At 01:09 PM 1/15/01 -0800, Timework Web wrote:
>The logistics of mobilizing anti-bureaucratic, anti-statist rhetoric in
>the service of late state capitalism get pretty convoluted. My suspicion
>is that the future aparatchiki of the faith-based dole have a pretty
>good idea of just what _kind_ of ministry they want to subsidize and have
>the litmus (or urine) tests to prove it.
heh. my fear too, but according to the preliminary research on these
programs, they are putting the monies into AME, etc. and not just into
reactionary evangelical and born-again christian orgs. after all, not many
of those orgs are located in high poverty, high minority population
areas. they ought to be watched like hawks, of course., because no doubt
that they are going to funnel monies to ridiculous organizations. so, nail
them on the hypocrisy and expose the ludicrousness of it all. anyway,
although black churches aren't progressive per se, they also aren't
exactly reactionary per se. admittedly, i just did a quick skim of the
lit, but i'd agree with the findings, in so far as church leaders do often
have some sense of the plight their flocks often face.
in this sense, i think it might be worth considering how the conventional
method of dispensing "the dole" has typically created a gulf between the
social workers and managers of the welfare bureaucracy (see research on
organizing social workers' ) who often see themselves as different from
their clientele. here, a very good case study is Lynn Haney's article,
Homeboys, Babies and Men in Suits. it was the lead in an ASA journal a few
years ago and I'll hunt up the ref if anyone is interested. Haney shows
how even the most left-conscious administrators of these programs--women
who weren't that unlike the young women they were trying to help--could
easily see themselves in antagonistic, paternalistic relationships with
their clients as they tended to blame them, rather than bigger social
problems or the vagaries of the welfare bureaucracy.
i'm not certain how easy that is for church leaders and workers who might
be managing these funds. obviously, there is no predictable pattern. but,
i'd say that there is, especially among black churches, enough of a
tradition of criticism to build on, so it's worth a shot. i say, take
their money. and if they have the..ahem..bush to go after people for
distributing political literature, then we have grounds to fight the
distribution of anti-abortion literature, etc. :)
>My reference to the abridged, p.r. prayer-breakfast edition of the bible
>holds. That edition, by the way, is based on the Piltdown Scrolls,
>discovered in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1905 by the National Association of
>Manufacturers.
heh. all i could think of when i saw the ref to the pancake breakfast was
working as a waitress years ago. every monday, they came to the restaurant
for a Christian Business Leader Prayer Breakfast.
kelley
