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I Take My Activism with Just A Drop of Capitalism. Thanks. [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2025-03-11

Hi,Daily Kos Folks! I am re-posting my Protest Checklist.

I’m going to begin here with exchanges I had with my (adult) son via a communication site, March 6-March 7, 2025: These are my opinions about the protest scene as I see it at this point in time. My son here is being a wonderful good listener while I rant.

Me: Looking at the schedule of planned protests: “Well, we're in the “No Buying From Amazon” phase. I'm not feelin' any needles being moved.”

My son, “No.”

Me: “I don't think I said much about it, but I published a Daily Kos article called "Protest Checklist". Someone asked if a person who protested way back in the day would put out a bunch of ideas from their experience on how to organize a protest. so I did that -and it immediately went to the back pages. Now it's on page five, -no, just checked, -page 10 (update: Page 20, at time of publishing.)”

My son, “Huh.”

Me: “Meanwhile there's two articles on an Ivy League Professor who wrote a book in 2016, about disturbing political trends towards authoritarianism in recent USA history and included a list of ideas about resisting those trends towards authoritarianism and he's considered the big expert on protesting because he wrote a book about the disturbing political trends in recent USA history and included a list of ideas about resisting those trends. I have to ask why I have never heard about him in the news, y’know,leading people in a D.C. “March Against Tyranny" or the like. All these “book jacket blurbs” about him, and not a mention if he’s even attended a well-mannered Ivy League campus demonstration, let alone organized one.”

People writing anxiously at this moment do not want The History of Tyranny. They do not want The History of Central and Eastern European Countries in the Cold War Era. They do not want A Comparison of Nationalism and Marxism. They don’t want The History of the Holocaust. They don’t want to hear any of Five European Languages. They don’t want to know How to Monitor Facebook. All these things are wonderful accomplishments, but it’s not what people want to know right now. They want to know what to do, in sufficient detail as to be a “how-to”, to protest Trump and stop this pillage.

An aside, which addresses my point: Adding to my complete bafflement about said Professor being touted as an expert on organizing protests, is that there are people who wrote in to say that the people who wrote the Daily Kos articles, available for free in a discussion site, violated the Professor’s copyright, because he’s a Professor, and none of his stuff is “free”, (and no, a cat can’t look at a king, so don’t do that again, you despicable peasants!) And I will finish here with how appalling it is that protests are now a pay-for service that “everyone” buys. Yes. If you go on the most used Protest Service site, there is something which functions like a fee schedule. You can select the protesting your organization can afford. Capitalism reigns.

Back to the conversation with my son who is helping me rant now:

My Son: How much is it to protest the fee to protest?

(Me: Thinking about this great idea from my son: Yes, Stand outside their headquarters and yell, “We demand Free Protests!” Wow! That would shake ‘em up! But...hmmm. Maybe someone would walk outside, hand us a bill...take us to court?...hmmm.)

Me: “Well, I stopped looking at it (the pay-for-protest site) after I had seen that there seemed to be a fee schedule. I mean what's next? We put out word that we're looking for corporate sponsorship? "Today's rally is brought to you by MyShirtMatters, the tough laundry stain remover- gets out even stubborn blood stains from being dragged to the police car!"

My son: “Down with the system! -Sponsored by OpenAI.”

OK, so that was my conversation with my son. Rant over, somewhat.

I’ve been working on the problem of where to start, and now I have a concept of a plan: I'm thinking of attending the local Earth Day activities in my area, where I might be able to set up a table and gather names of folks who would like to extend their activities about the Earth to other days and related topics. I have a call in with various Parks and Recreation offices. I have to wait and see if I will be allowed to do that, so I may as well go ahead and publish the Protest Checklist.

I would like to organize something in my community around Earth Issues. The City Adopt-A-Street program I helped organize is still going strong after 20+ years.

Our city is beautiful, and people here are very proud of it. Our city borders a National Forest. People here don’t want it sold off for mining, or logging, or to be a gated community of vacation homes.

