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Human rights defender David Swanson has announced today that this October, thousands of Americans, the left and right, will occupy Washington D.C. in peaceful resistance and not leave until the demands of the people are met. The protest, slated to be similar to those in Tunisia and Egypt, is slated to begin October 6.
A coalition of organizations and noted leaders have committed to a peaceful occupation of Washington DC, announcing the plan to occupy Washington, D.C. starting October 6th and not leaving until the United States government is seen to halt its functioning on behalf of Wall Street and a war machine.
I have a problem with this. And the problem is that it is exactly the kind of idea one would get from a committee. All nicely planned out in advance. I bet they even have the street venders and tee shirts ordered as well.
I truly successful protest is not some prearranged event like a carnival or tourist outing. It is spontaneous and unplanned and high energy and direct. That is what the Arab protests have been and the early anti-war protests of the 1960s. More like the Wisconsin protests.
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What is happening in other countries re ‘protests’:
Greece debt crisis: The ‘we won’t pay’ anti-austerity revolt
Love to see that occur here.
Israel’s housing protesters: Bibi go home
See, plutocracy can be imitated.
I’ve participated in numerous protests over the years. All were planned and choreographed by a committee. I agree that a spontaneous spark erupting into mass public anger of average people would be better. But I don’t see that happening … yet. So, we members of the “professional left” (lol) will have our carnival to express ourselves and get angry. It will end like the Iraq war protests ended, with a dud. But I will enjoy myself!
Get some good pictures and post them here. Not sure if I will be able to come. Depends on how some things work out. Will try though.
Will do!
I am already committed to going.
I have visited the last two other progressive blogs that I have not been banned from.
My posts have become simple.
JOIN THE RESISTANCE
New Progressive Alliance
newprogs.org
or
October2011.org
or
Anonymous The Plan
You Tube Version
Take your pick and join the movement
According to the people in the know, there are 55 million seniors in this country, if only 20% of us marched on washington, the politicians and the so called media could not ignore such a turnout of old pissed off white haired paid their dues grammas and grampas. I for one would be there.
Coming in the next few months to a city near you:
http://my.firedoglake.com/sixgill/2011/07/31/debt-deal-arranged/
This is the beginning. Well, as Churchill said, “This is not the beginning of the end, but it is the end of the beginning.”
It is the end of the beginning of the final, self-destructive phase of capitalism. God help us all while Buddha laughs. I really, really did not want to live through this time. Selfish, silly me. Oh, well.
Here we go!
I thought October was not that far away.
I was wrong. It can’t get here soon enough.
Dawg only knows what else O will give away by then.
Then we got the war with Iran in September, or sooner, as well. Busy, busy, busy.
I hear what you’re saying, cmaukonen. I would very much like to see something more like what I saw close up and personal in the 1960′s and early 1970′s, but aimed at the plutocrats & corrupt pols and their continuing folly. If it were possible, I’d travel my 25 miles in and participate. On the other hand, Swanson’s initiative does sound a bit sterile and I don’t foresee much chance right wing Americans would aid the protest. More likely, if it came off, they would counter-demonstrate. I sense a fizzle, as do you.
Then too, very importantly, despite constitutional restrictions and the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 forbidding calling out the military to confront American citizens, many exceptions exist to allow it…even as a proactive, prophylactic measure. Also, the L’Enfant/Banneker/Ellicott plan of Washington permits facile fortification and isolation of the central Federal district (see any aerial map; the traffic circles are the key lockdown spots). If it begins to look like any problem to the president or the congress, they’ll call out every DC cop, the Park police and standby military elements at Ft Belvoir and Quantico to completely shut down anything and everything in the gov’t area of DC–including the DC Metro and all buses. It could easily be kept locked down for several weeks, as deemed necessary. All official persons, police, military, etc could be adequately provisioned and logistically supported out of the close-in military bases by air and by armored escorted convoys sent up and down I 95. HQ/CIC would likely be right across the Potomac at the Pentagon. Helicopter landing zones abound in downtown DC. I’d bet any amount of $ that there;s a finely honed plan in place to do what I’m thumbnailing and more.
