So many of the strategies, which have recently been visible in Wisconsin, were piloted here in the university city district beginning more than ten years ago. Clark Park, The Friends of Clark Park, UCD and I were at the center of this plutocracy movement, and Clark Park is now the first privatized park in Philadelphia.
I was asked to reveal this Clark Park history for the benefit of newcomers, and will do so in short installments for easy reading. (In the interest of time, please feel free to post questions publicly. Sometimes people are afraid to be identified communicating with me.)
Introduction: Ten years ago, most local residents did not recognize the classic features of crisis capitalism espoused by Milton Friedman and the Chicago school of economics as these were developing here. While a small group of civic leaders actively participated in the push for local plutocracy for personal gain, the majority of residents remained silent or confused as the process evolved.
A few local people resiliently bore the slings and arrows as they stood up for principles and procedures vital for a democratic system, citizenship, and ultimately human rights. A wide variety of personal attacks were used against each of them. And censorship and propaganda techniques were generally accepted by the silent majority of local residents. (see archives for the founding of Penn's ucneighbors listserv)
I hope that people reconsider Dr. Martin Luther King JR's vision and call for a revolution of values during the Vietnam era. And I hope they reconsider silently accepting the unacceptable, while they hope for a trickle down of wealth. Too many of us hoped that the ends would justify, otherwise, unacceptable means.
For this first installment, I want to only focus on the development of the created crisis in Clark Park. (In the second installment, I will reveal the two legislative tricks used in Wisconsin with the examples from the Friends of Clark Park Board.)
The Crisis: A massive propaganda campaign of deception started the movement to privatize Clark Park more than 10 years ago. The University City District's executive leadership privately convinced local civic leaders that a false negative portrayal of Clark Park, and the larger neighbohood, was necessary for them to bring in lots of money in the form of grants.
I became aware that UCD leaders threatened them, that resistance to their negative portrayal, would both harm the Penn grant applications and cause UCD to stop trying to save the neighborhood. A UCD executive director attempted this threat personally to me when I was leader of the Clark Park Music and Arts Community. After I told him that they should leave if they can't be honest, I would never again get a reply from UCD, which continued through subsequent executive directors.
The portrayal: Clark Park was portrayed (in dozens of publications and civic association newsletters) as a place SO DANGEROUS that good families and good children were afraid to enter. No one other than "prostitutes, gang members, and drug dealers" supposedly went there. THIS WAS A COMPLETE LIE!
Clark Park was the most used and most successful neighborhood park in the city by several measures. In 2001-2003, when UCD and FOCP first tried privatization, it was overwhelmingly rejected by the members of the neighborhood. Because the "master plan" design firm held 3 public meetings, community members and "key persons" told the truth about the park as well as its importance to the success of the diverse neighborhood.
UCD and the FOCP leaders learned, that never again, could they have such public meetings nor the inclusion of the diverse park leaders when they attempted privatization. They engaged a multi-year propaganda effort as well as perfection of techniques to exclude and silence park leaders. Likewise, they learned to exclude the general public from all meetings and information except those appropriately labeled "dog and pony shows." (These techniques need several separate installments).
That is the end of the first installment. As Friedman pointed out, the crisis can be either real or created. There was never a real crisis in the much loved Clark Park. The Clark Park crisis (only "prostitutes, gang members, and drug dealers") was always a big and complete lie (see the big lie as described by Joseph Goebbels).
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/goebbelslie.html
Glenn Moyer
Clark Park Music and Arts Community
Founder 1998
Volunteer CEO-1998-2004
Part 1 Creating the Perceived Crisis
