Wow, I am now convinced that there is a book on every subject known to man – this resource is quite impressive. Its chapters cover the basic principles of business 101. This could easily be an entrepreneurial “how -to” guide. I don’t think before taking this class I had any idea how protesters/movements were organized. Yet, this book provided me  great insight, and a hint of understanding the work involved in building a campaign. The chapters outlined targeting/marketing an audience, being credible in the campaign’s marketing materials (flyers, signs, websites) is imperative, and how to disseminate the info is important. Timing is mentioned in several chapters – the time line of the movement, being patient, and recognizing that for each step of the process there is a strategic objective to be met (this sounds like a real job, where you set measurable goals). What really made me think that the ideas in this resource were akin to a business model was when they talked about capital/fiances – actually they called in Managing Material Resources, I took that as managing the campaign funds. Then there was a chapter on Human Resources – managing the people in the organization, volunteers and interns, and letting them contribute their knowledge and skills to the movement. My favorite chapters were 13-15, where they discussed morality, campaigning against an oppressor, and dealing with fear. Admittedly, I only had time to skim this book, but this is totally something I would read for fun, it’s really interesting, and appears to be very informative.

At one point, the video reporter quotes MLK, “we will meet suffering with endurance, do as you will, we will wear you out”. As I listen, I wondered what I would do under similar circumstances. Then a woman’s voice (maybe Diane Nash) is heard, she is narrating while the camera captures one of the protesters getting beaten in the store, his body in curled on the floor, by the counter stool.  The narrator says something like, “I am  ready, we are all ready to be beaten, to have our convictions tested; the question  on our minds is if we will endure, and prove our commitment to nonviolence”.  At the moment, the rest of the protesters get pulled from their seats, a scuttle commences and the camera stops filming. In another scene, we get an interpretation of how it feels when you know violence is about to happen. This perspective is from a young white man, Wilson Yates, who participated in the protest by holding a sign. He described the anticipation of violence about to happen as, ” you have this strange, long, lonely feeling where you are waiting for something to happen, but you don’t know what it’s going to be; somewhere down deep you’re ready for it”. I am in utter awe of the commitment to nonviolence these participants showed. I understand that if they fought back it would have undermined the peaceful demonstrations, but how do you turn off your primal instinct to protect, and defend yourself? I don’t know if I could endure a beating, or other act of violence without retaliating.

I get angry when I see footage of the civil rights movement, particularly scenes of opponents beating nonresistant protesters. How can anyone hate another person so much as to want hurt them, beat them, break them. I’ve been upset before, and I understand that in the midst of an argument logic and reasoning become less obvious. I’ve also been in situations where I have let my emotions take over and been driven by adrenalin. Yet, I’ve never been driven to pound (literally) my argument into someones body. I know I would fight in self defense, but that is different. These people beat  other people for self righteousness. And what about the witnesses;  those standing around and not stopping the beatings, they too are guilty. I get it, nobody wants to put themselves in danger, and in this situation, keeping quiet was probably the surest way not to get hurt, but why stay and watch? It boggles my mind that anyone would stand a watch someone get beaten, especially someone not fighting back.

 Last year, my brother and sister-in-law came to visit. We went to a pub and left near closing time. As we walked to the car, we passed a man and woman. She stared at my with eyes filled with tears, I couldn’t look away and I wasn’t sure she wanted me to. When I got to the car, I asked my sister-in-law if she had noticed the couple; this prompted her to look back, and at that very moment she gasped and said, he just slapped the girl. We got in the car, and I drove right up to them and asked the girl if she needed a ride. The man started yelling, threatening us, pounding on the car and telling us to stay out it. While he was occupied with harassing us the girl ran back into the pub. My brother, (smarty pants that he is) called the pub and suggested bouncers come out because this guy was making a scene. We didn’t leave until we saw this guy getting carried away. The whole situation freaked us out. I apologized to my brother and his wife for not asking them what they thought before putting them in harm’s way. I mean the guy could have had a gun, or I could have been completely off base and the girl could have okay with the guy being a jerk. The point is, I reacted instinctively. The truth is, if it were me in that situation, I would want some to help me. Later, while looking at the dent in the hood of my car, my brother asked if I would get involved like that again. I said, I’d probably lay on the horn, set my high beams on the guy, and call 911 – I would not get out of the car, or get close enough for him kick the sh*t out of my car. He said I was courageous, and admitted that he initially thought I was stupid for getting involved, but once he saw the girl run he knew we were doing the right thing.

