1520 Sprayed

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1520 SPRAYED

Monday morning the 3rd we got up as usual for breakfast. Walking out the front door to get the mail we noticed that scrawled on our front porch in green spray paint were the words, "Smash Male Hierarchy." Cool. On the way back in we noticed the words "Come Out!" written on the wall. And later we learned that around back were the massages "Free Una" and 'Free Hiawatha". The Gay Liberation symbol (four circles, two with female and two with male signs) appeared in several places around the house.

Now, we say right on to each of those slogans; we say free everybody. But we wonder why someone spray painted our house without first asking us or even bringing up to us whatever it is that moved them to do it. Why did someone attack us like that, as if we didn't agree with those slogans?

We work daily, in our everyday lives, to smash the male hierarchy that runs the United States and the world. Some of the people that live in our house were among the first to propose that people live communally, socializing and sharing in all the work involved in keeping the house going. We all participate equally in the cooking, cleaning up, the watching of the babies - all of us take care of all of us, in addition to working on the food co-op, the party, the paper, the park programs, the Tribal Council, etc.

We still go through changes, but that's cool, we want to go through whatever changes we have to do what's right. We have tried to show this willingness to change by our practlce, standing open to and inviting criticism from the community. Constructive criticism is an agent of change; spray painting our house doesn't help us understand what's on the artists' minds. 

We know there are still remnants oí our parents' culture in the way we think and work, but we are trying hard to develop new ways of thinking and methods of work based on cooperation rather than competition, on love and coming together rather than warring and separation. It is a historical affliction oí colonized and oppressed people to be fighting among themselves before coming together to fight the real enemy, the common oppressor. We hope not too much of this kind of thing happens, and that we can have a real dialogue with whoever took this action. There are too many separation ruses happening as it is: let's not promote any more ourselves. Power to the Sisters and Brothers who know and fight the real enemy.