A terrific idea for protesting Bush....

[Punkingal]

I was asked to post this one of the originators of this idea:

To the Democratic Underground: Get Local and join your brothers and sisters in NYC by having your own group host a Ringout event in your city!

Visit http://www.ringout.org/default.htm for more details. Spread the word to other groups, organizations, forums, contacts, news groups, and people everywhere! Raise the alarm! Ring them out! Establish a new ringout hub!


The right to protest is an American duty and it is the only way, given the current political climate, to let your voice be heard above the shrill cry of those who would attempt to shut down any and all criticism of Bush policies. Raise your voice against those 'blinded by the right' Bush supporters that would seek to silence you with their 'War on Criticism' . And this coming Summer and Fall, get involved and remember to get out and Vote in November!



Have a Ring Out Event in your City!



The 3 Guidelines:

1. Pick a Bush Policy to Protest.

Whether it's the War in Iraq, lying about the reasons for war and the WMD's, Deficits, No-Bid Contracts, The Patriot Act and the erosion of Civil Liberty, a Proposed FMA, higher Gasoline prices and Energy Policy, the loss of Jobs, the outsourcing of U.S. Jobs overseas, No Child Left Behind (No School Board Left Standing), The Medicaid Prescription Drug Benefit Bill (Drug Company Protection and Subsidy Act), Mini-Nukes, Cutting Veterans Benefits, Environmental Pollution and Concerns and the bogus 'Clear Skies' legislation, corporate welfare, scandal and corruption, blowing the whistle on Joe Wilson's wife, stonewalling the commission on 9/11 and closed door government secrecy and Cheney's secret Energy meetings, there is a lot that many of us are angry at the Bush/Cheney Administration about.

Your local organization or group may have a specific Bush Policy concern that you find particularly offensive, and have previously been trying to raise awareness about. Go with that one.


2. Utilize bells in your protest.

Ring them out, loud and clear, ring out the alarm, ring out protest, lets ring out the old Bush Administration! Let freedom ring! Utilize bells of all types and designs.



Why Bells & Ringing?


Bells in general can be rung in alarm and anger or in harmony and celebration. Bells through the ages have represented liberty, many voices in harmony, and rebellion.

Rings demonstrate unity and solidarity. Rings are powerful yet harmonious. Rather than a mass, they are a form and do not always require great numbers to be make their message clear. They can focus attention on particular sites.

Bells rung in a circle create a special force. Rung inwards they chastise and expel. Rung outwards, they defend revered spaces.

Both kinds of ringing cannot be hemmed in. False patriots constrain free speech and protest, but ringing is uncontainable! Ringing with circles or sounds--doesn't assault, it surrounds, decentralizes, and resounds freely through the air!* (see history of bell protests blow)


3. Plan your local Bush protest to coincide with the GOP convention in NYC. GOP convention will be held August 30th, 2004 to September 2nd, 2004.


Join us for Nationwide Bell Ringing!: Open your windows, go outside every evening at 7:30 PM during the RNC (Republican National Convention dates are Aug 30th, Aug 31st, Sep 1, and Sep 2nd) and ring your bells!


RingOut will post your local ringout event on our website: Send us the information (Inlcude: Event Name, Date, Time, Location, Issue and a contact person with email) send to: [e-mail]



*Ringing Protests : Historic & Global Protests

Caserolazos, Argentina, 2001

Cacerolazo--when hundreds, thousands or hundreds of thousands of people get together and bang on their caceroles (casseroles--pots and pans) as loudly as humanly possible, moving forward or standing still, in collective protest. The Cacerolazo began as the symbol of Argentine popular rebellion against the neoliberal order, and is fast becoming associated with the global re-sistance to transnational capitalism. http://www.jmk.su.se/global02/herminia/anti/cacerolazo.htm

