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TechnoratiActivists to Color Democratic Convention
Many heading to Denver to demand social change and blast party leaders
DENVER - A nude-in with bodies arranged to spell out "Peace," music with a message, civil disobedience, direct confrontation and radical cheerleading. That funky fusion of protest, performance and pompoms.
The new generation of activists, and the '60s protesters who birthed them, are busy with creative ferment, organizing their public dissent for the Democratic National Convention in Denver in August. They are motivated by the desire to create social change with people power, not political power, frustrated by a mounting list of problems, from the mortgage crisis to soaring prices for gas and food.
"There will be a lot of people at this convention who are progressive, and who are angry at the Democrats," says Virginia Trabulsi, who's worked for years with the antiwar group United for Peace and Justice.
"They're saying, 'Why have we not impeached Bush? Why is Homeland Security out of control?' "
Tens of thousands of activists are expected, both homegrown and imported. Some plan to drive FEMA trailers up from Mississippi for a media-savvy statement about continuing Hurricane Katrina struggles.
Others are coming from Seattle, like the Backbone Campaign, which will haul 70-foot-tall political puppets called The Chain Gang: prison-suited images of President Bush, Vice-President Dick Cheney and former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
Socialists have formed an alliance with military veterans who are against the Iraq War.
Anarchists will give workshops on guerrilla gardening, or political gardening, a style of nonviolent action that takes on issues like land ownership by occupying abandoned lots - sometimes covertly - and transforming them into urban gardens.
And then there are the pacificists, groups like the historic American Friends Service Committee founded by Quakers in 1917, which plans to host an exhibit called "The Costs of War," detailing how the $720 million spent each day on the war could be spent on education and housing.
Various beliefs
These different factions unite on one common goal: stopping the Iraq War immediately. Beyond that, beliefs and strategies differ.
Some protesters espouse the right to active self-defense if they are treated too harshly. On the other side are those who say that violence, whether verbal or physical, is never an acceptable tool on the path toward peace.
In America, this debate is old as the war between the North and the South.
"It goes back to the abolitionist movement during the Civil War," said Ira Chernus, professor of religious studies at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
"Some were committed to strict nonviolence, and some felt that because the system of slavery, and the military force used to maintain it, was so violent that the only way to break the system of slavery was by using violence."
Chernus says in his recent book, American Nonviolence: The History of an Idea, that nonviolence is an integral thread in U.S. history. "From the 1820s to the 1950s, scarcely a decade went by that a nonviolent movement did not play some significant role in the practical outcome of political, social and economic events.
"Since the 1960s, scarcely a day has gone by that a nonviolent movement did not play a significant role."
Code Pink, the national antiwar organization, plans a Restore Democracy Parade, featuring floats, political theater, musicians, stilt performers, radical cheerleaders, puppets, drummers and bands.
The local spokeswoman for Code Pink is Zoe Williams, a 22-year-old platinum blonde with spiky hair and black-and-white polka-dot canvas shoes.
She's part of the new face of activism, a youth-driven alliance that includes Students for Peace and Justice, Students for a Democratic Society and Tent State University. Her goal is to help restore the image of activists everywhere.
"That's something our progressive movement is now seriously considering," she says. "How can we make ourselves less frightening? How can we make ourselves look open?
"One of the big things about the colorful, creative protests is to show that we are a very interesting, artistic, positive group of people. We aren't this scary image that protesters often get painted as."
Workshop training
Adam Jung spends his free time organizing Tent State University, mobilizing students to confront the Democrats and end the Iraq War. "I'm definitely not right-wing or conservative, but I do identify with rural values," said Jung, who grew up on a farm in Missouri. "If I called my granddad an environmentalist, he'd smack me, but those are his values."
The base camp he envisions for Tent State University will include thousands of tents pitched in central Denver's City Park, with a music festival featuring political hip-hoppers The Coup and Wayne Kramer, who played with his old group, the Motor City 5, during the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Tent State workshops will train activists in nonviolent direct action, and focus on building a grassroots movement.
