bc arts funding cuts

[tylerp]

I normally shy away from sensational activism that seems to embrace hyperbole and abandon reasonable thought. There's a hint of it here, but it's surrounding an issue that affects us.

http://www.stopbcartscuts.ca/

The meat of the issue:
The BC Liberal government has proposed cuts to funding for the arts, in the order of 50% this coming year, 90% in 2011, and 91%-94% the following year.

What it has to do with us:
The VIHC society is forming and applying for grants during this peak low in arts funding. The point of the society is to get money for local shows and events. I'm not sure which grants are being applied for but I'd expect some to be at the provincial level and some to be at the city level which can be related to provincial funding pipelines.

Relevant Youtube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7BgRce271s
It's a little long but pretty much the minister refuses to address the cuts and instead spews out "spin" by saying "millions" a lot and tries to contrast the issue against the NDP instead of ever admitting the cuts.

All this being said, there's a rally on Tues (the 20th) at 11:00am at the Legislature. I'm not big on rallies and I'm busy but maybe some of you are interested. Rallies are sort of a dated form of activism that doesn't really seem to work in small numbers over niche issues, but that's just my opinion and it shouldn't stop anyone. There's email addresses, phone numbers, fax numbers, etc. in the link at the top of this thread.

[ZACH ATTACK]

I'm sorry dude, but I really kida take issue with this:

Rallies are sort of a dated form of activism that doesn't really seem to work in small numbers over niche issues

What would you propose as more effective school of activism then in relation to this issue then? Direct action is all well and good but in this case I really only see it playing out as a series of avant garde bank robberies so that the money can be alloted to various organized arts syndicates. Doing nothing is all well and good too, so long as you have nothing invested in the outcome. It's really easy to when your sitting behind a computer screen dismiss things as having abonded reasonable thought or dated innefective schools of activism, but the question still remains: What exactly are you doing/would do differently and why is it better? I might go to the rally, and I might not. But something I certainly wont do is be so blatantly dismissive of it without offering any alternatives. I don't think that Gordon Campbell is going to look out his windowm and see a few dozen kids on the lawn complaining about arts cuts and suddenly say "Oh shit, what are we doing?!?!?!" but at least those few dozen kids are doing something with the tools they have available to them.

"You say that I make no difference, but at least I'm fucking trying. What the fuck have you done?"

[tylerp]

Whoa now, I didn't say I was against activism, only that I don't see much resulting from -rallies- over -niche- issues. The smaller and more specific an issue is, the less physical masses of people will come out, which will make less impact. A small rally spreads a little word, yes, but rallying is much more ignored these days than it was in past decades. I don't propose anything different though. No freakin' out there! That was a tiny little opinion stuck in.

[AC]

A small rally spreads a little word, yes, but rallying is much more ignored these days than it was in past decades. .

yeah i concur with zach on this one. rallys nowadays are more for getting people interested and into the field of doing something about it rather than trying to get the attention of the government.

[ZACH ATTACK]

I'm not freaking out here, I just think it's fair to ask what you would do differently if your going to to dismiss something as ineffective. I didn't accuse you of being against activism either. Again, I'm simply asking what you would do differently. I'm not someone who's into protesting for the sake of protesting and anybody who knows me well will tell you about how I much I like organized political movements so it's not like I have anything invested in rallying vs. not rallying. I just want to know what you would do differently. I don't think that's unfair to ask of anybody criticizing anything.

And while I'm thinking about it, if anybody really thinks that arts and culture is a niche issue, I have a bridge in Brooklyn for sale. Our culture and how we support it kind of effects all of us.

I don't have a Minor Threat quote for this.

[ebony]

this is a whole bigger issue than just the arts, i hope you dont have any plans to own anything in your entire life, or plan on ever making less than 2000 a month, or have grandparents that need care for that matter. even going to dinner or having a haircut is going to be financially impossible in no time. we are all fucked, not just people involved in the arts. its digusting what the handlers of my money consider a priority. but yes tyler, im glad you brought this up. and i do agree with physical action protests, just as much as i agree with petitions and letters etc. you both have points.

[grind/bro]

Protests are for wigged out hippies and UVIC snobs. It should be legal for me to walk past a group of people "rallying" and throw a cup of scalding hot dog urine on their faces.

[EssZed]

Cannot resist jumping in now. And while I will not argue that throwing steaming hot dog urine at people is not hilarious and a charming idea, I will likely go to this rally. It seems fairly stupid a lot of the time to raise a voice against authorities in a system that is so fucked, but I would rather be part of doing something instead of nothing. Plus, small rallies (I organized a picnic/rally at the Leg) and letters across Canada built up to mainstream media coverage and allowed a Canadian man to return to his family after 6 years of torture, imprisonment and exile. His name was Abousfian Abdelrazik... "out dated" forms of activism are working and are incorporating new media to extend reach and make activism more effective.

The Arts funding cuts are not a niche issue. And if the issue is small you just gotta yell louder and hope that the other communities who care or have something at stake don't get too pretentious to get there hands dirty and stick up for themselves.... but then again maybe cuts to funding, women, those living in poverty, education etc. etc... will lead to a little more self reliance and some day when unicorns roam the earth (best day ever) the Government will become obsolete.

[canon.docre]

*facepalm*

[ZACH ATTACK]

We should throw a brick through the legislature window. That'll show 'em.