prefigurativity

On Friday, I randomly stumbled a cross a community notice for the local monthly Critical Mass bike ride – about an hour before it was due to start. My first reaction was to get my bike ready. My second was should I bother. I have tried to give some thought to why I had the second reaction, with it obviously being more than the simple implications it embodies.

In talking/discussing/debating with a number of people for some time now, I have noted that some of them seem offended/angered and/or defensive when the term middle class white is used to describe a certain perspective. This is problematic for a number of reasons. One being that these people rarely question why it is that they find it offensive, another that it should not be offensive, and a third being that the increasing number of people who identify as middle class indicates the success of the conservative spectrum of mainstream politics (and also the ‘failure’ or succumbing of the left to this rhetoric) to blur class lines to its own ends.

The writings or, or reference to them, of Michel Foucault have occupied much of my mental space for several months now. I increasingly have tried to grapple with a shift in perceptions and understandings of power relations from a Marxist towards a less monolithic (a view I always held even when benefiting from the teachings of/discussions with dogmatic Marxists) view encompassing agency and structuralist underpinnings. This shift towards such a perspective, and away from a prescriptive Marxist model of revolution has been – and still continues to be quite challenging.

Being a vegan freak, and living (until recently) in your everyday ‘burb, I often find I receive blank looks, sometimes full of disdain, when perusing a menu and asking about vegetarian food. This tends to be the most profound in restaurants/café’s that do not even have a vegetarian section (even option) on the menu – places I avoid at all costs accept when unable to (see recent post). I have often received similar looks, not with the same note of disdain generally, when inquiring as to vegan options in vegetarian restaurants/café’s. I had an similar, yet different, experience recently that I actually enjoyed!

I recently went into what is my currently favourite restaurant/café with some friends for dinner: Sweet Cherubim (Commercial Dr, Vancouver’s east end). To provide some context, it is effectively a vegan restaurant/café (with a linked/adjacent store) that has vegetarian options. It has a wide variety of dishes and treats, with these all having labels in front of them. These labels have the dish/treat name in the centre with small clarifications