Pickles.
Another post reflecting on the loss of life.
Last weekend a fire broke out at an Oakland art collective called Ghost Ship. Over 30 people lost their lives and the building was completely destroyed.
It is a horrible tragedy that has taken me a few days to get my head around.
There has been much chatter on the interwebs about the building not being safe, the manager being a slime, and the number of illegal occupants.
First, can the family and friends of the people lost grieve?
With the immediacy and availability of media it seems like though news travels fast (and fake news even faster) that there is little to no pause in any information. I did not know any of the people personally who lost their lives, but I know and have known plenty of people who have and had occupied spaces like Ghost Ship. I mean, I was in SF in the 1990s.
I heard a conversation on BART between two people that truly had no idea what they were talking about in regards to the tragic fire.
One quipped that art space collective occupants should pay an extra fee (like a HOA), so that they can ensure that all codes are up to snuff. What?!? This guy had obviously never bought groceries from Safeway using only nickels. The other person wondered why anyone would want to live in such a big building with so many people. "The noise alone!" (Erica plants her palm to forehead)
Had they been even slightly LESS clueless, I might have interjected, but I saved my energy for another time.
Once people have had a chance to grieve what kind of "solutions" will be proposed?
I am already reading about businesses close to spaces like Ghost Ship complaining and making the claim they are not safe- a popular term I have seen a couple of times is "crackdown." Great. I am pretty confident that the artists will not benefit.
There is an alleged art grant specifically for Oakland artists that is supposed to help in securing spaces and keeping the creative scene vibrant. We will see. The press conference was canceled that was going address the grant. So stay tuned.
Art is the what makes life interesting.
And in the current climate of the world we need art more than ever.
