What is the Future of Protest?
This is a topic we have been discussing for a while now, even if only half conscious of it. The basic frustrations that have filled the blog and the few moments of exuberance at the sight of a protestor who gets through (like that poor mother yesterday [full story]). Now a lightning rod has emerged to pull my thoughts together.Are the Peace marches irrelevant?
Matt Taibbi thinks so [see story]. I said a similar thing on Sept 2 [see blog], but I had a much more defeatist tone. I agree that we need to be organizing more than marching, which is why I push Democracy for America, which in my opinion has the best chance for success. We formed naturally, of our own free will. We are not a gimmick.
I think we have to be careful to take our direct action seriously. It must be non-violent, and effective. Those are not easy to combine, but that is the challenge that currently faces us.
This Site is my Direct Action
The sites direction is a direct result of my not finding a blog that was not only politically active, but had a philosophy rooted in the SF sub-culture that I hold so dear. Here I am, doing all that I can to get people talking about SF and politics. The SF community has lost its way in the last few years, but we can rebuild, and work together for a better world.
There is a big difference between SF fans and the SF community. Not too many years ago, when the community was much more energized than it is today, the SF community was (and still is to a lesser degree) committed to using our conventions and club meetings to aid charitable causes. Politics was a regular topic of conversation, as was the developing philosophy of our sub-culture. The problem is that we do not identify with the sub-culture as much as we used to.
The SF community is forward looking, and accepting of differences. Regardless of any other divergent opinions, we long for a better world, and together, we can work to achieve it. SF community unite! The Future is coming! Let's help create it!
News From Afghanistan
Since the 'Mainstream' media isn't covering it, we will:
Taliban claims credit for attack on Karzai's Helicopter [Washington Post]
New Charges Raise Questions on Abuse at Afghan Prisons [New York Times]
Calif. Man Convicted of Torturing Afghans [AP on Yahoo!]
US sending extra troops to Afghanistan [AFP on Yahoo