Li Uy Tioco’s presentation was informative; she offered invaluable first-hand accounts of the EDSA movements. What I found most amazing was how large these movements were; The People Power Revolution (1986) was massive (millions of people) and the Second People Power Revolution (2001) appeared even bigger. These collective groups, of varying backgrounds, ideals, and purposes united – demonstrating in the streets peacefully, that’s an incredible feat.

When Ms. Tioco mentioned that the church played an integral role, I became alert. I’m not sure why I thought it seemed odd that the church was supportive, but I got slightly suspicious as to their involvement. Even now, I can’t really explain my initial reaction. Maybe it’s because I think of religious disputes leading to violent acts; an extremeexample would be a group of fanatical Christians bombing an abortion clinic. Throughout history, religion has been the catalyst of a lot of violence; genocide and imperialism come to mind. Nonetheless, I am impressed that nuns and priest were present at EDSA, and that prayers and vigils took place during the movement.

I was very impressed with how young she was, I think 12 years old is fairly young for someone to participate in a political/social movement that may result in violence. Especially against an opponent known for kidnappings ending in “salvaged graves”. She was brave, her parents were brave.

I also liked her account on how to prepare for the event. She mentioned very practical things, but usually in the excitement of a movement, people can forget the basic necessities. Such as a radio (form of communication), a change of clothes, water, toilet paper, something to keep you dry, something to eat, etc.

I am going to digress for a second – I once went to Cuba to participate in a protest against the Helms-Burton Act (1996). We went in Aug. The morning of the protest was sunny, hot, and really muggy. By mid afternoon, halfway through the march, dark clouds swooped in, gusting winds stole signs and flags from our hands, and it started to rain harder than I ever experienced. It was a hurricane that none of us prepared for.

[The Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (Libertad) Act of 1996 (Helms-Burton Act, is a United States federal law which strengthens and continues the United States embargo against Cuba. The act extended the territorial application of the initial embargo to apply to foreign companies trading with Cuba, and penalized foreign companies allegedly "trafficking" in property formerly owned by U.S. citizens but expropriated by Cuba after the Cuban revolution](Wikipedia, retrieved 4/10/2009)

I enjoyed the guest speaker – it was a pleasant change of pace.

Finally,  State’s are passing legislation that the federal government won’t acknowledge. 

In the last couple of months, I’ve been following the number of states reforming health care policies in their states, thereby requiring health care providers to assume partial if not all of the costs for Autism related expenses (examinations and treatment implementation). Only eight states have moved this reform forward, but it is certainly a hopeful sign for families living with autism.

More recently, gay marriage rights passed in Iowa and Vermont – wow, who would have thought these two states would be so progressive.  And although DC isn’t a state, they too may pass gay marriage rights in the very near future.

I think this is all very positive news.

Rolling Stone Magazine listed 100 agents of change – it’s a good read. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/26754176/the_rs_100_agents_of_change/2

Melanie Sloan founder and Executive Director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), was Rolling Stone’s # 82 pick.
http://www.citizensforethics.org/

CREW is a group of lawyers and journalists that investigate and evaluate the ethical standards of elected politicians and government officials. As reported by Rolling Stones, “CREW exposed the Bush White House’s decision to delete millions of e-mails and the failure to collect nearly $1 billion of international aid after Katrina. Their now battling the Fed to disclose who got $2 trillion in taxpayer-backed loans. And in January, CREW forced the Secret Service to disclose visitor logs to the White House that Cheney and Co. had tried to keep secret” (2009).

