anyone reclaiming the streets on any day soon? if possible we should make it a nation- (or world-!) wide event on some day. let me know.
From whom are the streets being reclaimed. From the hot dog vendors who depend on them for a living? or from the people using them to get to work? What will be done with the streets after they have been reclaimed? Will you need help filling in the pot-holes?
Pot hole, etc. would be "filled in" with grass. A more appropriate name might be "reclaim the parkland". www.reclaimthestreets.net MikeE, you underestimate the underlying motives of why people want to "reclaim the streets" which is really just another way of saying that we want to reclaim our lives from the proverbial "man". It really is that simple...so simple it's quite literally a Revolutionary notion...reason why the FBI lists the loose network of activists who partake in these "reclaim the streets" parties as "domestic threats". Somebody is taking these idealists seriously...
Freeing ourselves from the Man is a goal that I understand. At the same time, I have seen that large actions inconvience people who we want as allies. (For example, the ambulance that was delayed because of the initial anti-Iraq-war protests in SF.) If we are to get both people's attention and their support it is important that the message be focused (eg. "Save the Whales") or that the inconvience be bearable. A "freedom from the Man" action has a very difuse message and should be conducted with maximum consideration for our potential alies.
I mostly agree with you. But I don't think that "save the whales" will get us very far because single-issue activism doesn't draw the romantic feeling of a Revolutionary spirit, and it doesn't serve to unite progressives of all different stripes. Of course a "freedom from the Man" action would sound silly and very corny, but there needs to be a meeting ground for people of all different walks of progressive life to unite together as one enormous tidal wave of momentum that will truly overwhelm the powers that be into the subserviant position they are meant to uphold. There's an incredible book entitled "We Are Everywhere" that beautifully illustrates how in the past several years there's been an unprecedented "meeting of the minds" between activists of all kinds who are in solidarity against the powers that are blue-printing and driving the machine of corporate globalization under the euphemism called "free trade" and "economic expansion"...in part through military means, of course. Cafta, the World Bank, and the Iraq war are all intimately linked together and must be confronted as such, by a unified Revolutionary movement. Please check out my thread about the upcoming September mobilizations Say what you want, but it's still happening! http://www.weareeverywhere.org/
I agree that these things are related. Generaly, the larger or more disrubtive the demonstration, the harder it is for the public to talk with the demonstrators. Thus large demonstrations should be about single issues that need little explaination to the uninformed. If the demonstration is about a complex issue, it should be structured to accomidate answering questions, explaining ourselves, and educate people. A demonstration with lots of "Save the whales" signs is easily understood by passers-by. If there "Stop the War", "End the Prision Industrial Complex", "No GMO's", "Education not Prisons" are mixed in, we should insure that passers-by feel comfortable asking quesions and learning that these issues are all related by corpratism.
I too agree half and half. It just gets a bit tiring having to spoonfeed and baby people who don't seem to have the ability to think for themselves. They either don't care and continue on in consumer bliss (which will end), automatically assign a stereotype (ah it's one of those 'protesters') and keep going, or they are of the variety that believes they are already knowledgable based on what they've been fed by their daddy. It's dealing with mass brainwashing and perhaps the half that doesn't want to continue in teeny tiny steps thinks a real massive is a real good idea.
You both make excellent points, and I again would refer you to the book We Are Everywhere. I guess the main point of our time is that the global justice/anti-capitalist movements (who remain alive and well) must unite with the anti-war movement and become one. THEN learn how to raise awareness to those who would resist that awareness, as those who element mentioned.
we are all basically the same movement, with different manifestations of our disgust for the previous generation and current status quo, no? i think it's high time all of us get off our asses and do something, notably me, since i spend most of my time here in front of my computer and/or playing music. time to act.
