Direct Action groups | INFJ Forum

Direct Action groups

muir

muir

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Oct 14, 2009
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In a time when the public are finding themselves caught between ruthless private interests who want to squeeze every penny out of them and an increasingly authoritarian government, which supports the private interests, not the people, we are seeing the people finding a voice again.

Voting for non mainstream political parties is becoming more popular as people turn off from the usual 2 parties, for example green parties, especially with growing concerns about the environment, people want environmental groups to have a bigger voice in the corridors of power.

People are moving their money out of mainstream banks and into ethical banks like the Cooperative bank or credit unions.

People are beginning to get involved with direct action groups to make themselves heard to the government, whether this involves putting their name to online petitions from the comfort of their chair or actively joining rallies.

The World Social Forum (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_social_forum) has been set up as the people's answer to the private interests World Economic Forum

If people speak with one voice, they can and do make a difference. If you know of any good direct action groups whether web based or otherwise, whether they require direct participation or the pressing of a few buttons on a keypad, please put them on this thread.

For example:

Avaaz is a global internet community which gives people power by uniting them behind causes:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/about.php

38Degrees, is a UK based group, (A similar US group is http://front.moveon.org/ / Australian group is www.getup.org.au ) which wages campaigns over the internet allowing people to sign petitions which are submitted to government or put their name to a pre-written letter to be sent to their local politician. They give people a voice: http://38degrees.org.uk/

They've just won a campaign to stop the government privatising UK forests and are currently trying to stop the take over of BSkyB by Rupert Murdoch and to get an EU directive passed which stops human trafficking.

Alternative news sites and human rights groups also welcome, for example:

Wikileaks: http://www.wikileaks.ch/

Democracy Now: http://www.democracynow.org/

Z Communications: http://www.zcommunications.org/znet

John Pilger's website: http://www.johnpilger.com/

Amnesty International: http://www.amnesty.org.uk/

Liberty: http://www.liberty-human-rights.org.uk/index.php
 
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Reclaim Democracy is one of my favorites: reclaimdemocracy.org

Nice idea for a thread Muir! :nod:
 
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Great stuff, thanks KGal!

It looks like we are heading into further economic turmoil. The banking sector acted recklessly knowing that the government would bail them out and also because much of the regulation had been removed. Nothing has changed since then to prevent it happening again, but the government is cutting public services to claw money off the people so that they can bail out the banks in the next crisis.

As economic hardship begins to bite people will need outlets for their frustrated feelings and getting involved at whatever level can allow people to feel they can do something to combat the situation.

Many people feel helpless in the face of all these events because they feel that alone people can't do much, but when they unite, for example behind these direct action groups, their contribution can have results.
 
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Global groups must be incredibly impressive and it's too bad
all of humanity cannot learn from them. They are essentially
human ant farms; the level of communication required must
be on an almost subconscious level.
 
Bird said:
Global groups must be incredibly impressive and it's too bad
all of humanity cannot learn from them. They are essentially
human ant farms; the level of communication required must
be on an almost subconscious level.
Click to expand...

Capitalism is operating on a global scale therefore any groups that are not happy with how capitalism is developing or who are not happy with capitalism in general will have to be global in nature

I don't think the idea behind these groups is that people give up their ability to think as individuals especially as many of these groups are advocating consensus democracy and peoples assemblies

If you think about it it is global capitalism that is asking us to give up our ability to engage in the democratic process. For example did your government ask you how they should deal with the banking crisis?

No they didn't, they just went on and did whatever they want to do which basically means that we will all have to face austerity measures

If you want an example of ant farm mentality where everyone works all the time to provide for the elite and has no say in the decisions of the colony then look no further than global capitalism
 
The problem here is that we people are NOT speaking with one voice. We have different ideas regarding the cause of the problem, and different ideas how to fix it. The Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street are pretty different from each other. I'm not in a big hurry to sign up for yet another group which claims to represent me but doesn't.
 
I really like the way many of the occupy bands are running groups to discuss the myriad of issues their movement has conjured. Reading about the formats of these meetings is exciting. Real democracy is a slow moving thing.

The other message that I find very appealing emanating from this sector is the Idea that the members of a society choose the direction it heads, not market forces.
 
The occupy movement, simply by existing, is making people talk about these issues

These issues are now firmly in the mainstream where they should be! People have a right to have a say in their economic future and in the future of their children

The movement is growing awareness of these issues and the elites do not know how to get to grips with it.

They desperately want it to begin acting in a conventional manner; by that i mean they want it to put forward leaders and an agenda and to engage in their political system.....because then they can develop strategies to undermine, coopt (hijack) and fragment it

The function of the movement at the moment is to switch people on

The austerity measures being imposed on people are going to make a lot of people question if the current system is working for them or not. Mild discomfort doesn't usually move people to action but when people begin to question whether or not life is even worth living then they have nothing to lose by taking action

A lot of people are being pushed closer to breaking point and as they near that and their will to act becomes galvanised Occupy Wallstreet will be waiting ready to stand shoulder to shoulder with them

OWS is also a factory of ideas as people get together, organise and discuss possible courses of action
 
GracieRuth said:
The problem here is that we people are NOT speaking with one voice.

I'm not in a big hurry to sign up for yet another group which claims to represent me but doesn't.
Click to expand...

These statements seem a bit contradictory. Everyone needs the same voice, but you want the group to represent you? What one voice is right? Yours? Must everyone in this "group" support your voice?
 
I wasn't aware that private interests weren't people.
 
Hi Bird

Sorry if i was a bit blunt with you in my response to your post

I wasn't sure what you meant and should have clarified with you before posting

best wishes

muir
 
I had not seen this thread before.
These kind of things are good.
This would need to happen if it were just ordinary humans who had run the world into the ground.
 
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