vidTO: Kevin Clarke: Man on a Mission
[ - click video to play - runtime 2mins - ]
Kevin Clarke may very well be the most outspoken man in Parkdale. He's a former salesperson turned social activist and he's had his fair share of involvement in politics. In the past, he's sought election as the mayor of East York, and vied for positions at the Ontario Legislature, the Canadian House of Commons, and Toronto City Council.
Although never successful in winning any of the elections, Kevin Clarke hasn't given up and is currently campaigning in his third attempt to become Toronto's mayor.
He also spent more than three years homeless, and has a lot to say about life on our streets and problems with our social services.
An intriguing story, isn't it? Zsolt Kovessy thinks so. The Toronto film maker has made a feature-length documentary, and some snippets can be viewed online.
1) Where to buy illegal drugs (in drop-in centers)
2) Street Health and Seaton House
3) Creating ex-homeless men
4) 182 days without showering (and itchy scrotum)
5) No shoes, and banned from the Salvation Army (above)
6) When street friends die
According to comments posted to YouTube, the Kevin Clarke: Man on a Mission documentary is available on DVD.
Comments (17)
Kevin Clarke always seems to be at the right place at the right time.
and if you ever hear him freestyle, he's brilliant!!
Clarke makes me angry when he litters the street with newspapers he's thrown all over the place.
I'd be more likely to listen to what he's screaming if he was a bit more respectful about it.
Just my two cents.
"You care if there's paper on the street," he said to passers-by, "but you don't care if there's people on the street." source: wikipedia
Is this the kind of behaviour you're referring to, Kari? I can see this being effective the first time, but if he's doing this often it would wear thin.
I think this is the dude that really helped me out when I was in a bind: he gave me a killer deal on TTC fare right when I was out of tokens and needed to get home.
That's the kind of person I want to see as mayor.
He's got a Wiki page about him?? Sheesh.
The difference between litter in the streets, and people in the streets (well, one of the differences, anyways), is that the earth can't protect itself in any direct kind of way (besides hurricanes and tsunamis and the like). It didn't decide to be littered upon, either. I'm not saying that ALL homeless people decided to live on the street, but a lot of them have.
If he was trying to make a point by littering the streets, why didn't he clean the papers up after his speech was finished?
This is kind of a touchy subject for me right now... the book I'm reading (How to Be Good, Nick Hornby) deals alot with charity and the homeless. It's making me angry, almost. It's hard to explain. Read the book!
Not clever, not funny, not insightful. Only sad. The film makers exploitatation of this man is wrong. Think about it...
Hey CarlawHoo,
the movie is not an exploitation but an opportunity for Kevin to let his voice to be heard. He is a complex character and showed us the many sides of his personality while filming. I can tell you that he is really, genuinely serious about his intentions of improving the lives and freedom of everyone in Toronto, especially the downtrodden. That's probably more than what some so-called serious candidates could say about themselves honestly. He likes to provoke people and he does so intentionally to make them face or confront problems or hypocracy. He is well aware that some people think he is crazy but is he really crazier than the infamous Mel Lastman was, or the difference is only in the number of the bags of money Mel was sitting on as opposed to Clarke. Kevin seems to be more honest about his quest for the people of Toronto than some of the big names that's for sure.
Kevin certainly has more original and useful ideas to solving the homelessness crisis than our present politicians.
There is some interesting general information on the Toronto municipal elections page.
Hi Jerrold,
The DVD is not available in stores at present, it can be ordered through me though (kevinclarkedoc@yahoo.com). I still have to figure out a distribution channel for it, as I just finished editing the doc. Any ideas? I just want to help Kevin in his quest because he told me that he doesn't get enough media attention as a fringe candidate despite being a novel character with novel ideas. So I was thinking we could raise some money for him with the DVD to print some campaign material (posters, flyers etc.) for him. And I was thinking what if he would have some professional media services for his campaign?...let's try and see what happens. Check out the DEMO TV - The Kevin Clarke Democracy Channel! As its first presentation, I just posted the Kevin Clarke Mayoral Campaign Music Video.
Cheers,
and vote for Kevin Clarke on November 13,
Zsolt
Hello everybody, especially the Kevin Clarke Fans and supporters out there!
I have some good news. I talked to Elias at Mystic Muffin who is also a Kevin supporter and participated in the Kevin Clarke documentary, and he graciously agreed to make the Kevin Clarke:Man on a Mission DVD available at his store: The Mystic Muffin is on the corner of Jarvis and Richmond. It's open Monday to Friday from 6:30 am to 5:00 pm. Saturdays from 8:00 am to 3:00. Closed Sundays. The DVD will be available in a few days at this location, anyone interested can pick it up there. Proceeds will go to support Kevin's political ambitions. Also check out the new video at the Kevin Clarke Youtube.com Headquarters. Click on this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TEZEfUwlCo
Send a message to politicians!
Vote Kevin Clarke for Mayor of Toronto!
Zsolt
Hey all Kevin Clarke supporters out there (here)!
The Kevin Clarke: Man on a Mission DVD is available from Monday on at Mystic Muffin which is on the corner of Jarvis and Richmond. While there, you should try Elias' famous apple cake.
On November 13 vote for Kevin Clarke, the next mayor of Toronto.
Also check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TEZEfUwlCo
Well, Kevin Clarke did get 2081 votes (0.356%). Based on his history, is it fair to assume he'll be running again in the future?
I am sure he will run again. He got 2081 votes. That's pretty good for a homeless man and fringe candidate.
I met Kevin Clarke in Nov, 2007. So far am very glad I can see and hear the man in such prominent documentations. I am single dad in the struggle against a system that is being run by a bunch of haters of God and his people, the Original Black Jew. However my comment hear is I would like to see Kevin run for the positions he is interested in and succeed in the city of Tronto.
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