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August 31: A Day of Direct Action During the Republican National Convention

NYC Direct Action Collective | 13.06.2004 20:39

What follows is a call for global action on August 31st during the Republican National Convention that will be occuring in New York City.

THE SHOUT HEARD ROUND THE WORLD

One No and a Million Yeses

A Day of Nonviolent Civil Disobedience and Direct
Action During the Republican National Convention


The Republicans are coming. In a shameless effort to
exploit the tragedy of 9-11, they will craft an agenda
that erodes the very freedoms they claim to fight for.
This is where we step in. On Tuesday August 31st, a day
of non-violent civil disobedience and direct action
will commence with a synchronized Shout Heard Round
the World. Let the day begin with this resounding
note of resistance: as clocks strike 11am, 2 days
before the re-nomination of George W.Bush, the people
of the world will shout NO with one voice.

From Brooklyn to Baghdad to London to Lisbon, from
Selma to Sao Paulo, we'll raise our voices in this
global __expression of outrage. We'll open our
windows, step in to the streets, walk out of our jobs,
and out of our schools. We'll honk car horns, blow
trumpets, bang drums, pots and pans and shout NO at
the top of our lungs. The world will stand together
in the streets to call for an end to empire and to
call forth the possibilities for the future. A future
in which the people design their own destiny.

The radical affront to democracy we see in these times
calls for a radical response. Here in New York, we
will converge on Madison Square Garden, the site of
the Republican National Convention, and at other locations
around the city. We will sit down in the streets and
refuse to move. And from our clear NO will emerge a
constellation of YESES: YES to democracy, YES to
justice, freedom, and peace. We'll paint a vision of
the world we wish to see. We'll take over the
streets-transform them into theaters, stages for
resistance and forums for debate. We will draw our
examples and inspiration from the brave shapers of
history who came before us--those who put their bodies
on the line to gain independence, win the vote, end
apartheid. We seek to counter the over-represented
picture-perfect postcard of New York that the
politicians wish to promote. We will harness the
spirit that puts our city at the center of the world
stage: creativity, ingenuity, grit, social conscience.
We will show the world what real democracy looks
like.

We are people who work for a living. We are students,
we are retirees. We are caregivers, builders,
teachers, dreamers. We're the people who fight the
wars, who pay taxes, who have lost our jobs. We lost
loved ones on September 11th; we saw the planes of
terror crash into the towers. We refuse to see our
tragedy twisted to advance perverse political ends or
careers. We are people who will tolerate injustice no
more. We are people of conscience who speak out, even
when we are afraid to do so.

And we are angry. We are dissatisfied, tired,
disgusted, disenfranchised. We are ready to say
"Enough!" We want more than speeches and protest
pens. We want change. We want to take democracy from
the Halliburtons and Enrons and bring it back to town
halls, schools, and neighborhoods. A true democracy
thrives on diversity: while we celebrate our
differences we stand united in our opposition to the
dismantling of our dreams. United in our opposition
to the dangerous direction of things. In this we make
common cause with the people of the world.

It is time to plot a new course, to wrench out a new
kind of history--one of solidarity and participation,
of compassion and wisdom. On August 31, 2004, we will
begin to forge a new kind of story. Anything is
possible. We will shape history. The only limit is
the boundary of our collective imagination.

See you in the streets.

NYC Direct Action Collective