Mark Maynard | 2013 | March

Citizens for Prison Reform’s Lois DeMott, a recent Ann Arbor Awesome Foundation grant recipient, featured on NBC’s Rock Center

By Mark | March 24, 2013

The Ann Arbor Awesome Foundation recently awarded a $1,000 grant to Lois DeMott, the founder of Citizens for Prison Reform. I’d interviewed Lois at the time of the award, but I’d decided to hold off posting it for a bit, as she had mentioned to me that she was going to be interviewed by Ted Koppel for a feature on NBC’s news magazine show, Rock Center, about the treatment of the young and mentally ill in our prison system. Well, the feature just aired, and you can watch it by scrolling down to the bottom of this post. First, though, here’s my interview with Lois, which covers everything from her son’s incarceration as an adult, at age 15, to the Resource Guide for Families, Friends and Advocates that our Awesome Foundation grant is helping to distribute in Washtenaw County.

MARK: What can you tell us about Citizens for Prison Reform, the Lansing-based organization which you founded? Why did you feel as though an organization like yours was necessary, and what are the specific reforms that you’re presently working to have implemented?

LOIS: Citizens for Prison Reform is a statewide, family-run organization. We hold our meetings on the third Saturday of each month in Lansing, as it’s a central location. Our main focus is to educate, support, and unify loved ones of prisoners, so that they can better advocate within the system. By doing this, we hope to raise standards within our prisons, and help to keep supports in place for prisoners.

As far as working on reforms within the walls, we are currently working to address the number of mentally ill inmates who are being held in segregation and solitary confinement, and those with mental illness who are at prisons where no therapeutic programming is available to meet their needs. We are also looking at the treatment, or lack of appropriate treatment and care, for juveniles who are within our adult system. The legislature passed legislation for 2013 that states that the mentally ill, and juveniles up to age 19, are not to be housed in segregation, unless it’s “therapeutic”. Michigan Protection and Advocacy, and the Department of Corrections, agreed in a lawsuit settlement less than a year ago that certain punishment (detention/segregation) is not to be utilized if it is found counter-therapeutic. We know these issues have not been fixed or changed.

We are also asking questions around inadequate and untimely medical treatment, particularly the halting of inmates’ medications when they have known illnesses that require it.

We’d also like a policy requiring every facility to have a Release of Information that all inmates are given to sign upon entry, so that their families can know if they have a medical or mental health crisis. This may seem insignificant, but for families, it is imperative that we be able to know about our loved one’s medical issues and mental health. The the Department of Corrections has not made prisoners or families aware that these release forms need to be signed in order for information to be shared concerning a prisoner’s care.

So many areas needing addressed, it’s challenging at times to determine what should take precedence. It’s time that families’ voices are heard, and that our ideas for cost savings and more humane treatment are seriously looked at.

MARK: How did you come to be involved in prison reform?

LOIS: My son (image right), who has had known mental illness since he was very young, was sent into the adult prison system at age 15, with a minimum of five months to serve. I knew nothing about this system. I had never been exposed to it, nor had anyone in our family. Once he was inside, we learned firsthand what happens to children who are sent into the adult system, under adult operating procedures and policies. There is no in-patient mental health care for young prisoners, outside of putting them in with the most mentally ill adults. Then, they are segregated due to their age.

We found other juveniles within the system, who my son would ask me to help because he was concerned about their treatment. We have seen those with severe cognitive impairments, mental illness, and many who simply do not belong in this system. It has been very painful and heart-wrenching to see. They often wind up in segregation, only allowed out of their cell for three ten-minute showers per week. They become more ill, and, as a result, receive more punishment. It becomes a vicious cycle. Furthermore, in some prisons, the officers have no training with regard to mental illness. That’s alarming.

I gathered my family, friends, and prison family networks together for a letter-writing campaign. We sent our letters to Governor Snyder and our legislators. There is little to no rehabilitation occurring currently. There are a lot of tax dollars being wasted, poured down the drain, though. It should matter to all of us how these people are being treated, and what they are receiving to help them while they are inside the system. We must remember that 95-98% of these people will return to our society. There are many things they could be doing, and learning to help our communities out here, our society. Instead, much of their time is spent idle, which leads to more criminal behavior.

MARK: Is there any reason to be optimistic? From what I read, I’m inclined to think that things aren’t moving in the right direction. If I’m not mistaken, for instance, Michigan has the distinction of being a leader among states that spend more on incarceration than on higher education. And the push for more prison privatization, it would seem, continues to build, in spite of the problems we’ve seen across the country, like in Pennsylvania, where we’ve seen judges taking bribes to hand down lengthy sentences to juvenile defendants. With that said, though, I believe I’ve read somewhere that Michigan’s prison population is beginning to decrease. So, is there some cause to be optimistic?

