Friday, October 31, 2008

Uptown Resident Studs Terkel Dies




Read all about it at the Chicago Tribune here.
Also, read a Studs Terkel interview with Dale Eastman here.

43 comments:

  1. he was a legend, & will be sorely missed.

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  2. I had hoped he could hold on and be coherent on Tuesday night.......assuming the ObamaNator wins of course.

    Oh well. He had a good life.

    His book "Working" particularly impressed me. Not much more than just recording ordinary folks talking. As he might say "there was the glory".

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  3. Farewell, Studs. You will be missed. Uptown, Chicago, and the world have lost someone special. Put in a good word for us up there. XXOO, S.

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  4. "Studs then asked the doctor, "How long do you give me?"
    "I'll give you to 99," said the doctor.
    "That's too long," said Terkel. "I think I want a nice round figure, like 95."

    Wow, he lived a life we should all inspire to. He acomplished more after 55 than most people do in a life time.

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  5. ahh, the irony, UU, "irishpirate" and "chipdouglas" celebrating the life of Studs Terkel. I never met him but he was a good friend of one of my friends as well as a strong supporter of the anti-war work (including various campaigns of nonviolent civil disobedience) based out of the Uptown-based Voices for Creative Nonviolence.

    i have a feeling that if Studs had been a bit younger and had posted his thoughts on this site he would have been attacked by some of those who now praise him. i mean, the guy actually talked about class conflict! the nerve...

    From an interview in 2007 on Democracy Now:

    "I run into people at the bus stop. 1:46 every morning, when I worked for this radio station...
    But this one couple ignores me. Very handsome, he’s—and this is before the word “yuppy” came into being. Brooks Brothers, Gucci shoes, Wall Street Journal under his arm. And she is a looker, she’s a stunner. Bloomingdale’s, Neiman Marcus, Vanity Fair under her arm. And I want to make conversation. The bus is late in coming, so I say to them, “Labor Day is coming up.” That’s the worst thing I could say. He turns toward me. He’s no coward. Flicking a bug off his cup, he says, “We despise unions.” I say, “Oh. I got a pigeon here.”

    The bus is late, so I walk up to them...I say, “How many hours a day do you work?” He says, “Eight.” “How come you don’t work eighteen hours a day, like your great-great-grandparents did? You know why you work eight hours a day? Because in Chicago, four guys got hanged fighting for the eight-hour day for you.”

    I’m talking about the Haymarket case back in 1886, of which they know nothing. It was a time of a gathering, fighting for the eight-hour day. There were speakers there, anarchists and Americans. And then there was a rain, and the speakers went home, and that’s when somebody threw a bomb—nobody knows who—and several cops were killed, as well as civilians. And the papers were hysterical: “Get ’em!” But in the meantime, they have this trial, and four guys, including someone named Albert Parsons, an old American Civil War soldier, were about to be hanged...

    But it was Marshall Field I, with that mustache turned upward, who said, “Hang the bastards!” And they did.

    And to this day, I’m sure, they [the couple] live in a condominium, way upscale, that faces the bus stop. And from the fifteenth floor, or whatever floor it is, she’s looking out every morning, and he says, “Is that old nut still down there?” I’m not blaming him. What do we know about our history? We don’t. It’s been denied, and that’s what James Baldwin meant, too, when he spoke of our past is with us..."

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  6. I used to run into Studs a lot when I worked downtown in the early 1980s. I'd often hear him before I saw him because he'd be singing or whistling as he walked. Studs was up and about as recently as last January, graciously receiving canvassing candidates in the winter cold. He was kind and funny and rich with Chicago's history and the stories of those whose stories seldom get told. Chicago is darker tonight.

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  7. Ron, I think Studs qualified as a socialist version of a Lakefront Liberal.

    It's all very well to talk about class conflict and saying you wished you lived in a grittier part of town... when you're living on a quiet, tree-lined, secluded block of prime lakefront property.

    I realize Studs said it was because his wife insisted they live in a safe part of town.

    But there's talking the talk, and then there's walking the walk...

    He was a Chicago original, but I never respected his views on class conflict after I read about him decrying "yuppies" from his private expensive enclave on Castlewood.

    Why, it's like someone who *cough* lives in Andersonville looking down on "yuppies" who object to silly little things like murders and drug deals in their "gritty" neighborhood!

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  8. Ron,

    I doubt you even understand the word "irony". Zealots of any stripe, whether Catholic Worker Dorothy Day types or right wing moosettes from Alaska, seldom do.

    Did you know Studs served in the Army Air Corp during World War Two? He also wrote a book called "The Good War". Just thinking about that likely makes you wretch.

