im going to miami. i'm going to say NO to the FTAA. i have to think very seriously about how i will behave there, and what i am prepared for. right now is a little hectic, i'm going up to the cities this weekend and then i have to get back by sunday afternoon for trainings in being a street medic, legal observer, and general direct action trainings; then sunday night i have to be prepared to talk with the anti-racism discussion group about our new topic (now that we've finished reading the book we were studying on treaty rights/anti-first nation racism in wisconsin). the new study is the madison area school system and education/race in general. we are going to use this initiative in madison to talk about institutional racism in the schools (already a lot of debate and racist commentary flying around from the teachers in the work sessions) and read anti-racist education as a back drop to our local studies.i am looking forward to the meeting, it could hardly be more relevant since this issue is so timely here.
i think i will have available to me about $600 before i go, minus expenses (like this weekend) incurred before then. lesse - i have about $370 now, and should be getting about $240 more before i leave. i also maybe will ask my mom if she wants to sponsor me, i know she has helped people go to protests she herself couldnt go to in the past. i want to also go to the soa protest if i can make it there. i dont really have any clue how this shit will be working. supposedly someone should be calling me with car pooling info.
this issue has been important for so long, and i am finally in a position to go. alhamdouliilaah. i am not in school, my job is only temp work anyway (tho i had a really good interview today) so i guess if they say 'go and be fired' its not like im getting canned from something i'd planned on being at for a long time or will really need to put down on a resume at some point.
ponge is staying here. the most important thing is that if he went and got fucked with by the police, he could potentially be deported or even detained indefinitely and without notice as a "terrorist" (which he obviously is not, but i trust our fuckpole of a corporategovernment about as much as i would trust uh, well, our government). the second point, which i just thought of now, concern the practicality of it, both financially and logistically. if we were separated...ack. i dont really want to think about it. he's staying here and taking ESL classes and hanging with my mom and his fam and etc.
i really dont plan on being arrested (although obviously that may happen, but i will try really fucking hard not to be) in fact, i am not even planning on being at the frontfront lines. a very strong part of me wants to be up there, but another tells me that my being in jail would affect more than just my life and would not necessarily do anything to further the cause. in addition, i cant be jaunting down to miami every time i have a court hearing even if i am let out without serving much initial time and let off with just a fine or something. but if i am arrested, jail solidarity it is.
god these are fucked times, i wonder if all this will matter. its hard to have hope when you look at history. well, when you look at recent history (ie last 50 years or so). i should really study up on long-term history of organizing and protests and such. i mean, the G20 said hell no, maybe all the protesters participated in giving them courage; letting them know they were supported in that way by masses from all over the world.
the FTAA and the CAFTA must NOT happen. NAFTA must be SHUT DOWN, the WTO must be SHUT DOWN, the IMF...the list goes ON..corporations cannot buy the earth! cannot enslave us all! The $20/hour jobs that the US used to have are in the global south, paying workers a max of $5 a DAY, yet the prices for these products have all stayed the same. who is keeping the difference?? if we want an economy of just wages in the US, we are OBLIGED to demand an economy of just wages everywhere else. so even those of you who dont give a fuck about everywhere else, this is YOUR ASS on the line, too!! the problem is not the job-theiving mexicans or chinese or whatever. its the CORPORATIONS.
its time to say YA BASTA!!