Check out their website – you’ll find that CREW has a list of the most corrupt members of congress and a list of the top ten government scandals.

After browsing CREW’s website, I couldn’t help but feel ignorant for not knowing about more than half of the scandals listed. Certainly I am not totally naïve about the respectability of politicians and government officials, but I really wanted to believe that the public’s interest was their top priority. I think the work CREW is doing is amazing. It’s remarkable that there are people out there still willing to put themselves on the line to dig up the dirt. I can only imagine how fun it is for them to uncover the truly scandalous deeds. BUT, how frustrating it must be when the rest of the public or other officials don’t do anything, either ignore the truth, or deny it ever happened. The apathy most citizens have for government misconduct or abuse of power is frightening. That is why I am really happy CREW exist, and that their mission is to continue holding public officials accountable, through news and if necessary, legal action.

Add CREW to your Twitter  - that way you can stay informed of their actions.

When I think nonviolence, I think of the civil rights movement led by Martin Luther King Jr. Yet, in thinking further, I don’t see how one can really say that it was truly a nonviolent movement. Yes, the organizers established a nonviolent policy; perhaps an over simplification is the stance to turn the other cheek. However, protesters were violently beaten, kidnapped, and in some cases murdered by their opponents. Just because protesters didn’t retaliate and succumb to the violent measures of their opposition, was it really a nonviolent movement?

When I went to UC Santa Cruz, I participated in a statewide organized nonviolent sit-in; students protesting university fee hikes. Most of the UC schools participate and planned to take over the Chancellor’s office on each campus. At Santa Cruz, that meant sitting in the lobby of the building his office occupied. During the preparation meetings, participants learned how to shield their eyes from pepper spray and how to get in the fetal position to avoid getting hurt. Those willing to get arrested sat at the Chancellor’s office door, those not wanting to get arrested sat further away. I was a designated photographer for the group, not wanting to get arrested but willing to take pictures in any event.

The door to the Chancellor’s office opened and as planned several students pushed in and sat down. The rest of the crowd inched forward toward the door. Next, those inside the office were asked to leave and when they didn’t they were picked up and arrested. The door was then blocked by police. The protesters sitting close to the door found themselves in tug of wars with the police; you couldn’t tell if protesters were fighting to get in or to stay out of the office.

At one point, the back of the crowd pushed forward, including me. I was later told that police in full gear were corralling the group by using pepper spray. I didn’t see this happen because I was photographing an incident between a police officer and student when I got hit in the legs with a baton, bringing me to my knees. Hugging my camera, I was dragged by a police officer to the threshold of the Chancellor’s office. I knew I would be arrested if they had me in the office so I attempted to wiggle and kick myself loose. To my benefit, another protester rushed the door, making the officer release my leg for a second, just long enough for the crowd to consume me. Shielded by other participants, I was safe, but shaking with fear; I lost my camera. Days later, I saw video footage of myself getting dragged and hit with the baton; it was very surreal and unsettling. Although I lost my camera in the fight, somehow it was found intact. Through word of mouth, the camera was returned to me. The pictures were developed and used in the school’s paper but I never took credit, I was too skittish after the event; they were published with credits that read, “photos taken by a concerned student”. Since then, I have participated in several other movements, but nothing as scary.

I have mixed feelings about protesting. I don’t wholly support the strategy of organizing groups of bodies of various opinions and desired outcomes. At the very sight of opposition, a once supportive group can easily disintegrate.

I did not like the ‘don’t trust adults’ rhetoric in Little Brother; I thought it was irresponsible to propagate that ideology. I found Marcus Yallow to be arrogant, naive, and selfish; somewhat typical characteristics of a teenager. I also did not like how crudely the author depicted a conversation between the school authority and Marcus. I felt it was terribly exaggerated; no respectable, professional educator would antagonize a teenage boy, nor allow a teenage boy to speak in a disrespectful tone (without consequence) during a disciplinary conference.

