The Cleveland chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) are holding their first ever Brake Light Clinic, offering free brake light repairs to assist community members in avoiding unnecessary interactions with police by repairing the broken headlights and taillights of attendees for free.
With nearly 50,000 members and counting, DSA is America’s largest socialist organization, a unified coalition of local chapters working vigorously towards creating a more fair and equitable society for all through community activism and political pressure.
Originated by the New Orleans chapter of the DSA, free brake light repair events have been staged by chapters across the country to great success. This is the first clinic in the Cleveland area of its kind. The goal is to strengthen community safety and welfare, and to help attendees avoid unnecessary interaction with a legal system which the DSA believes is disproportionately punitive towards the poor and communities of color.
“Broken brake lights are routinely used by police as a reason to pull over drivers, particularly Black and Brown folks,” DSA Steering Committee member at large and racial justice committee chair (and meme queen) Jeanne Li tells Scene. “This not only allows police to search cars without cause, but endangers live, and contributes directly to the prison pipeline.”
Cleveland’s chapter of the DSA is now in its third year of existence, and despite being a younger chapter has already helped to build working class power in Cleveland through initiatives such as its collaboration with Clevelanders for Public Transit, which successfully lobbied against a 2018 fare hike for Cleveland’s underserved RTA system, and the election of one of their members, Tristan Rader, to the Lakewood City Council.
The DSA is also striving to improve police accountability and says the service could be especially potent in Cleveland, where they say “A number of disturbing incidents involving the Cleveland Department of Police in the last several years have heightened public awareness of some abusive policies and practices within the department.”
DSA Cleveland has stockpiled a sizable number of the most common light bulbs and will be replacing them free of charge. The repairs will be done under supervision of licensed mechanics and all community members are welcome to drop in at any time during the clinic for repairs. According to Li, DSA Cleveland hopes to continue these clinics every month, alternating venues between the west side and the east side.
West Side Clinic: Saturday Sept. 22 at Pilgrim Congregational Church (2592 W 14th St.) from 1 to 7 p.m.
East Side Clinic: Sunday Sept. 23 at First Unitarian Church of Cleveland, (21600 Shaker Blvd. Shaker Heights) from 1 to 6 p.m.
For more information about the DSA Cleveland chapter, visit their website here.
This article appears in Aug 29 – Sep 4, 2018.
Socialists, whether they be democratic or the regular kind are communists. I would call them dumb but they know their socialist system is meant to destroy whatever country it is implemented in. The goal of socialism is communism. The goal of communism is destruction.
Yeah Commrade BJ, we know. SOCIALISM!
Tens of thousands of people are fleeing Venezuela at the moment to escape socialism because there is no food. Good job changing brake lights though socialists.
These people are so dumb.
Go read up on what socialism is and what communism is all about. You’re the one who looks like the proverbial box of rocks. This troll is so ignorant. Drinking the kool-aid will do that.
I hope they have stockpiled plenty of Escalade, dirt bike and ATV bulbs, as they’re going to need them. They might want to have a few replacement license plates on hand for all the Black and Brown cars, too.
Thanks stupid. I read the communist manifesto. It’s garbage, just like the people that support the system that has killed hundreds of millions.
Oh, but socialism sounds so… Social. Typical communist commenter gives vague refutes and old personal attacks instead of actually defending the ideology. Communism is death.
Yeah, you say you read it…but did you understand it? if you had, you wouldn’t be equating socialism with communism. Socialism is not merely Communism Lite. Is that what they teach you in the Cleveland schools these days?
And you might try learning how to do a halfway-decent rebuttal before you merely wrap yourself in the flag and accuse your opponent of supporting an ideology and calling him a “typical communist commenter”—that’s pathetic stuff.
Same old same old, the lame and tired Kool Aid responses like “death” and “garbage” and “hundreds of millions”…you might even try coming up with substantial reasons why Communism sucks instead of sounding like a brainwashed high-school skinhead. And maybe try stepping away from the screen for a while and ventilating your head. Might do us all some good.
Or…you can just…
Fascism has killed many millions, too, sonny.
