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Barry
Keene expresses his point of view during a recent People’s Café
at
Cannon Mine Coffee. Citizens of all political persuasions are invited
to join the Café and discuss events of the day. |
10/25/2006
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Speak your Mind
Local venue allows people to opine about
issues of all magnitude
On a recent Tuesday night, several tables at Cannon Mine Coffee in downtown Lafayette were occupied by individuals working their laptops or pairs in quiet conversation.
Shortly after 7 p.m., a larger group began to gather near the front door, and soon lively talk began to emanate from it.
Members of the group formed that night’s People’s Café, a discussion forum open to anyone who cares to join.
Participants talked about everything from a local annexation issue to the way manipulation of language can influence national policies.
When the coffee shop’s closing time rolled around, the Café still had plenty of steam, and it took some coaxing to make members leave their seats.
The conversation would have to resume the following week.
Barry Keene is one of the Café’s “conveners,” a person who when necessary suggests topics for discussion and, toward the end of a meeting, encourages participants to offer solutions to problems that have come up.
“The hope is you go away energized,” he said.
He likened the Cafés to the sort of informal talk about current events that once occurred between townsfolk in a local dry goods store.
“That kind of dialogue has kind of died off to some degree,” he said.
As a believer in the opinions of everyday people, Keene intends to help keep such dialogue alive.
“We’re tired of politicians telling us what we think,” he said.
The Cafés were founded by a Boulder man named Mark Sweitzer, and Café meeting places include locations in Louisville, Boulder, Denver, Evergreen and Albuquerque, NM.
Keene said that up to about eight people typically participate in the Lafayette meetings.
He said that people of all political persuasions are welcome to attend.
At the recent Café, a liberal point-of-view at first dominated the discussion.
Keene kicked off the talk by recommending a book he had read, “Confessions of an Economic Hit Man,” by John Perkins.
This led, according to the whim of the participants, to such subjects as the recent PeaceJam event in Denver, a new coal-fired plant proposed by Xcel Energy, and the reach and coordination of the Republican National Committee’s talking points.
At this point, the members of the group began to notice a man hovering over the conversation.
The man, Brad Wind, asked if he and his wife could join the discussion, and the couple was readily welcomed.
Then Wind introduced himself as a part-time pinto bean farmer and a Republican.
From that point on, the other participants inquired about his views on many of the subjects that arose during the rest of the discussion.
He and Keene, who expresses views largely on the left side of the political spectrum, agreed toward the end of the meeting that concerned citizens ought to communicate more with their elected representatives.
Cannon Mine Coffee is located at 210 S. Public Road. The Café
meets 7-9 p.m. every Tuesday.
For more information, visit www.peoplescafe.us.