LOIS: We are cautiously optimistic. We certainly have great concerns about many of the cuts the Department has made under the new Director, with little regard to humane treatment, such as the cutting of psychotropic medications and medications for other illnesses in order to save money, the cutting of food portions and nutrition, the inadequate phone service, which they’re now charging more for, and many other things. The good news is the Department has now agreed to begin a dialogue with leaders and families from our organization around some of these issues and concerns, and allow us to share our ideas. This is currently underway. We see many areas where there could be cost savings, and more humane treatment. Director Heyns has made some positive statements, and enacted a few things that have been a positive shift, such as having college courses available for Levels I or II only, talk of shifting the culture, of officers beginning to be mentors and teachers, rather than just being officers for custody. While the treatment of visitors overall has improved recently, we would like to know that prisoners be treated better as well. We are concerned about the Legislature passing a bill that would allow any privatized company to operate a privatized facility if they can save 10% beyond what the Department is spending. GeoGroup has had three opportunities in Michigan, and they have not proven that they can provide quality, humane treatment, or cost savings. We have seen this from many other states, and private prison companies as well.

MARK: What’s your role within the organization?

LOIS: I am the Co-Founder, and President. We had around six individuals who researched, proofread, and helped with the initial letter writing campaign January 2011 (MLK weekend). I consider all of them Co-Founders. Without their help, it wouldn’t have happened. The organization was not planned… it was born out of this letter campaign. We turned our pain into passion and purpose.

MARK: Tell us about the project that will be funded by the $1,000 Ann Arbor Awesome Foundation grant.

LOIS: We will begin with Washtenaw County, and obtain public records on inmates who have just been sentenced into prison. They will receive a postcard with information about our Resource Guide for Families, Friends and Advocates, and information on our meetings and our organization, as well as other resources to help them as they enter the prison system. Our goal is to get this information to them so they can share it with their support systems prior to being transported into the system, so families and prisoners can know how to navigate up front. We will be working with the Washtenaw County Jail to provide hard copies of the guide that inmates can review while they are waiting to be moved. We are hoping they will work collaboratively with us to provide inmates and their families what they should have up front prior to entering the system. If families do not have computer access, we will mail them a hard copy of the guide. As we set up this project and it is running smoothly, we will then use funds to move the project out to other counties.

As of January 13, there were 43,442 inmates in the system, and approximately 9,000 people are sentenced to prison each year. So we know that we’ll need manpower and significant funding to reach out to all counties in doing this work.

Now, here’s the piece with Ted Koppel, which aired yesterday on Rock Center.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

[note: The photo above is of Lois DeMott’s son, Kevin, who was arrested at 13 for armed robbery and imprisoned at 15 as an adult. The image, acquired by way of Freedom of Information Act, was taken at the Ionia Maximum Correctional Facility, where Kevin, who was 19 at the time, had been restrained to prevent injury. The complete story can be found at the Detroit Free Press.]

[note: Video of Lois presenting to the Ann Arbor Awesome Foundation board can be found here.]

Posted in A2Awesome, Civil Liberties, Michigan | Tagged Citizens for Prison Reform, Ionia Maximum Correctional Facility, Kevin DeMott, Lois DeMott, prison, prison industry, prison reform, prisoner advocate, prisoner rights, prisoners, solitary confinement, Ted Koppel | 13 Comments

Introducing my newly educated friend, Doctor Pete Larson

By Mark | March 24, 2013

I wasn’t able to get away from work and attend in person, but my good friend, and former bandmate, Pete Larson, who often leaves comments on this site, was awarded his PhD on Friday afternoon. I am incredibly proud of him. A lot of people that I know bemoan how shitty their lives are, but very few have the follow-though to actually do something about it. To see Pete, over the course of the past dozen years or so, go from working a job that he said was killing him, to become an authority on the prevention of infectious diseases in Africa, has been an incredibly inspiring thing to see unfold. And I could not possibly be any happier for him.

As for Pete’s PhD defense, he’s lucky that I wasn’t able to attend, as my intention was to blast the following once the papers had been signed and everything had been made official.

That’s Pete singing, for those of you who didn’t already surmise as much. The piece is called “Alright,” and, if I’m not mistaken, it’s one of the first songs that he and I wrote in the basement of 502 Catherine Street, along with Dan Richardson and Matt Krizowsky, as Prehensile Monkeytailed Skink.

As I’ve never seen anyone get their PhD, I don’t know exactly how it happens, but I imagine that it’s something like that scene at the end of The Wizard of Oz, where Oz the Great and Powerful hands the Scarecrow a diploma, pronounces him a Doctor of Thinkology, and explains to him that it’s receiving the credential that makes one educated. (I have this wonderful image in my mind of Pete being handed his diploma and suddenly putting his extended index finger to his temple and reeling off all kinds of technical jargon as though it’s just come to him in a flash.)

At any rate, I thought that I should mention this recent change which Pete’s undergone, as his comments on the site from now on are likely to be exponentially more brilliant and insightful than they have been in the past.

