Week 6

I think it is inexcusable for the ICE to separate immigrant workers from their families with no explanation or information for their families. I don’t think this helps the situation at all, and I think that it is great that people are organizing to protest this. The parallels between slavery and this event are somewhat shocking, at first I thought the woman in the article was being too extreme, but then thinking it over more, the parallels between the small amount of control slaves had over their own lives and the amount of control these workers have over their lives is quite similar. What do you guys think?

The organization of the shack dweller’s movement is pretty impressive. There website is very well done and it almost makes me want to join. It is obvious that the government needs to address a larger problem of housing and land for its people, but since the government does not seem to be helping the people they are organizing and protesting. I think it’s pretty impressive, but I think that groups like this can get out of hand very easily and become violent. I think that organization is key, because it will help prevent chaos, and the Internet is a great tool for that. What do you guys think?
I love the idea from the rTMark list to put a statue of Bush in a tourist area in Washington D.C. and then film crowds cheering as authorities take it down. At first I didn’t really understand this site, but as I kept reading I understood that its purpose was to organize protests for all parts of life, like politics, health, and even biology.
At yesMen I read the article about the survival ball. I really thought this type of protest (impersonating people whose only interest according to this site are money) seems immature and useless. I think that global warming is a problem, but I think that time would be better spent educating people how they can decrease their own carbon emissions on a day to day basis. I think this would be much more effective than spending time making fun of government officials.

At adbusters I watched a video called Angry Kid, that is supposed to raise awareness about saving the environment. It was pretty powerful I have to say, but I don’t know if it would actually appeal to adults. In my opinion it seems like an ad that is more targeted at empowering young people to act. What do you guys think? http://www.adbusters.org/abtv/

SmartMeme seems like an organization that helps causes organize and build up their cause. This is such a strange concept. Unlike the text mobs or soccer fans in South Korea this is actually an organization that helps such organic groups form. Does anyone else think this is strange?