United voices, distanced through the generations

By Chelsea Clark, MPT intern

The opening march to the US Social Forum was my first Peace Team. I was extremely nervous about how the day would go as it was my first time in Detroit. I was impressed by how many people were there and was overwhelmed with pride and emotions as the people around me were chanting. It was difficult to remain neutral and refrain from joining in the spirit of the march.

There was a real spirit of camaraderie and hope that surrounded everyone present. For much of the parade I was marching next to the young anarchist group and the youth voice of Detroit group. Their chants covered everything from immigration to the oil spill, but most revolved around the need for change and the power of the people. There chants filled me with a sense that together we actually do have power. I mean who in Detroit that day could ignore the thousands of shouting protestors? After the parade I went to Greek town with a friend for dinner and literally every single person in the restaurant was wearing an orange USSF bracelet. The waiter was so interested in trying to find out what was going on that he was sitting down at the tables and talking to us about why were there. It just reinforced the feeling that in mass our voices can be heard and can educate others.

Another thing that I kept hearing throughout the week is how great it is that I'm so young and so involved in the social movement and how great it is that so many young people showed up to the forum. The people that I talked to kept telling me how shocked they were that there were so many young people involved in the discussions because at their group meetings only the "grey haired" people show up. But to me I was surprised to see so many older people at the march and at the events throughout the week. To me, and maybe it's because I spend so much of my time on a college campus isolated from any one not in my age group, something like the US Social Forum sounded like an event for the young and radical. I hadn't realized that there were so many older people fighting for the same things as I was fighting for. For me, I realized how large of an intergenerational communication gap exists.

This was again illustrated to me while I was working at the Tent city. There were several tent cities for the event, but they were all divided into age groups. The one I was working at was specifically for the young 20 crowd. As we worked I sat at a picnic table and soon a group of campers came and sat next to me. We talked about our days, what we had learned and what we were involved with back at home. It was a good conversation, but we were all in about the same place in our lives doing nearly the same things, but maybe for different causes. In the meantime, Liz, was also working on the team but she sat alone keeping watch over the shower area. She didn't want to wander the campsite for fear of interrupting the campers fun.

Okay, I understand why the organizers created the tent cities around age groups. It was an effort to create a community and to keep everyone feeling comfortable. However, I believe that the conversation we had around the picnic table could have been more enriching if more than a 5 year age range was present. In groups you learn the most from those that are the most different than yourself. At an event where everybody holds the same ideals, our differences are what will lead to innovative ideas to continue our shared fight. Separating ourselves among generational lines cuts the conversation short and hinders our ability to learn from the past while utilizing the resources of the present. If we really believe in the chants that were yelled during the opening march that united we, the people, can change the world then we must make a greater effort to communicate and combine efforts throughout the age continuum.