    Studs was certainly left of center, but he wasn't a nutjob like you. Read "Working" if you want to get an idea of how he covered many sides of issues.

    As for him opposing the War in Iraq he was right. I opposed it to and as for talking about class conflict he did it with "class". Which is something you will never understand.

    Read some of his stuff or listen to some of his interviews. He tried to understand all sides and while he clearly came down on one side he at least had the gift of "listening".

    You can learn more with your ears open than with your mouth prattling on.

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  9. Studs in 2007:

    paraphrasing Major General Smedley Butler who claimed that as a member of the marines he was "a gangster for capitalism.":

    "And so, the war in Iraq, what can we say? It destroyed one thing, that we are an exceptional people, that we can never do wrong. Whatever we do is the right thing to do. Well, there was one guy, a war hero, during the Philippine insurrections—his name was Smedley Butler—and he was there during the Bonus March in Washington for the soldiers, the opposite of MacArthur. And MacArthur said of Smedley Butler, “He was the ideal Marine hero.” Smedley Butler wrote a paper saying, “I was a chief leader in the fight for the banana fruit company. I was a chief leader in the fight for the so-and-so pineapple company. I was the chief leader for US Steel.”

    "And so, here’s a guy—see, all this underneath is felt, and it’s there, and the humans have it. I find it in people like Peggy Terry, who had fifth grade education, raised as a racist, bit by bit grows into being the spokesperson for Appalachian people in Chicago." She was actually an organizer/activist in Uptown!

    on the US overthrow of the Guatemalan President in 1954:

    "I have a little friend, a CIA whistleblower, now dead, [Philip] Roettinger. And he says he was down in Guatemala. First, he was down in a training camp. And we’re told we’ll take another Guatemala, because whoever runs it, [President] Arbenz, is a commie. Arbenz was not a commie. He was elected fighting for the Native Americans, the Indians there, for piece of land. But we wanted him out, because the big companies with whom we dealt wanted him out. And so, he says, “Let’s put Armas in. Yeah, he’s a pain in the ass. Let’s get rid of him.” This other guy with the gun—they both have guns. This is how they named the new president of Guatemala at the time. And they got rid of Arbenz. They had a gun to his head and got him out."

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  10. Ron,

    take some meds ok.

    The man is dead. Let's leave politics to another thread.

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  11. Ron Durham,

    I have no idea who you are, but I'm sitting here amazed at the poignant truth of your posts, both of them. No disrespect meant here to the rest of the gang. I'm really trying not to further the frictions all of us mixed and stuck together in the tossed salad of Uptown experience in such close quarters. But the intelligent heart of not only Studs, but you as well, leave me highly impressed. Thanks. This is not normally a place where I feel unburdened by reading, but tonight... yes, it is.

    Blessings,
    Jon Trott

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  12. Jon, I think you and Ron are a lot alike. Perhaps that's why you felt a connection.

    I had the pleasure of meeting Studs a few years ago and I still recall the nice way he was able to connect with people. I let him know that I, too, enjoyed living in Uptown. He will be missed.

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  13. caringneighbor said...

    He was a Chicago original, but I never respected his views on class conflict after I read about him decrying "yuppies" from his private expensive enclave on Castlewood.

    It's said, "the best revenge is living well." Studs wrote some eighteen books which I'm sure afforded him that "enclave" --- after his radio/tv career was pretty much destroyed by McCarthyism in the 1950's.

    So many "yuppies" seem to have forgotten the struggles of the working class (of which they are a part, whether or not they ackowledge it) people who marched, fought, and yes, even died, to change the lot of the working class, make it better for all of us, and irishpirate, that, and that folks like caringneighbor don't remember, don't even care to remember, is the only "irony" here.

    Godspeed, Studs. I regret I never met you, but I knew and loved you well.

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  14. i have a feeling that if Studs had been a bit younger and had posted his thoughts on this site he would have been attacked by some of those who now praise him. i mean, the guy actually talked about class conflict! the nerve...

    I agree that some of what Studs had to say might have been met with resistance. However, he was such an exceptional person that his biting criticism still managed to draw people in. He undoubtedly knew that life is full of contradictions that are difficult to overcome. But what was so great about Studs is that instead of being unduly burdened by that he lived, worked and--to the benefit of us all---wrote through the contradictions until he arrived at something worth sharing.

    I hope no one is looking to rewrite history here because Studs was NOT especially revered by some of the folks who, shall we say, "set up shop" in Uptown after 1968. He wasn't one for falling in lock step or for being able to easily ignore the relationship between means & ends. I think the difference was that in the end he had great faith in people and that (given a chance) we all might just one day come around.

    We've lost a great writer and a great human being. If I hear about Wendell Berry so much as catching a cold this week, I won't be doing well!!

