How Are We Going to Advance the Movement Without Talking to People??
TACOMA, WA – The title for this post was taken from a comment Adam made earlier today as we exited the first-ever Seattle Anarchist Book Fair – an event put on our radar by Shawn Wilbur (pictured below), a self-described mutualist from Portland (whom we’re going to interview later this week). It was an event that we thought would be a great environment for us to interview a lot of people working on different projects, and though we did secure one interview that will be released later this week (with a war tax resistor) the event unfortunately didn’t live up to our expectations.
Sure, there were a number of interesting things going on and pretty much all the folks we talked with were chill people (and a few knew of MHD), but they just didn’t want to be on camera. Obviously we here at MHD respect people’s right to privacy but at the same time we question just how big an impact these folks – who are actively working to spread the ideas they hold – can have if they’re not willing to share them with others on camera. This tangentially relates to the IP debate – these folks could share their ideas for three minutes with someone on the corner but only that person (and perhaps a few people around) will be exposed to them. Or they could share their thoughts for three minutes on camera and literally millions of people can access that content at the same time at any time (not saying MHD has that kind of audience but that’s the way electronic mediums work).
I don’t want to downplay the importance of person-to-person communication – it’s often where deep, paradigm-shifting conversations happen – but also important is getting these ideas of peace and voluntary interactions in front of as many people as possible. Think about it this way: Many people go through life exposed only to pro-government rhetoric taught in public schools and echoed by the mainstream media. If they hear a perspective that emphasizes individual freedom and responsibility in a clear, consistent way – even if just for a minute – it may plant a seed and cause them to investigate further. That’s why we were all a bit disappointed that more people didn’t feel comfortable being on camera – it seemed like a lost opportunity.
Some people cited reasons for not being on film – that they have a “real job” and didn’t want their employer to see them or that they wanted to stay off the government’s radar – but if they’re scared to be overt about the views they hold – which again, emphasize peace and voluntary interactions – think how difficult it’ll be for people to speak out in a generation after more anti-individualists misinformation has been peddled.
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- Oct 19, 2009: Seattle Summary | the Motorhome Diaries
Hey, I was there! I wouldn’t have minded being interviewed!
…I have no idea what I would’ve said, but still!
And yeah, it felt pretty quiet in there. Not all of Seattle is like that, however! You should see the Scientology protests!
When is MotorHome diaries going to the Middle East. That’s what I want to see lol.
Hey Cindy Sheehan is protesting in D.C. this week.
You guys got any interviews with her?
Or track down Glen Greenwald. We need more antiwar Libertarian coverage.
I have told good people/activists many times that they should write and post their videos to youtube and whatnot but some people just don’t get the mega-connectedness of the internet and all the good it can do. It’s a marketing thing.
@Collin – damn! Sorry we weren’t able to connect. Do you want have a site/project you want to point to here as a comment?
@Molly – thanks for the suggestions. We have not yet connected w/ Sheehan but we are currently at Coffee Strong near Ft. Lewis just south of Seattle and will do a video about them and the rally they’re hosting today. In the past we’ve done interviews with Daniel Lakemacher (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfdPsAaWrjI) and Adam Kokesh (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWXbw0N664M) on this subject.
@George – no doubt. I would have been fine finding some in-between – their voice w/ the camera pointed at their lit but that wasn’t agreeable to most folks I suggested it to… I know you’re already familiar with this outlet but maybe some folks reading this comment thread are not: http://fr33agents.net – it’s a place where principled freedom-oriented activists can meet, share ideas and support each other.
I believe that part of the reluctance is the “anarchist” label.
“Anarchists” were primarily responsible for this – http://bit.ly/3XwmU3, this http://bit.ly/3YDVu5 9 (watch the cops spray a sit-in in the first minute), this http://bit.ly/24×7ml and the movie http://bit.ly/WDvC9 .
“Anarchists” started it, the State’s Gang (LEO) responded with 10X as much violence as was required. It was the State’s Gang that grabbed peaceful people going to/from work, tear-gassed, beat and kidnapped them.
If you don’t watch any of the videos, DO watch this one. It’s also above . . . http://bit.ly/3YDVu5 . It’s real video from local news, and accurate. These are not above. Part 2 – http://bit.ly/3g3DP9 and part 3 http://bit.ly/3EnuKQ .
I call them “Anarchists” because they’re just criminals, nothing more. Professional chaos agents. But when you say anarchist in Seattle, anyone who remembers 1999 & WTO thinks “Black Bloc”, chaos, violence and lawlessness. It lasted for a week. It ruined people financially, maimed people, and poisoned the minds of most Seattleites.
Hey, I was there too and I love being interviewed!
Did you guys ever make it to our shop in Olympia? All the hooligans at Last Word like being on film too.
cheers, thanks for keeping this up