Some died slowly, some died fast, many just lived out their lives and died half-fast.
The scene needs to dump this communist. Shes making the paper a propaganda tool. You lure people in with entertaining news and Baj exploits the readers to try and brain wash them. She destroying the scene.
Let’s see… Capitalism allowed companies to build massive wealth off the backs of Cleveland family’s while paying them poorly, they polluted the rivers, air and land, and then they just up and left with all the money. Where are all those lovely NEO Capitalists now? Their families live kush lives in Californian mansions somewhere in the hills around all their liberal and conservative 1% buddies laughing at how stupid you Ohio moderates are. Where are their companies? Mexico? China? What did they leave behind? Poverty? Pollution? A bloated, decaying infrastructure?
Capitalists don’t care about community. They don’t care about education or healthcare. They don’t invest in things that truly matter to your children and grand children. They use and toss aside. At least these social democrats are fighting for the people. Fighting to restore communities abandoned by the very demonic vampires you so blindly worship. Fighting to bring integrity back to politics.
How is BJ a communist? She is from Chicago and from her profile picture , she appears to be somewhat goth. But a communist? A dyed-in-the-wool, card-carrying, godless Bolshevik? Please explain. i don’t think so. IIt’s all in your pointed little head. Why you got the hate on for BJ? Did she blow you off, or what?
Many of the articles she puts out are culturally biased. She uses typical manipulative tactics and yes she is operating on a leftist/communist agenda. She’s a poser goth just like all the millennial snowflakes. And communists come from Chicago too. It’s unfortunate that our education system, media, and elders have pushed her towards communism or socialism (which is used to implement communism). She is truly a product of social engineering.
Culturally biased? Why? Because she’s a millennial goth and you’re an old geezer with a different culture than yours? So that makes her a lefty or a commie? (they’re not the same, pal…all communists are leftists, but not all leftists are commies…it’s called a syllogism. Look it up.)
What is she manipulating, other than journalism skills that are a bit on the repetitive side, and which will probably improve with a bit more time spent in her adopted hometown?
And here’s a newsflash for you…there are communists all over the map…they’re not exclusive to Chicago. Cleveland probably has a few scattered around somewhere. Go look under your bed, where the pink dust bunnies are. She’s probably not a commie or a pinko. Who knows if she even votes Democratic? A lot of kids think it’s all Bolshevik anyway…oops…make that bullshit. But if you don’t vote, you can’t bitch.
Culturally biased? Why? Because she’s a millennial goth with a different culture than yours? So that makes her a lefty or a commie? (they’re not the same, pal…all communists are leftists, but not all leftists are commies…it’s called a syllogism. Look it up.)
What is she manipulating, other than journalism skills that are a bit on the repetitive side, and which will probably improve with a bit more time spent in her adopted hometown?
And here’s a newsflash for you…there are communists all over the map…they’re not exclusive to Chicago. Cleveland probably has a few scattered around somewhere. Go look under your bed, where the pink dust bunnies are. She’s probably not a commie or a pinko. Who knows if she even votes Democratic? A lot of kids think it’s all Bolshevik anyway…oops…make that bullshit. But if you don’t vote, you can’t bitch.
We could ask her. BJ you a communist?
Venezuela? Yeah, right. Talk dirty to me in Spanish, and call me names. Rojo? Communista?
If all the communists/socialists could go live in one far away place to experiment with Karl Marxie’s (a philosopher, not a leader) system and leave the rest of us alone, that’d be great.
This was originally about brake lights being a cause for traffic stops. You turned it into a referendum about communism and the journalistic merits of Chicago Goth BJ…and now you’re picking on Lakewood councilman Tristan Rader? I know Tristan Rader. I have worked with Tristan Rader. And you, troll, are probably no Tristan Rader.
Oh my the right-wing trolls come out in force whenever the awful word “socialism” appears in the news. Are they googling keywords to find these articles?
Just give people more free stuff so they have no incentive to work! You can’t make it on other people’s money. how many times have we seen that not work? Wake up people..
Squid,
It’s called reading other viewpoints. Try it sometime.