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  15. "sassy":

    "I agree that some of what Studs had to say might have been met with resistance. However, he was such an exceptional person that his biting criticism still managed to draw people in. He undoubtedly knew that life is full of contradictions that are difficult to overcome."

    i think that like Studs, many of the people who post on this site about issues of class and social injustice in Uptown are also exceptional people who realize that life is full of contradictions that are difficult to overcome, and if not exceptional, many of us are ordinary people who Studs (and apparently "irishpirate" in his 6:21pm post???) love so much. And i've seen several people make "biting criticisms" of our economy and culture in a respectful manner; not attacking individuals or resorting to blaming a small segment of the population for our problems, only to be immediately written off as leftist wackos or "Shiller trolls".

    i think if Studs had been posting on this site and hadn't been famous he would have gotten the same knee-jerk reaction that these people always receive here. To honor Studs after his death and at the same time continue to pigeonhole as wacko leftists and "shiller trolls" the ordinary people he loved so much who share his progressive sentiments is a sad contradiction.

    the reason why i posted on this thread is because it reminds me of how the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. (among many others) has been manipulated and distorted since his death by people who would have been (or were) his fierce opponents and celebrators of his murder.

    and "irishpirate",
    i agree with this comment you made:

    "Read some of his stuff or listen to some of his interviews. He tried to understand all sides and while he clearly came down on one side he at least had the gift of "listening". You can learn more with your ears open than with your mouth prattling on."

    i think that is good advice and it's something i try to do, i hope you do too.

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  16. Ron, you have consistently spoken out against people who lived within the means of Studs Terkel. I'm guessing most of us on this board could never dream of living so well.

    I haven't come across posters criticizing the working class. I have, however, seen posters criticize the able-bodied nonworkers who have no intentions of gaining full-time employment.

    Life is full of contradictions for Studs, me, and you.

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  17. Kenny, I'll leave it to you to imagine how a statement like this would go over in the comments:

    Gee, I hate living in this condo. Condos are ruining this neighborhood for the homeless and poor. I wish I lived in the loading dock across the street instead of having heat and a bed, because I hate that people in condos are moving to this neighborhood. But my husband wants us to live here, so I'll continue to suffer.

    Sorry, can't respect that attitude. Regardless, Studs had charisma and sympathy and talent and an admirable life. I'll miss him.

    Not that he would care either way. ;-)

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  18. Caring Neighbor said...
    Kenny, I'll leave it to you to imagine how a statement like this would go over in the comments:

    Gee, I hate living in this condo. Condos are ruining this neighborhood for the homeless and poor. I wish I lived in the loading dock across the street instead of having heat and a bed, because I hate that people in condos are moving to this neighborhood. But my husband wants us to live here, so I'll continue to suffer.


    I must've missed that interview. Would appreciate a link.

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  19. "just wondering"

    on this blog, i think i've mostly criticized the economic, political and social systems we live within as well as the individualistic culture of comsumerism and ethnocentrism we're taught from a young age. i, and others i know and work with, want to challenge people to see the larger picture and how we all contribute to the violence of the world through our obedient participation in these systems and ideologies.

    and specifically with Uptown i've been critical of posters who are quick to find fault with low income people while completely ignoring how our complicity with our economic and political systems contribute to poverty and racism not only in Uptown or the u.s. but around the globe.

    many people on this blog have no problem talking about personal responsibility when it comes to criticizing poor people but if i or someone else raises the issue of how higher income people should be personally responsible for how their lifestyles and prejudices affect the world, we're written off by some as leftist wackos. and as someone who grapples with those issues (middle class, white, heterosexual, male privilege) myself, i understand them and that they exist.

    it's that double standard which is really evident on this blog. and i agree that life is full of contradictions but just saying that shouldn't justify every action that we want it to.

    i'm not saying that Studs Terkel was flawless, but that it's ironic to hear him praised by certain people who repeatedly have made comments that are completely antithetical to what Studs talked about. unlike many (not all) higher income people in Uptown, i think Studs was clearly aware of his class standing and his insulation from the poverty around him as he said in the Mother Jones article:

    "This street is a have street. This is Uptown, which I like. It is a have-street enclave in a sea of have-nots. Beware of that. Here I am, the romantic again, without feeling the pangs of it...However, only about 100 yards away, there are the have-nots. Am I aware of that? Yeah."

