Touchy-Feely Crap in Action

Consultant and recent CityBeat cover story subject Peter Block (Peter’s Principles, issue of Sept. 3-9) put his rhetoric and a dry sense of humor to work by engaging the Urbanists Sept. 10 at the Guilford Institute downtown. He spoke to a packed room of 175 that included City Councilman Jim Tarbell, Cincinnati Business Committee executive Eric Avner, former Mayor Roxanne Qualls, former Chamber of Commerce head John Williams and council candidate Marilyn Hyland. Due to space limitations, the Urbanists denied the RSVP requests of about 40 people.

Block had the chairs arranged into circles of six. Then he forced people talk to each other, even tired reporters who had hoped to disappear into the anonymity of a feel-good lecture and go home to bed.

“I don’t want to hear about your contempt for touchy-feely crap,” he said. “When I was growing up, cooperation wasn’t allowed. It was called cheating.”

Block spoke about useless, redundant conversations such as the conversation he’d been having with himself for years to “be more dynamic.” He says people would ask him when he’s going to get going.

What do you mean, he responded in a quiet, raspy voice: “I’m on fire.”

He demonstrated to a largely homogenous audience the “middle-aged white male learning position” by crossing his arms and leaning back with a scowl. Seeing quite a few such positions in front of him, Block said perhaps some real learning would be done that evening.

He asked the groups to rate and discuss — without trying to “fix” each other — four questions pertinent to any situation: How valuable do you plan for this evening to be? How participated do you plan to be tonight? How much risk do you plan to take tonight? To what extent are you invested in the well-being of the whole room?

Then he asked them to talk about the life crossroads at which they found themselves. Overriding themes — surprise! — sounded eerily similar throughout the room.

Now let’s see who else in mainstream Cincinnati leadership has the moxie to invite Block to challenge their own redundant interactions. Here’s a preview: Hold a meeting without talking about anyone not in the room. “Makes for a very short meeting,” Block said.

Hey, Ho, Corp. Welfare’s Got to Go
Independent City Council candidate Brian Garry and his supporters made their displeasure with the city’s offer to build Kroger a new parking garage perfectly clear before the Sept. 10 meeting in which council voted 6-3 to pass the deal.

“We keep giving handouts to these businesses, but if I go to that guy over there and ask for a quarter I’ll get arrested because I’m not a registered panhandler,” said Brendan Prendergast, who helped Garry and three other activists hold up a 30-foot banner reading “End Corporate Welfare.”

“I’d rather stand with three or four people who are doing the right thing than stay at home and let $15 million slide into the coffers of the rich,” Garry said. “What’s the sudden need for the parking garage?”

The small group walked the banner into sunlight for cameras and tried out various chants, the most creative of which was “Let’s go Krogering … Corporate welfare-mongering.”

Garry said Cincinnati tells its poor to stand on their own two feet while offering corporations crutches and wheelchairs.

“This isn’t about Kroger,” he said. “This is about prioritizing money. Fifteen million could go a long way to feed the hungry and clothe the naked and help develop underprivileged neighborhoods.”

“You’re not voting for that, are you?” he demanded of council members entering City Hall.

Though six members did, council didn’t bow to Pat DeWine and Chris Monzel’s plea that the garage be subject to managed competition. Councilman David Crowley expressed frustration with the constant push for managed competition, which Councilwoman Alicia Reece called a “code word for privatization.”

Rare Wins for the Good Guys
This week brings good news on two hard-fought campaigns for fairness that CityBeat has covered in the past. After a three-year struggle, the 90 Sodexho food service workers at Xavier University finally secured their first union contract. Xavier officials had agreed to a card-check neutrality process last year, and workers approved the contract Sept. 12.

Meanwhile, Procter & Gamble — the largest seller of coffee in the U.S. — announced Sept. 15 that it would introduce Fair Trade Certified coffee products through its specialty coffee division, Millstone. The announcement came in response to dialogue with shareholders about the company’s practices as well as pressure from consumers, people of faith, human rights activists and humanitarian organizations.

This article appears in Sep 17-23, 2003.