I'm wondering if there are Babblers in Kingston, ON, where I live? If so, I'd be interested in hearing about any lefty events, groups. or activism here in town. My sense is that there is not a lot of left-wing activism but that there are pockets here and there. I'd also be interested in discussing issues relevant to the area: the decline of the downtown (eg. closing of S and R), makeup of current city council, possible information about upcoming elections (federal and municipal). I'll look forward to hearing from people. BTT
Any Babblers in Kingston?
Tue, 2009-12-29 16:18
#1
Any Babblers in Kingston?
Wed, 2009-12-30 08:38
#2
Welcome, BTT! I don't live in Kingston anymore - in fact, I grew up there from the age of 9 and lived there until I was in my 20's, but now I have no family left there as of this year, so I probably won't be back much - it just sort of hit me this Christmas when I realized, hey, I won't be going to Kingston for Christmas for the first time since I was 10.
Anyhow...I did go to Queen's for a while, and while it's not the most activist university on the planet, there is a PIRG there - when I was there, it was located in the John Deutsch Centre if I remember correctly. Here's a link to it: http://opirgkingston.org/
It looks like you can sign up to their mailing list for activist events around Kingston, so that might be a good starting point.
Also, if you're at all religious, I remember that some lefty church types (including a few from the church I used to attend) set up an ecumenical group called the Kingston Faith and Justice Coalition. I have no idea what they're like or whether they're still going, and I don't know what the politics of the group is like - whether it's "white liberal burden" or really progressive - but the people I knew from my church who were involved, I loved.
Anyhow, hope that helps a bit - I seem to remember there being a couple of other Kingston babblers here in the past, but I haven't seen them post for a while. You might also want to check out Facebook and do a search on "kingston" and "social justice" or something like that - you never know what you might find! :)
Wed, 2009-12-30 08:41
#3
P.S. I know that Mycroft is pretty familiar with the activist scene and politics in Kingston - I'll bring this thread to his attention. :) I wish I'd followed municipal politics more when I lived there - not sure why I didn't. I'll be following along with great interest if more Kingstonians or former Kingstonians get talking about it though!
Wed, 2009-12-30 09:09
#4
BTW, if you're into health care activism at all (e.g. keeping medicare public), I just discovered this group in my google travels - the Kingston Health Coalition. Can't tell from their site how active they are, but there's contact info there. And if they're in any way affiliated with or similar to the Ontario Health Coalition, then the politics will be good - sounds like they're an advocacy group trying to stop the encroachment of privatization into our public health care system.
Sat, 2010-01-02 16:01
#5
Hi Michelle,
Thanks for this advice. I'll look into what you've suggested. We'll see if anyone else responds.