We need to respect the experiential knowledge of DTES residents that understand how the plan violates their security. Not fundamentally opposed to Vision- but you have to realize reality. If you insist on the ideology of “social mix” you also have to set up the circumstances for dignity of all
Continue readingTag: Racism/ Colonialism rant
Melissa Fong: Downtown Eastside Local Area Plan- Summary
Like last time, I did some LiveTweeting of the evening- My strategy is to summarize the main point of all the voices; add in my OWN commentary (I can be […]
Continue readingMelissa Fong: Vancouver developers- Gillespie, DTES & other thoughts on financial reform, Vision Vancouver
…. They WILL earn a profit because it is Vancouver. Gillespie knows that encroaching on DTES is best odds at this point in Vancouver’s real estate. Largest “rent-gap”/ current to potential price in the city- and he’s always known that so he’s more bold, perhaps than others, to make that
Continue readingMelissa Fong: Proving male privilege: @suey_park @BlackGirlDanger @thewayoftheid @cheuya striking back #CancelColbert Part 3
Some of the most prominent women of colour, anti-racist, feminists are coming together to talk about male privilege. Except they aren’t talking about it. They are proving it. @suey_park @BlackGirlDanger @thewayoftheid and @cheuya […]
Continue readingMelissa Fong: #25KLunch WINNERS Announced! Who said there’s no free lunch?
Other than the fact that I should win the best prize for dragging out a meme that would have otherwise had the life-span of a fruit fly… I’ve got some […]
Continue readingMelissa Fong: #CancelColbert Part 2: Racial slurs attacking critics means we have a problem
..Dear Jezebel: You fail to understand that people of colour are allowed to be pretty effing pissed off that a sketch was created that could be used at the expense of people of colour. The ART of satire is to keep focus on the ridiculousness of your character. The point
Continue readingMelissa Fong: What is satire responsible for? #CancelColbert trending & Colbert not apologizing for racism & transphobic tweets
Is it satire if it hurts millions of people it intends to defend? Stephen Colbert of the Colbert Repor is receiving a lot of heat for recent racist and trans-phobic […]
Continue readingMelissa Fong: PHS Social enterprises are ESSENTIAL to poverty elimination in DTES
… social enterprises by PHS provide job/skills/alternative livelihoods to those in a tangle with poverty/addiction/unrealized-skills. These social economy opportunities can’t be taken away from people who face job discrimination in almost any other employment situation. ….
Continue readingMelissa Fong: Doug Ford tells Olivia Chow to learn ENGRISH… oh, and he defends himself with, “I have a lot of Black friends”- FAKE FORD ACCOUNT
Doug ford tells Olivia Chow to learn ENGRISH…. wtf? He said: @dmayorkelly Maybe @oliviachow should use the @torontolibrary to learn ENGRISH. She’s not mayor material, anyone from the Ford family is! And Doug Ford even BOLDED “ENGRISH” to make his racism even more appalling. Oh.. .hold on… it gets better-
Continue readingMelissa Fong: Top 25 of #25KLunch Meme Finalists Announced!
Okay, folks! The moment has come to see your Top 25 Finalists for the #25KLunch meme competition! I can’t even tell you how many messages I’ve received telling me […]
Continue readingMelissa Fong: The facts on PHS scandal & following reactions of critics, boards and Jenny Kwan
…The fact is that PHS provides really important harm reduction programming that needs to be defended. The scandal involves non-profit board members that are supposed to be working in the best interest of the DTES, not on #34KVacations. Townshend and Small (Jenny Kwan’s ex) are implicated with irresponsible spending on
Continue readingMelissa Fong: #25kLunch Meme Competition Update #1
The #25KLunch meme has received more press than I would have ever imagined! Amazing what a group of really dedicated “mockticians” can do to bring the issues out there. #25KLunch […]
Continue readingMelissa Fong: #25kLunch Meme Competition to shame Mayor Gregor Robertson’s partnership with Developers & Condo King Bob Rennie
So I’ve started a #25kLunch tag – the good people on twitter who have engaged throughout this whole process have kept spirits high and helped suggest a meme competition. 1) Create your own meme http://memegenerator.net/ 2) Upload your meme to twitter images (make sure you save image & upload to
Continue readingMelissa Fong: DTES LAP Amendments that Cllr Carr shuts down: Watch the speech & Read the full document by Reimer
I already posted snippets of the full documents (4 separate PDFs here). This post is specifically the first pdf Amendment doc from Reimer and the speaking points Cllr Carr was […]
Continue readingMelissa Fong: Sneak Peak!: AMENDMENTS to DTES LAP- DRAFT sent to my by Andrea Reimer
Councillor Andrea Reimer was kind enough to send me the DRAFT of Downtown Eastside Local Area Plan Amendments. *OFFICIAL copy posted on website by staff tomorrow. This is a sneak […]
Continue readingMelissa Fong: DTES LAP Part 3- Residents’ Losses & small victories
…Councillor Adriane Carr was the only one who wanted to refer the plan back to staff to ensure an acceptable definition of Social Housing (due date for end of May). The rest of City Council seemed fairly confident that that could be defined as we went along and the plan
Continue readingMelissa Fong: Vancouver DTES Local Area Plan City Council Debates- PART 2: CHINATOWN BUSINESS INTERESTS
Chinatown Businesses interests came into the room hesitant. I don’t think any of the mainstream news media (Vancouver Courier or the Straight) did justice to the hesitance … I am personally sympathetic towards Chinatown business interests because I know the exact memories and nostalgia upon which they recall and the
Continue readingMelissa Fong: Vancouver Downtown Eastside Local Area Plan- Speaker #55
…when you have an extensive plan that guarantees redevelopment and insertion of new and desirable market rate housing, you are planning the upclassing of a neighbourhood. The DTES has staved off gentrification forces as much as it has because it is has been safeguarded for the poor. The redevelopment of
Continue readingMelissa Fong: Overheard in Vancouver’s Chinatown
White girl in the bathroom stall to friend washing her hands beside me: “Oh… is that place good? I heard it was just full of a bunch of Chinese […]
Continue readingMelissa Fong: Loretta Saunders is not a singular case: Inappropriate and inadequate responses from Harper Government
… Let me be clear: Aboriginal women are TARGETS of violence because they are treated as disposable objects. How many ignored Pickton concerns were there before someone decided to take 49 missing women seriously? Advocates of missing women in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside were IGNORED by police while FOURTY-NINE WOMEN WERE
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