    Studs was able to realize the privilege he lived in and how the system we have has contributed to people being "have-nots". but many people on this blog, people who i think are doing fairly well economically (at least compared to others in Uptown), seem to do nothing but complain about their own victimization and the presence of poor people around them, of homeless people, and seem to stop at nothing in trying to move many of them out of the neighborhood, and the thing is many do it all in the name of humanity and compassion (see James Cappleman). "oh, we really care about these people, we want to find them help" then they commit themselves to closing down shelters, closing low-income buildings and even targeting stores that low-income people frequent, such as Aldi, without making sure these people have somewhere else to go before they're pushed out.

    there is no recognition of how their own classism and racism permeate their thoughts and actions. once again, i'm not saying that only condo-owners can be classist or racist, i can say that i also grapple with these same issues! i don't know any white men in the u.s. who don't have a lot to learn in this respect, not to mention sexism and homophobia. it's the recognition of these issues and prejudices which sets Studs aside from many (certainly not all) other higher income people in the neighborhood.

    sure if people want to criticize able-bodied people who don't have full time employment, go for it. but also realize while you're doing it that there are other factors at play that make it difficult for people to find jobs ranging from how the "war on drugs" has affected people's criminal records, how the legacy of racism and slavery still affects our society and how worker protections have been reduced over the last few decades (as Studs would agree). don't simplify the issue as merely one of a lack of personal responsibility on behalf of poor people. also accept responsibility that we have not done enough OURSELVES to prevent the attacks from corporations and government on ordinary people, especially low income people and people of color.

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  20. Ron, I don't hear criticism of poor people on this blog. I hear criticism of gangbangers, drug dealers, prostitutes, aggressive panhandling, and public drinking. You call them victims and no doubt, they see themselves as victims. I never read any of Studs Terkel's writings where he defends the above mentioned people and finds excuses for them to remain victims.

    Studs defended the working class. I am working class and no doubt, countless others who read this blog are working class. I don't think you like hearing that.

    Drug dealers who have a hard time getting a job after serving time are facing the consequences of their behavior. I have had plenty of alcohol and drug addicted family members. They got through recovery by facing accountability for their actions. Playing a victim only stalled their progress.

    You may think you are helping drug addicts but you're not. You are only giving them excuses to remain a victim. That's where we part ways.

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  21. Hail and farewell Studs! More than anyone I can think of offhand, he deserved/deserves the title of "Mr. Chicago."

    So it was very strange that when I drove along Castlewood this morning, I didn't see any "activity" that would have alerted non-residents that Studs lived in one of the houses. No cop car, no TV truck, and strangest of all, no pile of flowers, candles and balloons.

    I can't believe that all the nameless, faceless people to whom Studs gave a forum - not to mention his neighbors - would be so reticent to announce to the world that a civic treasure is gone, and we will miss him.

    Oh, if he could have only lasted at least five more days...

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  22. Ron your such a turd. I never said I agreed with him in my post, I said he acomplished a lot. My way of showing respect and not speaking ill of the dead. Feel free to look up the word respect, just don't expect to find it in the Couraj handbook.

    "I never met him but he was a good friend of one of my friends.."

    Well Ron then you two were practicly the same! Wow how did we all not see that? He won a Pulitzer you follow police around like Golloum taping them with your $50 camera. How did we all not see your greatness Ron? He serves his country (like Pirate) and you get arrested protesting at a base.

    Your a real American Hero Ron!

    I do promise when the day comes and your pass away not to speak ill of you though. I will try to get it all out now as much as possible.

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  23. just wondering said...
    Drug dealers who have a hard time getting a job after serving time are facing the consequences of their behavior.

    And many times, "the consequences" of not being able to obtain legitimate employment send them right back to illegal methods of making money.

    So quitcherbitchin. As long as you're satisfied that someone is facing "the consequences" instead of looking at the big picture, you'll just have to deal with the detritus our society continues churning out.

    Until, I suppose, you either push them out of here and turn Uptown into another Lincoln Park, hunt them down like Javert and put them back into prison forever, or move to some gated community that better insulates you from them.

    Ron, your 10:58 am post was eloquent, beautiful, and spot-on.

    Kenny
    just a pinko-commie,
    (not affiliated with Helen Shiller or her office)

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  24. Hey kenny from Helens office! I love the Shiller esq "Lincoln Park" comment. Any other Shiller Viewpoints you want to throw at us?

    It just tugs on my heart strings when convicted felons can't find work. Tear. Here is a novel idea Kenny from Helens office..open up a business and hire them. better yet, let them babysit your kids!

    Jon Trott, I don't belive for one minute you don't know Ronand McDonald Durham. Two big players in Helens life yet to meet? Doubt it. Hell I can't claw the vision out of my eyes of you in your Sunday best sleeveless t-shirt at the town hall meeting in August.

    Anyone else have trouble believing that the Jesus People and Couraj Gollums havn't crossed paths?

