August 13, 2007

Strike/Protest on September 11, 2007

Do you feel guilty about missing work or school?

Maybe it's time to rethink what it means to be responsible.

Take one day to strike from shopping, work, and school in order to stand up to an administration that's wrought more devastation than any other in our nation's history -- decimating our fundamental human rights, our financial well-being, and our children's future; lying us into a war that's killed thousands of Americans and hundreds of thousand of Iraqis; etc. etc. (article here).

The material below is a quick n' dirty reconstitution of a post at democraticunderground.com -- thanks to the inestimable AUTORANK.

GENERAL STRIKE on 9/11, 2007

“No School * No Work * No Shopping
Hit the Streets”

Michael Collins
Scoop Independent Media
Washington, D.C.

A general strike is proposed for the United States on September 11, 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.

* * * * *

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, an election fraud protest. It is not about torture, surveillance, corporate media, the 9/11 coverup, 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
[* * * * *]"

LOCK-DOWN USA -- NO Answers (to anything)
The strike targets key issues facing the American public, issues that have not been addressed in any meaningful way by any branch of government. These include enduring questions and inconsistencies about 911, the Iraq War; violations of civil rights; and election fraud. As the statement above indicates, one key means of the coverup is the corporate media.

* * * * *

Reflecting the disquiet of the American public, Bush popularity is in free fall. As low as 26% approval in recent polls, his decline has been steady and unending since the peak after the 9/11 attacks (with an odd spike on Election Day 2004).

The strike campaign argues that these and other issues rarely covered in any depth by nearly all of the corporate media leave only one move for citizens -- a general strike to protest the policies plus the lack of recognition and response.

Call to action: We just have to stand up.

Flyer from here (flyer number 5)

Standing up includes no work or school on September 11, 2007. It also includes “no shopping;” a suspension of all purchasing during the strike. One strike web site claims that this can have a substantial impact even with just a small percentage of the population participating.

The general strike calls for participants to “Hit the Streets.” Significant activity is expected to focus on New York and Washington, DC but, in the viral spirit, the venues of protest can’t be predicted.

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