This Week in the Mercury
Friday, August 27, 2010
Events Anarchist Lemonade Vendors: The Photo Essay
Posted by Sarah Mirk on Fri, Aug 27, 2010 at 8:56 AM
I wandered through the hordes last night at Last Thursday in search of the "lemonade revolt": donation-only lemonade stands set up in protest of county health inspectors shutting down a little girls' lemonade stand at the event last month. I only saw six stands, but I did run into Michael Franklin, the guy who started the lemonade revolt Facebook page that's attracted nearly 1,000 members. He says the story has gone international ("I had a Brazilian news crew at my house this morning") and are setting up "lemonade revolts" (formerly known as "lemonade stands") as far away as Leeds, England. "I think it gives people a chance to use dissent. It's obvious that there is something profoundly wrong with this sick society, with the absurdity of the state shutting down lemonade stands," says Franklin. Enjoy!
- Michael Franklin, revolt founder.
Plus, this guy selling kombucha starts. To give the health dept something to really worry about.
1
Good luck keeping the neighborhood vibe of your event with all the people hauling their kids in from Gresham and Beaverton to sell stuff. Let's just remove all inspectors from Alberta and see how long it takes a someone with no knowledge of proper food handling to cause a food borne illness. Just don't bitch about permit fees and then get upset when your neighborhood school gets closed. Sometimes regulations (and taxes!) are a good thing.
2
Is that Furry-chick in the third photo wearing a lemon pendant?
OH GAWD! I just noticed that stupid fucking lemon/anarchy sign in the first phot.
I respect these people's right to dissent and the like; but couldn't they pick a better cause that some stupid bitch from Oregon City driving her crotch-fruit into the city and selling Kool-Aid?
OH GAWD! I just noticed that stupid fucking lemon/anarchy sign in the first phot.
I respect these people's right to dissent and the like; but couldn't they pick a better cause that some stupid bitch from Oregon City driving her crotch-fruit into the city and selling Kool-Aid?
3
No, they couldn't. They're riding along with whatever injustice (even if it was later resolved!) they read about in the paper. Franklin comes across as a bit desperate for attention.
5
Graham, that is some vile troll smeg spewing out your comment hole today. I doubt you would say any of that to anyone's face IRL.
7
Is that dude serving lukewarm lemonade out of an old paint bucket? And dipping his hands in to get it? Leaning his un-hairnetted mop over the bucket at the same time?
good lord. Try not to prove the County's goddamn point man.
good lord. Try not to prove the County's goddamn point man.
8
Um, attention lemonade activists: there are more than one billion people in this world who live on less than $1.25 a day. And you want to smash the state over a lemonade stand?!
Maybe we do deserve that article in the WW.
Maybe we do deserve that article in the WW.
10
I'm sure these same people are outraged over the big egg recall, too. More inspections! Fewer inspections! Yay cognitive dissonance!
11
I can't really get passionate about the Snarkist vs. Anarchist bitchfest. Sure, the argument against food reg is a little flimsy. But its undeniably cute & way more palatable (refreshing? thirst quenching?) than the BlacBlocBullShit.
12
People only cared about the story in the first place because it was a cute white kid from the rich part of town with publicity-hungry parents.
See also: Kyle Horman, vs the many other missing people in Portland.
See also: Kyle Horman, vs the many other missing people in Portland.
13
Good old Stu, dragging a seven year old victim's name into a completely unrelated thread to make a completely unrelated point. Somewhere, a bridge is missing its troll.
16
Can Mayor Patch Adams somehow relocate the recent gang activity into Alberta? You know, two birds, one stone...
20
I'm not anywhere near articulate enough to say anything about this except that I am reminded of a certain critical response to the riot grrl scene in the early 1990s -- that of privileged people (economically and racially speaking) "preaching to the choir", despite the obvious well-placed intentions and motivation.
Having spent time with WTO and anti-Bush protests, I think I can say that many anarchists' attitude of "us vs. them" is completely defeatist and in total contradiction of socialist/humanist values.
