Activist scholar David Barsamian visited Colorado Springs yesterday to speak on Afghanistan and raise money for the Pikes Peak Justice and Peace Commission. Barsamian was his usual gracious and erudite self but the PPJPC can’t even embarrass themselves. At one point in his presentation, Barsamian talked of encountering a Vets For Peace participant, who’d been an active PPJPC member. “You remember Brian?” He asked the group, as if relating a greeting from an old friend. Blank stares all around. Barsamian scanned the room until his eyes reached Tony and I, demonstrably nodding our heads. “Of course you do” chided Barsamian, as he moved on. What a pathetic lot.
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Barsamian came to town with only a singleminded purpose and that is to get his own business to be put on air by KRCC. He wants KRCC to take the free offering of Alternative Radio which David Barsamian presides over from Boulder, Colorado.
Go to http://www.alternativeradio.org/ for more info about alternative radio and David Barsamian. One hundred fifty radio stations around the country already do carry his program for their listeners and it would be great if KRCC were to decide to carry alternative radio to Northern New Mexico and Southern Colorado. Hold your breath though…???
However, Barsamian was also trying to promote PPJPC in a city where the current leadership of this organization has split the antiwar movement here by expelling some of its more activist members last year. In fact, the city now has about 4-5 groups working against US militarism and the PPJPC is only one of them, and the one that whose paid staff ‘leadership’ periodically has played a most divisive role among Colorado Springs’ local activist community.
Barsamian at his talk to a very small group (20) last night, didn’t really seem all that interested much in finding out why some of us local activists are not big fans of a group that excels best at hugging the cops, socializes often with Fort Carson ‘green’ image makers, and is most often seen MIA when it comes to getting the antiwar message out into the local area. When asked by a J&P member what advice he had for activists in the local area for projects to work on, he was able to offer none.
Sad to say, too, David Barsamian seems most only interested in promoting alternativeradio too better spread the ideas of the multiple academic intellectual types around ZNET’s Left Libertarian squad out to the general public. That is a nice goal and we wish him well. Plus, he is a voice for Armenian-Americans which I think most important! Yet selling alternativeradio really does not an activist make.
Barsamian’s most interesting comment last night was an admission that he had in fact voted for Barack Obama. I ask myself just what good is it in single mindedly promoting the supposedly ‘alternative radio’ when in fact Barsamian also echoes the same old message as always? VOTE DEMOCRATIC PARTY…. How alternative is that really? I’m afraid not too much.
Left Libertarianism (Barsamian’s text) is kind of not that much on the scene in present day American politics. It was great back in the Reagan Era but it seems now to have fallen into the Anybody But Bush (Republican) camp in the last decade. That means ‘Always the Democrats’ is now what the message has become somewhat.
Barsamian as a speaker comes off to me and many others as long, pedantic, and boring. He could have used last night to have a discussion where all could participate, yet it was all Barsamian all the way. In fact, I think that this might be about the last time I go hear him ramble? He is very self centered.
Liberal Preaching down does not make for good public speaking. and maybe Jesus Christ could have gotten away with it, but I don’t think that David does. To want to be such a saleman, Barsamian doesn’t really seem to have very good sales technique. However, I hope he sells the idea of alternative radio to the General Manager of KRCC. It certainly would beat the insipid corporate NPR rot that goes out from KRCC every night and day. YUCK…