From C4SS Trustee and Senior Fellow Charles Johnson
I just read this note from the Red & Black Cafe’s page on Facebook. If you’re not familiar, the Red & Black is a worker-owned co-operative restaurant in Portland, Oregon. The food’s all vegan; the ingredients are mostly organic, and either locally sourced or Fair Trade. The worker-owners are organized as an IWW shop, and directly manage their own workplace. It’s also an important hub for the anarchist community in Portland, providing a venue for regular talks, films, and other community events. I just sent $50; which is more than I can really afford right now, but the Red & Black, and places like it, matter. A lot. Any mutual aid you can send their way — or anyone you can tell about this situation — will really help. (The website doesn’t seem to have a post about the current situation yet; but you should be able to use the PayPal donation buttons in this post. I just attached a note to the donation asking them to put it to use wherever it would be most helpful.)
Why call it mutual aid exactly? Is the red and black café going to help us back in other ways?
My recent post Universalism, this politically correct fascism
anarchist are looking for a socially just society in which we give and receive as needed. mutual aid is given to brothers and sisters. brothers and sisters aid you when you need it. not a hard concept.
This is what happens when anarchists try to play by statist rules. They bought their building, suggesting that they somehow believe that they now "own" it. So they have to pay a mortgage. They also have to abide by state laws as to the legal running of a cafe. I say they would have been better off moving the whole operation into a food truck and run it as a mobile guerrilla cafe. Screw the state and taxes and doing things 'legally' if you want to be anarchists then act like it. Don't ask permission, just do it. I feel bad that there operation seems to be failing, however that may mean that they are not running it correctly or may not be the people to run such an operation. If they are not getting enough customers then I think they should rethink how they are serving their customers. Are they serving food people actually want to eat? What is their ultimate purpose for running the cafe? Is it to feed hungry people or is it for some other purpose? Bottom line is that if they are not getting customers then no amount of fundraising is going to help. They have to start serving food people are willing to pay good money to eat. Why are they having such a hard time making money? If it is lack of customers, then they can blame the economy all they want but the reality is that there are cafes that are thriving right now and even during the great depression cafes, coffee shops and restaurants all were able to be run profitably. They need to reexamine their business plan before they start asking for donations.
All vegan food? Yuck. Or is this a cover for donations to another cause?
Some people like vegan food, Dan.
But you are all missing the point.
They aren't a business. They are a worker's collective with the specific purpose of providing a space for political activism (and sanctuary for battered spouses I believe). They also oppose meat on ethical grounds; they aren't providing this to satisfy mass market demand.
As such, they are providing what could be called a community service. They are doing this under the cost pressure of zoning laws, regulations, taxation, etc. In addition, they are under real threat from the police and from people who misunderstand them. Anarchy, whatever its form, has mutual aid as an essential principle. If someone is in trouble, I DO NOT CARE WHO, you help them.
One person phrased it in terms of a family. Not the best example, as many families do not conform to the ideal of loving support. For me, you just help someone who is in trouble. You don't ask why, you don't sit there. You just help. You sort the rest out afterwords.
yes, by hosting local events and keeping a community hub open…
vegan , fair trade. delicious!
support the cafe!
site admins approve comments like
all vegan food? yuck? f uck the mods
and f uck non-anonymous posting.
[We "approve comments" that get marked as possible spam, instead of just letting them go straight to the trash. Have a nice day - TLK]