Corporate moratorium fantasies aside, I'm a writer of fiction, so the intracerebral exercise of "fantasizing" does take up a good deal of my daily time. But, I have seriously contemplated how hard a hit corporations would take if we, for an entire day, collectively stepped off the "neoconsumer conveyor belt." How would they [the neofascists/corporatists] and all their sacrosanct shareholders react? I suspect shock would become the collective manifestation.
An article written by Michael Collins for the New Zealand website, Scoop highlights the plan:
A general strike is proposed for the United States on September11, 2007, the sixth anniversary of the 9/11/2001 attacks on New York City and Arlington, Virginia. The general strike movement has no clearly named leadership. It’s described as an Internet viral effort. "Viral effort" is defined by Wikipedia as:
An object (or an idea) is viral when it has the ability to spread copies of itself or change other similar objects to become more like (it) when those objects are simply exposed to the viral object.
General strikes, more common in Europe, are events that shut down the normal operations of a city, state, or nation for a period of time. These strikes aim to force awareness and action on a single issue or broader set of concerns. The 9/11/07 General Strike has a central location - on the Internet, which is linked to and reproduced on a variety of other internet sites. The site states the rationale for the effort:
The General Strike is a national call to action, from citizens to other citizens. It is not about a single issue. It is not an anti-war protest, a civil rights protest, and an election fraud protest. It is not about torture, surveillance, corporate media, the 9/11 cover-up, or the environment. This strike is about all these issues and more.
We all have different concerns, but we all have the same concern: we are being lied to and this government does not represent us. Join other Americans in demanding truth, justice, and accountability.
This is our country.
And our world.
We just have to stand up.
A National Call to Action: Tuesday, September 11th, 2007
No school. No work. Buy nothing. Hit the streets (Click "ABOUT")LOCK DOWN USA – NO Answers (to anything)
The proposed targets are basically key issues we currently face in America. These grievances of the American people have not yet been addressed in any earnest or veracious way - by any of our three branches of government:
• The Iraq occupation and the run-up to it
• Enduring questions and general inconsistencies concerning 9-11
• The systematic violation of civil rights and the U.S. Constitution
• Election Fraud
• Pervasive corruption and cronyism in the federal government
• The taking "... impeachment off the table," issue, the apparent disconnect, and the endemic un-accountability of our elected officials.
Now, there’s no doubt that each of the above issues open up a myriad of other questions about other side-issues that have been previously and extensively documented here at kos and all over the reality-based community. So, I’ll spare everyone the details of those issues at this time.
Let’s just leave it at this:
The Bush administration has continually lied to us, and left without recourse [or any investigative work from the corporate MSM] WE the People must in effect take our government back from the hijackers of democracy. And, we’re all on our own.
But, we are not powerless. We have our own "power of the purse," and the laborious day-to-day efforts of the typical American worker have not yet been replaced by automated robotics.
It won’t be easy. It will take every bit of resolve and willpower that those of us participating can muster. After all, Americans are not all that familiar with general strikes. But, they have occurred in our history and for the most part have achieved their stated objectives, and the people who calculate and extrapolate the actual effects of a nationwide strike claim that general strike(s) can have a substantial impact on the economy even with just a small percentage of the population participating. Of course, the proof is in the pudding, as they say, and only after we carry out a nationwide general strike will we know what sort of impact we can generate.
There is a "Hit the Streets" aspect of the proposed strike that I haven’t touched on yet. It’s not that I don’t think it’s a good idea; massive street protests in major U.S. cities could very well resonate in the MSM to the extent that the bigwigs in Washington D.C. sit up and take notice, if nothing else. But, I think hitting the streets might better serve us as a second act; an ace in the hole, if you will. And, to be honest, I wouldn’t be able to participate in a street protest until after my scheduled knee surgery at the end of October. There’s recoup time afterward as well; so, more power to anyone willing to march, but, I’ll have to sit this one out.
Back to Scoop:
The pervasive motivation is the clear indifference to pressing issues by all three branches of the federal government. The White House stalled the 911 investigation and then crippled the 911 Commission in many ways, including delay followed by insufficient funds and authority. The Supreme Court of the U.S. recently overturned landmark civil right legislation thanks to two newly appointed justices who convinced key Senators that they would not overturn civil rights protections. The new Democratic Congress of 2006 has failed to pass a meaningful resolution to end the Iraq War.
Specific recent political actions may well have contributed to the general strike. They reflect the joining of antiwar, 911 Truth, and impeachment groups.
On June 27, 2007, the United States Social Forum, a convention of various social justice groups, passed a resolution that called for both the reopening of the 911 investigation and the impeachment of Bush and Cheney. This cooperative effort by the 911 Truth movement, impeachment organizations, and the anti war coalition is a new trend.
On July 4, 2007, the Philadelphia Emergency Anti War Convention convened in Pennsylvania. Cindy Sheehan pointed out that her audiences have been filled with 911 Truth members who deserved answers to their questions. The convention produced a strong set of demands known as The Act Independent United Front Program. The program calls for impeachment of Bush, Cheney and associates; an end to all wars; restoration of Constitutional Rights; an end to "Bush police-state dictatorship;" a government by and for the people; and 9/11 truth – reopening the investigation and full release of all 9/11 documentation.
Now, I’m in no way a conspiracy theorist. But I do believe that from what we’ve learned about what the 9-11 Commission is hiding about the Sibel Edmonds case, their behavior is appalling, and it begs the question of what else they’re hiding about the threat we face, and about the WTC and Pentagon attacks by al-Qaeda in 2001. If for no other reason, a new investigation should commence just to further shine a beacon on the egregious mistakes made by the Bush administration before, during and after the attacks. The American people deserve the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
I also think the Iraq Moratorium effort scheduled for September 15 is a great idea. The only downside I see to it is that it only proposes a moratorium on gasoline and not a boycott on the broad-based retail economy. Perhaps, utilized in conjunction both events would achieve even greater results. Again, we won’t know until we try it.
But, make no mistake, should this effort achieve momentum nationwide and prompt hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of people to boycott, blanket Congress with phone calls and emails, and hit the streets in protest, politicians will face a dilemma. They can continue to ignore, delay and dissemble, reaping the consequences in 2008. Or they can act promptly and effectively to satisfy the demands of the American public.
I know that the Iraq Moratorium has generated a lot of interest around here. And, I will be participating. But, will it be enough? I don’t know.
Please consider participating in the proposed general strike on 9-11 as well. I think that to hold a nationwide retail boycott on that hallowed day would definitely augment the effort.
Think about it but remember, only four weeks left until Sept. 11, 2007.
And, remember one other thing:
The only defense against "consolidation" [of power in Washington] - is - "solidarity" [of the people]
Peace
Comments are closed on this story.