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  25. chipdouglas said...
    Hey kenny from Helens office! I love the Shiller esq "Lincoln Park" comment. Any other Shiller Viewpoints you want to throw at us? It just tugs on my heart strings when convicted felons can't find work. Tear.

    Hi Chip. So nice to read your inane vitriol again.

    Interestingly, those most offended by Ms. Shiller's comment seem to be the very same who are so outrageously offended by the less-than-pristine visuals in Uptown (shopping carts, sleeping vagrants, litter, and *gasp* so many poor people and homeless folks.)

    " Asked about arguments that Uptown has too many poor people already, Shiller sounded exasperated. 'Maybe they want to live in Lincoln Park,' she said of the critics. 'That’s not what this is.'"

    So why don't you tell us, Chip, why she was wrong?

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  26. Wow,

    I didn't know I don't remember the struggles of the working class.

    Amazing. My dad was a carpenter. His brothers were all tradesman or farmers. My brothers are tradesman. My maternal grandfather worked in the Ford Plant on Torrence in the 30's and 40's and took part in the strikes. He then went on to work 70-80 hours weeks throughout World War Two and took the money he saved to buy a small business. Capitalist Dog!

    Yet, I am some privileged white male heterosexual benefiting from the dominant orthodoxy and hurting billions of people. Who knew?

    It's nice to know everything. Ron, his compatriots, and the religious right have that in common. Me, I am just blind and can't see the light.

    As for Cappleman wanting to close the Aldi, what part of your ass did you pull that from? He rightly complained that the Aldi wasn't built as promised with an entrance out front. I guess wanting to have a walkable neighborhood with street front retail is classist and racist. I personally think Aldi is an asset to the entire lakefront, as witnessed by the hundreds of folks who take the bus to use it, I just think it would be nice if it had an entrance on the street. I also think the Wilson EL stop should be moved south to make it easier for folks to use the Aldi and possible Target.

    I guess having hundreds of vacant storefronts is good. Perhaps the government can use eminent domain and take them and let them be used as homeless shelters? Then any vacant apartments or condos should be forcibly appropriated and those who resist sent to some Catholic Worker/Couraj run gulag for reeducation. Perhaps send "resisters" to GITMO as Obama will rightly likely close the prison/torture center there.

    Closing shelters? I think what Cappleman wants is Shelters that actually help people get out of Shelters and don't simply house them. Most homeless folks have serious mental health or substance abuse issues and simply giving them a place to sleep at night isn't enough.

    Then again that is all classist and racist.

    As for Studs he was complicated. His life was full of contradictions. Too bad you didn't actually know him Ron. Perhaps you could have convinced him to open his house to the homeless. After all by not selling all he owned and living in a communal setting he was just propagating the dominant evil paradigm.

    Isn't it time for you to go throw some blood on a military installation somewhere? Do it on Thanksgiving so the soldiers have to be on alert and many won't be able to spend time with their families. I always used to appreciate that.

    I will end with a prayer.

    Lord,

    save us from those who would save us. Save us from the Catholic Workers/Couraj/poverty pimps. Save us from their mirror opposites from Wasilla. Save us from the worst elements of the know it all left and the know it all right.

    Save us from those who see beauty as evil and celebrate diversity by wanting to end diversity of thought.

    Lord, make me thy weapon so I might smite them down with sarcasm and bile so they skulk off and do not propagate their ideas. Let them know that their mothers dress them funny and that they smell of elderberries.

    Amen. The Rant is ended. Go in peace.

    No animals were harmed during the typing of this rant.

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  27. and just when serious points are made and questions asked, along comes the village court jester, rattling his bells and chains, once again derailing any hope of a meaningful debate with his non-sensical jaberwocky.

    proof of the success of the old adage, "when you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit."

    nice work, pirate. again. you should audition for Fox News.

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  28. Thanks Kenny.

    Perhaps I can get O'Reilly's gig.

    After all since I have the audacity to disagree with you I am clearly a nutjob right winger who likes to sexually harass women and tell them how big my "Kenny" is.

    You idiots hijacked this thread. It started out simply stating that a famous and essentially decent Uptown resident died.

    Then Ronnbo jumped in and off to the races we went.

    As for Studs I briefly spoke to him years ago. Did you know that Chicago at one time was the bicycle capitol of the world?
    Studs knew and he told me so along the bike path as I stopped to help someone change a tire.

    "There was the glory".

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  29. ". . . seem to do nothing but complain about their own victimization and the presence of poor people around them, of homeless people, and seem to stop at nothing in trying to move many of them out of the neighborhood, and the thing is many do it all in the name of humanity and compassion (see James Cappleman). "oh, we really care about these people, we want to find them help" then they commit themselves to closing down shelters, closing low-income buildings and even targeting stores that low-income people frequent, such as Aldi, without making sure these people have somewhere else to go before they're pushed out."