One more thing… I don’t know if Pete will pursue it, but he and I have been kicking around an idea which we think may cut down on the spread of malaria in Africa. The idea arose out of a conversation that we had over lunch a few weeks ago, upon his return form doing field research in Kenya on the use of insecticide treated bed nets. During the course of our conversation, Pete mentioned that, according to his research, a surprisingly large percentage of people don’t use bed nets because they feel as though malaria is spread by way of witchcraft, rather than by mosquito. Well, upon hearing that, it occurred to me that, if you could convince people that bed nets actually served as barriers to witchcraft, that the end result could be increased usage, and decreased instances of malaria. As I scientist, I don’t know that he so much liked the idea of playing upon superstitions, and marketing something as “witch-proof,” but he conceded that it might be a test worth running. And, from there, we began talking about other possibilities, such as imprinting the nets, which are given away freely by a number of non-profits doing work in the country, with images of famous football players, revered spiritual figures, and musicians like Bob Marley, who, according to Pete, still has quite the following in Africa. At any rate, Pete and I pitched the idea on Friday night, over coffee, to a the director of a Japanese research group doing work in Africa. I suspect it’s highly unlikely that we’ll get any traction with it, but, as I very much like the idea, I thought that it was worth mentioning here… just in case anyone from the Gates Foundation might be reading.

Those interested in getting to know Doctor Larson better are encouraged to check out his website, which, among other things, contains some great information on African heavy metal. And, if you still want more, a video interview that I did with him not too long ago can be found here. And, if it’s the music that you want more of, here are links to two more of the songs we recorded back in ’92 or so: Anarchy is Stupid, Face Like A Piranha. Both, I think you’ll agree, are classics.

Good work, Pete.

Posted in Ann Arbor, Art and Culture, Mark's Life | Tagged 502 Catherine Street, Africa, Alright, Anarchy is Stupid, bed nets, Epidemiology, Face Like A Piranha, Gates Foundation, infectious diseases, Kenya, malaria, Pete Larson, Prehensile Monkeytailed Skink, punk, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, world health | 22 Comments

On finding a small community library hidden on Ypsilanti’s Frog Island Park

By Mark | March 22, 2013

I was stumbling around the park this evening with my family, when one of us noticed, just a little off the trail, there was a large wooden box that said “free library” across its front. We’re not generally in the habit of opening strange boxes left unattended in the park, but, as beauty kind of radiated from this thing, and as it was covered in cute little drawings of woodland creatures and the like, we encouraged the kids to check it out. And, within a minute or two, we were all staring into this thing, flipping through the books lined up neatly across its small wooden shelves, talking about what a inspired idea it was, and discussing which books from home we might want to contribute.

I hesitate to mention it here, as good things have a way of disappearing from our public parks once they’re brought to the attention of the powers-that-be. (Does anyone remember the smeet sign that once stood near the tridge?) But, I figured that, in this instance, it might actually help to have people know about it. First, I think, if it’s going to survive, more people need to contribute books. And, second, I think that maybe, if people know about it, and appreciate it as much as I do, then it might be harder for those folks who perceive themselves to be in charge, to smash it and haul away the pieces. So, please grab a book off your bookshelf this weekend, and go out in search of this incredible new cultural landmark.

These, in my opinion, are the kinds of things we need more of in this community… little reminders of the fact that we exist in a community of bright people looking for opportunities to share with one another, and make the world a little bit better place. Because I’d been reading through the comments following my exit interview with Vikram Bastian… many of which centered around the campaign which he and others had waged against a new, multi-million dollar library in downtown Ann Arbor… but, when I looked at this new micro-library of ours, with it’s couple of dozen books, it really did seem all the more beautiful to me. Which isn’t to say that I’m necessarily against the idea of Ann Arbor having a new library, or suggesting that we close down our Ypsi public library in favor of tiny, unsupervised book boxes hidden in the woods. Clearly there’s a place for “real” libraries. I just loved the fact that someone, or a group of people, could just do something lovely and impactful without passing a $65 million dollar bond. And I know that it’s not a perfect analogy, and that people will likely get mad at me for comparing this little box of books off to the side of a trail in an Ypsilanti park, to the impressive multi-story, glass and steel structure that was being debated in Ann Arbor, but I do find the juxtaposition of the two to be interesting. I’ll leave you to draw your own conclusions, though. I just thought that it was worth noting.

As for the scrappy, little DIY movement that’s taking root in Ypsi, tomorrow there’s going to be an opportunity for you to see it firsthand. Between 1:00 and 5:00, at EMU’s Porter Hall, folks associated with the Ypsilanti Free Skool will be holding sessions on everything from paper making to the growing of herbal teas, with the occasional detour into the political. (I’m particularly interested in the session on corporate media consolidation, and the one being hosted by my friends in the Midwest Feminist Revolutionary Network.) …If you read and enjoy this site, I think that it might really be up your alley. And, afterward, you could check out our new library!

