The MoveOn.org in association with a number of organisations are launching an initiative to train people in non-violent resistance.
The idea is to make 2012 the year for a co-ordinated protest against the structures that govern the premise of social control through established channels.
Whatever your particular stripe of political belief there is a wide feeling that governments are listening less to the ballot box and more to the politics of career and caste.
As such Trebuchet recommends taking a look at the tools presented here and acting in light of shared self-interest.
The 99% Spring has arrived! Over the past week, hundreds of organizations ran more than 1,000 nonviolent direct action trainings nationwide for more than 45,000 people — all aimed at building a huge wave of progressive action this spring to confront the 1%.
MoveOn members joined allies from labor unions, community organizations, the Occupy movement, environmental groups, and more. We prepared ourselves to take action in the spirit of Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. because we all agree that our system is fundamentally broken and we need to create great change.
The trainings last week were inspiring, but don't worry—if you missed them you can still join in right from your computer at home, work, or school! Check out the new online version of the training—and then we'll connect you to actions happening in your area.
Click here to get started training online.
Thanks for all you do.
–Lenore, Carrie, Robin, Wes, and the rest of the team
P.S. The stories and photos from the trainings—and the actions that are already happening nationwide—are amazing. So many people are joining in, so much is going on, and we're just getting started. Take a look:
As part of a national lead-up to actions at the Wells Fargo shareholder meeting next week, more than 200 people finished their training in Iowa with a march to the home of a Wells Fargo bank executive to demand that he and his company address the needs of the 99%. Full photo set here.
A 99% Spring training in Michigan organized hundreds of people to march to the headquarters of the largest fruit packing company in America and demand an end to worker abuse and the repayment of millions of dollars in stolen wages. More action coverage on the 99% Spring blog.
Yesterday, 99% Spring allies led 200 creative Tax Day protests in cities nationwide to demand that the 1% pay their fair share. In St. Louis, hundreds of people filled an intersection in front of Peabody Coal and Bank of America with a massive game of "Tax Day dodgeball." In Seattle, more than 150 people "foreclosed" on a Wells Fargo bank branch for unpaid taxes by surrounding the building with giant yellow and black "Foreclosed by the 99%" tape. And in Washington DC, hundreds more rallied for a block party at the IRS headquarters. You can take a look at Tax Day pictures from across the country here.
More than 1,000 local 99% Spring actions are already planned for the coming weeks. Check out the new action map and find an action in your area to confront Wall Street banks, dirty energy polluters, student debt, and more.
The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance. – Aristotle