    Ron, I fully understand you are supportive of Ald. Shiller. You can still do that and not lie about where I stand on Aldi's, homeless shelters, and affordable housing. If you need to lie about me to promote your cause, then you need to step back and question your true motivation. The ends do not justify the means.

    I have been a strong advocate for the poor for over 40 years and although Ald. Shiller has had campaign literature that suggested I was a racist and that I distained those living in poverty, those that know me are aware that this was a blatant lie. By no means am I perfect, but please be respectful enough to only criticize those things that are true about me. Unlike some others, I remain committed to the use of best practices to empower the poor to live more independently. That means I cannot in good conscience support 100% low-income housing in areas of high poverty. HUD and CHA also stand with me in this. That's not being against the poor . . . that's advocating for the poor. By all means I want low-income housing and job training for those who need it. It just needs to be done right so that we use our scarce resources wisely.

    I count myself as one of those lucky ones who got to meet Mr. Terkel and still vividly recall the conversation we had. We both shared a love for Uptown together.

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  30. nah, irish. you're not heartless enough for O'Reilly's job, I can sense the decency behind your lead balloons. No, chip's your man for the O'Reilly gig.

    and this thread still IS about a famous and decent man who just passed, God love him, who never let his fame and fortune give him a case of American Altzheimers about the struggles of the working class, including the very least among us.

    I remember when Studs spoke out when they were fencing off Lower Wacker and sweeping the area of homeless people, said something about how parking lots had apparently become more important than people.

    But nowdays, it's in vogue to call people like Jon or Ron or me, people who still have a shred of compassion enough to want to get someone out of the cold while they're freezing right now or feed someone when they're desperately hungry right now as "going against best pactices" and "enabling them to continue their victimhood," which pretty much tells me those people don't remember or have never experienced being really cold or hungry one day of their lives.

    So pirate, it doesn't diminish us, people like Ron, and Jon, and I, or gayle, or dacutestmama, or Shiller, or anyone else for that matter, when you call us "idiots."

    It only diminishes you.

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  31. This thread is not befitting of Studs. I've said it a zillion times before but I guess it bears repeating. There has been a sustained effort to silence the political voices of Uptown's middle class. So, what we've got today is a lot of good people who are sick of being tricked, berated and lied to. Of course, they are not the only ones in the world who have gotten a raw deal but you can't wage a systematic campaign against people and then somehow expect their hearts to be open.

    Kenny is right. It is getting cold and this is likely to be a hard winter for many Uptowners. Yet there is money and volunteer support sitting on the sidelines and we all know it. What I want to know is where the olive branch is going to come from? There is goodness here...all around us. It doesn't have to be like this at all.

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  32. Advocating for "best practices" is not inhumane. Having low expectations for some people is.

    It's really simple and a cliche. You can give a man a fish or you can teach him to fish. Best practices is simply giving people the fish, while teaching them how to fish.

    Most of homeless need help beyond food and shelter. If that is all you give them and require nothing of them in return then the problem will not be reduced.

    There is dignity in working. Now I understand that the economy sucks and that many folks have health or mental health issues that limit their ability to fend for themselves. Those who can be helped to be self sufficient should be helped. Those others who can't be self sufficient should be helped in other ways.

    As for James Cappleman's point about some folks lying about his beliefs that is clear. His biography is not that of someone unconcerned about the poor. Sending out literature suggesting he is a Republican, as was done in the last election, is simply lying.

    The current Republican party is not particularly friendly to gay men in committed relationships who work as social workers.

    Oh well. Perhaps somewhere Studs is looking at this discussion with amusement. Perhaps not. He was an agnostic. He just wasn't sure of what lay beyond this life.

    That's a good way to look at life. Always be open to SOME other points of view. Always try to walk in the moccasins of others before you judge.

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  33. James--

    it's interesting that you suggest that i take a step back and check my true motivation with my criticisms of you (a candidate for alderman) and others who want to move low income people out of Uptown. You also tell me that my ends (you write them off as lies) do not justify the means. Well, speaking of ends and means, maybe you should take a step back and check your real motivations and as someone who has "been a strong advocate for the poor for over 40 years."

