M a r k D i l l e y

Sometimes it strikes me just how lame activism has become. A one-time event by a group of EMU social work students made the paper today for feeding a free hot meal to forty people in Ypsi. The article makes sure to note corporate donors Zoup and Starbucks for their donations. This is all praiseworthy, and nice to see happen.

However.

I'm reading the news in a break between sections of writing - the piece I just finished is about the Black Panthers' programs, which fed free breakfasts to thousands of Oakland schoolchildren daily for years, and occasional distributions of 10,000 bags of groceries. I'm kinda betting that this event in Ypsi had no political message attached to it, no, "So, why are these people hungry, anyways?" Or, at least, no such message well-stated enough and integral enough to the event to make the news.

But, hey. I've never organized an event to feed forty people once, so I have to look favorably on those who have, even if I have enough context to know how little good it's doing.