[1413] in peace2
Come to NYC
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Arjun Mendiratta)
Thu Jan 31 14:55:38 2002
Message-Id: <200201311955.OAA04629@scrubbing-bubbles.mit.edu>
To: peace-list@MIT.EDU
Date: Thu, 31 Jan 2002 14:55:34 -0500
From: Arjun Mendiratta <arjunm@MIT.EDU>
------- Forwarded Message
From: Starhawk <stella@mcn.org>
Date: Thu, 31 Jan 2002 04:15:20 -0800
Subject: [no2wef] New York!
Please post freely and spread this wherever it might do some good, love
Starhawk
Come to New York!
World Economic Forum Protests
1/30-2/4
The World Economic Forum, the club of the representatives of the world=B9s
richest corporations meeting with the world=B9s most powerful politicians,
meets this weekend in New York City. Major protests are planned, in
particular a march organized by Another World is Possible (AWIP) on Saturda=
y
February 2.
You need to be here.
If you didn=B9t like the State of the Union speech, if you don=B9t like=
the
war on terrorism or the war on civil liberties, if you consider yourself
progressive, left, radical, or you just don=B9t like seeing more wealth and
power concentrated in fewer and fewer hands, you need to be here.
Come. If you=B9re in subway/train/bus/driving distance from New York,
come. If you had other plans for the weekend, if you=B9re too busy, if you
have too many other commitments, if you haven=B9t been to a march in years,=
if
you=B9re burned out and sick of marching, come. If it rains, if the kids h=
ave
a soccer game, if you=B9re tired, if you=B9re afraid, come anyway.
There are certain crucial moments when the tide of history turns one wa=
y
or another. This is one of them. It=B9s more than just one more protest
against one more alphabet soup global corporate institution. It=B9s an
assertion of our right to contest the current system at all. As the polic=
e
mass their forces, as they mount a campaign to discredit and intimidate us,
it=B9s becoming clear that this protest is vitally important.
If we let them succeed, the space for dissent in this country will clos=
e
even further. The right wing post-9-22 strategy of criminalizing dissent
will be confirmed.
If we don=B9t let them succeed, we can reclaim a momentum and a politic=
al
space at a crucial moment, when Enron has challenged the credibility of the
system and Bush=B9s policies, when questions are beginning to surface about
what really happened on 9-11, when slowly the stories and seeping out about
the Afghani=B9s reduced to eating grass.
You might think this is the wrong time for a protest. You might not like
the politics or the style or the smell of your fellow activists. People
might take stands you don=B9t agree with or do things you wouldn=B9t approv=
e of.
Come anyway. It=B9s happening, wisely or unwisely. There are times to=
be
cautious and careful. But there are other times when caution simply feeds
the power of the authorities, and only a leap of courage can keep us free.
The AWIP march is permitted, legal, and nonviolent. Everyone involved
in the organizing, from the pacifists to the militants, has agreed to
respect those parameters.
The police have shown every indication that they will not. That=B9s a
strong reason for you to come.
The organizers are doing everything in their power to assure a safe,
creative, and inspiring event. Yet no one can guarantee that the march
will be safe. Come anyway.
We need to act now, to overcome fear, to take the risks that lie befor=
e
us. If we don=B9t, if we let ourselves be intimidated into silence, we wil=
l
become far, far more unsafe.
What we=B9re contesting on the streets this weekend is, quite simply, t=
he
course of the future. We cannot be safe in a world in which more and more
wealth is concentrated in fewer and fewer hands, and where the consolidatio=
n
of power is backed by the police and military might of the state. The more
that hegemony goes uncontested, the more seamless it becomes.
If we want to maintain our freedom and assert our power to shape a differen=
t
future, a free and just and sustainable future, we need to be a strong
presence now. We need all of you.
If you can=B9t get to New York, support us. Demand fair news coverage, wri=
te
the letters, make the calls. But if you possibly can, come. Call your
friends, get them to come with you. Tell them it's important.
Come to New York.=20
Starhawk
New York City
January 31, 2002
www.starhawk.org
The AWIP march assembles on Saturday, Feb. 2 at noon at 59th St. and 5th
Ave. in Manhattan. At 11 AM, we will do a short Street Safety and Tactics
training. After the march, nonviolent direct action may take place through
Monday. Check the AWIP website www.anotherworldispossible.com for complete
information and late breaking updates on the many events throughout this
weekend.
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