Congressional District Strikes
(note: there are no new ideas here, just a bunch of old ones
I ripped off, combined and applied to the current situation)
In Jerome's thread "The Need for Resistance" the other day, we talked about next steps in direct action to stop the war and I brought up the idea of a general strike going into effect when a certain number of people committed. Well, in addition to possibly doing it on a national scale, it'd be easier and just as effective to do it on a local scale, targeting a specific congressional district.
So what would happen is, in congressional district X, a core of organizers start recruiting for a general strike to occur when a certain number of people have signed a pledge to participate. Say, 100,000. When 100,000 people sign, the date is set for a week later, giving people time to prepare and to recruit even more strikers and to plan events (flashmobs, informal rallies, vigils, concerts, whatever other meetups).
Organizing can be focused online using social networking websites, blogs and email. Word of mouth would have to take over at some point, but information would still be centralized in specific webspaces, lessening the potential for confusion and just generally making all aspects of the strike easier to organize. Providing an email address should be part of the pledge so information can be distributed quickly and directly.
If the event is successful, major local media attention is guaranteed
and even likely to be somewhat balanced, since a huge chunk of their audience would be participating. Would put massive pressure on representatives because it shows people so angry about the lack of progress that it causes pressure on everyone by virtue of putting strain on the economy. Would scare business. Would seriously put Republicans on the spot; having to dismiss 100,000 constituents who just made a sacrifice is hard. I’d like to see them try.
No work, no school, no purchases. Black clothes for some, rallies for others. Bottom line is the pledge’s one week delay offers strength and safety in numbers; whatever else happens is a bonus. On the other hand, if people are already participating in a strike, it makes sense that they’d participate in a rally, so it’s likely major antiwar events could be made.
The same plan could be applied on a national level or in a grouping of CDs.
If a major group ($$) like MoveOn got behind this, I see no reason it couldn’t be pulled off very effectively in a target district within 2 months. It could also be organized by citizens on a grassroots, DIY level, although it would be a lot tougher, take longer and run a bigger risk of failure.
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