Posted in Ann Arbor, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Tagged Eastern Michigan University, free school, Frog Island Park, libraries, Midwest Feminist Revolutionary Network, Occupy Ypsilanti, paper making, public libraries, Riverside Park, smeet, tea, tridge, Vikram Bastian, Ypsilanti Free Skool | 21 Comments

Anti-choice activists sue EMU for not funding the installation of a “look at these gory, mangled bits of bloody fetus” photography exhibition on campus

By Mark | March 21, 2013

Late last year, I told you about a case that had been brought against Eastern Michigan University by a former student named Julea Ward. Ward, as you may recall, maintained that she had been kicked out of the university’s Counseling program after refusing to work with a gay client, citing religious objections. The court case, which was brought on Ward’s behalf by an Arizona-based group calling itself the Alliance Defending Freedom, was promptly dismissed by a federal judge, but it would seem that the reverberations are still being felt. First, it was Michigan Republicans, pushing legislation that they called the Julea Ward Freedom Of Conscience Act, which would seek to protect those, like Ms. Ward, who withhold health care services from individuals they feel the Lord would find morally repugnant. And, more recently, it would seem that the Alliance Defending Freedom is back in the picture – this time taking EMU to court over their refusal to provide funding to a student group seeking to install an enormous “pro-life” display featuring gory images of dissected human fetuses alongside photos of Nazi concentration camps and lynched African Americans. The following comes from the Detroit Free Press.

…The lawsuit says that the student government should have allocated the roughly $5,000 that Students for Life had requested in February to sponsor the Genocide Awareness Project. The project uses large displays to compare abortion to the Nazis’ mass killing of Jews, the lynching of African Americans, and genocide in Cambodia.

The traveling exhibit visits universities across the U.S. and is run by the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform, a California group that opposes abortion. The alliance says that the university violated the constitutional rights of members of Students for Life because allocation of student fees for campus events must be politically neutral.

“Universities should encourage, not shut down, the free exchange of ideas,” said David Hacker, attorney with the alliance…

My inclination upon first hearing this was that the group had no real intention of presenting the Genocide Awareness Project on EMU’s campus, and that they were likely just engaged in some high-stakes trolling – encouraging fundamentalist students on campuses across the country to request a visit from their wall of highly-magnified baby gore, only to be told no, triggering a lawsuit which would bring with it free press coverage and the financial contributions which would surely follow. (Not a bad business model.) But, it would seem that the Genocide Awareness Project does actually make it to some campuses. Here, for instance, is a photo from the campus of Eastern Kentucky University.

I’m all for open, honest debate on issues… even contentious issues, like abortion… but I find it difficult to imagine that a group that puts up images of Obama and Hitler flanked by the dissected limbs of fetuses, is really interested in facilitating meaningful dialogue. And, I’m happy to hear that EMU had the good sense not to provide funding that would have brought these folks to Ypsilanti. I will admit, however, that, as a card carrying member of the ACLU and a proponent of free speech, I’m somewhat conflicted with regard to my feelings about this. While, on the one hand, I find the images incredibly distasteful, and counterproductive to meaningful discourse, on the other I recognize the fact that people have a right to champion their beliefs publicly, no matter how misguided I may find them. Unfortunately, in cases like these, I believe the tactics employed blur the line. “At what point,” I ask myself, “do my the rights of the sign-holder end, and the rights of the innocent passer-by begin?” And, I suspect I would be wondering the same thing if we were discussing an anti-war organization that was seeking to further their cause on the EMU campus by forcing innocent bystanders to confront larger-than-life depictions of children killed and dismembered by drone attacks in Iraq and Afghanistan. While I agree that people need to be made aware, in that particular instance, of the real human costs associated with our foreign policy decisions, I believe that there are better ways to convey that message in public… At any rate, I’m curious as to what others think.

[note: We had a somewhat similar conversation back in 2006, when an anti-abortion group brought their massive, bloody “partial-birth abortion” signs to Michigan Avenue.]

Posted in Civil Liberties, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Tagged abortion, Center for Bio-Ethical Reform, Eastern Michigan University, EMU, Genocide Awareness Project, Julea Ward, Julea Ward Freedom Of Conscience Act | 38 Comments

Ypsi/Arbor Exit Interview: Vikram Bastian

By Mark | March 20, 2013

Next Thursday, assuming I can keep the panic attacks at bay, I’ll be conducting live exit interviews in front of a raucous, beer-swilling crowd at Conor O’Neills, as part of Concentrate Media’s moderately-distinguished speaker series. (It’s free, and open to the public, but, if you’d like to attend, you need to register in advance.) Here, in preparation for the big event, is one more entry in the ever-swelling Exit Interview Archive. Tonight’s subject is Indian-born, Canadian expatriate Vikram Bastian. Vikram, who recently moved to Oakland, California, was kind enough to respond to all of my questions, save for one… the one that I most wanted answered. So, I have a favor to ask of those of you who are reading this in San Francisco Bay area. If you should happen to bump into Vikram, do me a favor – take out your flip camera, and get video of yourself asking him the following… “Which of the kids on Degrassi Street do you most identify with?” (It’s a question that I feel needs to be asked of all Canadians.) If you post video online, and send me a link, I’ll add it here, and send you $2 for your troubles… Now, here’s the interview. Enjoy!

