Proposed new forum: Protests and Marches

[evlbstrd]

Mission statement:
The purpose of this forum is to facilitate the logistics for DUers who wish to participate in national mobilization calls, such as those sponsored by UFPJ. Logistics include transportation, housing, rally meeting points, and most importantly (:wink:) what bar the pre-march meet-up should be at.

It would also provide a central repository for photographs, links to video and personal experiences at any action, as well as any press coverage such events may attract.

[WolverineDG]

1. Let me be the first to k&R

and also agree to be an active participant.

dg

[SharonRB]

3. LOL

Of course we're the first two!

[WolverineDG]

57. Have sign, will march! n/t

[screembloodymurder]

60. I'll second that.

I've been looking for just such a place.

[SharonRB]

2. What a fabulous idea, evlbastrd!

I can't believe no one has ever thought of that before. It's always so hard to figure out where to post this stuff so it gets the most exposure.

Count me in as someone who would support it.

[evlbstrd]

19. I knew you'd appreciate it.

It won't always be busy, but we sure could have used it this past weekend.

[Dracos]

4. great ideal

[evlbstrd]

9. Thanks, and welcome to DU.

[WolverineDG]

5. We need 10 DUers who are donors

to sign on to this thread & agree to be active particpants! C'mon! Make this happen! I have a feeling we're going to need it!

dg

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

6. Count me and my star in. Great idea...n/t

[Breeze54]

70. I'll help! Great idea!!

But it's just for organizing, right? A central place?

We would still be able to post actions that are taking place, in GD, wouldn't we?

That's how the word of an action gets spread. ;)

[redwitch]

7. It would take an evlbstrd to think of such a thing!

redwitch approves of the idea, she must be evl too! :hi:

[evlbstrd]

10. The grinding gears keep me up nights.

I dub you evlrdwtch.

[redwitch]

15. Excellent!

Thank you kind sir knight! Re: the gears. Perhaps you should invest in a better mattress????

[evlbstrd]

17. I should quit sleeping on the couch with BBC on.

I just stumble from the computer to the nearest soft place.

[redwitch]

22. Perhaps you need DU rehab?

:P

[evlbstrd]

24. Is it painful?

And do they serve Guinness?

[redwitch]

32. depends. how long can you go between posts?

I will smuggle in the latest lounge threads and Guinness to you.

[evlbstrd]

37. Well, I have incredible bladder control.

Thanks, and don't forget the straw.

[redwitch]

38. more than I needed to know

:rofl:

[evlbstrd]

42. oops.

Par for the course. Now I'll never make Moderator.

[redwitch]

46. It's good to have goals!

You keep tryin' buddy!

[Jeanette in FL]

8. You can count on me

I'm in baby. It is just what we need.

[evlbstrd]

11. Yay!

I ain't Minister of Propaganda for nothin'! I'm in it for the epaulettes.

[Pharaoh]

12. I like the Bar locater idea!

perhaps this has wings..........:toast:

[evlbstrd]

18. I figure that's the kicker.

DUers are friendly people.

[bridgit]

13. good idea k&r'd...

:kick:

[Jeanette in FL]

14. wink, wink, where the liquor stores are

So that DU'ers don't have to walk around the city aimlessly in the middle of the night only to find out that the city has some fucked up law about selling beer after 10pm on a Saturday night.

[evlbstrd]

16. That's a very important point.

That can really cut into Quality Drinking Time.

[proud2BlibKansan]

55. What happened in DC

stays in DC.

At least I think someone told me that. But then I may have been dreaming.

:rofl:

[evlbstrd]

66. What happened in DC?

Did I miss something?

[librechik]

20. Have you seen the Activist Forum? That's where we do marches and protests

already...

[evlbstrd]

23. Yes, I have.

But, it's more than what I'm proposing. Besides, it appears that DUers who attended the march were mostly using GD to post their pictures and stories.

[Kerrytravelers]

21. Count me in.

[evlbstrd]

25. Thank you!

and kicking

[SharonRB]

28. I think we only need a couple more to have our 10

I knew this would be a no-brainer! (Not that we don't all have brains, but, you know...)

