:: cyclists inciting change thru live exchange

Love-Ins No More, Now We Have Critical Mass!

Published September 19, 2005 by C.I.C.L.E.

By: Harv


In the old historic section of Highland Park (Los Angeles) there is a tiny storefront that for several years has been one of the last meeting places for those seeking social justice and wanting to keep alive the counter-culture movement. Friday nights at Flor Y Canto has become a pot-luck dinner and video night. Thought-provoking, educational, alternative films became the norm. This particular Friday it was billed as the very last video night at Flor y Canto, a day before the north east LA community space was to close down.

A growing awareness of the downside of the bell curve of world crude oil supply has created a thirst for information among the forward-thinkers of L.A. Exacerbating the decline in oil production is the volatile motor fuel supply/demand balance; we are on the razor's edge. Current events in the Gulf Coast area are the text-book example of this; one glitch in the petrol-system and prices rise and waves of anxiety are generated.

A video concerning peak oil would be shown at F y C. Since I wanted to see these particular videos I decided to pedal over there at the appointed hour. Some of us have already begun changing our lifestyle for less petroleum-dependence. Bicycles are the new symbols of opting out of corporate commodification of transportation, cutting the oil-umbilical cord, while simplifying and naturalizing our lives. Love-ins of the 60's have given way to Critical Masses in modern times. Volkswagen busses with psychedelic paint schemes have given way to bikes as the hip way to navigate the city and make a point. So, we have some overlapping agendas here. Or so I thought.

I expected the crowd to be a mixture of Peak Oil weenies and bicycle geeks. I got there a bit early so I could get first crack at the only bike rack on the sidewalk in front (well... half of the rack anyway). A needless concern, I was the only one there on a bike. As has happened before, my attendance at the Flor y Canto event turned out to be (among other things) a reminiscence of the love-ins, peace marches and demonstrations of yesteryear. While time has marched on, morphing most counter-culturists of the 1960's into their places in corporate America, a few have held out and seek like-minded souls at venues such as F y C.

There were always people there who experienced these 60's events at the same time and places as I did. This time was no different and we even had a second-generation radical there. However I felt like the Lone Ranger in that I seemed to be the only one who carried forth with (what we now consider to be) non-mainstream values and lifestyle into the modern age. This lifestyle is even more important given the man-made planet reshaping problems we now face. But in this brief encounter, I really could not have become familiar with the core values of everyone present. Much of the radical nature of the anti-war 60's movement lives on and is still subject to the wrath of law-enforcement, so we do have this common ax to grind. But I expected more.

After viewing and discussing "Peak Oil: Imposed by Nature", it became
apparent to me that for the most part, this crowd (about 20, but I wasn't counting) was not as advanced in the realization of and proposed solutions to these problems as those who are reading this. At least four of us present had been on Critical Mass rides. While three had arrived by Metro Rail, and I had ridden in on my bicycle, the rest had driven their doomsday machines.

Completely sympathetic and understanding of the peak oil problem, they simply could not commit to changing their lifestyle to mitigate the consequences of the inevitable energy crisis. Steps in the right direction had been taken by several of those present, but the need to reach for that ignition key was overpowering for most.

Corporate America has taught it's lesson well. Common perception is that life in the U.S. is not possible without the extreme petro-consumption our society takes for granted. Most of our society. Not me. Not us. But we have a ways to go.

Bottom line here is that it is going to be tough. It is already getting tough for much of our population. We thought we had social and political problems in the heydays of hippies, peace marches, and love-ins? A frolic in the park (literally) compared to today and worse yet, tomorrow. Those of you reading these words are growing in number and will be much better equipped to handle this brave new world than those who can not imagine how they will cope.

Not all is doom and gloom. I think great progress is being made. It is not easy to pry people out of their complacency. Of course we are being helped by world events, but that is a terrible price to pay.

So we keep chipping away, smug in the knowledge that this is working for us and we are light-years ahead in terms of being able to coast down that back side of the oil production bell-curve and into the future.

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