Monday, March 03, 2014

Wanna see what it was like when everyone was angry?

(copy of 14 year old VHS tape that has lived in about a dozen punk houses, now digital before it falls completly apart, Thanks Sean!) The concept of colorful, eco friendly, "Portlandia" didn't happen easy or over night. The right to assembly, to ride bikes en mass, feed souplines and breath clean air,to be a person of color or a woman or TJ even land and water had to be fought for. Lots of bad ideas were in place for a long time. It required effort and sacrifices to wrench the world back. For a long time everyone was angry. Dingo's home movies from the front "DIY tv #11 Unlawful assembly" was a way to get the story out when the media was biased or at least not aware what they are even looking at. Before the popular uprising it was up to the punks to hold down the unpopular uprising duties. The youth who are angry at how the world is squandered came out of the woodwork and in 10 years amazing things have changed. Dingo the clown was created during some turn of the century years of civil unrest. The first clown outfit he had was armored and his thick grease paint was impervious to pepper spray. That comes in handy when pulling folks out of harms way after they get hit with the gas and pellet guns.He was part of a movement that bubbled up from between the cracks of society. Their isolation gave them perspective and the camaraderie under tense situations that spurred them to victories and losses. Dingo was part of a smart and street smart army of activists who took on global corruption, fascism, corporate greed and deforestation. Back then the internet was mostly zines thru the mail and word of mouth. The talking head was Caffeine Jones and the cameras were forever rolling and copying and sharing until no punk house worth it's salt didn't have a few titles on hand.. In this episode the Pepto Dizmal Gang that would become the Clown House travel back to Eugene (where they started) to meet a few hundred friends in the park for some music and anarchist workshops the next day. Not all the town was happy about it, especially the police. After this rock show between cities there was a protest march that night and the next day was a real mess. The Portland delegation went home smarter but with half the people they showed up with. This is just part of a shabby old VHS (thanks for the help salvaging Sean Strauss) but Dingo has an extensive library of better footage of Northwest activist punk clown history ready to go. We are waiting for technology to produce a proper documentary. If you have the means to get this movie out please contact Dingo. chaos days Day 2 following this http://youtu.be/D2Z_jY4RxX0 the concert under the bridge went well, it was followed by a night of protests and lock down tactics, Lots of folks were arrested that night including half the denizens of the Clown House. Clown House people were pinned down in a docking bay with ring of cops, then another ring of cops and then another ring of Eugene townies who by then had gathered to lend the protesters support. It was tough for everyone back then. That"s why everyone was angry. Dingo escaped the snatch squads by jumping a fence in his old neighborhood (the whit) and spent the night watching the police and ninjas playing cat and mouse from a roof and other locations.It was a luxury that every house was a safe house in that hood. The next day was about cooking Food Not Bombs and gathering some more townies who had been drinking all day at the river. They said they wanted to protest too. I rolled camera and asked them what they are protesting and got "I love nekkid girls!" Kind of sexist for this crowd but I loved the devotion (they were the first people arrested that afternoon.   

 W.J. park for a puppet show and concert. Someone dissing the us flag got citizens to stop and huge public debate/screaming match followed about ways to deal with anger. She looks like a bomber but she is clearly a fellow who is disillusioned with the American Dream having a useless degree and loans to pay while watching the government behave like a 9 year old all over the world. Following the park action was a general protest in front of the jail (holding tons of people caught the night before) then in the streets and a game of redrover where the police played for keeps. The next piece is back in Portland for a benefit for "Books to prisoners" and then a report from "The art in the dark" exhibit.shaky video of some shaky times. Like what we do? Pitch in here http://oliveanddingo.blogspot.com/    Back in Portland the struggle continues but it's such an everyday thing that those gatherings were hardly ever as tense as the small town ones. Portland wasn't a cake walk but the system did alow citezens to disagree, the little town good old boy network only understands cirtain languages. This chapter performance art under the Martial arts gallery,a Moms anti gun violence demonstration, a pot legalization rally, a spooky punk show at PSU and for some reason a house fire.


Like what we do? Here is our virtual tip jar

No comments:

  “Man in the box”, “Hot for teacher” I didn’t have karaoke songs that I wanted to do until now. I have been enjoying a secret romance with ...