    as you use your means to reduce low-income housing in Uptown, attempt to prevent more low income housing from being built and encourage the use of the police as the front line against homeless people sleeping in parks as more shelters close down; how do you envision the end? now, i don't mean the end for you and your supporters. i'm not referring to an increase in property value and fewer low-income voters which translates to fewer votes for Shiller and more for you. i mean, as a person who CONSTANTLY claims that he is an "advocate for the poor" what is the end for the most vulnerable people, the people you work to have pushed out of Uptown? How do you feel knowing that many of those people have no other place to go to? it's not like there are warm beds and job programs just waiting for them somewhere else! Fewer and fewer shelters exist in this city and less and less low-income housing is available in the city. and although some people criticize it, Uptown does have a high percentage of social services that are set up to help people experiencing homelessness. and it doesn't seem like any other communities in Chicago are jumping to build housing for low income people. as someone who is so devoted to helping poor people as you say you are, how does that make you feel? what do you think we can do to make sure that the people pushed out of Uptown have places to go and the support they need? what are your motivations in advocating policy that criminalizes homeless people (through CAPS) and limits the ability of some low-income people to live where they've been living for years?

    you say
    "By all means I want low-income housing and job training for those who need it. It just needs to be done right so that we use our scarce resources wisely."

    but what if no one in Chicago is providing low-income housing and job training the way you see fit? then the idea is to move low-income people out of Uptown? to where? THESE ARE PEOPLE WE ARE TALKING ABOUT, i know that to you they may seem like pawns in your political game but there should be more to it than that. i know that you probably feel a lot of pressure from your supporters to be tough against the Uptown leftists and low income people (and i'm probably giving you an opportunity right here to do that) but at some point i'd hope that your care for the poor would break through a little bit.

    you say that you know i'm a supporter of helen shiller. well, like many progressive politicians, i support some of what she does and oppose other things. i've never met her and have never voted for her (although i regret not voting for her last election as since then i've seen how destructive your camp is). nor have i read any of the campaign literature that she put out referring to you. my opinions of what you stand for have been formed by being in many CAPS meetings and community meetings with you and reading the fear-driven campaign literature you put out last election. no one has had to coach me in understanding what you stand for.

    i'm not lying when i say that i often hear you say things that target low income people and then follow it up by saying, "we want to help these people." so, what are you doing to help the most vulnerable people in Uptown? in what form do all these statements about caring for the poor in Uptown materialize? i know from a CAPS meeting that you wanted to approach a restaurant, or have others do it with the police, to tell them to stop giving food to homeless people and that you followed that statement up by saying "we want to help these people." i and many others simply don't buy your line when you say that.

    and as an aside, you mentioned that resources to help homeless people are scarce. isn't it ironic that here in the most affluent nation in the world, resources to help homeless people are scarce!

    and "irishpirate",
    you make comments about us catholic workers and COURAJ folks exploiting the poor and being poverty pimps and all that. well, i hope you throw those same comments James' way as well because he certainly proclaims himself as an advocate for the poor and seems to be doing much better at it than us, at least from an economic standpoint.

    thanks for your comments kenny and jon. and thanks kenny for the info about Studs and Lower Wacker.
    from a CNN article:

    "I'm seeing something and I'm not standing silent about it. Humans are pushed out to make room for cars," said Chicago author and historian Studs Terkel...If it weren't for the warm grates we would've had 80 frozen corpses down there during the big blizzard," said Terkel, who recently spoke at a rally opposing the lockout."

    but Studs, that wouldn't be best practices now would it...

    one love Studs

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  34. No it wouldn't be best practices, Ron.

    If allowing people to live outside on Wacker Driver or parks is "best practices" then something is more wrong here than your way of thinking and grasp of reality.

    As for Cappleman being a "poverty pimp", I guess perhaps to your Berrigan Brothers/Dorothy Day worldview anyone who pays federal "war" taxes and owns anything beyond clothes and a few meager essentials is living a bad life.

    Now I will admit that you do walk the walk to go along with your talk. There is perhaps something admirable in that. Few people are going to sacrifice worldly goods as you have. I had a great uncle who was a missionary Catholic bishop. I only met him twice, but the man had holes in his shoes and in his pants. He lived very simply from what I could tell. Few people are going to live like that. At least willingly.

    As for your "worldview" trying to hold one's neighbors to certain standards of public behavior isn't wrong. Of course the only standard you believe in is the one you have set for yourself and judge everyone else against.

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  35. Ron, your opinion of me is not the reality of me. I work full-time as a family advocate at a children's hospital. The vast majority of families I serve live in extreme poverty. I train physicians and nurses about how to provide compassionate care to people they believe don't always deserve it. So when you even suggest to anyone that I don't respect people living in poverty, you are spreading a lie.

    I am against restaurants and the general public giving out food to people living on the streets because my training and experience tells me this de-motivates the person to focus on needed change. I have many success stories where I have helped the homeless live independently again.

    Perhaps we both agree that the poor deserve compassion. I simply will not agree with your approach. I find it cruel and more self-serving for the giver.

