DUmmie FUnnies 01-24-06 ("Why not stage a series of national strikes?")

When I saw the title of this DUmmie THREAD, "Why not stage a series of national strikes?" my reaction was "Ho-hum. Been there, done that." Lately there have been NUMEROUS calls for MASS ACTION in DUmmieland against the EVIL Bush Regime that go exactly NOWHERE. Pied Piper Pitt's Bukowksi's beverage inspired shtick over the weekend about the Democrats staging a WALKOUT at the State of the Union Address has already faded into obscurity with FEW DUmmies even commenting on that thread any more. Ditto for the April 23 Movement about hitting America in the WALLET by withdrawing money from the Piggy Banks or selling off penny stocks on that day. Barely are these MASS ACTION threads up and running than they fade away due to lack of enthusiasm. However, one FRINGE BENEFIT of these MASS ACTION threads is that they provide enormous entertainment for DUmmie FUnnies fans. Plus, much as the DUmmies would like to forget such dopey proposals, we are sure to rub salt into their humiliation and remind them of the proposed MASS ACTIONS on the days they are due to occur. So, stand by, DUmmies. On January 31 we will be sure to remind you about Pitt's Proposal to WALK OUT of the SOTU and on April 23 we will be monitoring the actions of the Stock Market to see the big effect the DUmmies have on the economy on yet another Not One Damn Dime Day. So let us enjoy the spectacle of the DUmmies calling for yet more MASS ACTION in Bolshevik Red while the commentary of your humble correspondent, figuring this thread will die about 10 minutes after the DUFU edition about it comes out, is in the [brackets]:

Why not stage a series of national strikes?

[Why not bang our heads against the walls in unison?]

I think we need a series of national strikes or massive boycotts that should be put at the front of any of our protests. It completely unnerves the party in power to be jumped by their money source, hammering them to give the people what they want so they can get back to taking our money. We actually have more control in that than we realize.

[YAWN! Don't you even read your own DUmmie threads? This boycott of the "money source" was already proposed last Saturday and is set for April 23. Oh, and the April 23 Movement has ALREADY been forgotten. DUAC! DUAC!]

If we can't organize something like this then we really have no hope of actually getting their attention. I march and I march. My wife marches. My children march. We faithfully engage in small protests. We lend ourselves to the large ones. But, I think they lack the punch in the gut of the Establishment that we need to get their attention. There are other ways to protest which involve sacrificing ourselves to the consequences of whatever law we may choose to disregard, but that lets them peel us off one at a time. We need a massive insurrection. A series of announced national strikes would seem to be the best way to get the ruling party's attention.

[How about a massive national hunger strike? Don't worry about going hungry. As the DUmmies themselves have already proposed in Pitt's WALKOUT Thread, you only have to wear a Blue ribbon to SYMBOLIZE your solidarity with the Hunger Strike. Meanwhile you can pigout to your heart's content at your local buffet restaurant...as long as you wear that Hunger Strike Blue Ribbon.]

We need a worldwide boycott of corrupt offices and individuals who threaten to dominate us for greed and power. We need to sacrifice and sustain the boycott until we regain control over our own destinies, free from the corruption and destruction of the new militarization. We should turn our backs on those institutions that disregard our intentions, cut off their access to our contributions and bleed them dry.

[Join the April 23rd Generally Economic General Strike!]

IF a series of national strikes were possible, I wonder what the reaction of the government would be? I imagine they'd get ugly, or uglier. I can't imagine them sitting still. Ringleaders to Gitmo and all that . . . On the other hand, there might not be enough of a following to make a difference. I'd like to think there would be. Initially, at least, we'd be insulated from overt retaliation by the novelty of it all. It would wear thin on industry pretty quickly.

[It sounds like your proposal for a MASSIVE National Strike is having trouble even making it past your fourth paragraph of your thread.]

There's such a diversity of industry in the country, not centralized like many of the other countries who exercise national strikes. It might be easy to pick off followers at the edges. Small business would suffer first and most from a strike. But that's also the only arena we have a chance at having the moneychangers take us seriously. One day at a time. No gas. No phone calls. No grocery store. One day at a time until we are recognized.

[Not ONE DAMN DIME!!! ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.]

strikes or massive boycotts of what?

[7-11 beef and bean burritos. And from there we move on to boycotting corn chips!]

we could target industries or just stage a general strike
general is better, I think, hurtful like I say from the bottom up, but the effect may have a shock effect on our skiddish representatives and senators. Everything important, gas, communications, computers, are tied to major sources. It would take some thought for certain, and sacrifice.