MARK: I pride myself in being fairly good at spotting Canadians, but, in your case, I didn’t catch it… which makes me think that you consciously work to keep that side of yourself hidden? I am, of course, basing this “Canadian shame” theory of mine on just the two short face-to-face onversations that we’ve had… So, do you purposefully strive to hide your Canadianness? And, if so, why?

VIKRAM: “Canadian shame” has a nice ring to it, Mark. It think could have two meanings, though. One would refer to our shaming of Americans, as we love to make fun of the ridiculous notion of American exceptionalism. The other would refer to the Americans’ ridicule of Canadian exceptionalism. And, by that, I mean our exceptional socialism. I guess you’re talking aboot the latter, eh?

Michigan is pretty homogenous, and, being a Canadian, and an undocumented resident (I prefer not to refer to myself as “illegal”), it wasn’t something that I wanted to share publicly during those xenophobic Bush years. I was also bullied a lot after I moved to Canada. It’s hard enough being a brown geek, that I didn’t like being the butt of Canadian or “illegal immigrant” jokes. It became something of a habit then, to hide my Canadianness. Assimilation was survival in a sense.

Imagine the confusion too – a Canadian smuggles himself across the Detroit River in order to escape crushing social health-care, affordable education and affluence?

People don’t understand that Canada is lot more like the U.S. than it is different… minus the guns. At this point, I consider myself as much American, as I am Canadian, as I am Indian.

MARK: What brought you, at the age of 25, to Ann Arbor?

VIKRAM: I was a broke university dropout, living in my parents’ basement and working blue collar bank jobs. I was pretty miserable, and felt there was a veil over Canadians – hockey, new cars, new housing, flat screens, cell-phones, chain restaurants, and so on… I remember watching Manufacturing Consent – Noam Chomsky and the Media in 2005, and half of the archival footage used was of Mississauga, Ontario, the premiere Canadian suburb. I left Canada on my 25th birthday after an argument with my parents over a haircut. I had $400 to my name, and moved in with my then girlfriend, who was studying at the University of Michigan. I was just trying to get as far away from conservative Indian Catholic values as I could, and that haircut changed my life. 4,239km seems about the right distance, even though we get along now.

MARK: I understand wanting to follow your girlfriend, and put some distance between you and your conservative parents, but I’m having a little more trouble with the Chomsky argument. Not many people come to America to escape the things that he speaks of in Manufactured Consent.

VIKRAM: I can’t say I’ve really thought through many of the big decisions in my life. I had this instinct that America was the heart of darkness, but also enlightenment. So, better than the devil that I knew in suburbia. I still think a lot of enlightened trends originate here, along with a lot of unenlightened ones.

I keep thinking back to this quote by Martin Luther King, about how “the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to order than to justice.” In my view, Canadians are that affluent white moderate, and blind to their ways.

There is also just a larger and more legitimate activist and counterculture movement here, and that appealed to me. Oddly, I have a good friend who grew up in Ann Arbor and moved to Vancouver. I’m sure he is never coming back, and I wonder how he feels.

MARK: More importantly, does a photo of the haircut exist?

VIKRAM: Yes.

MARK: Well, can we see it? And, if not, can you at least describe it? I’m fascinated to know more about a hairstyle that has the ability to wreck a family.

VIKRAM: At that time, my parents had been drinking the Kool Aid like everyone else. They are still religiously conservative, but more progressive these days. I’d bucked all the Indian trends, and it was really taxing them. Admittedly, it took me a long time to realize how to cope with my own depression.

I was working at the same office as my Mom, and I got this faux-hawk on the day of my birthday. They were furious because of what my Mom’s bank coworkers would think, and we got into this terrible argument. I’m mostly a pacifist, but I inherited this terrible pride and temper from my Dad. I walked out, and was determined to prove them wrong.

Tragically, my family’s conservative worldview shifted after my Mom was wrongly fired after 13 years of loyal service to this bank, 8 months shy of her retirement. They accused her of stealing $900, which she herself had reported missing. Truthfully, there were two young, haughty, ageist and racist managers who wanted to scare a small, old, brown woman. She took them to court, but, at the end of the day, there’s little justice for a woman of color against a national bank. That indelibly marked our family, and we grew a lot closer at a result…

If I might offer a PSA: Try out a credit union. I still bank with the UofM Credit Union. Big banks really are a terrible thing.

MARK: I’ve heard you describe yourself before as “that ubiquitous brown guy at shows,” and I’m wondering if you might have any thoughts on the inclusiveness, or lack thereof, of the local music scene.

VIKRAM: I use that term because that’s how most people remember me, even years later. It’s true though, I’ve often been the only person of color at a show, and I’m often up front, recording it, or dancing.

I don’t easily group identify – I’m not folk, rockabilly, a metalhead or a punk rocker, and, in that sense, there is an exclusivity in the local music scene. I’ve been invited a fair bit to play shows, though. I personally write and listen to whatever music feels good to me at the time as opposed to a specific genre… Here’s a link to a song about a lady rocker from the mitten that I fell for recently.

