It seems people have been bamboozled into
thinking that democracy==voting. When I went on
the freedom trail tour in Boston, one of the
things that struck me is that the revolutionaries
(at least in Boston) had a much more radical idea
of democracy. To them democracy was about town
hall meetings, about mass civic participation.
For example, in the Boston Tea Party, although
only a handful of people committed the sabotage,
1/3 of the town of Boston marched down with them
to support them! That's a big protest! If, in my
lifetime, 1/3 of any town is ever gathered in the
same spot to do anything but watch a football
game (or go to the mall), I will be (happily)
suprised.
In Seattle, we all chanted, "This is what
democracy looks like". I think that's true. In
response to Shay's rebellion in Massachusetts
(those radical Massuchetts people again),
Jefferson wrote: "God forbid we should ever be 20
years without such a rebellion. . . . The tree of
liberty must be refreshed from time to time with
the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its
natural manure."
How did women get the right to vote? Ever see the
the pictures of the
suffragists picketing outside the white house?
How did blacks get civil rights in the south?
Remember the
Montgomery bus boycott? Democracy is when people
take power over their own lives, by taking to the
streets or, on a more day-to-day level, by
getting involved in school boards, in city
councils, in town hall, in the local
co-operatively owned grocery store.
With due respects to Laurence J. Peter, going to
the voting booth doesn't make you a (small "d")
democrat any more than going to the garage makes
you a car.
Don't vote. Or do vote. Who cares. If you want to
make change, tho, don't whine -- ORGANIZE.
Coincidentally, the WTO is meeting this week in Seattle. Environmentalists (ranging from Sierra Club to Earth First'ers), people of color, labor, consumer advocates, churches, and even groups as specific as Tibetan rights advocates are coming out to protest. A group of my friends are bussing out from Minnesota just for the big protest tomorrow (Tues), then heading back home. Aiiee! That's 1500 miles!
My questions -- where's the geek contingent? Since patents are the bane of free software, we should be out there with our own supporting contingent too.
For people in the Seattle area, there's going to be some forums on this TRIPs agreement. I know Ralph Nader's going to be in town for a WTO debate, and I believe he'll be speaking at one of these forums too.
Here's the scoop on this forum series:
No Patents on Life: A Workshop on Biotechnology, Intellectual Property and the Global Economy Wed, Dec 1, 9:00am-5:00pm Plymouth Congregational Church, 6th and University Phone: (206) 543-9037
And, of course, come out for the protest! Remember, Tuesday is General Strike day in Seattle. Call in sick, or better yet, have your boss call in Sick too!
Event info is in both of the weeklies (Stranger and Seattle Weekly). You can also stop by the DAN headquarters on the corner of Denny and Olive to get involved with the fun contingent (puppets, civil disobedience, and the like).
The big rally starts tomorrow (Tues) at 10am at Memorial Stadium, with the big march afterwards to the Convention Center at 12:30pm. There's also lots of contingents meeting earlier (eg the DAN contingent is meeting at 7am -- too early for me:) that will join the march en route.
Geeks of the world unite! The only we have to lose is our IP and NDA's.
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It seems people have been bamboozled into thinking that democracy==voting. When I went on the freedom trail tour in Boston, one of the things that struck me is that the revolutionaries (at least in Boston) had a much more radical idea of democracy. To them democracy was about town hall meetings, about mass civic participation. For example, in the Boston Tea Party, although only a handful of people committed the sabotage, 1/3 of the town of Boston marched down with them to support them! That's a big protest! If, in my lifetime, 1/3 of any town is ever gathered in the same spot to do anything but watch a football game (or go to the mall), I will be (happily) suprised.
In Seattle, we all chanted, "This is what democracy looks like". I think that's true. In response to Shay's rebellion in Massachusetts (those radical Massuchetts people again), Jefferson wrote: "God forbid we should ever be 20 years without such a rebellion. . . . The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure."
How did women get the right to vote? Ever see the the pictures of the suffragists picketing outside the white house? How did blacks get civil rights in the south? Remember the Montgomery bus boycott? Democracy is when people take power over their own lives, by taking to the streets or, on a more day-to-day level, by getting involved in school boards, in city councils, in town hall, in the local co-operatively owned grocery store.
With due respects to Laurence J. Peter, going to the voting booth doesn't make you a (small "d") democrat any more than going to the garage makes you a car.
Don't vote. Or do vote. Who cares. If you want to make change, tho, don't whine -- ORGANIZE.
If you'd like to see Nader in the debates, sign the on-line petition:
http://green.votenader.org/cgi -bin/petition-sigs.cgi
(a good example, IMHO, of how technology can influence politics)
Coincidentally, the WTO is meeting this week in Seattle. Environmentalists (ranging from Sierra Club to Earth First'ers), people of color, labor, consumer advocates, churches, and even groups as specific as Tibetan rights advocates are coming out to protest. A group of my friends are bussing out from Minnesota just for the big protest tomorrow (Tues), then heading back home. Aiiee! That's 1500 miles!
:) that will join the march en route.
My questions -- where's the geek contingent? Since patents are the bane of free software, we should be out there with our own supporting contingent too.
For people in the Seattle area, there's going to be some forums on this TRIPs agreement. I know Ralph Nader's going to be in town for a WTO debate, and I believe he'll be speaking at one of these forums too.
Here's the scoop on this forum series:
No Patents on Life: A Workshop on Biotechnology, Intellectual Property and the Global Economy
Wed, Dec 1, 9:00am-5:00pm Plymouth Congregational Church, 6th and University
Phone: (206) 543-9037
And, of course, come out for the protest! Remember, Tuesday is General Strike day in Seattle. Call in sick, or better yet, have your boss call in Sick too!
Event info is in both of the weeklies (Stranger and Seattle Weekly). You can also stop by the DAN headquarters on the corner of Denny and Olive to get involved with the fun contingent (puppets, civil disobedience, and the like).
The big rally starts tomorrow (Tues) at 10am at Memorial Stadium, with the big march afterwards to the Convention Center at 12:30pm. There's also lots of contingents meeting earlier (eg the DAN contingent is meeting at 7am -- too early for me
Geeks of the world unite! The only we have to lose is our IP and NDA's.