Billy Says:
I. Squats
When I wrote to wendy about visiting her, she welcomed me and said, "i´m not doing so well, i´m kinda on the edge of a nervous breakdown." Libby and I arrived just a after a series of bad news had showed up in her life. Numerous close friends are facing charges, squatter friends in louven have already been evicted (not to mention, Ungdomshuset, a well-known and long-standing squat in copenhagen being evicted, despite rioting in response, and kopi, a famous berlin squat facing pressure to close) and wendy´ squat has been served eviction notice by a squad of dozens of cops, guns drawn, at 5am.
Wendy and her friends squatted an old church in antwerpen some years back because the surrounding neighborhood was facing demolition, to be replaced by an office complex. They set a policy of accepting requests for housing from anyone without papers. A number of their housemates steal on a regular basis, one of many reasons the squat drew police repression (all of these sans papiers folks were arrested). The neighbors that had once beens upportive of the squat now say, "did you know you were living with thieves?" in disgust, and are supportive of eviction. When I told Wendy that it took courage to take such a stand as to house undocumented immigrants, she shrugged it off and said, "if you don´t give people papers, what do you expect them to do, if not steal?"
2. Belgians and Africans
All of the neighborhoods i´ve gone to with wendy - are - to my eyes - virtually totally descendants of Africa. I put my foot in my mouth multiple times with comments like, "I don´t see any Belgians." Wendy then reminds me that these communities were established three generations ago in the post-war de-colonization times, when belgium was strapped for labor and encouraged workers to come in huge numbers. She´s right, they´re Belgians now. But still, the mural in the park (in Brussels) talks about fighting to end ghettos, the loss of culture experienced by young people in the neighborhood who feel like "exiles." So, what exactly is happening? It can´t be as simple as Wendy´s "Europe isn´t just White, Billy, you have to stop thinking that." I get that Brussels isn´t Morrocco and that no matter how many moroccan bakeries, fruit stands, mosques and radios fill the streets, it´s still a neighborhood in a major European city. But with so much control of local businesses in "African" hands, it doesn´t exactly remind me of an American ghettto, either. In other words, the "culture" of the neighborhood feels much more "distinctly" African - or even just to say, intact - than an all-Black neighborhood in the states.
One thing I am used to: feeling out of place.
As we (a group of six or so White anarchists) walked through the streets looking for potential buildings to squat, a man yelled out his car window: "it´s over there, on the right. What you´re looking for, it´s on the right." As in, "I don´t know who you are or why you´re here, but i can tell that you are lost."
3. Responses to my book
I sent Wendy a package of ten of my books before visiting. She had read it, as had her close friend Laurent whom I´ve met before and really respect and admire. Both of them were delightfully interested in talking about the book and the thoughts that arose for them from reading it. Wendy said that found it unusually easy to read, given that it is all non-fiction, and finished it in just a few days. The story-telling structure of the book made it much more readable for her. Both Wendy and Laurent spoke about how the chapter on the transportation of Irish people to the New World and their transition to Whites helped contribute to conversations that her friends have been having about the nature of slavery and race. They also both commented about how they originally struggled with the sections of the book that focus on Frederick Douglass High School, and education struggles generally. At first they weren´t sure that the projects were worthwhile, or radical. But they found that by the end of the book they felt much clearer on why I find these projects important, and could feel comfortable supporting such struggles. Laurent explained that part of his resistance to taking the discussion about education seriously is that the American school system treats its underclass students worse than lower class students get educated in Belgium, or Europe. In Belgium, a much higher standard (or "floor" as Bob Moses says) has been set.
All in all, I was very grateful and encouraged by Wendy and Laurent´s thoughtful response. I hope that others, who at first are only interested in schooling and education issues read my book and then become interested in the historical/political ideas, as well.
4. Care and Love
I arrived at Wendy´s house having been sick for a full week. By the time I got to Brussels, the sinus infection had moved to my ears and was causing me great pain and lack of hearing. She immediately said, "Well, what will you do about this?" and we set about figuring out what i might be able to do. We discussed different "natural", herbal options, and also found out about cheap clinics that might prescribe me antibiotics. Then we went to the pharmacist and he insisted that i needed antibiotics. Wendy then skillfully persuaded him to sell us the medicine without a doctor´s prescription. Through it all, Wendy was so caring and tender, and it turns out that antiobiotics were really vital because the pain became so severe in my first night in Brussels that I am now confident I´d have shattered my ear drums without medication.
While I was in Belgium, I got another glimpse of what I consider the really special love between Wendy and Laurent. As it is a particularly anarchist love, based on a mutual rejection of the current society and all of the definitions of happiness currently available, they probably won´t appreciate me going to lengths to describe their love. So, I won´t. But, I promise, it´s a beautiful thing.
