Cooking up a revolution: Food Not Bombs, Homes Not Jails, and resistance to gentrification

161 Pages·2018·8.591 MB·English

by  Sean Parson

Cooking up
a revolution
CONTEMPORARY ANARCHIST STUDIES
A series edited by
Laurence Davis, University College Cork, Ireland
Uri Gordon, University of Nottingham, UK
Nathan Jun, Midwestern State University, USA
Alex Prichard, Exeter University, UK
Contemporary Anarchist Studies promotes the study of anarchism as a framework for
understanding and acting on the most pressing problems of our times. The series
publishes cutting-edge, socially engaged scholarship from around the world – bridging
theory and practice, academic rigor and the insights of contemporary activism.
The topical scope of the series encompasses anarchist history and theory broadly
construed; individual anarchist thinkers; anarchist informed analysis of current issues
and institutions; and anarchist or anarchist-inspired movements and practices.
Contributions informed by anti-capitalist, feminist, ecological, indigenous and
non-Western or global South anarchist perspectives are particularly welcome. So, too,
are manuscripts that promise to illuminate the relationships between the personal and
the political aspects of transformative social change, local and global problems, and
anarchism and other movements and ideologies. Above all, we wish to publish books
that will help activist scholars and scholar activists think about how to challenge and
build real alternatives to existing structures of oppression and injustice.
International Editorial Advisory Board:
Martha Ackelsberg, Smith College
John Clark, Loyola University
Jesse Cohn, Purdue University
Ronald Creagh, Université Paul Valéry
Marianne Enckell, Centre International de Recherches sur l’Anarchisme
Benjamin Franks, University of Glasgow
Judy Greenway, Independent Scholar
Ruth Kinna, Loughborough University
Todd May, Clemson University
Salvo Vaccaro, Università di Palermo
Lucien van der Walt, Rhodes University
Charles Weigl, AK Press
Other titles in the series
(From Bloomsbury Academic):
Anarchism and Political Modernity
Angelic Troublemakers
The Concealment of the State
Daoism and Anarchism
The Impossible Community
Lifestyle Politics and Radical Activism
Making Another World Possible
Philosophical Anarchism and Political Obligation
(From Manchester University Press):
Anarchy in Athens
The Autonomous Life?
Black Flags and Social Movements
The Politics of Attack
Cooking up
a revolution
Food Not Bombs, Homes
Not Jails, and resistance
to gentrification
Sean Parson
Manchester University Press
Copyright © Sean Parson 2019
The right of Sean Parson to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by
him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Published by Manchester University Press
Altrincham Street, Manchester M1 7JA
www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978 1 5261 0735 0 hardback
First published 2019
This work is licenced under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-ShareAlike
2.0 England and Wales License. Permission for reproduction is granted by the editors and
the publishers free of charge for voluntary, campaign and community groups. Reproduction
of the text for commercial purposes, or by universities or other formal teaching institutions,
is prohibited without the express permission of the publishers.
The publisher has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for
any external or third-party internet websites referred to in this book, and does
not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain,
accurate or appropriate.
Typeset
by Toppan Best-set Premedia Limited
I dedicate this book to the activists of Food Not Bombs
and the homeless who have given their time,
energy, and safety to resist gentrification, capitalism,
and state violence.

CONTENTS
List of figures viii
Acknowledgements x
List of abbreviations xi
1 Turning statistics into people: from sick talk to the
politics of solidarity 1
2 What dumpstered soup tells us about violence, charity,
and politics 20
3 Parks, permits, and riot police: understanding the politics
of public space occupations 1988–1991 43
4 The war against the homeless: Frank Jordan, broken
windows, and anti-homeless politics in San Francisco 63
5 The homeless fight back: the politics of homeless
resistance 82
6 Bolt cutters and the politics of expropriation: Homes Not
Jails, urban squatting, and gentrification 99
7 Towards an anarchist “right to the city” 119
Coda: theses on homelessness, public space, and urban resistance 134
References 139
Index 146
LIST OF FIGURES
1.1 Iconic photo of Keith McHenry being arrested by San
Francisco police, August 1988. Photo by Gregg Carr.
Courtesy of Food Not Bombs 2
1.2 Riot police blocking a Food Not Bombs table in
Golden Gate Park, August 15, 1988. Photo by Gregg
Carr. Courtesy of Food Not Bombs 6
1.3 Soupstock performance, 2000. Courtesy of John
Viola 14
2.1 Food Not Bombs logo. Courtesy of Food Not
Bombs 25
2.2 Flier for Reproductive Rights Coalition, which Food
Not Bombs was a part of 26
2.3 Food Not Bombs flier, 1998 29
2.4 SF Food Not Bombs Vision Statement 31
3.1 Riot police surrounding a Food Not Bombs table in the
Haight District, Labor Day 1988. Photo by Gregg Carr.
Courtesy of Food Not Bombs 46
3.2 Picture of city permit 1988 52
3.3 Chronology of permits issued to Food Not Bombs 53
3.4 Children in front of Food Not Bombs arrest. Photo by
Gregg Carr. Courtesy of Food Not Bombs 55
3.5 Food Not Bombs permits 1989 and 1990 56
3.6 Police confiscating milk crates from Civic Center.
Courtesy of Food Not Bombs 59
4.1 Homelessness and poverty related ballot initiatives 69