The Ousting of President De la Rua, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Dec. 19-28, 2001. De la Rua finished speaking a little before 11 PM&.The president called for "national unity"&and announced the implementing of a "siege state" (which bans demonstrations and suspends constitutional rights). The reaction was immediate, never seen before, and marvelous. All of a sudden, like if millions had complotted together, the immense city, from the far away suburbs to the middle class neighborhoods of the Capital, got really noisy with the banging of pots and pans. There were already hundreds there , women banging pots, men in shorts and t-shirts, youths and kids. "Where are we going?" they asked and someone said: "To Plaza de Mayo". And that same question with the same answer was repeated like magic in every neighborhood. That is how began the most important civil rebellion movement of the last 50 years in the city of Buenos Aires (Página 12, 12/20). http://www.uit-ci.org/argetinazoing.htm

The Bells are Ringing and the Story is Over, Czechoslovakia, 1989

In Czechoslovakia the world witnessed mass demonstrations in Wenceslas Square in Prague, where the people congregated with jangling keys and tinkling bells signaling in the words of a Czech fairy tale that "the bells are ringing. And the story is over." Indeed, the story was over for the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia&.The truth about 1968 permitted the brave people of Czechoslovakia to face their future with confidence and self-respect. They staged a "velvet revolution." -- Johan Joergen Holst

The revolution marks a time, when despite a significant risk I have for the first time stood up for my beliefs. I will forever remember the moment when I entered the main square in Bratislava, filled with 100,000 people, facing the battalion of police and army, jingling their keys and shouting: The bells toll the last to communism. Participation in the revolution changed my worldview, and formed an individual who is always willing to stand up for his beliefs and against unfair treatment of others. --Alex Mitro


The Liberty Bell

Whenever there was any big event or oppression in American history, this bell would ring. It reminds the American people to seek freedom. For example, the Liberty Bell rang out from the tower of Independence Hall to summon citizens to hear the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence . The Liberty Bell was so named by a group of abolitionists who adopted it in the 1830's as a symbol of their anti-slavery cause. The bell's name was inspired by a biblical verse that had been inscribed on the bell: "Proclaim Liberty throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants Thereof." (Leviticus 25:10). So this bell has become the symbol of liberty. Liberty is for the nation....Liberty is for the oppressed races....Liberty is also the experience of every individual -- Rev. Samuel Chow.


ENCIRCLING PROTESTS

Code Pink, March 8, 2003

For International Women's Day on March 8, Code Pink, Women for Peace, organized a festive rally, drawing many women, children, and men from around the country to the nation's capital. Three weeks after the enormous historical demonstrations in New York and on the west coast, these and thousands of other protesters--bathed in various shades of fuschia, rose, and salmon marched from Malcolm X Park, helped to create an enormous human ring to encircle the White House. Virginia T Rodino



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[faithnotgreed]

1. lets ringout - this fits in with what i just posted.

hello everyone - some of you may think im "radical" and at this point i think i am. ive just listened to randi rhodes and california rep henry waxman. i just have to speak up.


any of you fantastic energized kerry supporters interested in coming to dc for an organized revolt? i am very serious about this. i have heard so much from people on various blogs and those on air america and all too little from mainstream media. many of you are working locally which is so wonderful and necessary but as ive read many times on this list (and others) the mainstream is not hearing or reporting anything of continued substance. this is where maybe we can come in.
is anyone else just as much in disbelief as i am? i cannot even believe it has come to this or that i am saying this: i think we are seriously in danger of becoming something akin to 1930s germany.
it is nothing short of astounding.
anyway this is not organized at this point. this is the first im posting but i plan to post also on du and i KNOW theyre upset about things.
i have room for up to about 8 people. i live in dc near the red line and we can go straight to the white house (well the blocked off part anyway!) i think we will need a few more people than that if we are going to get classified as a revolt esp with this media (!) but you have to start somewhere right? i know there are many peace activists and social justice workers and non profits and free speechers and civil rights and constitutional freedom people and many more people who are unhappy and some downright scared of this administration. and if you think we can leave it to the truth of the polls (GO JOHN KERRY!!) then please look at blackboxvoting.org or diebold or.... there is no end to the suppression of truth in this country.


i dont have any specific time frame but please please tell me


are you in? because im here and ready to go