Progressives gather in Ottawa for “Peoples Social Forum”

A progressive I know steadfastly maintains mainstream media is enslaved by tiresome voices from the right and the left. Just so much Tweedledum and Tweedledee, no real choice at all.

There’s lots of room to debate the state of choice in political life. But it is a fact of life that voices outside the mainstream have a harder time getting equal attention within our usual circles of news.

So, in the spirit of the marketplace of ideas, let it be known that many, many progressive products are being hawked in Ottawa this weekend.

Here’s how event organizers bill the next few days:

Peoples Social Forum: Ottawa, August 21-24, 2014 Build together, win together! The Future is Ours!

I was in grade school in the heady 60s, not at any free speech sit-ins at Berkeley. But the sound of this reminds me of the “teach in” movement, sort of. There are at least 17 formal themes (climate, communication, knowledge, work, etc.)

According to the Ottawa Citizen, organizers are predicting “…the largest gathering of social movements in Canadian history.”

More than 3,000 people have registered for the forum, so far, and hundreds of people are volunteering for the event, organizers say.

“House an activist” posters have been up throughout Ottawa, and many people have offered lodging for participants who can’t afford it, said organizer Darius Mirshahi. About 1,000 rooms are booked at the University of Ottawa dormitories.

A fair number of street marches are planned as well, with the potential to tie up traffic.

So, something to avoid, if you prefer life as usual. Something to consider if the flame of progressive action speaks to your inner activist.

Definitely a menu with more choices than tired old political Party A or equally-frayed political Party B.

Tags: canada, economics, environment, Peoples Social Forum 2014, politics, social justice