Generally, I’d say a lot of the circles I hung out in were very inclusive. Most of my friends were counterculture freaks and geeks, which is an identity I share with them. Brown is just one facet of myself that I identify with. Things seemed different a few years ago, more basement shows, Sunday potlucks, urban gardens and free school happenings. I started the Far House, an experiment in basement shows, dumpstering and chicken coops, so there was an easy inclusivity in the scene. I had wanted to live in an another art & music community, but was denied. I didn’t take that too well, so I started my own community. I’m utterly amazed that the house continues to showcase some of the best music talent around, in a tiny basement.

Inclusiveness in the political scene, well that’s a whole other story.

MARK: Tell me about Far House. How’d it come about? And what kinds of shows did you put together when you were booking? Also, I’m curious as to this other “art & music community” that denied you. Did they explain their reasoning?

VIKRAM: Far House is a small ranch style house in SE Ann Arbor, situated between a bunch of Libertarians and conspiracy nuts. Noise, bonfires and counterculture has never posed a problem, and I don’t think the cops have been called once in the 5 years and the 70+ shows.

The shows range from chiptune to psych rock, but the space certainly isn’t trying to be hip or appeal to anyone in particular. Eric and John do most of the booking and their intent is to mix the lineup. So you’d come to hear electro and get treated to punk rock after. It was meant to be inclusive and has seen a lot of acts, local and national. I remember going to Bitchpork in Chicago last summer, a subversive event that takes place the same time as the big, annual Pitchfork show. Far House had booked a lot of the same acts, and even some better ones.

I was denied residence at the Hotel Midwest initially, and their reasoning was justified. I was too bohemian, and they were looking for active members. I did end up moving in later, after a change of guard. Eventually the founders moved on and a bunch of young punks moved in. They were terrible tenants and got evicted. They had this final party and destroyed everything that my friends had worked hard to build. They torched this 6 foot seesaw, broke a glass greenhouse, and destroyed whatever else they could find. I heard about it a week later, and went by to see if I could salvage the wooden door sign, but they’d burned that too. I think they’d consider themselves anarchists, but I’d consider them asses.

MARK: When did you first venture into Ypsilanti from Ann Arbor, and what were the circumstances? Was it music-related?

VIKRAM: I moved to Ypsilanti in 2011. I was underemployed, and Ypsi offered the right combination of affordable housing, casual work and basement space for music. I prefer Ypsilanti to Ann Arbor in the same way I prefer the East Bay to San Francisco… far less pretense. I ended up back in Ann Arbor to start a job as a web developer – my Indian birthright. Ypsi feels ripe to offer some income tax break to the tech industry, I could see the Water Street Project becoming a tech park. The Ann Arbor politic and DDA seems more focused on the trickle down economy of high rises & underground parking structures.

MARK: Between Ypsi and Arbor, you lived here for 7 years. If you were to map those seven years out on a graph, with the X-axis being time, and the Y-axis being happiness, what would the resulting graph look like?

VIKRAM:I tend to just remember the good parts, but it’s been a roller coaster. I also grew up under an endless tropical sun, so gray winters take a lot out of my soul. California fits my temperament better.

Even though I eventually got above the poverty line, which is considered less than $30K and without benefits, I grew unhappy. Things hit an all time low last winter, and that’s when I committed to leaving the city. I felt it was only a matter of time before something truly regrettable happened.

I should have been really happy, working on Main Street, dating, mingling with young professionals, and going to the Blind Pig regularly. I was actually depressed, though, and self medicated a lot. My life and relationships were part hubris and part sadism, quintessentially American in it’s excess and hedonism. It was a very disturbing time in my life, but strangely normal by Ann Arbor standards.

I think that alcoholic salacious lifestyle stems from having a college and football binge culture at the heart of the City’s identity. I think you can draw the parallels given the recent Steubenville rape case… there’s a toxic masculinity associated with it. Combine that with a lack of opportunity, and you’ve got a great recipe for substance abuse, depression and lost souls. A lot of young men I’ve met struggle with it, few get help, others leave. There isn’t anything glamorous about alcoholism with young folks.

2012 in particular beat the Canadian naiveté right out of me. It impacted me sufficiently that I’ve dropped most of my vices since. I consider 5 beers a lot now, probably since I’d left most of my liver in Ann Arbor. I rarely drink during the week, and I order more sodas. I’ve hung out with a few Washtenaw expats, ones you’ve interviewed before. We seem to have this relative sobriety in common, except maybe when we get together.

Ann Arbor is probably the lushest city I’ve lived in, and I don’t mean the outdoor kind… or maybe I do… never mind.

Still, I’d regrouped enough before leaving, with the love of friends, to make my last summer in Michigan memorable. Shows in Detroit, midwest lakes, bike rides, outdoor fests, friends and such. One Love!

MARK: You mention being an undocumented worker. I assume that makes life challenging. Could you perhaps speak a bit about how your life might be different from other readers of this site as a result of that, and what resources exist for people like you that are walking the line of legality. (I’m curious, for instance, if people in similar situations find one another, share information, etc.) And is legal residency something that you’d consider?

