Why do those annoying protesters keep messing everything up with their inconvenient disobedience? My friend Deanna Zandt made a great explainer. Feel free to share.
Tag: protest
Putting our hearts and bodies where our mouths are
Best wishes to everyone putting your hearts and bodies on the line at women’s marches and other demonstrations in your towns, states, and country because we believe a better America is still possible.
Blessing for the Women’s March
By Erika A. Hewitt (Unitarian Universalist minister)
May you be safe.
May you be free from all harm.As the road or skies carry you toward your fellow pilgrims,
may you sense the presence of those who travel with you in spirit,
whose hopes and hearts are tucked into your pockets,
who name your journey’s purpose as sacred.May you encounter strangers-as-kindred,
and may that recognition of kinship bring joy to your journey.Whether the faces in the crowd number in the dozens, hundreds, or thousands,
may you not only recognize yourself,
but may you also witness a dazzling tapestry of colors, languages, genders, ages, and bodies:
proud testament to and humbling display of our human family.May the crowds be gentle, friendly, and patient.
If not, may the Spirit of Playfulness appoint you its momentary agent.
May you offer quiet praise for gestures of kindness.May all bodies — vessels of spirit and soul — be treated as the gift that they are.
May the sturdiest of marchers make space for those who need more time,
more help, or a different means of moving.May those bearing snacks share generously with others.
May you fuel yourself wisely, and hydrate.
In your hour of need, may you easily find a restroom,
and may it accommodate your body’s gender, size, and abilities.
May the line for the restroom be short.
If not, may you delight in the impulse to connect in ways mundane and profound.Amid the heady flurry of selfies and hashtags,
may you remember the commitment that led you there,
and what will be required for the road ahead.Gather it all up, blessed one; let it feed you.
Allow the crowds’ electric thrum to seep into you,
knitting itself into courage;
into holy boldness;
into fuel for the journey back, and for the journey forward.http://www.uua.org/worship/words/blessing/blessing-womens-march
Keep Pounding: how grassroots organizing and popular protest defeated NC’s bathroom governor
Analysis from Tom Jensen of Public Policy Polling on how Pat McCrory shoved through unpopular policies (including but very definitely not limited to HB2) and then wasn’t able to hide from the people thanks to the Moral Monday protest movement!
Pushing back hard on McCrory worked. The seeds of his final defeat today were very much planted in the summer of 2013. And it’s a lesson for progressives in dealing with Trump. Push back hard from day one. Be visible. Capture the public’s attention, no matter what you have to do to do it. Don’t count on the media to do it itself because the media will let you down. The protesters in North Carolina, by making news in their own right week after week after week, forced sustained coverage of what was going on in Raleigh. And even though it was certainly a long game, with plenty more frustration in between, those efforts led to change at the polls 42 months after they really started.
Keep Pounding.
Source: Why Pat McCrory Lost and What It Means in Trump’s America – Public Policy Polling
Support the protesters that are supporting the earth for all of us! #NoDAPL
The camps that are leading the resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline need your support. There are numerous different camps that exist at Standing Rock. Each serving a different role and responsibility. We know that it can be confusing as to who to support. So please take a moment to read about each camp we have listed and donate or send supplies!
Defiance
This weekend I attended a wonderful gathering of people who are not OK with letting ignorance and hate infect our community and our state. Before Durham in Defiance, some people complained that we should be demonstrating in the streets rather than standing around talking. We have been in the streets for many years, and we will turn out again (and again, and again). But what made this event really important was that it was organized for the long haul.
You what now?
Let me get this straight: As recently as a week ago, Trump supporters threatened armed revolution if their candidate lost the election. Now that he has in fact won the election (without the majority of votes) they are complaining that people are nonviolently protesting his politics of hate?
I’ve never seen such sore winners. It must be rough when you run everything and still think the entire world is out to get you.
First they came
First they came for the Anarchists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not an anarchist.
Then they came for Muslims, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not muslim.
Then they came for Black Lives Matter, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not Black.
Then they came for the journalists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a journalist.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
After Pastor Martin Niemöller.
Mark Chilton speaks truth to power
My close friend and favoritest mayor of all time and space bringing truth and justice to the N. C. Legislature last week. Join us every Monday to keep it going!
https://www.facebook.com/events/587977384569667/
(Source: http://www.youtube.com/)
Direct Action = Democracy
With regrets to NYC residents caught in the cross fire, the week of the RNC is going to go down in history as a huge culmination of diverse, grassroots voices reinvigorating the tradition of protest that our nation was founded on.
I can’t tell you where all of this info comes from but it’s an exteremely reliable source. Plus it’s all public information anyway:
In New York, although one corner near Madison Square Garden will be cordoned off specifically for protesters, only a handful of permits have been granted to protest groups. Most street actions will be unauthorized.
The main umbrella organization for protesters, United for Peace and Justice, says they will gather in Central Park despite not having a permit. Approximately 150 organizations are vying for a piece of what is being called the second biggest protest action of the year (the March for Women’s Lives, of course, was the biggest).
Besides labor, gay and lesbian groups, veterans against the war, there remains a long list of students, environmentalist, and health and political activists anxious to express their views.
On Sunday, August 29, The World says No to the Bush Agenda: United for Peace and Justice will host a march past Madison Square Garden, followed by a rally.
On Monday, the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network and the Still We Rise Coalition are co-sponsoring a march and rally to support HIV/AIDS health care, welfare reform, immigrant issues, housing/homelessness, and criminal justice issues. At the same time, the Kensington Welfare Rights Union presents another march, beginning at the United Nations and ending at Madison Square Garden.
Tuesday the One Million Yeses and One NO! people are planning a direct demonstration against the Free Speech Zones (police pens). At the same time, the noRNC Youth are calling for “a youth day of action.”
On Wednesday, the New York City Labor Council will host a massive union rally and march.
A bicyclists’ environmental group called Time’s Up is organizing in a “bike bloc,” attempting to snarl traffic as commuters try to get to work, as a protest against the use of private gasoline-powered vehicles.
Activists plan to hold sit-ins at delegate hotels, take over city intersections, block doors to major corporate offices, confront GOP bigwigs and infiltrate events.
They explain their aim is to use creative mischief to call attention the Bush administration’s destructive policies, not to cause harm or even stop the convention from proceeding.
Organizers advise protesters not to wear masks, which are illegal at New York City demonstrations, and to find alternatives to all-black clothing. Khaki is less intimidating, one Web site suggests. It will also let demonstrators blend in. They won’t know who to arrest or pepper-spray just by looking,” the Web site says. “Plus, the crowd will look much more like the average American instead of a marginalized gang of malcontents – not that there’s anything wrong with that.”
Mayor Michael Bloomberg promises that the heightened security will not interfere with planned protests, which may include the Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army, a squadron of George Bush look-alikes in flight suits. “We take people’s rights to come here and say something very valuable very seriously,” Bloomberg said.
The New York Civil Liberties Union will open an information and complaint center two blocks from the convention center to monitor protests and police activity.