LETTERS part two: Sun's Response

SUN's response

The Sun is answering this letter from the Free People's Clinic because we consider it to be particularly illustrative of the misinformation and rumors about the Rainbow People's Party and John Sinclair that are being spread in this community.

Misconceptions like these are the very reason we published those interviews with John Sinclair in the first place. They only indicate a lack of investigation on the part of those writing the letter. If anyone examined the actual content of the John Sinclair interview in even a cursory way or the actual content of the Ann Arbor Sun they would be hard-pressed to charge that a narrow perspective was being promoted or that too many articles deified rock & roll and dope.

We know that many people in the community do not have the correct information about the work of the RPP. We consider the RPP to be a longstanding, committed organization of people who have contributed greatly to the growth of Ann Arbor's alternative community. John Sinclair himself has been working for the last ten years of his life to create such a community, starting with the Artists' Workshop to TransLove Energies to the White Panther Party, through 2 1/2 years in prison, to the RPP and up to the present. Many of the programs that we all take for granted, like the Parks Program are direct results of his creativity and hard work.

We're not saying any of this to hype John Sinclair, but we do think that his practice over these past ten years and the experience he has gained through that practice make him capable of conveying to other people a great deal of valuable information.

The Free Clinic may say they're tired of hearing about the RPP and John Sinclair, but from the content of their letter it is apparent that they have never assimilated the facts about either. We think that instead of "too much RPP" we haven't explained it well enough. Some people are still continuing with their misconceptions, which can be dangerous since they confuse people and turn them away from participating in positive community programs.

Since John is attacked right and left in other publications and has never before spoken out to counter the charges of "sexism," "hip capitalism," etc., we wanted to give people an opportunity to find out exactly where he stands on these issues and also what the Rainbow People's Party means by rainbow ideology.

First, let's examine the Free Clinic's charge of the RPP presenting a "narrow political perspective." In the interview, John says, "we propose a revolutionary nation, which is a rainbow nation, made up of and controlled by people of all colors, living and working and constructing a world, a socialist, communalist world, together, in peace and harmony." If that is a narrow perspective, then what is a broad perspective?

The other widespread charge is that of deifying rock & roll and marijuana. Flipping through the pages of the last few issues of the Sun, we couldn't find any such articles. The Sun talked about black musicians, blues & jazz, and the marijuana laws, but no where could we find an example of the deification of either of those two issues. We also reread John's entire interview and only once does he talk about smoking a joint and then he uses it metaphorically, comparing it to the good feeling gay people have when they are able to walk down the street holding hands in a demonstration.

Also, if the Free Clinic naively thinks that John's warnings about the possibilities of agents in this community are hogwash, then they should read the article in issue 54, which is taken from an unpublished investigative report by a UM student and details how agents live and work among us.

The Sun is encouraged that the Free Clinic is now contributing articles. Anyone who "demands" a community newspaper should work to help create one. The reason the Rainbow People's Party started the Sun in the first place was because it's political perspective was not represented by the Ann Arbor News or the Michigan Daily.

Part of this perspective has been to support the efforts of the Free Clinic from its birth. The articles the clinic is now submitting, which include the centerfold article in this issue, "Capitalism Operates on You," and "Health Without Wealth" in the last issue, are both valuable contributions to the education of the community.

The RPP no longer publishes the Sun. It wanted to cooperate with others in the community in publishing a community newspaper. The Sun has been moved out of the basement of the RPP house and into an office at 208 S. First St., above the Blind Pig, for the past six months. Only one member of the editorial staff is currently an RPP member, and several other party members help with various aspects of the paper's overall operation.

We would like to join the Free Clinic in encouraging other community organizations also to contribute articles. The Sun is bi-weekly now and the best way to let each other know what's happening is to type it up and submit it.

-- SUN Editorial Board

The Ann Arbor SUN has grown shorter due to the current paper shortage, but will continue to publish on a regular bi-weekly schedule. Look for the next issue on Friday, November 30. Our final issue for 1973 will be on the streets December 14. The SUN welcomes contributions. All articles must be in at least a week and a half before the issue it is to appear in. The Ann Arbor SUN is a non-profit corporation, located at 208 S. First St. in Ann Arbor. Phone -- 761-7148.

COVER PHOTO BY RANDY EDMONDS

SUNTRIBE

Editorial Director -- Linda Ross

Managing Editors -- Barbara Weinberg, Ellen Hoffman

Business Manager -- David Fenton

Comptroller -- Dianne Ripley

Local advertising Manager -- Carol Shackson

Circulation -- Gary Brown

Distribution -- Rainbow Trucking Co. and Big Rapids Trucking Co.

Photo Editor -- Barbara Weinberg

Music Editor -- David Fenton

Contributing Editors --

Ellen Frank -- Cinema

John Sinclair

Michael Castleman -- Free Clinic

Freddy Brooks -- Music

Chris McCabe -- Music

Jim Dulzo -- Music

Steven Hersch -- Music

Mary Wreford

STAFF -- Liz Coleman, Jose Gpe. Castro, Tom Copi, Patti Gandolfo, Gary Grimshaw, Alan Goldsmith, Tom Kuzma, Barbara Meyer, Jana Smith, Skip Taube, Mike Minnich, John Woodhouse, with room for many more ...