health and sanitation standards were not up to par with what domestically raised meat requires in the country. A really good example is the case of corn in the US: The US farm bill subsidies allow American farmers to produce corn for a full dollar cheaper than what it costs to sell it. This corn is then "dumped" on countries such as Mexico, who are forced to import it due to what is known as "most favored nation status", a WTO stipulation. Farmer's are unable to support themselves, lose their jobs, and can purchase no food (this is a huge factor of why emigration from Mexico is so high.) Because the government makes it so profitable for US farmers to grow corn, no one is willing or able to grow anything else, because it is not nearly as profitable. In the past few years, there has been a massive shift away from growing wheat in the US, to corn, a product we already have too much of. This decreases supplies of other crops, and makes them more expensive. The corn subsidies aren't for the good and "health" of the people, however. Very little of the corn is actually the kind that you would eat like "corn on the cob", this stuff is a different type of corn that can only be eaten by animals or made into byproducts. The prices are kept low so that agri-businesses can make cheap corn subsidies to sell to Coca cola etc. Much of the corn goes to feed cattle, which are not naturally able to digest it, resulting in a much less healthy overall product. Because the US is so interested in subsidizing corn growth for McDonald's, Coke, Burger King, etc, there are huge surpluses in corn ever year that go wasted . So yes, in some ways, these policies make food cheaper, but that's only the unnatural, and unhealthful kinds of food. It actually makes good food more expensive for people all around the world
That was directed at Jason by the way.
I <3 the IMF.
The IMF places great emphasis on good governance when providing policy advice, financial support, and technical assistance to its 185 member countries. The Fund's approach to combating corruption emphasizes prevention, concentrating on measures to strengthen governance and limiting the scope for corruption. The IMF also has strong measures in place to ensure the integrity of its own organization.
Now shut up you filthy hippies.
Were I a farmer of a crop that suddenly was flooding the market and I couldn't sell my crop I would change to another crop that wasn't so cheap, or I'd get a job doing something else.
were i living in africa i would move out of africa to where the food is
Go choke on a frap, egomaniacal fuck. You are pathetic and more hollow that anyone.
Oh, and take that hypocritical bourgeois pervy Fitsum with you.
Meghan: Excellent points! How about this though:
First: there’s no such thing as an artificially low price, unless outside market manipulation (that is, allocation of capital for non-profit-seeking means, the main forms of this being price controls and subsidies) is involved. Price reflects the sum total of all information relevant to a transaction, and in that sense can’t be artificial, but in that sense I partially agree with you, read on:
You and I are in agreement on farm subsidies - can ‘em. But the same rational used to protest free trade - artificially protecting small, local farmers, who’s value is often more emotional and anthropological than economical - is the same story told to make farm subsidies politically palatable in the US. Small farmers in Iowa demand corn subsidies because, well, it allows them to remain small farmers (imagine if we did that for musicians?) They get them because they host the Iowa caucases. However, you’re right - the bulk of these subsidies (I’m grouping a whole mess of artificial market perversions under the term “subsidy”, I think anyone reading this far gets the point,) are skewed toward very large scale farming corporations. Trust me, anyone who’s intellectually consistent and supports free trade does *not* support subsidies (etc) of any kind, but these are especially perverse - if for no other reason than they allow for the unearned market leverage of which you speak.
Remember, the goal with capitalism is to reflect underlying reality as closely as possible. Subsidies, price controls, trade caps, progressive tax policy, quotas, and other outside stimulants only pervert that reality and cause the kind of unrest we’re talking about today. If I can grow food more cheaply than you, then I win and so do the people who need food. If I can’t, but I can sell it more cheaply because I’m basically stealing from my more successful fellow citizens, then we all lose.
So: support for small farmers (in other countries) drives revulsion against subsidies justified by support for small farmers (here in the US), but which instead benefit large corporations that now have unearned heft in the global market. See? Once you start down the path of favoring a group of people with artificial market manipulation, you are guaranteed to monumentally fuck up somebody else’s life through no fault of their own.