© 2008 Chronicle
10 Comments so far
Show AllDon't get me wrong, I'm not staying don't protest. I am saying quit doing the same thing and expecting different results. That's called insanity. Protests gave us civil rights because they also involved boycotts and the like. Indians were led by Ghandi to make their own salt. And isn't that great. Protests ended the Vietnam war after about a decade of carnage. Too little too late if you ask me.
How many of these so-called protesters support the system by purchasing consumer bullshit? Even on the way to protests! Adjusting your own consumer patterns can do more than a protest.
One heart to hear discussion with a brain-washed family member or neighbor in a public place where others can hear can do more good than numerous protests.
Volunteering, starting a new business or nonproift, or running for political office can do more than a protest.
And a lot of things are more heroic than protesting, so don't give me that BS. Hell, going into the inner city and actually making a difference in kids lives and dealing with fucked up family situations that could include abuse, both sexual and physical, is more heroic than protesting. That's just one example.
If you think that protesting will save us from climate change and the impending collapse of civilization, on its own, you are naive. Protesting is just one part of action, it isn't the end all be all, and if we are going to do it, we might as well get creative about it. At least more creative than stilts, paper mache, and sloppy looking signs.
We are competing with slick, well-designed media campaigns. Sharpes and poster board aren't going to win out over that. Ever.
protesters are the true freedom fighters, throughout history only protest has brought us every freedom we have today, protest freed India from British Colonialism and South Africa from Apartheid, protests and strikes gave Americans high paying middle class jobs, work safety, food safety, medicare...protests ended the Vietnam war and will end the Iraq Invasion, protests protected free speech countless times, protests stopped American torture and will eventually close down the fascist concentration camps of Guantanamo and Abu Graib, protests will save this planet from global warming, etc etc...it takes a hell of a lot of courage to go out and protest when you know you could get tazered or tear gased, when you got nothing for protection or to defend yourself from police brutality...at least soldiers have body armor and guns , remember Kent state 4 students shot dead by police, what about the people protesting in Burma and Zimbabwe and Pakistan all risking their lives for freedom...protesters are the true heros..nothing is more heroic than protesting!
Anything to get out of the depressive rut of doing nothing about anything.
Actually, these protests are very effective. Over time it is the protests that open the way to imminent change. (That's why trolls like Ariel_Sharon are so threatened by them.) People remember what they see and hear. If it is colorful, creative, then it will be more memorable, and most likely inspiring in some way. Also, deep down most people would like to get out there and say something or take action, but cowardice rules their heart and so they don't. So unfortunate. Just because the media downplays or ignores protesters does not mean that the energy put forth is not lasting or impressionable. I say bravo to the portesters!
Heck, look where this commentary was culled from... The Houston Chronicle. This sort of commentary is painted to make the protests at the Democratic Party convention look stupid to reactionary Texas voters. Silly CD to not see this and reprint it here!
I have to say, while I may differ with the first poster on many a political issue, I agree here.
This will not accomplish anything. The media will mostly black it out or misconstrue it. The Right will spin it as division within the Democratic party (even though many of the protesters probably aren't Democrats). The Democrats will ignore it or, through tight security measures, restrict its presence. Much fossil fuel will be burned transporting the activists to the conference.
Time would be better spent engaging in local community building, or helping yourself and your neighbors walk away from the corporate machine by building your own local and ethical businesses and organizations that serve a need in your geographic location.
Hell, why not run for local office with the Green Party (or Dems, if you must) and maybe get elected.
Unless folks can find a way to pull off some kind of huge media stunt through an untraditional action (a la Yes Men) you are wasting your time and energy.
We need to wake up.
There's a reason the 60s movement failed.
Ariel, I see you've yet to awaken from your persistent vegetative state.
What color? Blood Red?
"Colorful, creative", protests are another way to say utterly stupid. Do you lefties really think showing up with paper mache dolls and making a lot of noise accomplishes something? My dad was one of the "old left", and he thinks you guys are retards.
Way to marganalize yourselves with childishness.
There's Ariel Sharon again. What a douche.