VIKRAM: Psychologically, it’s unnerving. You have to be careful and aware. You’re forced to live in the here and now. There were a few close calls where I thought I’d never see my friends or lovers again. I’d also missed out of on both of my nieces early childhood because I couldn’t leave the US, worried that I might not get back in.

I think that the media has done a great job ‘othering’ undocumented workers. The term ‘illegal’ itself dehumanizes people, when they are just regular folks working minimum wage jobs. The IRS has a tax number for undocumented workers. I’d paid taxes on my cash earnings. It’s been a very successful tax initiative. People are paying sales taxes and income taxes like everyone else, yet they have no voice, no land rights, no legal status in a country that they live and work in. I think they call that feudalism, and it works to the benefit of corporations and bigots.

I’ve been more fortunate than most. I’m charismatic, well spoken and smart, so I carefully maneuvered around an antiquated immigration system. A few years ago I was ready to call it quits and head back to Canada, but love intervened, and one thing led to another.

I am now a documented resident.

There are a bunch of immigration forums. I spent days worrying and researching. That’s mostly how I learned how to play the game. My experiences taught me how to maneuver rules and manipulate people in power, which I think is a really good skill to have in the corporate world. The biggest irony is that I was a Canadian Customs Officer at Pearson Airport in Toronto for a number of summers.

MARK: Where did you live during the 7 years that you were here, in Michigan?

VIKRAM: Largely Ann Arbor and almost entirely in collectives. Chronologically, The Far House, Hotel Midwest, The Found House and Casa Jezebel. Some of my fondest memories are from The Far House and Hotel Midwest. Collective living, home cooking, music, beer and bicycles. I’ll be chasing that dream for a long time.

Times change, people move in and out, and we all eventually face the crisis of capitalism. It meant a lot of collective artist-friendly places stopped existing in the county. I think things are on the rise again in Ann Arbor and Ypsi, though, and I’m excited to see where the next gang takes it.

MARK: Does anyone have a house anymore that’s not named?

VIKRAM: I think that was much more of a thing back then. I’ve been to a lot more one-off shows in Kerrytown, and the student ghetto in Ann Arbor, and I’ve found that houses that are studenty and transient usually don’t give themselves a name.

MARK: I asked the following question to Thom Elliott, who is also undergoing an Exit Interview, and, it’s such a good question, that I thought that I’d give it to you as well… In the time that you’ve spent in Ypsilanti, you’ve no doubt seen changes. If you were to distill those changes into six words, what would those six words be?

VIKRAM: Facing Capitalism Crisis by Urban Planning. This is contrary to Ann Arbor, which, until recently, seemed stuck in the edifice complex of “look how big mine is”.

MARK: In our earlier email exchange, in which you outed yourself as Canadian, you mentioned that you’d met some “amazing people” while in Michigan. I’m curious to know who you found amazing?

VIKRAM:There are so many social entrepreneurs and artists that I’d met that continue to inspire me. My intention here, besides plugging my friends, is to recognize all the home grown Michigan talent has.

Katherine Scott (Simple CV, Arbor Vitae), Logan Schaedig (Head Brewer at ABC), Michelle Winkfield (These Curls Vintage), Jef Porkins (Arbco Records & Third Deathstar), Adrienne Berry (Ann Arbor Free School & Far House), Eric Stephenson (Far House), Evan Bicker Williams (Carpenter and Hotel Midwest Founder), Sasha Kimel (Photographer & Social Psychologist), Anthony Meza Wilson (Educator and Hotel Midwest), Kiran Nigam (Organizer and Hotel Midwest), Patrick Elkins (Friend, Vegan and Puppeteer), Ian Fulcher (Arbor Vitae), Steffanie Stauffer (Nightshade Army Industries and Social Entrepreneur), Kayj (Ugly Mug Organizer and Masseuse), Sumangala Kailasapathy (Ann Arbor City Council and Accountant), Davy Rothbart (Found Magazine), Raphael Brim (Musician and Show Organizer), Forest Jay and Erin Brockavitch (Hott Lava), Shelly Salant (Wazoo and Show Organizer), Fred Thomas (Musician), Joseph Bollinger and Michael Firn (SIC Transit Cycles), John Roos (Roos Roast) and many many others.

I think these folks have done a tremendous amount for the community, and I hope we support them rather than subscribe to outdated ideas of a trickle down economy.

Two more special mentions… One for all the folks that I oddly admire who continue living their outrageous lives. (Only in America!) Another to John Rowland, who is equally understated as he is talented. I think John did a tremendous amount to add to the longevity of the Far House, the Ann Arbor Free School, Punk Week… He didn’t do it alone, but you wouldn’t know he was a Doctorate, musician and organizer just by looking at him, unkempt and all.

MARK: At what point did you know that it was time to go?