One lesson might be to concede the subsidy perversion, and try to clamp down on global freed trade (see my previous post about what that does in terms of artificial, localized inflation,) but another approach would be to protest the government’s redistribution of your tax dollars to large corporations that use their (again, unearned) advantage to pervert the marketplace. *That’s* an actual root cause we can all get maced over.
Seriously - send some window breakin’, local’s cars tippin’, media-savvy protesters to an Iowa corn grower convention, and I’ll personally pay for a BYT photo crew.
(PS - I’m not buying the whole “meat safety” protest, I think that was pure and simple local protectionism. If foreign meat were less safe - as in, people were getting sick - word gets around pretty quickly and the value of that meat relative to the local - safer? not sure - product would plummet. Free-thinking consumers aren’t inclined to prop up foreign suppliers in lieu of their health, that’s generally the government’s job. The market wins again!)
Get lost, pedro. It's a serious discussion.
Personally I could give a shit what happens to some dirt farmer in some other country.
America. Fuck. Yeah.
I don’t have much economics but then one doesn’t need learn theology to be an atheist. In my view, IMF, The World Bank, etc, are first and foremost self-serving bureaucracies that keep employed, gainfully and continuously, plenty of more or less educated folk. I’m unsure about IMF, but for the World Bank 6-figure salary with nothing much to do is more of a rule than exception. Whatever policies they devise and implement aim to increase corporate profits rather than improve economic well-being of the working people. Okay, that maybe an exaggeration but depend on it: improvement of the conditions in the developing world is not their FIRST priority, no matter what they say. To summarize, these guys are not, as some maintain, evil per se, they, for the most part, are just common bullshiteers mainly interested in their own well-being. As for “free trade”, “globalization” et al, this is no more than buzzwords, verbal bs to obfuscate the matters for the masses.
Go choke on a frap, Michael, you egomaniac.
Oh, you can take that hypocritical bourgeois pervy photographer Fitsum with you.
i can't believe you guys waste so much time on this dumb website.
you all are wasting your time arguing about this because the facts you are basing your arguments on are just hilariously wrong.
if you weren't living under a rock the past week, I don't know how you made it through any portion of the city without getting a dupont circle aerobics flyer shoved into your hand. well, for those of you that didn't happen to see it, it mentioned NOTHING about a protest. it made it look like some awesome-but-pointless morning aerobics party. and the people PASSING OUT THE FLYERS made it sound like that too.
so these "brightest young thing readers" (please don't flatter yourselves that much) showed up.
then when byt showed up they obviously lied to you to amuse themselves and you guys have your heads shoved up your asses too much to think for one second that maybe they weren't being serious with you. its called satire.
And I promised myself I would not even look at this post again....
First off, I did want to clarify to Svetlana that I specified *some* of the readers, and not all, or specifically anyone involved in this piece. I just happen to know that in this crowd, as I suppose in any, there is the good, the bad, and the ugly (I count myself as all three.....).
Second, to my friends who just randomly shouted shit in the comment section, you know I love you, and I'm not going to argue about any of your critiques, but c'mon guys this is counter-productive and just makes us look bad. DeaDCity radicals (we are NOT liberals...) get so insular that often change, not to mention general communication, becomes constricted beyond positive effect. Look I obviously understand (if you will understand that I will not always agree) with why you don't like BYT. But if we truly are talking about changes that effect the infrastructure of the entire world paradigm, then we are going to have to learn to talk to people. We are going to have to learn to take criticism, and most importantly, we are going to have to learn how explain our beliefs, and back them up with facts. We have just as many shallow posers as we purport to be found on this site.
To the people who took the time to engage in dialogue, holy fucking xrist thank you. That is effective. That is worthwhile. If we could just learn to calm down and do that more, then there would be less division. Not to mention the fact that we might actually get outside support........
Finally, and I suppose just personally, yeah, I'm going to come out and say it: I am friends with a lot of people in this scene, and I'm sick and fucking tired of feeling pinned in the middle. Yes, I've been inactive for the past few years (Oh wait, I did help organize that last NCOR....), but I haven't been in a position to be as supportive as I was when I had the Warehouse. But I still believe all of the same things, and you, (should), damn well know it. So, if you want to hate me, hate me, but just know that the irony in all that is the people on this sight have never been anything but supportive of me, and god knows they have no reason to be...........
