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College Park, MD--The petition drive for Ward Churchill started at College Park, Maryland at the end of February but proved that not all campaigning is smooth sailing. The first attempt netted only seven signatures, all from prospective Black students; even though the University of Maryland is brimming with 30,000 students.
There was no one opposed to the petition drive for Ward Churchill, but the majority of people would not respond at all. One young male said, "I don't want to get involved, but nice Banana Republic bag." Banana Republic is a popular clothing line and the comment indicates the self-satisfaction of the shopping culture, and a social group MIM sometimes refers to in theory terms as the "gender aristocracy."
The people of the dedicated shopping subculture generally serve as a self-satisfied prop of the status quo, but at times this group of people clashes with the interests of the imperialists. For example, the imperialists attempting to recruit new soldiers with any real world message about "freedom" or "terrorism" will also stumble in their efforts with the shoppers. If the corporations slip something into their subculture, the shoppers buy it, but any open appeal for extra political exertion fails with the pure gender aristocracy.
MIM's advice for people who stumble in their campaigns is that at particular moments, people in particular locations may be preoccupied. That's important for us to know, but we are sure that at College Park, there is a way to get around the difficulties. It may require effort in time and place not exactly the same as the first effort. Even so, the score at College Park was still 7-0 for Ward Churchill.