VIKRAM: On my way out of town, I’d managed to offend a bunch of folks, and I owe friends and lovers an apology for that. I’m sorry for my ego. Moreover, I dreamed that the kind of lifestyle, work and woman that I wanted existed elsewhere, which I seem to have manifested.

I scraped together a ticket with my air miles and sold or gifted everything I’d amassed over 7 years in about two weeks. I sold my Diesel Mercedes 12 hours before boarding a plane. My brother and his family had just moved to San Francisco so it was a no-brainer. I’ve settled into a good life in the Bay Area. There are better opportunities here than Michigan could offer me at this time.

MARK: When did you first stumble across this blog?

VIKRAM: I’d caught bits of pieces since 2009 but it wasn’t until 2011 that I followed your blog regularly. I think I friended you on Facebook after you reported on the burning Jambo Man. I haven’t felt safe admitting this until my relocation, but I’d never witnessed a burning mascot spill his beans before… Jambo Man was literally packed with black beans… maybe it was pinto beans.

MARK: Have you ever left comments on this blog?

VIKRAM: No, but I might have to defend my views in this interview. I hope the readers keep in mind that I’m not an academic, just a story teller.

MARK: Speaking of defending yourself, I understand that you made some enemies while you were in Ann Arbor… something about a City Council race, and a campaign to stop the construction of a new downtown library. What happened?

VIKRAM: I met Sumi Kailasapathy in 2010, while bringing my groceries home. She introduced herself and her mission, and I was looking for a good cause to support. She was from Sri Lanka and I’m Tamil, so we had this shared heritage. She was also a true activist, mother and professional, and became something of a role model for me.

She lost her first campaign, but made a second attempt last year. I joined her campaign team and helped her with messaging and design. She won, and is now seated on Ann Arbor’s City Council as the first woman of color to hold a seat there. She won by a narrow 4%, surprising considering her contender, Eric Sturgis, was a documented fraud. That was my first indication that the City was more white and moderate than progressive.

I must point out, that the following views are solely my own and do not in any way reflect Sumi’s views… I met her campaign manager Kathy during that time, and developed an interest in the “Our New Library” proposal. As a socialist, and former educator, I wasn’t entirely convinced at first that I should be opposed to a new library.

I ended up joining the “Protect Our Library” campaign against the new library even though I wouldn’t find out the election results until after I’d left Michigan. I was also deeply hurt from a relationship with a narcissist, so I’d brought a lot of pride and fight to that campaign.

I thought it was going to be an easy victory. The Library Board wanted to demolish a well functioning library and take out a $65 million bond, that would end up taxing homeowners a $100+ million after interest, all during a bad recession. At best, it seemed shortsighted. At worst, it was corrupt. Yet many folks I knew were blindly in support of it. Certainly, the academia and a lot of notable Ann Arborites were in full support.

Frustrated, I got really vocal about the issue. Most of my friends tuned in, but some started approaching me as moderates trying to understand my side of the argument. Well, I’d burst some bubbles in a pretty frank, and probably offensive, ways.

The truth was the library was a follow-up bid after a failed conference center bid, to direct tax money to private coffers, namely banks, developers and construction companies. It has been happening across medium sized cities in America… everyone wants a conference center, a cardiac center and a monorail, and your tax dollars pave the way.

It’s called the edifice complex and resembles the behavior of Rome in it’s final days. Austin and Seattle were building new waterfront libraries that were going over budget and over schedule. Yet proponents of the library were citing those city library as reasons for Ann Arbor to stay vital. I’m not sure any of them read the articles, because they were pretty condemning of new libraries, or their bubble was just so big that it didn’t matter.

A lot of what I was saying on and offline went against the myth of Ann Arbor as a progressive future-looking city. Future or not, you can’t tax all homeowners in Ann Arbor and the neighboring counties, when 25% of the families that live there qualify for free lunch programs, and then say it’s for the good of the children.

I contributed to the campaign in any way I could – messaging, designs, even public TV. And then I left town and wasn’t sure we’d defeat the proposition. Well, I was sitting by the pool in Palm Springs, California, reading Harper’s Magazine (not Harper’s Bazaar), and I open to this article, “In the Writers Room: Spiraling Downward at the Central Library.” I couldn’t believe what I was reading. Seattle’s new glorious library was proving unsustainable after a few years. A week later I was making out with a cute masseuse at a bar in San Francisco moments after Obama had won and the bid for a new library had failed.

MARK: How are you liking your new home?

VIKRAM: I work in San Francisco and live in Oakland at the moment. I appreciate the diversity out here but both cities have their own set of problems. San Francisco seems flush with startup capital and the finance bros that accompany it. (Money is no substitute for taste.) On the other side of the bridge, Oakland has a lot of mental health issues, poverty and gun violence.

Still, the weather is amazing, the restaurants are delicious, the dating pool is bigger, and the average salary here is about $55k. Oddly, most of my friends here are from the mitten, even the new ones… it’s uncanny.

MARK: How would you like to be remembered by those who you knew in Michigan?

VIKRAM: As a handsome flaneur with a sultry voice.