Who's in? What messages are you thinking of taking out? What hashtags do we want to use? The conversations on our Private National OLB Working Group were particularly fruitful and focussed last week. The Light Brigade Network was coordinating and collaborating again, and that is always a kick in the pants. No matter what happens, it is always amazing to be working with such a loose and organic and collaborative and responsive group of people - most of whom I have never even met personally. Early on, when kossack badscience and I field tested the first light panel, we decided to open source the idea and freely share our simple methods for building signs as well as our experience with building activist groups. The lights on this map show the continuing story.
Last week we were leading up to the global resistance movement against Monsanto that culminated in the
March Against Monsanto,
Bee Die-Ins, and the
March For Food Freedom. There is increasing urgency of food-based activism, with some groups focussing on declining bee populations, some wanting to see public disclosure of genetically modified organisms, some concerned about the growing legal bullying perpetrated by agribusiness against independent farmers, some worried about the increasing loss of control over seed stock, and some just feeling generally pissed off about the almost complete collusion between corporate giants and the legislation they are able to purchase. Something simple like seed-sourcing is now the site of complex legal strife and cultural struggle, and we hope that our collective actions plant activist seeds which continue to grow.
While we usually spend a few nights a week on highway overpasses or in front of our state capitol, the Overpass Light Brigade (OLB) in Wisconsin opted to spend the night in a cornfield at the Light Brigade Farm (thanks to Kossack poison kitchen). MONSANTO = TOXIC SEED eerily emerged from the tall corn and POISON POLLEN lit up the night for random passersby on a lonely country highway.
The
NYC Light Brigade has such an amazing backdrop for their actions. They have been doing great things lately, and standing with local farmers on top of Brooklyn Grange was no exception. This is the largest rooftop farm in the world, and they were joined with some of the workers, whose idea it was to hold pitchforks high in solidarity with farmers around the world.
The
Fresno Light Brigade went out on multiple nights throughout the region and held different messages, including this stage performance at the Fresno Fair for a Llama Boy concert. LED flowers and plants germinate in time-lapse magic as people are empowered to MARCH AGAINST MONSANTO.
The
North Texas Light Brigade in Dallas went out with SAVE THE BEES. Notice their wonderful glowing bee icon, which was also the image on a massive banner drop off of a main highway during daylight hours. They always do some amazing and bold work.
The
Northern Illinois Light Brigade held this message in front of high traffic intersections around Rockford, IL.
The Detroit Light Brigade got into the action by projecting their messages onto buildings, and Overpass Light Brigade-San Diego shined from the 6th Avenue Overpass over I-5. Check out this lovely video out of San Diego:
We had most of the country covered, from the Hudson River Valley to Florida, from NYC to the the Hawaiian Islands, where the
Occupy Hilo Light Brigade took at BEE AKAMAI which means BEE SMART.
We know that we are hunkering down for some pretty big struggles, and we need to keep organizing, resisting, talking, reading, writing, gardening, sharing, disrupting. I'll end by reiterating Hawaii's thought. Be smart, be informed, connect with community and grow your own.
(With a hat-tip to our friends at Occupy Riverwest)
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