THE ARMCHAIR ACTIVIST – YOU CAN BE ONE TOO!

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not by nature a lazy activist, in fact some would say I do much more in environmental activism than most. I have done the sit-ins, the marches on Parliament, the public demonstrations, the petition signing and the letter writing, but this is by far, the least trouble I have ever had to go through to have my voice make a difference. I have received some pledges already for my first hunger strike protest of 5 days without solid food and it amounts to $285. So to top off my voice for change at Copenhagen, at only 25 cents a day to feed a starving child in the Third World, I will already be feeding 1,140 kids. (Between now and the time that the conference in Copenhagen finishes there will have been 1,756,800 people around the world that will have succumbed to hunger and died.) Have another sip of that tomato juice and raise a toast to kids!!!!

A lot of average folks see being an activist as being all too hard. You can't blame them for that. There are many others that talk the talk but don't bother walking the walk. I can't even blame these people that much for that because as I said, it's a lot of hard work being an activist. There are the banners and posters you need to make up. There are the protests you need to get ready for and dress up in clothes that will match the theme of the protest and then off you go, driving to the march to take part. To protest mountaintop removal of coal, you may need to drive half way across the country, or to protest the removal of old growth forests sometimes even further; and you can get in trouble perched high in the rainforest canopy to stop them chopping down a tree. You can put your life at risk by standing in front of, or chaining yourself to heavy logging equipment. How many times do protests that were supposed to be non-violent lead to battles in the streets? Or what about crowd control horses pushing and shoving and police resulting to batten charges to break up protests? How about getting arrested or ending up with a bump on the head? So it's no wonder most folks, even if they see a need for social change, or to change the political agenda don't want to get involved". and anyway who can afford to get a plane ticket to the Amazon and help in protests? I know I sure as hell I can't afford to fly to Copenhagen from Australia in December to have my voice heard with the others who will be there".

So here I sit in my favorite armchair in the peace and quiet of my own home, watching the birds land on the patio, sipping a glass of tomato juice.

This is the easiest damn protest I have ever been on!

I was talking to a guy on the other side of the country yesterday who is doing the COPENHAGEN CLIMATE CHANGE – WORLD HUNGER STRIKE, because it looks like Australian television have picked up the story and want to interview us. Even this will be a breeze because I don't have to go to them – they are coming to me! How easy is this!!! ???

Overnight more confirmations of participation in the hunger strike came through to my computer. There are people who have seized on the opportunity for the armchair protest in the United States, Australia and Southeast Asia, even Europe. Some have committed to just one day of protest while others have decided to do a three day hunger strike. One campaigner for change in the US has said she will be doing several hunger strike protests from now, right up until the time of the Copenhagen conference starting on December 7th and has a sponsor pledge of 25 cents per hour for up to 600 hours of protest. That's US$150 and will feed 600 kids, and she has some other pledges as well. As the campaign runs as a rolling hunger strike every day from now until the Copenhagen conference finishes, there is time for everyone in the world to commit to a day of personal protest and it's easy to sign up and real simple to be involved.

In December at Copenhagen all those thousands of armchair activists just like me, will be presented to the conference of world leaders, to demand they agree on binding targets. We will all be listed on the COPENHAGEN CLIMATE CHANGE – WORLD HUNGER STRIKE - HONOR ROLL and also get a certificate of accomplishment for our armchair protest. I for one will be framing it and it will hold pride of place above my favorite armchair. How cool is this?

I don't care who you are, this is the easiest protest you'll ever get involved in and you don't even need to leave your favorite armchair to take part. My invalid father could do it and have HIS voice heard at Copenhagen!

So how cool is that? ‘Even YOU can be AN ARMCHAIR ACTIVIST & be heard at Copenhagen