So was the aerobics class any good or not? I've been looking for a new instructor.
Jason have my babies
all you ASSHOLES and BABIES need to go yell at your IMF protester friends about false advertising. if you don't want people showing up to a protest who are there only for aerobics then DON"T FUCKING ADVERTISE IT AS BEING AN AEROBICS DANCE PARTY.
and for the record, this was advertised all over facebook and had flyers for it. no one sent anyone anywhere although with all the commotion this has created i wish BYT DID HIRE us.
and btw the aerobics instructor for the protest sucked anyway. worst workout EVER.
In case you missed it, the live blog of these comments is here:
http://shitshow.brightestyoungthings.com/comments.php?DiscussionID=285&page=1
When I said "go choke on a frap" I never meant TO THE DEATH... just to scare you into consciousness, there's more important shit going on in the world than dance nights and posing for picture after picture after picture. It's cool guys, I'm certified in CPR (no really, I am.) I wish death on no one. Not even the fat cats of the IMF/WB/WTO. their arteries will choke on their GM hydrogenated corn syrup eventually, they don't need my help. (But honestly, what is a frappuccino?)
As far as any of my critiquers, yes, clearly I have no concept of international neo-colonialism. Snark. That's what this forum is for, correct? Becca, why are you so obsessed with drugs??? I hardly knew, sounds like we should party.
As far as the paps' comments. Dakota- you have been blocked, please do not communicate with me via facebook. Fitsum, you know where you are not welcome and you know perfectly well why. Yes, "integrity" involves upshots/downshots of young drunk girls in the safe darkness of dance clubs. Ones in which I once enjoyed and have stopped going to for said reasons. Because the crowd that BYT draws does not, DOES NOT harbor a safe space, at least in my experience, because to Fitsum, "leave me the fuck alone" means, hey you can call me cute and keep taking pictures and has serious boundary issues. GAG. But I digress and maybe that's my problem- Nicole, you take great pics, thank you for documenting.
My commentary was in no intention to be exclusive, and I ended my post with what I hoped an inclusive message: if you really are interested, curious, have questions (are you bi curious? call me) open to real participation, you are more than welcome and we want to include you. But If all you can muster is insult and snark on as important an issue as global commodification, I have no time to waste on you other than to type these few ramblings out of frustration towards the apathetic masses.
and ExplodoMcHappytron, I <3 you too
Me: "Is it free?"
Miko: "DUH. ITS OUTSIDE IN A PARK. They can't like, tell you you're not allowed to exercise in public."
talk about issue - Jeez Jackie you're a psychoanalyst's wet dream.
You don't go to clubs because young drunk girls pose for pictures there? Is that the said reason? Or is the said reason that BYT attracts a crowd that doesn't harbor a safe space (whatever that means since a crowd can't harbor a space), or is the said reason because Fitsum took your picture and you're all against objectifying women (despite a roll call for bi-curious girls in your rant) or because, well, you don't like Fitsum taking pictures or are we going to go on the often overused "creep" adjective again?
Sheesh woman, lighten the fuck up.
P.S. I wonder how many protests took place in Korea by farmers when the government told US farmers whose livelihood and knowledge base was tobacco that they couldn't grow it anymore and needed to find a new crop to plant?
ingredients
* 18 -22 Ice cubes, crushed
* 7 ounces Double-strength coffee, chilled
* 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
* 2 tablespoons flavored syrup of choice (vanilla, hazelnut, -raspberry or other)
* Whipped cream, garnish
directions
1. Place the ice, coffee, sugar and syrup in a blender
2. Blend until the frappe is smooth.
3. Pour into a large, tall glass
4. Garnish with a dollop of whipped cream.
For real it is quite delish, and almost vegan!
um right, Michael, Jackie is the one with issues. this from a middle aged slouch desperately trying to stay in the scene by going out every single night of the week and hitting on 24 year olds.
jackie, will you be my best friend? seriously, I've got talent to bring to the table.
I don't hit on anyone, ask anyone.
I also go out, on average, once a week. Try again!
ROPED is killing it.
