Supporters of the open internet showed up at 700 protests, in all 50 states Thursday. The protests were mostly staged at Verizon stores nationwide, where FCC Chairman Ajit Pai used to work as an attorney. At every event were eloquent, articulate citizens who know what's at stake here.
At a strip mall in Shoreline, Wash., just north of Seattle, about 18 protesters turned up on a cold, sunny morning outside a Verizon store between a Costco and a teriyaki restaurant.
Shasta Willson, a web developer who lives in Shoreline, said she ran a small literature publishing business and was concerned that the loss of net neutrality could turn the internet into something more like cable television, where access to certain online services are sold as part of content packages.
“I feel like this is the most important issue going on,” she said. “There’s some crazy stuff going on, but if we lose net neutrality you might not hear about any of it.”
In the shadow of the New York Stock Exchange in Manhattan, 15 to 20 protesters chanted, “Save the net” and “Free speech, equal access.” Although demonstrators said they knew the rule change would almost certainly happen next week, they were hopeful that their actions could generate enough last-minute attention to bring about a reversal.
“I’m afraid it’s a rear-guard action,” one of the protesters, Maxine Rockoff, 79, said. “But I hope if we protest across the country, the folks in Congress will recognize it was a bad decision.”
Folks in Congress are certainly getting the message, and they're getting it from you. As of Friday morning, the coalition to save net neutrality is working with has submitted more than 250,000 unique signatures to members of Congress. Leading the pack in signatures is, you guessed it, Daily Kos with 107,725. Because the Daily Kos community rocks when it comes to this issue.
Thank you. Pat yourself and your neighbor in the comments on the back. And if you have not yet signed, please do. If you have, share the link below with everyone you know on the internet. Democracy will thank you.
Time is running out before Trump's FCC and Big Cable destroy net neutrality—but we can still stop them. Tell Congress to oppose Trump FCC's plan to destroy net neutrality and the open internet.