Late night card games at the squat-ish collective house (with 5-15?! residents) in BrusselsI. Squats
When I wrote to wendy about visiting her, she welcomed me and said, "i´m not doing so well, i´m kinda on the edge of a nervous breakdown." Libby and I arrived just a after a series of bad news had showed up in her life. Numerous close friends are facing charges, squatter friends in louven have already been evicted (not to mention, Ungdomshuset, a well-known and long-standing squat in copenhagen being evicted, despite rioting in response, and kopi, a famous berlin squat facing pressure to close) and wendy´ squat has been served eviction notice by a squad of dozens of cops, guns drawn, at 5am.
Wendy and her friends squatted an old church in antwerpen some years back because the surrounding neighborhood was facing demolition, to be replaced by an office complex. They set a policy of accepting requests for housing from anyone without papers. A number of their housemates steal on a regular basis, one of many reasons the squat drew police repression (all of these sans papiers folks were arrested). The neighbors that had once beens upportive of the squat now say, "did you know you were living with thieves?" in disgust, and are supportive of eviction. When I told Wendy that it took courage to take such a stand as to house undocumented immigrants, she shrugged it off and said, "if you don´t give people papers, what do you expect them to do, if not steal?"
2. Belgians and Africans
All of the neighborhoods i´ve gone to with wendy - are - to my eyes - virtually totally descendants of Africa. I put my foot in my mouth multiple times with comments like, "I don´t see any Belgians." Wendy then reminds me that these communities were established three generations ago in the post-war de-colonization times, when belgium was strapped for labor and encouraged workers to come in huge numbers. She´s right, they´re Belgians now. But still, the mural in the park (in Brussels) talks about fighting to end ghettos, the loss of culture experienced by young people in the neighborhood who feel like "exiles." So, what exactly is happening? It can´t be as simple as Wendy´s "Europe isn´t just White, Billy, you have to stop thinking that." I get that Brussels isn´t Morrocco and that no matter how many moroccan bakeries, fruit stands, mosques and radios fill the streets, it´s still a neighborhood in a major European city. But with so much control of local businesses in "African" hands, it doesn´t exactly remind me of an American ghettto, either. In other words, the "culture" of the neighborhood feels much more "distinctly" African - or even just to say, intact - than an all-Black neighborhood in the states.
One thing I am used to: feeling out of place.
As we (a group of six or so White anarchists) walked through the streets looking for potential buildings to squat, a man yelled out his car window: "it´s over there, on the right. What you´re looking for, it´s on the right." As in, "I don´t know who you are or why you´re here, but i can tell that you are lost."
3. Responses to my book
I sent Wendy a package of ten of my books before visiting. She had read it, as had her close friend Laurent whom I´ve met before and really respect and admire. Both of them were delightfully interested in talking about the book and the thoughts that arose for them from reading it. Wendy said that found it unusually easy to read, given that it is all non-fiction, and finished it in just a few days. The story-telling structure of the book made it much more readable for her. Both Wendy and Laurent spoke about how the chapter on the transportation of Irish people to the New World and their transition to Whites helped contribute to conversations that her friends have been having about the nature of slavery and race. They also both commented about how they originally struggled with the sections of the book that focus on Frederick Douglass High School, and education struggles generally. At first they weren´t sure that the projects were worthwhile, or radical. But they found that by the end of the book they felt much clearer on why I find these projects important, and could feel comfortable supporting such struggles. Laurent explained that part of his resistance to taking the discussion about education seriously is that the American school system treats its underclass students worse than lower class students get educated in Belgium, or Europe. In Belgium, a much higher standard (or "floor" as Bob Moses says) has been set.
All in all, I was very grateful and encouraged by Wendy and Laurent´s thoughtful response. I hope that others, who at first are only interested in schooling and education issues read my book and then become interested in the historical/political ideas, as well.
4. Care and Love
I arrived at Wendy´s house having been sick for a full week. By the time I got to Brussels, the sinus infection had moved to my ears and was causing me great pain and lack of hearing. She immediately said, "Well, what will you do about this?" and we set about figuring out what i might be able to do. We discussed different "natural", herbal options, and also found out about cheap clinics that might prescribe me antibiotics. Then we went to the pharmacist and he insisted that i needed antibiotics. Wendy then skillfully persuaded him to sell us the medicine without a doctor´s prescription. Through it all, Wendy was so caring and tender, and it turns out that antiobiotics were really vital because the pain became so severe in my first night in Brussels that I am now confident I´d have shattered my ear drums without medication.
While I was in Belgium, I got another glimpse of what I consider the really special love between Wendy and Laurent. As it is a particularly anarchist love, based on a mutual rejection of the current society and all of the definitions of happiness currently available, they probably won´t appreciate me going to lengths to describe their love. So, I won´t. But, I promise, it´s a beautiful thing.
Wendy and Billy play in the streets of Belgium
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