John Haag, The Quiet Revolutionary -Lance Diskan
When I think of comparisons for John Haag’s
personal nature, Che Guevara comes to mind. I’m reminded of Che because of
John’s sensitive personality, his artistic - even poetic - approach to
life and politics, and his relentless devotion to the welfare of others. Also
because John’s work took place ‘in the belly of the beast.’
And finally because his influence has affected so many organizers in the endless
struggle for what he so succinctly termed
“self-determination.”
Such a simple phrase:
‘self-determination.’ So radically subversive and antithetical to
the ‘other-determined’ life lived by most Americans and so many
people around the globe. Such an alarming but essential approach to community
identity in a world of corporate branding, computerized-grouping, lockstep party
affiliations, top-down government, grocery store check-out scans, and even
– as I recall – product logos rolled into the sand between OFW and
the tideline. Me? Run my own life? What a
concept!
John was my greatest mentor
when I arrived in Venice in the landmark political year of 1968. In those years
Oingo Boingo and Severance were playing the local clubs; Earl Newman was making
silk-screen posters on what was then called West Washington Boulevard, and The
Free Venice Beachhead was just hitting the streets. The Beachhead Collective
would gather for lengthy sessions laying out the paper – long before
computerized paste-up came along. The Free Venice Movement was in full swing.
It was a heady experience back then.
National politics were in chaos; California was a hothouse of ideologies; and
Venice was itself a psychedelic soup of leaders, personalities, and alternative
approaches to community organization. Through it all John was a fountainhead of
both strategy and tactics. He knew how to ‘count votes,’ but he also
knew how to have a good time. He enjoyed the Venetian mind-set that sprang from
the audacious idea that Venice knew best what Venice needed. He rebelled against
the manipulations of Venice by a distant City Hall that was always willing to
embrace and promote some new luxury wet-dream to turn the marvelously exotic
into just another
condo-commonplace.
With long dark hair
pulled back revealing white strands, he seemed to belong to an older generation
far more knowledgeable than a White Boy Do-Gooder VISTA Volunteer who had just
graduated college. I recognized experience when I saw it, and spent the next two
decades as a student, learning from both John and Anna (and others).
But what attracted me was more than
John’s political acumen. John loved to laugh. In the midst of the fiercest
political debate he was willing to walk the beach or head off into the night for
a break, leaving the ‘serious and important’ behind. His smile was
broad, and his friendship a thing of beauty. I remember the meetings that took
place organizing the first Venice Independence Day Parade in 1978. People were
building community around the theme of Venice’s absurd history and
identity. It was the Politics of Joy, and I don’t believe I ever saw John
have more fun. Maybe my memory is shot, but I think it was John who came up with
the title for the video documentary we made: “damn everything but the
circus” – taken from a poem by e.e. cummings. For a very long time
John Haag was a ringmaster of the Three Rings every reader of the Beachhead
knows and loves. We shall not see his like again.
Bravo! John. No community ever had a
more-loyal defender or protector. Thanks for all the education, inspiration and
comradeship. Your intelligent insights into the political process; your
leadership in the empowerment of individuals and the Venice community, and your
love of life are still being transferred to new generations. Abbot is smiling in
Huckster Heaven, and you’ve got an eternal pass on the Race Through the
Clouds. Free Venice!
-Lance Diskan
Venice 1968-92 - Venetian
Forever
Posted: Mon - May 1, 2006 at 02:51 PM