I take Karate, and part of being a student of martial arts is the discipline of respecting elders or those in higher ranks. Case in point, when I started, I was the lowest member of the dojo family, which meant that my place in line was last. Being the last person out of the dojo meant I was responsible for cleaning the mats and putting away the equipment. At first, I was annoyed because I was paying for lessons, not to be a janitor. I was even more frustrated with myself because I had paid for three months membership without really conceptualizing what I would be getting myself into. During the second month, I was disciplined for asking my Sensei a question. Apparently, I was ranked too low to ask a direct question. I was pissed off. I finished my workout and cleaned the dojo as I had done before, but this time I was fuming with anger. Another teacher, a black belt, asked me if I thought about staying on? I responded by simply saying F* No! As I walked away, I knew instantly the F-bomb explosion ruined any chance of me getting through the door next week without punishment. Yet, before I got to the car the black belt calmly approached me and said (paraphrasing):

You have great potential, but you have to learn to control your emotions to be a good fighter. Don’t you see, we put you through these challenges, humiliation, and frustrations to test you. We have to know your weaknesses so we can build up your strengths. Respect the dojo and you will learn more than you expected. Those with ranks above you are your elders; you should respect them because they have experiences in this dojo that you do not have; learn from them and be patient with yourself. Lastly, because you pay a fee does not mean you’re entitled to respect, that is earned through your actions.

The whole Mr. Miyagi moment was not wasted on me. I let it settle in. I came to learn that my dojo is slightly different than others. Its philosophy is dedicated to teaching martial arts in the most traditional sense. As a consumer, I had originally perceived Karate lessons being akin to a gym membership; I was wrong. Once I started viewing the dojo for what it was, a house of respect, rules, and traditions, I started to feel better about my rank in the dojo.

Listen, I’m not advocating, the whole ‘respect your elders because I say so’ mentality – what I am saying is, think before you disrespect someone older than you, they just might have more to offer than you give them credit for. With age comes experience (not a cliché). Real, honest to goodness life experiences lead to knowledge, which leads to wisdom.

Global Voices is an intriguing online world forum for people to share news from around the world. The website is more than a blog warehouse. People who contribute a blog can share their ideas, feelings, and experiences in their own voice. Then editors and or translators can makes sense of the blog by expanding on the stories; sometimes making it more understandable for the average reader. Note, blogs are not edited by anyone other than the author. The blog content is reviewed, and built into larger stories by the Global Voices Team, who will add visual aids and or offer further explanation of the stories.

Class has been interesting. I like the exposure to social movements, past and present. I enjoy learning about how movements form and evolve. And I consider myself more cognizant of current movements, now than I was before class. However I am not engaged enough to want to participate in a movement. If something perks my interest, I do a bit of google research so that I can be somewhat informed, but I do not claim to be knowledgeable to any extent.

Common Threads is an incredibly expressive documentary depicting the lives and deaths of people with AIDS. The film is a humanitarian piece. Not only was it a film, noteworthy of its artful components, and awarded by its peers for its style and content. But the film was also a tool used to communicate a social movement of awareness and compassion for people living and dying with Aids.

The quilt, represented in the film is a masterful work of art, created by hundreds of people. Each segment of the quilt is an epitaph of someone who died of Aids. These victims of Aids are memorialized on the quilt, by the people who cared for them. Some squares simply show a name etched into the cloth, while other squares have more details designed. The caretaker/artist uses symbols and images to interpret the human spirit immortalized on the quilt.

As of November 2008, Facts about the Quilt http://www.aidsquilt.org/QuiltFacts.pdf

• Number of names on the quilt is more than 91,000
• Size of the quilt in sq feet is 1,293,300
• Total weight of the quilt over 56 tons