Hey y'all, first diary. Don't know if many of you remember the extreme lengths that activists went through back in the 80s and early 90s to get attention drawn to AIDS, but it was radical in a way that nothing since has been. Shutting down Grand Central station, invading live broadcasts, interupting major services, etc.
And all in a desperate attempt to get the MSM to pay attention so that the government had no choice but to respond.
More below...
I'm an old codger, but was very active back then, from policing gay bars outside to confront bashers to invading and shutting down public spaces to get headlines. I'm also new to the netroots activism. From what I've read, there are some angry people who don't want to live in a country that no longer represents them, no longer is the country they grew up in, and is no longer a country they recognize. I feel the same way.
The current government has proven that it will do whatever it can to stop dissent and mute the voices of those willing to stand up against it. However, if we feel so strongly, are strong measures called for again?
I'd invite you all to research the history of ACT UP, and its methods to force the MSM to respond to the growing atrocities of the current government. Blogging and commenting isn't enough. Direct action is needed.
We live in a country where language itself has become a hazy pollution, where no one knows what the facts are, and where we are divided by the most simplistic tactic ever: there are no facts that one can depend upon, or rather, there are so many "facts" that one can pick and choose a "fact" to support one's team's choice. This has to end.
Take the extreme to force the MSM to act. Take back language to mean what it means, as hard as that is in this storm of lies and obsfucation. But most importantly, make yourself heard by any means necessary.
Take a lesson from the brave people responding to the initial AIDS crisis: Fight hard, Fight publicly. It's time to be extreme again.