Now, what the reaction of the protestors congregated by default in the outer DC burbs would be, or of the US public…it’s anyone’s guess. But, anybody thinking that average citizens can storm central DC, peacefully or otherwise, and do some long-term “sit in” is severely deluded. The powers that be aren’t going to tolerate that sort of thing. BTW, the police and troops are all thoroughly trained in riot control and suitably equipped. Back in the day, they used DC Stadium as a temporary jail. That and more awaits any “troublemakers” who don’t respect barricades and checkpoints.
As outlined, that’s a dog that I guarantee ain’t never gonna hunt. Next grand plan???
Too much wishful thinking..
Wow, cmaukonen, it is so unlike you to post a diary whose premise is so – flawed. Sorry, but that’s what I see here. The idea that organizing is futile and we should wait (hope?) for spontaneity. Seriously?
You may not know it, but this is the next of a series of protests that have steadily grown over the past year. Hedges was arrested for a small one last winter, if memory serves, and before that Cindy Sheehan did one, and the LACK of organizing is one (probably the main) reason it drew few and fizzled. The suggestion that a successful protest must be spontaneous is way, way off.
And jim0714 – also tone deaf on this one. The resistance of the PTB you describe is exactly the point. A government overreaction works in our favor.
Sorry guys, I’m with Michael Cavlan on this one, and I’m also committed to going. And let me be frank: criticizing Swanson – and Hedges, and Cornel West, and Jane Hamsher, and Margaret Flowers, and KevIn Zeese, and – well, have you actually seen the list? – for leaving their computers and encouraging others to leave theirs and actually get out and DO SOMETHING – has, to my taste at least, a decided tinge of “I’d rather sit here and type.”
Just sayin’.
I’m a bit surprised that all seems news to you, cmaukonen. Dave as well as several diarists at My.fdl (Robert Alexander Dumas, for one) have been promoting it for quite some time.
I sincerely wish that I were in a position to go, and I had expressed on one of Robert’s diaries, and others’ earlier, that there were more demonstrations planned across the US for ease of travel: it’s a big continent by car. And it’s not hard to imagine that many people don’t have the $ to schlep to DC. Dr. Margaret Flowers from the group dropped onto Robert’s thread to advise us of other activities, and I confess I don’t know if I copied the link; maybe I can find it later on that diary, or you can look if you’re interested.
I had also expressed to Dave Swanson on his most recent diary that I wished that as an organization they could facilitate some educational actions on the ground before hand to try to reach more people who aren’t online, or visit the wrong sites online, to explain more about what we see as a class war, not a Red/Blue war.
It would also lay some groundwork for face-to-face meets for people that would lend toward more community idea-sharing and spade-work for down the road.
http://my.firedoglake.com/wendydavis/2011/07/25/crashing-through-the-overton-window-can-low-tech-help/
I put it up the day the Prez had an evening presser; that sucked up all the oxygen here that day, but a few good ideas came out if it.
Anyhoo, it’s always easier to criticize than come up with a viable idea; T-shirt complaints? Really? If ya want to offer more useful critique, you might want to get on one of the diaries at their site. (I can’t make the Captcha work for some reason, so I’ve given up trying to get in for now.)
It’s been disappointing that so far the news of this event hasn’t spread through the blogosphere, but it may just be a product of the many ‘liberal’ Dems who are still wedded to the idea that Obama, et.al. are going to pull some rabbit out of the hat before the shit hits the fan again.
You write about that plenty, C; how about something proactive to go with all the doomsday warnings? Too much Cassandra, not enough MLK lately around here, IMO.
Rats; when I remembered that when the vendors came to Tahrir square, to sell goods for the occupation, we cheered and thought it was a good sign. (Notwithstanding that some vendors early on were said to have been paid to beat up protestors). But one of the hot items was…wait for it…T-shirts! Jan.25, 2011! Couldn’t find news of that turning point, but you’ll likely remember it now. ;o)
If you are so sure that this effort, which is currently backed by every progressive leader and author worth noting hasn’t a chance, the next grand plan is on you. What ya got?
