Interview with Margot Black, candidate for Portland city council

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Alligator Ed's picture

Wonderful interview, Cass. Your interviewee is very articulate. She needed very little guiding. Not being a Portland resident, I only glean aspects of the city's internal dynamics. But I hear a lot of sensible ideas here.

Houselessness is not homelessness.

Home is where the heart is. Houses are places to sleep in. If you have no home, it doesn't matter where you live. The true homeless are the politicians who are unattached to anything or any place or anybody except those who can help them in their own "upward" pursuits.

If you have a home, you tend it. You care for it. You are concerned with those with whom you share the home. Preserving dignity as Carol Margot explained is key. Many good ideas here. Bring portapotties and garbage collection to the encampments. Allow them to self-regulate. Allow the mini-communes such communities may exist operate under upon an agreed code of conduct. A code of conduct not administered from above.

I would vote for this woman. If you put me up in a nice swamp, I will come to Portland and vote for Carol Margot. Hell, in LA, this sort of voting caravansery goes on all the time.

Gentrification = displacing the usually poorer locals with neoliberal dorks and a few good folks as well.

This woman has lots to offer to similar sized cities as well as Portland. I hope she gets the opportunity to put her ideas on the public platform of City Hall. My suspicion is that her ideas merit enactment, on an initial trial basis. Then adopt them longer term if they seem to work.

As Carol Margot said, why put something broken back together, it will still be broken.

Good show, sir.

EDIT: name error corrected.

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Cassiodorus's picture

@Alligator Ed Like the sign in back says.

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"The war on Gaza, backed by the West, is a demonstration that the West is willing to cross all lines. That it will discard any nuance of humanity. That it is willing to commit genocide" -- Moon of Alabama

Alligator Ed's picture

@Cassiodorus @Cassiodorus At least she's Black.

Edit: she's Margot once again. But she's still black.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVNZtyOJoUc]

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mimi's picture

@Alligator Ed
Reminds me of my first weeks in the US in 1982/3 argueing over the blackness of a news anchor. He said he is black, me laughted about how he saw black, where I saw just little dirty-white taint. I learned about the one drop rule of black blood makes you a black person only twenty years later.

But I didn't know that having the last name "Black" makes you a black person. Did I miss something? Or did my tiny brain just didn't get your sarcasm?

Ok, it's beyond my bed-time and I need pitch-black nights to fall asleep. Darn it. Alligator Ed, you are annoying, eating Pythons while being color blind and always have a big mouth, not to speak about your teeth. Doctor Joker, get yourself some braces. Acute

Sigh ... My son told me I should throw my computer in the Black Sea. Otherwise I will never learn to see the truthiness of blackishness.

I say she is honest and spontaneous, but not black. I would vote for an honest woman like her, even if she would be white and not black. Wacko

With apologies to the whole world out there...

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Alligator Ed's picture

@mimi Now you know that a person can be both Black and white.

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Shahryar's picture

There are a lot of candidates on the ballot (12, I think) and maybe 3 are acceptable. Margot is easily the best of them all. I'm pushing hard for her on Facebook.

Thanks, Cass, for conducting this interview. And especially thank you, Margot, for taking the time to talk with us.

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Alligator Ed's picture

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXCOofgXjmY]

Bunch of rabble-rrousing activists in Portland, Cass. Have you eaten voodoo donuts? Sounds good. But the Wobblies have returned. Funny Margot didn't mention this (but she's still Black).

So what's your take on this? To put you in the mood, I have selected an appropriate musical introduction:

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rb53-sDII0o]

hint: Voodoo child.

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mimi's picture

@Alligator Ed @Alligator Ed
that I probably am the only person around here who has seen, met and consulted a Voodoo Doctor in Benin and I assure you, he rejected to eat Donuts, even not Voodoo Donuts. But one of his extended family members were sneaky enought to successfully put a seed of crazyness in the head of my ex.

So, please, your Voodoo is nothing against my Voodoo. And my "Berliner Pfannkuchen" are better than your Donuts. And that's the end of the story.

WTF.

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Alligator Ed's picture

@mimi Fried Schnitzel, vielleicht?

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shaharazade's picture

Thanks Cass. What a maze of BS. the voters pamphlet is as far as voting for decent candidates as far as our city county government goes. They are all mostly the developers, banks, investors and real estate . I'm voting for her. I agree why is it ever okay to have a society/community that ordinary people cannot live in. She's smart. Hope she wins. Think I'll share this with the people on Stop Demolishing Portland. "The rent's too high!"

Thank you Margot for talking to us about what you are advocating for. Clear demands are important. We need more local candidates like you. However one bone to pick people have let their demands (or tried to) known to the city government through so called public meetings etc. They are not listened to. They are marginalized and cut off. Good luck and I will support you.

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Cassiodorus's picture

@shaharazade Do you have a yard sign?

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"The war on Gaza, backed by the West, is a demonstration that the West is willing to cross all lines. That it will discard any nuance of humanity. That it is willing to commit genocide" -- Moon of Alabama

For twenty years...

I keep the bar pretty low in terms of expectations of PDX politicians. Anyone rising above non-embarrassing and/or infuriating is a pleasant surprise.

At "I'm a community organizer." my OAS (Obama Aversion Syndrome) kicked in and had me close to switching off, but stayed and found it rewarding - smart, undogmatic , good energy, common sense - not your Willamette Week limousine liberal.

Good interview and good luck, Margot.

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