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Freedom Action of the Week
Email List Archive
Free-Market.Net's F r e e d o m A c t i o n o f t h e W e e k ------------------------------------------------------------------ Edited by Mary Lou Seymour. To subscribe or unsubscribe to this and other lists, click to: http://www.free-market.net/features/lists/ Fourth Week of May, 2002: If I can't dance ... "If I can't dance, I don't want to be part of your revolution", said Emma Goldman, turn of the century anarchist activist. Well, Emma might not have said exactly those words, but they are now a slogan for the idea that all need not be grim and theoretical on the path to changing society. Too often we activists do become overly grim. After all, a lot of what we do is pointing out one government outrage after another, and warning of even more horrible events down the road if we don't take action NOW. But it's really difficult to convince folks to be part of "your movement" if all they see and hear are doomsayers and theoretical treatises on Austrian economics. Not only that, the quickest way to burn out is to, well, not have some fun along the way. This week, let's explore the possibilities of using humor and satire to get our point across. Not only is it fun to do, and may offer outreach opportunities to a broader spectrum of people than we usually reach with our doom saying and theories, but it's also a very potent weapon. No one likes to be laughed at, not even our statist rulers. If we can get enough folks laughing at the increasingly tortured efforts of the statists to raise the temperature a degree at a time without letting us froggies know what's happening, our battle is half won. Fortunately, the statists give us plenty of opportunity for poking fun at them. And, we're equally fortunate to have several freedom loving cartoonists with a deliciously pointed sense of humor. Cartoonists Scott Bieser and Jac Russmo continuously create a variety of political cartoons offering a libertarian perspective, available at various places on the web. I'm picking Scott and Russmo for one very important reason. Not only are they both immensely talented, but, they both allow anyone to reproduce and distribute their cartoons at will. And that's important to our "action plan." Scott's cartoons are available on his own Liberty Artworx site, as well as in Rational Review, The Libertarian Enterprise and at KeepAndBearArms.Com. Jack's cartoons can be found at Russmo.Com. We're going to take a small foray into meatspace. Go to Scott and Russmo's sites, download a bunch of their toons to your computer, and, print them out (three or four to a page) and, make copies. You're going to be keeping a stash of toons in your purse, backpack or hip pocket, for a bit of free wheeling grass roots anonymous activism. Kind of like graffiti-ing, but without vandalism. Everywhere you go, for the next week, carry your stash with you. (You'll also need a roll of scotch tape and maybe thumbtacks.) Whenever you see a public bulletin board ... in the supermarket, laundromat, or, even in the Post Office, slap up a liberty toon. When you use a public restroom (gentlemen, use a stall for this action), whip out your tape and tape up a liberty toon at eye level. Make a side trip to your favorite government building for this one... you'll be surprised at how many folks use the bathroom during the endless wait at the DMV or SSA office. You'll be amazed at how many opportunities there are. (Almost every place has a bathroom, it's the "law".) What you're doing here is "planting" your immediate area in meatspace with the seeds of revolution. Yeah, only one person may see the cartoon you put in the SSA restroom and that one person is a humorless jerk and flushes it. But ... you've planted 20 more seeds that day. Think of how many you can plant in a week. Even if only 1 or 2 takes root, imagine that this is taking place all over the country. All over the world. It's the cumulative effect that counts, remember? (And I bet you'll become "addicted" to this pastime; whenever I'm feeling a bit low, a few forays with my stash of toons gives me a rush and perks me up for the rest of the day.) BTW, if any other cartoonists out there would like their cartoons to be immortalized in this fashion, let me know and I'll be more than delighted to let the folks on the Action of the Week list know about you. Til next week, remember... have fun! For freedom, Mary Lou What Emma Goldman _really_ said: http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Goldman/Features/dances_shulman.html Scott Bieser's work: Liberty Artworx: http://www.free-market.net/rd/73656191.html The Libertarian Enterprise: http://www.free-market.net/rd/899893239.html Rational Review: http://www.free-market.net/rd/837551501.html KeepAndBearArms.Com: http://www.free-market.net/rd/723815757.html Jack Russmo's work: http://www.free-market.net/rd/300141811.html Action of the Week archive: http://www.free-market.net/features/list-archives/activism/maillist.html
In December 2004 this page was modified significantly from its original form for archiving purposes.
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