(no subject)

[digitaldiscipline]

[cadged from deviathan because it sounds like a good idea. . . . short of expending a lot of ammo inside the Beltway]

Subject: WEAR RED ON FRIDAYS TO PROTEST BUSH POLICIES

My name is Nadia Jensen and I have an idea for a quiet revolution. Please
take a minute to read my email and then join me if you can:

Here's some history behind this idea: When Norway was occupied by Germany in
1940, Norwegian women began to knit RED caps for children as a way of
letting everyone know that they did not like what was happening in their
country, that they didn't like having their freedom taken away. My great
aunt, Karin Knudson Myrstad, was one of the women who knit red caps for her
children and others. Similarly, in Denmark, women knit red-white-and blue
caps (colors of the Allies) for the very same reason.

The result was that whenever Norwegians and Danes left their homes -- to go
to the store, to work, etc, they could see that THE MAJORITY opposed what
was going on in their country. As you know, both countries organized
effective Resistance efforts and changed history -- everything that
happened began simply by wearing red!!!! (or the colors of the Allies, in
Denmark).

1. BACKGROUND: I believe, as many of us do, that at the very heart of our
democracy is our right to oppose the policies of our government.
Increasingly, our Government is redefining "freedom" in ways that make too
many Americans perceive that it is risky to oppose the policies -- and, in
particular, current inroads about individual freedoms and family planning
policies in the U.S. and abroad. However, many of us DO oppose what our
government is doing to individual rights and family planning programs-- and
I have an idea that will allow all of us to recognize each other
very easily so we can see that WE ARE THE MAJORITY.

2. SO...I have been thinking that it's time to take action in a way that is
effective and easy for all of us to do:
Just wear red every Friday between now and election day.

Wear a little or a lot-- just be sure that when you leave your house to go
about your day to work, to school, to the store, to the gas station,
wherever you go in your daily routine -- that everyone who sees you will see
that you are wearing red because you believe in freedom and you don't agree
with our current administration's policies at home and abroad. I'm really
certain that we'll see that lots of us wearing red -- because WE ARE THE
MAJORITY. We just need a way to show each other who we are!!! Between now
and election day, ask everyone you know to wear red for
"Freedom Fridays".

3. I have already spread the word to friends and have had a very
enthusiastic response. This email has been forwarded around the country by
many who receive it - feel free to send in on to your friends and
co-workers.

Comments

sorry to be a pessimist, but...

[gargoyl.livejournal.com]

I don't know, man, I think that's kind of ghey. It's like that "let's everyone not buy gas this one day" thing,, it isn't really going to make a difference or get the president's notice. The administratiion won't care. Hell, they didn't even *notice* all the majorr demonstrations of hundreds of thousands of people protesting the war openly right in DC and outside the UN, did they. So what, we'll see a few people wearing red and assume it isn't coincidental – it's still not going to DO anything.

Re: sorry to be a pessimist, but...

[etcet.livejournal.com]

they notice the protests well enough to call out the gestapo (er, national guard and beefed up local police) to give protesters the beatdown and then subsequently lie about tens of thousands of peacable civilians being "hundreds of crazed rioters".

see also: the Miami NAFTA protests

Re: sorry to be a pessimist, but...

[gargoyl.livejournal.com]

That never happened here or in DC. A *few* people may have been arrested, but it wasn't like that. And by "they" I am referring to administration officials that have any actual say in the decisions being made about the war. All those protests did NOTHING. Everyone trying to make their voices heard - Bush looked the other way like it did not even happen. Why would anyone ever think that wearing red on Fridays would get his attention if hundreds of thousands of protesters didn't? Calling police to control crowds is a FAR different thing then the administration noticing the public's feelings on this and making them have second thoughts.

Wearing a pink ribbon will not get rid of breast cancer and wearing red on Fridays will not do jack-SHIT about the war. The only thing that can be done is to patiently wait for November when his skanky ass is voted out of here.

Re: sorry to be a pessimist, but...

[etcet.livejournal.com]

true enough.

there's always the "small amount of lead at high velocity" solution, too, but that tends to be frowned on, and it'd take at least three? four? seven? . . . doses to cure the country right now. . .

Re: sorry to be a pessimist, but...

[ex-requiella957.livejournal.com]

Personally, I don't think it's such a bad idea. And, it's very different from the gas protest idea. The idea behind the gas protest was to shortchange corporations. Clearly, the total amount of money spent on gasoline in a week is going to even out, regardless of whether or not people boycott buying gas for a day. This was a bad idea.

The goal behind wearing red is different: By wearing red, you're making your preferences more public than they would be otherwise. Sometimes, I think People In General can be swayed more than what most individuals want to admit by the media, and relatedly, by erroneously assuming that more people feel a certain way than is actually the case. For instance, if we are constantly bombarded with conservative messages from the media that try to put a positive spin on Dubya's administration and its activities, some of us might make what could potentially be a mistaken estimation--that other people are listening and nodding affirmatively. This could then translate into people apathetically thinking, "Why vote--there's not much I can do in the face of otherwise decent support for the guy." So, people become pluralistically ignorant and act accordingly (they don't vote). Wearing red might actually nip this in the bud, if it causes people to look around and see their own thoughts/preferences validated.

Second, think of wearing red as being analogous to wearing team colors at a ballgame. Sure, this doesn't win the game (although some may argue that it contributes in a small way), but it energizes everyone and creates feelings of solidarity. Is this such a bad thing?

My vote is--wear red! Maybe it seems like a bizarre idea, but hey--what could it hurt.

Re: sorry to be a pessimist, but...

[david-deacon.livejournal.com]

(All across the country, Bush-haters are charged by bulls wherever they go. . . .)

Re: sorry to be a pessimist, but...

[etcet.livejournal.com]

. . . which causes Wall Street to skyrocket, as clue-free analysts free-associate bovine aggression with economic empowerment.

Re: sorry to be a pessimist, but...

[etcet.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the insightful take on this, Req. *hug*

I have a red polo shirt that will become normal "Friday Attire", as opposed to "when it cycles to the front of the queue of dress shirts." ;-)

Re: sorry to be a pessimist, but...

[ex-requiella957.livejournal.com]

Thanks for posting this--I hadn't heard of it. *hugs back*

And ya know--red shirts go pretty well with black pants....

That's My Bush

[david-deacon.livejournal.com]

No one hates Bush more than I do, not even Al Gore, but I think it's an exercise in futility. When red ribbons were common as an expression of solidarity for AIDS victims, one person I know had this to say: "Fuck the ribbons, find a cure." That's the way I feel about Bush: let's just vote him into obscurity. I'm fed up with the man, his smarmy attitude, his faux good-ol-boy demeanor, his cronyism, his arrogance combined with nothing to justify it, the way he runs the country as if he'd won by a landslide. Fuck him, he's rich white trash.

Re: That's My Bush

[angel-renewed.livejournal.com]

let's just vote him into obscurity.

*nods*

Friends don't let friends elect morons.

Re: That's My Bush

[etcet.livejournal.com]

Friends don't let friends elect morons.

Ummm. . . how are =we= gonna get elected, then?

*ducks*

Re: That's My Bush

[angel-renewed.livejournal.com]

We're delinquents, not morons.

[hellsop.livejournal.com]

All the goths buying red clothes spikes the retail sector economy and Bush's popularity numbers. Bush gets re-elected and pisses off the Chinese who invade in an endless fleet of small boats. All die. Oh the embarassment!