However, the area where we are located had 70 days of over 110° heat last summer. People died. (Note: less people died in the largest county than the year before, which County Officials think means people are becoming aware of the danger of extreme heat. Good. Hope so.) We also know about Hurricane Helene going up the middle of the country and the huge fires that burnt up the Los Angeles area. Our state sent rescue workers to help. For all I know, I may be answering a need that’s been building up as people in my city witnessed these tragic events and asked themselves, “What can I do?” Maybe they will want to do some protesting. As I indicated in my title, protesting will involve buying supplies, perhaps renting films, or other special equipment...it might involve selling tee-shirts and books... So, some Capitalism, to be sure, but just a drop, please, of Capitalism. Thanks!

Once again, anyone in the Phoenix East Valley area who wants to meet and discuss building a protest structure, message me. Maybe we could do an Earth Day Event together.

Now, if you are asking,“Where can I find an Earth Day Event? (setting up a table to organize in your community is optional. I don’t know yet if I’m going to be allowed to do that.) Look here:

Checkout the Earth Day Activities being taken across the world:

https://www.earthday.org/earth-day-2025/#map

Are you back? Well, so my figuring out how I can organize an “Earth Day, Every Day” Group in my area might be a series, or at least a two-parter. I may not be allowed to organize at the Earth Day event, so there’s that. I might attend anyway, so I think that it might be informative to give a report back on how the Earth Day Event went. Of course, a part of that decision will be whether there’s enough interest in this article.

Now this brings us to the Protest Checklist Redux part of the article. Before I posted it the first time, I sent it out to a friend I’ve known since doing Vietnam War Protests in the 70s and with whom I was jailed in a National Guard Armory following our arrests along with 1,412 others on the then-future site of the Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant in Seabrook, NH, May 1, 1977. She approved it, writing, “Definitely send it to Kos. It’s distilled wisdom.” Since way back when, she and her husband have been continuously engaged in progressive organizations: gun legislation, immigrant rights, homeless shelters, public education, health matters, and on and on. I hope her approval of my checklist suffices as my version of “book jacket blurbs”.

The Protest Checklist:

1.Form a group. 8-16 people. More people? Next group. Have information on each other, names, addresses, phone #s, and contact info on a responsible friend or relative. (Remember when unknown people picked off one guy and hustled him into an unmarked vehicle at that BLM Protest? No more of that!) All for one and one for all.

2.Decide on a method of deciding: (consensus, majority vote, short straw/ dice/ rock-paper-scissors, etc. Keep the meetings short. Maybe a special committee needs to be selected to discuss a complicated issue.

3.Will you have Officers? Will you need funding? How are you going to be funded? Dues? Grants for a project connected to the issue? A shadowy donor? You might need a Treasurer and a checking account.

5.Decide on the theme: Down with This, Up with That, Up and Over The Side With Those (last used in Boston Harbor, c.1773. Disclaimer: I wasn’t at that protest. This information is second-hand.) etc., and choose a method: Canvassing, March, Rally, Speak at a Public Meeting,Sit-In, Strike, Highway Overpass Signs, Projection on a Building,etc. In the future, might there be drone displays of political messages or graphics? You might begin to think about a sassy slogan, or if there’s a graphic that “says it all” in one picture. You may want boxes, a work surface (a big piece of cardboard is usually sufficient, to keep from cutting or marking the tabletop) poster boards, pencils, scissors, ruler or straightedge, box cutters, (and/or a paper cutter,) paint & brushes, or markers, a set of stencils,and some extra long paint stirrers (21 inches) from the hardware store, as well as a big stapler/staple gun and school glue. Keep your on-line dictionary/spell-check at the ready.

5.People coming to your event probably are giving up a day at the movies or at the park or some other enjoyment, so try to arrange something nice for them. Tell the group to think about a focus event within the bigger event, such as having a speaker, having music, etc. Presenting something to someone is always lovely. Try to not have an animal, like Punxsutawney Phil, where someone could get bitten,scratched, etc. (Disclaimer: I have never met Punxsutawney Phil. I don’t think he’s ever bitten or otherwise harmed anyone. I might bite someone if they wake me up and take me outside on a cold February morning, so be ye fairly warned.) Seek a lot of control. Some speakers or musicians will enlarge your audience because they have a following. Everyone planning to attend should be given the chance to accept the rules. Include the rules in all your notices. Keep the gate.

