July 18, 2010

photo essay: Winnipeg sidewalks - signs


Above: the infamous rail yards of the Canadian Pacific Railway Co. The yards mark the historic line between poor and rich neighborhoods. Winnipeg's North End is to the left of the tracks.

Below: one of the few career choices for Winnipeg youth.






Above: a sign of the times, cameras are seen as a force multiplier for the police and a way to be omnipresent in the minds of common people. In plain english it helps the police do more with less and scares the oppressed minorities when needed. All to make upper classes feel safe.

Below: another sign of the times, Mathew Dumas was shot down by Winnipeg Police. This protest sign mocks the cops claim that Dumas had a screwdriver for a weapon.




Above: while bank branches continue to close, the vacuum in poorer districts is filled by payday loan outfits. They are commonly known as predatory lenders due to astronomical interest rates they charge the working poor that use them.

Below: the brightest lights on West Broadway...




Above: ...turns out to be a pawnbroker. This is the other method of obtaining funds in Winnipeg short of black market activities, such as the drug trade.

Below: truth in advertising. Manure for sale sign has different meaning when,
at Portage and Main, the CanWest corporate headquarters looms in the background. Among the posters: the occupation will not be televised, modern life is war, just got paid; all seem to be an unintended working class collage.




Above: rental housing on St. Mathews Avenue. The porch enclosures have now been removed.

Below: one way workers fight back is by forming unions and striking for better working conditions when they have jobs, for the existence of jobs in Winnipeg, for fair pay and benefits, and in solidarity of other workers. These workers are on strike at New Flyer's Winnipeg bus factory.




Above: another way of fighting back is to vote with one's feet. This is happens to be the Mayday march.
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Below: Election poster in North End long after the election. The Communist Party has one of the more visible campaigns in poor areas of Winnipeg. This area has sent communist MLAs and city councilors to office over a period of decades.

Many who are able to vote often don't because of a first past the post system, which seems rigged in light of today. Smaller parties are seen as unwinable and therefore are passed over for large business parties or as the majority does, don't vote at all. Those that remain to vote are the wealthy classes who want the status quo and surprise, the big parties all sell the status quo or some cosmetic tinkering.


click on above images for closer view

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