ROPED live blog highlight:
i do like how personal that comments thread has gotten
fuck geopolitics lets keep this about which photographer is gropiest in dance clubs
little known fact: it is chris chen
Michael is a dirty old man of a cryptofascist sort. Cale in contrast is a fine person. Friends, Cale?
as long as you don't kill me in my sleep
Rob & Jackie = Xavier Renegade Angel
HEY,
So I didn't really get to read this whole comments section but I skimmed it. As one of the organizers of the weekend protests, specifically helping get the dance party going, and inviting BYT to cover it, I just wanna say I think the coverage is awesome. I wouldn't expect a politically serious article on this site, so the fact that there was something on here that started some debate and pushed people to look deeper into the issues means that the protest was a success to a degree.
It's too bad more people didn't turn out. It's too bad the P.A. crapped out. It's too bad the cops threatened to break the arms of the people who were trying to blockade the block where the dance party was going to move to. We'll try harder next time.
It wasn't advertised solely as a protest (though it wasn't hard enough to figure out) because we wanted to have a creative fun event that didn't carry the stigma that people associate with protests. Also reclaiming space doesn't need to be in protest of anything, it can be for its own sake. Hopefully we can do something like this again.
To whoever said the mainstream media didn't cover the protests you probably weren't watching the news or reading the paper. Every single major news outlet covered the protests, though only a few mentioned the aerobics dance party.
I understand some of the harsher reaction that folks posted on here, because a lot of us take these issues seriously and they're close to our hearts, but at the same time the goal here is to try to include more people and get more people interested, so hopefully people are interested by it, not turned off.
OK, so thanks to John and Pete and whoever else contributed towards this. It's awesome to see something different on this site.
That Jackie sure is a pistol, Im tellin ya. Carrie would seem a bit less so by comparison.
Fits, your photographic work is awfully bourgeois, hypocritical, cryptofacsist and dirty.
Sleep, Cale? Call it friendship, Cale? What about free tickets to concerts & free booze events instead, hmmmmm?
young drunk girls
in the safe darkness of dance clubs.
Ones in which I once enjoyed
and have
stopped
going to.
the crowd that BYT draws
does not,
DOES NOT
harbor a
safe
space
.
.
.
Svetlana, you've clearly mastered me.
Don't worry, the week is almost over and soon you can get back to what you do best. On Friday the pseudo-intellectual facades can be suspended until Monday!
Peter mumbles nonsense not only to himself but to everyone, as usual. Does he realize that?
Jackie demonstrates impressive command of the issues whereas Carrie is relatively less well versed by comparison.
Okay, Dakot, give Fitsum another chance in photography. He seems contrite. Provided he solemnly promises not to prowl the clubs with inferior motives. No one thinks that upskirt business "sexy", Fits.
jackie's on to something
jackie's on something
yea......
i wish. Anyways, i'll be a the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer if anyone would like to join me: http://walk.avonfoundation.org/site/PageServer?pagename=wadc_home_2k8
That's my facade. i'm a party girl that has a secret penchant for community service.
you guys totally figured me out.....
for the record since i started this digression and gettin' all personal and shit, i was referring to fitsum's professional and personal character, his photography is medicocre at best. helen keller could make shit blurry with light trails too.... but what do i know about photography? i'm just a silly liberal troll...
Josh is an amazing photographer! and i've already repped Nicole.
but yes spoonboy you're absolutely right. i'm not being inclusive of people that i feel make light of serious issues, that i and my friends take to fucking heart. BUT, that doesn't help include others in the future. on the other side of the coin, why are people so quick to be dismissive and patronizing to peoples that find purpose and commit their time and energy to issues above their personal lives and agendas? You have dismissed yourselves from that conversation before it even started.
It never ceases to astonish me: for every stingy-ass-trust-fund- cryptofascist-provincial fafo there's always someone like Jackie.
etes-vous jolie, Jackie?
You're a strange sort of barnacle, Ernest, more talkative than usual. Your sense of humor is not doing you any favors.
Peace,
Peter
Pierre est un emmerdeur extraordinaire dont sens de l'humour inexistent. Quel cretin.
I’d like to volunteer for a cause sometime. Provided it’s totally contra- bourgeois, non-hypocritical, anti-philistine and Peter isn't in it.