[evlbstrd]

39. I'm campaigning via PM right now.

Sometimes our brains are busy doing other things.

[NoSheep]

26. Great idea! Maybe it would help keep out the people who seem not to feel it is

important. You know....those who think speaking out is "RUDE".

Why would they go there if not just to pick a fight? And they've got plenty of them in GD to keep them busy.

:kick:

[evlbstrd]

30. Agreed.

If you're not already planning to attend, why bother to go to the forum?

[Bjorn Against]

27. I am with you...

I am in the Twin Cities area and we are going to be having the 2008 Republican National Convention here, and it would be great to have a forum specifically for dealing with the protests.

[evlbstrd]

31. Yes!

And I'll go to that one. Besides, I love the Twin Cities.

[Bjorn Against]

49. Good, I will look forward to seeing you there

I can't wait to meet other DUers from across the nation, we are going to have a great time while at the same time bringing attention to some very important issues. I went to the New York RNC protests in 2004 and it was an incredible experience and I can not wait to welcome the Republicans into my home town.

[Luminous Animal]

29. Already have one...

It's called "Activist HQ"
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=106

[evlbstrd]

33. See post #23.

[SharonRB]

34. As evlbstrd said above, this is very different

It's very focused on planning for marches, etc. and then posting photos afterwards. We seem to be all over the place on this kind of stuff now.

[Luminous Animal]

45. But why not use the Activist HQ

Protests and marches ARE activism and if you go to that forum you will see that some people are already using it for just the reason evlbstrd suggested.

Maybe this is an issue where the moderators should be more proactive and move activist type posts to the Activist HQ similarly to what is already being done wiht GLBT issues.

[evlbstrd]

47. Here's the thinking.

ActivistHQ is great for advocating all kinds of things, including campaigns, petitions and the like. It's always been my understanding that that was the primary purpose of that forum.
This forum would focus not on planning the event itself, but DU participation in it, and only national events such as January 27. More importantly, it would be a place to post pictures of any action, local or national, and any press resulting from them.
Most of the planning for DU gatherings in DC took place in the DC forum from what I saw, and trying to find pictures and news of the events became a real clickfest. I'm not trying to supplant ActivistHQ. In fact, I think it complements it.

[cadmium]

35. this sounds like a great idea. I would

suggest that the style of photos and rhetoric on this forum include plenty of people that cannot be pidgen-holed as radical-appearing. At least include enough average looking people to counter the image that only hippies and anarchists protest. One thing that the right wing and the media like to do is to pick out the most absurd-looking and inflammatory protestors to diminish the whole event by association. Remember at the Cindy Sheehan Crawford Tx vigil that there was some right-wing operative dressed as a dragon (or something like that) and he was mistakenly set upon by "counter-demonstrators".

Maybe the late Father Robert Drinan's picture could be included. He was an outspoken anti-war Catholic priest that led many a protest in the Vietnam War. There are a couple threads on DU about his death this past weekend.

[evlbstrd]

40. That's pretty much what you'll see

in the pic threads from Saturday's march. Some of the freeper counter-protest, too. You know, just for comparison.
I was waiting for someone like Drinan or the Berrigan brothers to come forward. The Archbishop of DC spoke.

[cadmium]

51. This is additional incentive to have

a forum to counter the MSM images of protestors as wacky and counter protestors as troop-supporting.

Good to hear that a manstream clergyman spoke. Clerical voices of dissent have been very muted in the US for the past 25 yrs or so.

[WolverineDG]

61. Are you saying we're "weird looking?"

Because the DUers who showed up looked pretty average to me. ;)

dg

[cadmium]

63. What I am saying is that more than counter-culture

image people are opposed to the war. When the media shows demonstrations they always focus on people who are dressed in costumes or uninhibited. This way it paints the protestors as fringe and therefore unlike the average American. It is a way to diminish our message by marginalizing us.

[Kali]

36. But, but, but...what about the John Edwards' House forum?

[evlbstrd]

43. I'd kick that.

[livvy]

41. Count me in. Great idea! n/t

[evlbstrd]

44. Thanks, livvy!

[Auggie]

48. I'll drink to that.

[evlbstrd]

52. Have one on me.

Easy to say from here, huh?