I think lemonade stands are a GREAT anarchist reaction. I just wish it took place all over, every day, not just in response to an isolated incident. Mainstream Americans need more friendly contact with anarchist/socialist/etc views. It's interesting to see how the worker's plight has been channeled by the right wing into the Tea Party's paranoid xenophobia/racism/scapegoating.
p.s., charging for kombucha cultures? That's capitalism, you fucking hippie.
Having spent time with WTO and anti-Bush protests, I think I can say that many anarchists' attitude of "us vs. them" is completely defeatist and in total contradiction of socialist/humanist values.
I think lemonade stands are a GREAT anarchist reaction. I just wish it took place all over, every day, not just in response to an isolated incident. Mainstream Americans need more friendly contact with anarchist/socialist/etc views. It's interesting to see how the worker's plight has been channeled by the right wing into the Tea Party's paranoid xenophobia/racism/scapegoating.
p.s., charging for kombucha cultures? That's capitalism, you fucking hippie.
21
Haters gonna hate. Hey AMA if you want to go out a stop world poverty all by yourself best of luck. I guess because people want to dissent against an issue you don't deem big or important enough we just shouldn't do it at all and just ignore the fact that we are all constantly having our lives controled by police, the state and other institutions that make us comply with ridiculous laws like needing a permit to sell lemonade on the street or obeying a cross walk signal when no cars are around or lock us up for "thought" crimes like they did with Eric Mcdavid http://supporteric.org/, they basically force us to defy logic and act insanely because you must obey the law. If you are all really concerned about these big issues and you think this is so unimportant to challenge these small acts of repression then maybe you should stop being a snarky internet troll and get out on the streets and try to change something.
22
The real issue with Last Thursday for years has been that the attendees and vendors want to keep this an event not so much about money exchanging hands but a celebration of creativity. Sure, there are a few vendors that see Dollar signs when they see a crowd of 10,000 but the vast majority of attendees are not there looking for an excuse to spend money and while most of the vendors would be very glad to sell some stuff they are typically equally or more interested in contributing to the vibe.
Some of the coolest stuff that happens during the event clearly has nothing to do with money. This months show at the old clown house was amazing and had clearly taken many hours to set up but as far as I could tell there was not even a tip bucket. Thanks Levy for putting together that show! There are many other examples of amazing creativity all along the street and all throughout the event.
The lemonade story was cute and brought support from people that might not really like Last Thursday all that much, were they to attend the event live. The story illustrates the frustration of running a community event with limited interference from the government. And yes, it is a community event. A community of like minded if not a neighborhood event based on geographic proximity. For years it ran itself with little supervision and can continue to do so for years to come and hopefully decades. The community knows how to self manage and wants to do just that. They knows how to be good neighbors, how to pee in porta potties and how to clean up after themselves. They know when the party is over and it's time to go home. Given an opportunity the they will make sure that the event stays sustainable. Hopefully the poster child Julie has provided the momentum needed to keep the event a community event.
More...
Some of the coolest stuff that happens during the event clearly has nothing to do with money. This months show at the old clown house was amazing and had clearly taken many hours to set up but as far as I could tell there was not even a tip bucket. Thanks Levy for putting together that show! There are many other examples of amazing creativity all along the street and all throughout the event.
The lemonade story was cute and brought support from people that might not really like Last Thursday all that much, were they to attend the event live. The story illustrates the frustration of running a community event with limited interference from the government. And yes, it is a community event. A community of like minded if not a neighborhood event based on geographic proximity. For years it ran itself with little supervision and can continue to do so for years to come and hopefully decades. The community knows how to self manage and wants to do just that. They knows how to be good neighbors, how to pee in porta potties and how to clean up after themselves. They know when the party is over and it's time to go home. Given an opportunity the they will make sure that the event stays sustainable. Hopefully the poster child Julie has provided the momentum needed to keep the event a community event.
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