6.Reserve the place and time: Make arrangements for a specific business or work site, a public place like a penitentiary (protesting someone’s execution or continued incarceration,) Some places just need prior arrangements. You will have to call ahead and charter a boat, for a flotilla, or a plane to pull a banner flown over a city or beach, etc. The exception is of course is that you can’t get“permission” if you are planning to trespass, or break the law, but, giving public notice of your protest gives others the option of calling an emergency meeting and fixing the problem so you don’t need to protest. That’s been known to happen. Go to the place and look it over. Don’t take people to a plant nursery instead of a posh restaurant.

7.Please get permission to be on private property. You may need to get a permit to be on public property, and especially property overseen by Park Rangers. Some places have online forms, some places you go in and fill out forms. Let the authorities know you expect them to help.It is their job to assist you to do that by keeping groups that want to interrupt you “over there.” Keep in mind that “authorities”don’t like to be surprised. During some protesting way back when,the staff member of our organization sometimes was a “Police Whisperer” so the police didn’t panic when we started to do something they weren’t clear about. “Hi, Officer! We’ve assembled at the park here, and now we’re walking down the sidewalk by groups to the front of City Hall. We’re meeting the Mayor there.”

8.Basic necessities: You should figure out where people are going to park, sleep, eat, go to the bathroom, get first aid, etc. Can you get a stage set up? Microphones and speakers? Have some one make an online map? You probably need an online presence anyway. Where?

9.If what you are doing has risks, hold a training segment with the specific purpose of practicing scary scenarios. Role play. Discuss what happened. Discuss feelings. You can change what you plan to do if people are too uneasy.

10.If anyone is too eager to do illegal stuff, consider that they might work for the police. Don’t ask. Just steer people away from their ideas. Someday you may look back fondly on your meeting and think, “Those two fellows from the Ivy League University didn’t get thrown out of school because I discouraged them from risking being caught defacing a billboard in the middle of the night like they were discussing with that guy I was sure was a police undercover officer.” It will feel good.

11.Decide on boundaries: property damage? blocking traffic? burning your draft card/bra/tesla truck/His Majesty’s Ship, The Gaspee? (c.1772, Warwick, Rhode Island, Tea? They shot and wounded the Captain, then burned The King’s Ship to the waterline. If it could have sunk, it would have sunk. Disclaimer: I wasn’t at that protest.This information is second-hand.) Intoxicating Substances? Vulgarity? (The last protest I went to was the Red For Ed Teacher’s protest. Lots of Signs. No vulgarities...and words spelled correctly and apostrophes used correctly!) Plan for the safety of the people participating. Near the street? ...stand by fireplugs or postal boxes which may make it hard for someone to try to scare you by swerving into your area.

12.If there is any risk of being arrested, or having a scuffle with anyone else, look around beforehand at lawyers and have one in mind, and have that information in your contact information.

13.Alliances: Are there other groups you may invite/join them because it turns out they were planning a protest as well? Ask to come to their meeting and discuss an alliance.

14.Advertise: What newspapers, newsletters, public message boards, real and virtual, can you use to let people know about your protest? This could be very select or very broad. Maybe you don’t want to inadvertently attract the wrong crowd until you’ve gotten a bigger following. Using a service like Mobilize, or similar service, is very convenient, maybe go to their protests and take notes, but don’t pay for a membership to a gym and send someone to the gym to build up YOUR muscles. Be an organizer, not a consumer, whenever possible. Post Protest: If you write a follow-up for a newspaper, spread the quotes around -exempli gratia: I call Ann who was at the protest. I say, “Ann, I need a quote about the protest for the newspaper.” Ann says, “OK, what should I say?” I read a statement I’ve prepared, in segments to her, and she repeats it back to me. I thank her for her statement, we giggle,and it goes into the story. This happened with me, called by the same guy who was the Police Whisperer in #6. I was glad to help, and I got my name in the paper. Woo!

15.Keep the Joy. Appreciate Freedom. Encourage each other. You are the Posterity to whom the Founding Fathers were securing the Blessings of Liberty. Peace.

[END]
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