[proud2BlibKansan]

50. Whoa evl, you go

You also rock. But I think you already know that.

Great idea. :hug:

[evlbstrd]

53. Woo hoo!

I'm still wound up. And I just watched Democracy Now! The best march coverage I've seen. Amy did the full hour. Well, after the headlines.

[livvy]

54. Are we there yet?

Can we stop and get some ice cream? How much farther? What time will we get there? Babylonsister is sitting on my side!

Furthur!

[evlbstrd]

64. Shut up, you kids!

Don't make me pull over!

[lonestarnot]

56. woot!

Like it!

[evlbstrd]

65. Me happy.

I've never done this before. Am I winning?

[lonestarnot]

78. Yes. LOL

What did you win?

[evlbstrd]

79. Hell, I don't know.

But it sure feels good.

[lonestarnot]

80. Woohooo!

I'm glad!

[Runcible Spoon]

58. sounds good.

nothing ever freakin' gets organized where I am *sigh*

[evlbstrd]

67. Are there other DUers where you live?

Where I live, it all started with meet-ups. But you'd be surprised how many active organizations you can find in your community.

[Mabus]

59. I've got a star and I'm saying "go for it"

It's a wonderful idea. Who suggested it to you? Or was this based on your own idea for a post-event meeting spot for Guinness? :evilgrin:

[evlbstrd]

68. I think it was my idea.

At least, that's what WolverineDG told me.
And, of course there was Guinness involved.

[Mabus]

72. Guinness always seems to be involved

Besides, I think proud said it "whatever happens in D.C., stays in D.C." at least when it comes to some post-protest events.

[evlbstrd]

74. Something stayed in D.C.

Did you like the pictures of the American Indian museum? I took 'em just for you. It's where we all met for the march.

[Mabus]

82. That was sweet. Thank you

I wonder if Dick West still works there. He's an old friend of the family and he is also enrolled in the same tribe I am. Did you know that one of my brothers has a painting at the Smithsonian's AI museum?

[evlbstrd]

83. Yes!

I remember you telling me that. You're brother is very talented.
Couldn't tell you about Dick West, though. I thought the architecture was interesting. I didn't have enough time to visit.

[Mabus]

87. You're still coming over for Thanksgiving this year, right?

I mentioned that you and proud were coming to our house this year. I told her it was so you two could escape your ungrateful families. You're still coming aren't you?

[babylonsister]

62. Me, too! Me, too!

:hi: :thumbsup:

[evlbstrd]

69. Thanks, sister!

Hiya back!

[EFerrari]

71. Good idea.

K&R

[evlbstrd]

73. You like?

Wow, I've got 14 votes!

You wouldn't believe what else I've cooked up. But, in due time.
By the way, I should mention that you and Jeanette in FL are very nice people.

[EFerrari]

75. You and Jeanette were lifesavers on Saturday night

when I didn't want to be serious any more and just wanted to chill and, you smelled good, too.

lol

[evlbstrd]

76. I have a difficult time maintaining serious.

But serious can be a great source for comedy.
Otherwise, we'd do nothing but cry. That ain't good for anybody.
edit
Smelled good? Thanks, I think. Maybe I should develop a cologne. eau de Bus. It's the concentrated aroma of 23 hours on a bus, an evening of drinking, a night in a sleeping bag on the floor and a day of marching. With just of touch of tobacco.

[EFerrari]

77. Smelled good to me.

On the other hand, everything smells like oak to me.

Thanks again.

:)

[evlbstrd]

81. Oh, no. Thank you.

Oak is a good wood for smoking food.
Many things can be smoked.

[Jeanette in FL]

85. Aren't you sweet to say that

And you and Beth are very nice people as well. Lots of Laughs.

[evlbstrd]

84. A small kick for the night owls.

[WolverineDG]

88. Do we have 10 donors yet?

:)

dg

[evlbstrd]

89. Looks like 16 to me.

What's next?

[WolverineDG]

90. I think emailing the Admins w/a link to the thread

Rules here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=206x10

:bounce:

dg

[evlbstrd]

91. Cool.

Thanks for that. I'll send the email now.

[WolverineDG]

86. kick for the morning crew