    Studs Terkel challenged all of us about the way we perceive one another. I remember hearing a quote from St. Vincent DePaul which I liked because it goes one step further . . . "It's not enough to do good. We must do good well."

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  36. A quick follow up regarding the restaurant feeding the homeless off Clark, but affecting the neighbors on Dover. Many of the people begging for food afterwards would then spend money to drink alcohol and lay down in front of a neighbor's garage. When the neighbor tried to get her car in the garage, one homeless guy wouldn't move. When she tried tried to gently pull him up by his arm, he called an attorney wanting to file a lawsuit, saying he was harmed. The woman was afraid to use her garage.

    After the CAPS meeting, Ald. Schulter called all the restaurants in the area for a meeting and forbade them from giving out food to the homeless. I understand the problem has immensely improved.

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  37. Ron: Have you ever thought that there is a 'reserve army' here in Uptown that is all too well aware that there is not enough affordable housing and homeless facilities across Chicagoland? I have never understood, movement-wise, why some folks are content to spar over these issues within the confines of the neighborhood but never scale up the fracas. Keeping it here only serves the interests of the elite you despise. Wouldn't it be more effective for the goal of helping people to bring in all of these computer programmers, teachers, lawyers, low level bureaucrats (whatever jobs we all have!) into the fold in some way?

    How spectacular would it be for Uptown to be able to say, "yes, we take on more than our fair share. This community has really helped people and the commitment is deep and wide. And some people were surprised by what getting involved has meant in their own lives. But we can't do it all nor should we. You must do your part too, Chicagoland." It is called Critical Mass. Let's get some.

    However, it is hard to mobilize newcomers and insult them at the same time. For the most part, Uptowners are politically liberal. I don't like standing by and seeing someone like James (who is making a very specific critique) accused of using the poor as pawns in a political game or of criminalizing poverty. To someone who has attempted to develop their own social consciousness (and turn that into action) such accusations are taken seriously. I know for myself, it has not been easy to take various positions over the years in Uptown. It is an insufferable place to be a lefty if you can't tow the local party line.

    I'm feeling like channeling Obama right now. Since we can't always agree, can't we just agree to agree on some things? Let's close the circle of respect and get something done because you are 100% right on at least one thing: these are people we are talking about.

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  38. James-
    "After the CAPS meeting, Ald. Schulter called all the restaurants in the area for a meeting and forbade them from giving out food to the homeless. I understand the problem has immensely improved."

    so this is a successful solution in your opinion James? do these ends (clearing homeless people from an alley) justify the means (cutting off some of their food supply)? and for whom has the situation improved? the homeless people? the people whose alley they're now hanging in since they got moved? just shifting the problem to another area does not mean the problem has been solved. but if you want to win some votes in a certain area and don't care enough about the people denied food, i guess you would consider that a success.

    maybe if we spent less time and energy and money locking up people for nonviolent drug offenses we could invest more money in treatment programs for people who really need it. all of these more reactionary, lock-em-up, starve-em-out policies (that are promoted by CAPS and many residents of Uptown) are connected and they don't get to the root of the problems, they're just an attempt to move the problems elsewhere. it's clear that the way we deal with drug and alcohol addiction in this country is not working and the over-reliance on the police and prison system to "solve" these problems (i.e. lock people away for years) is the primary problem with our approach.

    and how can an alderman forbid people from giving out food anyway?

    also, i'm not surprised that you've touted your career as a social worker yet again, i saw that one coming. i bet you do good work in your profession but you didn't really answer my questions.

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  39. You guys crack me up.

    Let's count all the "happy posts" on UU since Halloween. There's Happy Halloween, a puff piece on the Aragon, 48th ward taking action to make Uptown safer, lights back on in the park, pretty trees, new business coming to a depressed strip on Sheridan, gas prices falling, and a vintage picture of the Borders Building.

    And you're still finding a post (the death of an old man) where you can sling mud at each other!

    You go, girls!

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  40. Sorry Ron, any good licensed clinical social worker is committed to utilizing best practices to help those in need. I am passionate about my profession and wince when we social workers are mistaken for being some of the people who are doing good poorly. You believe your solution is better and I've seen your "solution" cause harm. AA would also agree with me.

    That's where we part ways. Perhaps we can both agree that Studs Terkel will be missed.

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  41. What a sad statement about Uptown that this thread is high jacked by the very people that keep and use the less fortunate for their gain.

    Hey, to Ron if you don't like Uptown's progress and us condo owning tax payers why don't you move.

    Uptown is never going to be the hell hole you had or want.

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  42. Sorry, but I can't let r. be the coda to this thread.

    So here's to you, Studs, and the rest of us, too.

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