| A general strike is proposed for the United States on November 2nd, 2008. The general strike movement has no clearly named leadership. It’s described as an Internet viral effort.
Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viral_phenomenon defines /viral/ efforts on the Internet as:
An object (or an idea) is viral when it has the ability to spread copies of itself or change other similar objects to become more like (it) when those objects are simply exposed to the “viral object.”
General strikes, more common in Europe, are events that shut down the normal operations of a city, state, or nation for a period of time. These strikes aim to force awareness and action on a single issue or broader set of concerns. The 11/02/08 General Strike has a central location—http://votestrike.ning.com —on the Internet, which is linked to and reproduced on a variety of other internet sites. The site states the rationale for the effort:
The General Strike is a national call to action, from citizens to other citizens. It is not about a single issue. It is not a gas protest, a bail-outs protest, an election fraud protest. It is not about torture, surveillance, corporate media, the war, or the environment. This strike is about all these issues and more.
We all have different concerns, but we all have the same concern:
We are being lied to and this government does not represent us.
Join millions of Americans in demanding truth, justice, and accountability.
This is our country.
And our world.
We just have to stand up.
A National Call to Action: starts Sunday, November 2nd, 2008
No school. No work. Buy nothing.
LOCK DOWN USA—NO Answers (to anything)
The strike targets key issues facing the American public, issues that have not been addressed in any meaningful way by any branch of government.
You have ignored the hundreds of thousands of American people who have been calling, faxing and emailing you opposing this bailout at least 100 to 1. You have ignored the almost two hundred economists from around the country that have contacted you and who have no conflict of interest and told you this bill will outright fail.
Do NOT believe the media that says this is a done deal, it's far from it. We can not let up! This issue is too important to us, to our children and to their children.
Other concerns of the strike include areas of strong public skepticism.
Our votes have been hijacked by privilege and special interest. And regardless of who wins this Presidential election, the American people lose. When lobbyists wine, dine and bribe every politician, regardless of their party affiliation, our votes become worthless.
74% of Americans oppose the Iraq War and a majority says it should never have happened in the first place. Massive violations of civil rights are occurring with the aid of the U.S. Department of Justice, as reported by its former voting rights head. Confidence in the legitimacy of the Bush government has been voiced in polls. Both Zogby polls showed that tens of millions of Americans have little faith in the fairness and results of the presidential election.
Reflecting the disquiet of the American public, Bush popularity is in free fall. As low as 6% approval in recent polls, his decline has been steady and unending.
The strike campaign argues that these and other issues rarely covered in any depth by nearly all of the corporate media leave only one move for citizens—a general strike to protest the policies plus the lack of recognition and response.
Call to action: “We just have to stand up”
Standing up includes no work or school on November 2nd to the 5th, 2008. It also includes “no shopping”; a suspension of all purchasing during the strike. One strike web site claims that this can have a substantial impact even with just a small percentage of the population participating. A quiet cash register is their biggest fear.
General Strikes in the United States
The Seattle general strike of 1919 is the first known city-wide general strike in U.S. history. Failing to get promised wage increases, 35,000 ship yard workers were joined by 25,000 other Seattle union members for a 6 day work stoppage. The 60,000 workers and their families represented a huge portion of Seattle’s 315,000 population at the time.
Possible Origins
While “viral” in nature at this point, recent history may result in a broad-based coalition. The pervasive motivation is the clear indifference to pressing issues by all three branches of the federal government.
The new Democratic Congress of 2006 has failed to pass a meaningful resolution to end the Iraq War. Act on articles of impeachment or properly address the sub-prime mess when it first erupted at the end of '07.
Specific recent political actions may well have contributed to the general strike.
Only the People can hold their leaders accountable Nov. 02, 2008
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