The problem with organizing protest for what is happening is that most calls are for everybody to go

[mfcorey1]

to DC. Everyone cannot just travel that far because of economic and other reasons. Instead there should be a national day of protest where people gather in their individual states with loud voices. Call it shutdown America Day. It would be impossible for the MSM to ignore it if organized correctly. You don't need a bunch of personalities, but instead the average working American with the testimony of hardship from policies from the rich. Have a state check in so that all states participate. Film and record your own so that the story can be told without the MSM if they choose to show Lockup instead. A perfect time would be when Congress is home on break. There is no teabagger rally that would match it.

[readmoreoften]

1. Exactly. There will be a big DC protest eventually but it will likely need to be

coordinated in all major cities. It'll happen, but that sort of call won't come from ANSWER because that's not how they work usually. But a national response will happen. You can count on it. Union ties to Democrats can be real slowing point though. It's going to take awhile to get a coalition together.

[EFerrari]

3. In the past, I suggested federal buildings because all major cities

have one.

[Rhiannon12866]

2. They managed to ignore the protests before the invasion of Iraq, and those were worldwide.

;(

[EFerrari]

5. Our web presence is much stronger now, though.

That might make a difference. People really have taken a stab at being the media.

[Rhiannon12866]

7. You're quite right, my friend.

I think the first "action" I took part in from MoveOn was to contact CNN when they stopped showing the protests. But you're right, we have much larger ranks now, and we're much more organized. :hi:

[Denver Progressive]

9. If the MSM won't cover the protest, then we should take it to them!

Take it to their doorstep,in every single city and camp out at Rockefeller Plaza until they
are forced to notice us.

[Rhiannon12866]

10. They managed to avoid covering some gigantic protests, in Britain, for example.

They were massive. It's not in the MSM's interest to make folks aware of these things, but we do have power, either by besieging them with messages or boycotting their advertisers. :hi:

[Denver Progressive]

12. Why not do it all?

The more tactics we use the better for us IMHO. :hi:

[Rhiannon12866]

21. Makes sense to me and the movement has grown

If the gathering in D.C. was any indication, not to mention Wisconsin... :hi:

[October]

25. I've said the same in the past...

We need to be in their FACE.

[Freddie Stubbs]

24. Protests don't change policy, elections do

[JI7]

4. i think many people just don't have much interest in it

[EFerrari]

6. In Egypt, it was the youth and the trade unionists that led, are leading.

And that makes sense because they are the most networked.

[JI7]

8. yeah, but this isn't egypt . i know many people who are struggling

and they wouldn't go out to protest.

[Javaman]

15. If you look at the historical demographic of "national protests"

they all have a few things in common. One of which is:
The medium age of the nation is usually under 30 years old.

You could look at country after country and see this same commonality.

The US in the 60's, Egypt, Syria, Bahrain, Iran, Libya, etc.

We here in the states now have an older population. Don't get me wrong, we older folks are still full of piss and vinegar, but we also realize that we are no longer bullet proof.

Age does things to a persons mental state. Sadly, one thing is, it makes us more cautious.

This is the main reason why I believe we don't see more protests here in the states.

Our protests will begin when the majority of Americans are so deeply effected, that they only recourse then is to protest. Until that time, we will yell at the tv and spout off on the net.

[socialist_n_TN]

19. Funny about that. I'm not necessarily DISagreeing with you

but for me, it's exactly the opposite. I went from being a "salon" Marxist, content to talk about an ideal society, to actually trying to work for it. And all in my mid to late 50s. Am I different?

[Javaman]

20. I think what you have become (same for myself) is referred to

by the right wing dems as the "professional left".

best quote I have ever read here on DU went something like this (kind of sums up my political leanings):

When I was young I was conservative
when I was middle aged I was liberal
now that I'm old, I'm a bomb throwing anarchist.

Cheers! :)

I guess it's up to us to teach the young.

[OneGrassRoot]

11. We need the "regular American" Wisconsin protestors...

to make an inspiring how-to video. Have a few tell how they never protested before but they saw what was at stake. They are leading the way.

[xchrom]

13. +1

[Javaman]

14. I suggested this a few weeks ago and got shouted down.

This is the only way to protest properly. If there was a sudden multiple nation-wide protests at the various state capitals, washington would have to stand up and take notice.

[proud2BlibKansan]

16. MoveOn does this all the time.

In case you hadn't noticed, it's not working.

[starroute]

17. I suspect political actions have to be disruptive to have an effect

I'm not talking about violence or destruction of property -- just about being able to put a crimp in business as usual.

Since the 60s, the authorities have learned how to hem in protesters to the point where they're barely noticeable. They get a permit, have a designated march route and specified hours. They're not allowed to interfere with business or with the normal operations of government. And society routes around them and ignores them.

So the question is how to become un-ignorable.

I suggested in an earlier thread that unofficial flash mobs might be one way to go. No leaders, no organization, no permits, and no official route. Just a bunch of people show up, make their point, and then disperse. But do it over and over again, every hour on the hour, in various locations around town.

Another tactic is to make things uncomfortable for business rather than trying to protest against government. Go out on the busiest shopping days and gum up the works. No sit-ins, nothing you could get arrested for, just so many people that ordinary shoppers are discouraged. Kind of like a real-life DDOS attack. Throng the malls. (Being private property, they can forbid visible protests, but not invisible ones.) Buy nothing -- or buy a dozen small items, make sure a couple are missing price tags so the cashier has to take extra time, and pay in cash, preferably all singles and small change.

Or become inescapably visible. Choose a movement color and think of how many places it could appear. Find a symbol equivalent to the 60s peace sign and spread it everywhere -- with extra points if you get it before the TV cameras. Devise a few pithy slogans and spread them around as well. And once you have a well-defined, symbolic presence in the country, use that to intrude upon routine political and economic events and turn them into vehicles to spread your message.

In our society, protest no longer works, but advertising does. And government has walled itself off from the voters, but business still depends on consumers. So those are the two pressure points in the system where we need to apply our efforts.

And one more thing. In an age of enforced austerity, life gets very boring. So the more entertaining we can be -- the more we seem to be having fun -- the more attention we will garner and the more people we will get to say, "Gee, I want to do what they're doing." Fun is perhaps the greatest secret weapon of all.

[Generic Other]

18. GENERAL STRIKE

OrgaNIZE!

[LWolf]

22. I could not travel to DC last weekend with my colleages.

It's a long trip from Oregon to DC. At this point, I'd be lucky to be able to afford to travel to a state-wide gathering, since it's likely to be 6-8 hours of gasoline away.

[kenny blankenship]

23. That's why the founding fuckers placed the seat of our Govt. in a swamp

where there was nothing you could call a city, instead of in a natural location - economic and cultural capitals, like Philadelphia or NY City or Boston.

They didn't want the Little People of the capital city sticking their dirty noses in, as happened in European capitals frequently in the 18th and 19th centuries.

[proud patriot]

26. The March for Jobs and Justice Aug 27th the National Mall

http://covenantbaptistucc.org/?p=1140

It would be nice to have once a week rallies for jobs and justice across America.
Flashmobs in front of selected industries, represenatives offices, and news stations.