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You All Know Hanoi Jane, Now Meet Tehran Todd
By Russ Wellen (about the author) Page 4 of 4 page(s)
To those who retort that Tehran Todd is a traitor, he only need remind us that the only difference between his message and that of progressive commentators in the US is that it's coming from Iran instead of the West.
Here comes the inevitable question. You seem to know a lot about this. Why don't you put your money where your mouth is, apply for a visa (Americans can only enter Iran in a group tour at present) and volunteer your services?
I'm already doing my patriotic duty by paying off my credit card debt. Besides, this writer has a better idea. Actually it's that of another writer, the feminist and activist author Naomi Wolf, who suggests a new round of demonstrations.
Demonstrations? Where did they get us with Iraq? Anyway, we're too busy building a critical mass on the Web. Did you know that Vice President Cheney is sensitive to what he reads on blogs, whether it's the Drudge Report, Politico or DailyKos? Not.
Graciously appearing on a little-known blog (re-posted at AlterNet), Ms. Wolf provides detailed directions for sit-ins.
Demonstrations are bad enough, but sit-ins? They're so sixties. Hers, however, are the new and improved variety.
At first, they sound familiar: Set up a website for monthly events held in a public space; send a press kit to local media outlets.
Then Ms. Wolf gets inventive: Ask all attending to wear red, white, or blue shirts or sweaters. "A strong visual is more likely to get wide press coverage," she surmises.
Also, "Have people bring uniformly sized US flags." Not those dinky things you hold between your thumb and forefinger either. "It reinforces that this is pure support for the American system, not partisanship."
Finally, make music. "The civil rights movement sang," she writes, while progressives today make speeches. "For some mysterious reason, protests swell and move people when there is singing, but depress and dispirit people when there are only speeches or angry chanting."
Sit-ins, Ms. Wolf concludes, are "more effective now than a march; less cause for confrontation, more family-friendly. . . more of a community affirmation of American values and the Rule of Law." You remember law, don't you? Unfortunately, with possession nine-tenths, it's currently under the lock and key of Bush & Co.
But who among us has either the time or the network to initiate a series of sit-ins?
We can always appeal to those who have. For instance, try emailing an excerpt from Ms. Wolf's suggestions for her new demo model, as well as the link, to anti-war coalition United for Peace & Justice.
They might bristle at first, but if enough of us make ourselves heard, they'll eventually bend to the old adage that the customer knows best.
Russ Wellen is the nuclear deproliferation editor for OpEdNews. He's also on the staffs of Freezerbox and Scholars & Rogues.
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