[Hey, boycotting corn chips for a day would be a HUGE sacrifice!]

The tricky part is getting everybody to agree to do it - and by everybody, i mean enough people to make it matter.

[Look for volunteers from the quickly forgotten April 23rd Movement.]

Who's going to organize it?

[The Tooth Fairy is available once he leaves the British Big Brother House.]

I think the boycotts are the more effective technique. As to who should be at the forefront of organizing, I think there should be a coalition with the emphasis on organizations that have an internet community already in place, such as DU, moveon, etc. What to boycott--oil, oil, oil. That is the most obvious thing. Products that are bankrolling conservative think tanks. There are tons of them.

[Uh-Oh! My DUmmie Ants have begun running around in their endless circle...again.]

You make it sound as if such a thing were a few phone calls and fliers away.

[Hey, calling for a MASSIVE national strike is a piece of cake. It only requires a couple of clicks on the mouse to make such a proposal in DUmmieland.]

If we are at the point where our leaders will only respond to their money sources, what other recourse with any reasonable chance of success is available to us? There has to be a point where we take our own destiny in hand. It's our government. Why do these folks in other countries, with arguably more to lose than most Americans from such an action, continue to challenge their system in this way. It's will. I wonder when we will decide we've had enough of slavery to the military industry and stand up for our priorities like the free people we imagine ourselves to be. I think the notion of a national strike is a strategy yet to come as our political, economic, and social destinies slip from our leader's money clutching hands.

[Enjoying that warm glow from the computer screen deep down in that dark basement?]

It's sort of like hunger strikes. They once made news and could even be effective but not anymore.

[Why not? Are you short on Blue Ribbons?]

you know everything needs some brainstorming with a low chance of success, high risk, but worth trying perhaps. I don't think we would really expect to unseat the money structure, or even tickle it. What we might accomplish is a ripple. A ripple could be all we need to get the attention of these spooky legislators. That's where you want to effect change I take it? One tug on their purse strings is all it usually takes our leaders to drag themselves out of bed to put in the midnight money vote.

[Answer the knock on your basement door. Mommy has a nice big glass of hot cocoa for you.]

Nobody is going to do anything.

[And this DUmmies WINS a Kewpie Doll for having a brief moment of mental clarity!]

I'm mezmerized by hope. I don't have to settle in and accept that my government that I sponsor and tolerate is determined to be an obstacle and a danger. It may yet come to past that Americans will cast aside our hope that our representatives and leaders will realize our dreams for our lives and society and take our country back with our own hands. We are the fuel that enables these pretenders to continue in power. We have the ability to stop enabling their false reign, their manufactured military mandate. That may come to be the only comfort left us.

[I'm mesmerized by your stupidity but, hey, thanx for providing some great DUFU material.]

I'm on strike right now and we can't even get the TEAMSTERS to respect our picket line! We have a letter of support from the head of the teamsters, and individual teamsters are still crossing our picket line. How on earth are we going to get from there to wildcat strike?

[That's because the Teamsters don't have proper respect for the International Brotherhood of Keyboard Tappers union.]

I guess the lesson is this: People don't do desperate things unless forced to live in desperate conditions. It seems crushing poverty makes a population "lean and fit." It burns away the laziness and the fat, and it forces an individual to fight for survival. Comfortable people don't do things beyond their comfort zone, but an uncomfortable populace suffering excruciating pain will take to the streets. They would do anything to try to escape the pain. I hate to say it, but crushing poverty, at least in my mind, is the true motivator for change whether it be poverty as a result of discrimination or as a result of lack of investment in the people.

[Thanx for that admission that America is too well off to hold a general strike. And if America is so well off, WHAT are you so mad about?]

Nationwide strike brings Bangladesh to a halt

[Great! Let's move to Bangladesh!]

If enough people threw themselves into the gears and cogs of the machine, then the machine will grind to a stop, and if the machine cannot be turned to a good cause, for the better of all, then it is a principle obligation to see that the machine is ultimately destroyed. Of course, people have to collectively choose to do such a desperate thing.

[Translation: "YOU first in that throwing yourself into the gears and cogs of machines routine.

getting out of the system would help. And by that I mean withdrawing from the banking system, buying locally or bartering when possible, cutting way back on purchases, etc. It is perfectly possible to live without giving much business to corporations. I've been out of the banking system for ten years now.

[So how's life underneath the bridge?]