I sense someone whose life force has been spent, or rather misspent.
Screw your defeatism.
If you can’t get off of your couch until they come to get you, that’s alright with me, but why attempt to dissuade others who would do the right thing? How is that productive? Again I’ll ask what’s your idea?
We should cower in fear and allow them to destroy the people of our country now that they’ve destroyed the government and the economy?
I think they will open fire with live ammo. I think they will do it more than once. I’m going anyway. Because I believe that if enough show up, after enough have sacrificed their lives, the military will come over to our side. They will not obey an illegal order the third or the fourth time, after they have had time to think about those that they killed the first couple of times they will join us.
They will join us. I am willing to bet my life on it. What are you willing to do?
What do you mean you would be there? The protest is already scheduled. It begins on October 6th 2011. Are you gonna be there or not?
That’s it! We can make a capitalistic killing on a middle class extinction event. Laugh all you want, but people do read other people’s T shirts.
So how about: ‘Fuck no, Obama has to go!’
At five bucks a pop, are any Ferrari dealers open?
I partially agree. Otoh, due to the vast size of the US, the decentralization of power (money is in NYC, entertainment center is LA, politics DC), and the suburban structure of cities (many cities people work in the suburbs, drive cars to get around, those who work in the city often commute in and out back to the suburbs), spontaneous protests are not as likely in the US unless it’s due to a specific problem in one, dense city.
I can’t just hop on over to DC right now and start protesting. I’d love to, but it’d cost money that I don’t have. Can’t even protest where I live right now, I’ll be yelling to myself.
I agree October is too far away though. By October, though we’re still dealing with all these problems, the topic on people’s minds may be Charlie Sheen or some other distraction.
The problem with the protests in the US since 9/11 has been their reliance on symbolism, the short time they take place (they need to be open ended), and lack of democracy in organizing. Those protests, the anti-War protests, were run by a few authoritarian left groups (most of the activist left isn’t authoritarian, but we have failed to organize where as the small number of authoritarians have).
First you have a few hours of speeches from them and various single cause groups. Then you have the parade-like “protest” that winds its way around a city-approved route. Maybe that happens a few times, then that’s it. They pack up, tell people to go home, then the police make sure its business as usual if anyone dared to think about sticking around.
The authoritarian representatives get all the exposure on TV, so it looks to the 5 viewers watching on a Saturday afternoon that it’s a show put on by a few groups and people following their call. They control every aspect of the protest.
What is the solution, well, nothing if we can’t start organizing like we did in 97-2001 (several open, democratically organized protest groups working together). Maybe this October protest will be better. We’ll see.
“ It is spontaneous and unplanned and high energy and direct.”
I saw an Egyptian protest leader on TV complaining about all the hype about the ‘spontanious’ protests, she said there were years of work and planning put into making those protests effective.
Username,
The following is a comment from Margaret Flowers M.D. off of the thread on my October2011 “Stop the Machine” post of July 24th; it provides a link to assist those unable to get to DC to participate wherever they might be :
Our first priority is to have a strong presence in DC on Oct. 6 in order to be visible and effective.
We do have room for local solidarity protests and welcome them for people who cannot be in DC, especially starting on Oct.15 as called for by the United National Antiwar Committee. Solidarity protests are being posted at http://www.10yearsandcounting.org/.
The October2011.org is a peoples’ movement. Join it. Get involved. We are not MoveOn.org. We do not tell you what to do. We are providing a solid action framework and educating about issues, solutions and what it will take to turn our country and the world towards peace and justice. Join our website. Join the discussions. The success of October2011 is up to all of us. That means you and me
http://october2011.org/frontpage
Illegitimi non Carborundum
Stay Strong
Thank you! We cannot be sheeple led to the slaughter without resistance. I’m going.
I usually keep it a bit broader than just Obama…
http://bigchieftablet.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/jump-you-fuckers.jpg