May Day, May Day

By Robin of Berkeley, AT:

I’ve never been big on holidays. Growing up Jewish, my family didn’t celebrate Christmas or Easter. And being secular, we didn’t do much for the Jewish holidays either. Since arriving in Berkeley decades ago, one of the few holidays I’ve enjoyed is May Day, also known as International Workers’ Day.

As you can imagine, IWD is a popular day around these parts. In fact, it’s an official city holiday. Along with Malcolm X’s Birthday, Indigenous People’s Day, and International Women’s Day, the school kiddies and the city rank and file get the day off. Even some popular places, like Berkeley’s Cheese Board Collective, close in observance.

I considered it a great honor to celebrate May Day, which represents all things Marxist. My deep and exhaustive knowledge of Communism was limited to the movies, for instance, “The Motorcycle Diaries,” and “Reds.” Warren Beattie and Diane Keaton appeared so courageous and passionate in “Reds,” and the guy playing Che was hecka hot. Anyway, Hollywood wouldn’t mislead us, would they?

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