visible protest

international | miscellaneous | opinion/analysis Monday August 02, 2004 22:56 by greg grisham - alaputacalle sinorio at sueltate dot es

Without visible street protests our efforts in internet and the alternative press accomplishes little to nothing.

We are a small group of individuals who appear protesting almost everyday in the center streets, boulevards and avenues of Madrid We work dialy in our free time, with very large two-sided signs which effortlessly rest well overhead on extra long center poles. You can see them in our DAILY pankartadas at our web site (in spanish) www.sueltate.es/alaputacalle

Without continual visible protest, 911 and its coverup are riskfree operations guaranteed to succeed. We are firmly convinced that all the internet and alternative news sources achieve little or nothing without corresponding visible street protests. The vast majority of the public here already knows, believes or suspects that the Sept. 11 and March 11 attacks were encouraged or orchestrated by the corporate powers in and around government. However, since there is no visible conflict (material in the street, not virtual on the web) that same majority sees no conflict, feels no crisis, hopes no change. We believe this hopeless situation is due to the fact, Internet keeps us protesters off the street. In our case, a handfull of us are trying to fill an absolute void of REAL conflict here in Madrid.

Democracy is not in internet, it’s in the street, dude. The real danger that confronts us all now is not the lack of information or truth but rather the lack of visible street protest on behalf of us who already know the truth. In Internet we share the truth but we don´t take that truth to the street. We the informed need to stop informing the already informed, escape from our cybernetic intellectual ghettos and take to the everyday-streets where the everyday-people are.

Waiting for the up and coming 911 will be too late. After that we won´t be allowed to protest and by that time they won´t have to create enemies and terrorists anymore and the enemy will be real. There is no more time for CyberForums. It is time to take to the streets. Legal cases with such credible testimonies such as that of Sibel Edmonds are very hopeful indeed but in the end only constant visible protest in the street will manifest the conflict, provoke the crisis and bring about change.

Although internet facilitates communication amongst us it also keeps us off the street in the same way TV does for our kids. For us at The Asociation of Victims of Turism and alaputacalle, what we do in internet is nothing compared to what we do in the street. We are in the street everyday blasphemising the most sacred present day crusade.

Most of our sign´s slogans are ironic. Irony destroys hypocresy. Especialy that of the 911 farse as well as that of the 311 farse here in Madrid and the same Whitewash Commission being held here in Spain.

For us, our signs are like computer virus. In the city streets, as the biological computers are being transported about on legs or in machines they are suddenly and unavoidably infected by our program-sensitive messages placed in view of their normal daily , commutescape.

We don´t waste sign space on sincerity, it provokes prejudice and politicises. When somebody stops to talk, that´s when we get sincere. Amongst such hipocracy only irony can be efective. On top of all the hipocracy is the war on terrorism. Hence, we exploit that as would any cost/profit efective marketing campain. Also we avoid power figures and concentrate on placing the blame on ourselves. We direct our protest at ourselves. WE ARE THE PROBLEM.

Our signs are big and high enough and the slogans short enough, for passengers in cars and buses to read passing by. We can be seen almost every work day at peak hours, with our dangerously ironic signs, dressed as suit-and-tie- executives sporting a burgeoning disposable diaper instead of pants, making everybody laugh at and make fun of what is meant to be the most serious issue of the day.

Regretfully, our group is not growing in numbers. Lots come and go, hopefully to start other groups. Sometimes we are as many as twenty or as few as two. We started with one, yours truly. Sometimes we get together with musicians or theatre groups and do street parade performances in pedestrian zones. We usualy work in pairs, one person on either side of the busiest squares and intersections. When we are several we scatter out in pairs. Most people don´t have time to read more than one sign at a time anyway. We have been at it for almost a year now. Although the press doesn´t touch us nobody in Madrid can´t or hasn´t seen us. If nothing else we have overcome fear and shyness and we have met, talked and argued with all kinds of REAL people in the REAL world.

Regretably, as long as our visible protest continues to be the only one around, there is a tendency for our demonstrations to merely create a more democratic atmosphere only making the democratic illusion look more real. There is nothing we can do about that other than give up.

Here is a translated list of some of our panka slogans. Remember, Hipocracy is invulnerable to sincerity. Hipocracy only fears irony.

¿TERRORISM?
ITS GOOD
FOR BUSINESS

THE MORE RICH PACIFISTS
THE MORE POOR TERRORISTS

WHY DON´T WE JUST KILL ALL
THE POOR ONCE AND FOR ALL

WAR AND TERRORISM CREATE WORK
HORAY TO FULL EMPLOYMENT

THANKS TO BUSH, WE CAN
CRITICISE HIM WHILE DRIVING

IF 9/11 COMMISION
IS A COVER-UP
USE YOUR HORN
NOW TO SPEAK-UP
(you`ll be surprised how many sympathisers who don´t
have time to stop and talk aren´t afraid to honk. And the
more that honk, the more that honk. This one gets
some honking sprees going that turn the whole
traffic jam into a spontaneous protest.)

SEPT. 11 2001 40,000 ALSO
DIED OF HUNGER

YOU WON´T SEE THIS
IN THE “FREE PRESS”

WE DEMAND INVESTIGATION COMMISION FOR
40,000 WHO SEPT. 11 2001 DIED FROM HUNGER.

TOO BAD GLOBALIZATION DOESN´T KILL
AS FEW AS TERRORISM

PACIFISM DOESN´T MEAN COMFORMISM

MY CAR
DRIVES ME
TO MY WAR

I LIKE MY CAR
¿I MUST BE PRO WAR?

WE PACIFISTS LEAVE OUR
WORK FOR THE TERRORISTS

THE MIDDLE CLASS
FEEDS THE RICH
AND STARVES THE POOR

MORTAL VICTIMS, SPAIN, 2003:
CAR BOMBS: 0
CARS WITHOUT BOMBS: 4,200

THANKS TO BUSH:
TO CONDEM TERRORISM
IS TO SUPPORT WAR

ASSOCIATION VICTIMS
OF TURISM

WAR = LEGAL TERRORISM
TERRORISM = ILEGAL WAR

AGAINST SUSTAINABLE WAR INC.:
KAMIKAZE PACIFISM

PASIVE OPPOSITION =
ACTIVE SUPPORT:
BUSH APRECIATES
YOUR OPPOSITION

TERRORISM IS THE OTHER
EXTREME TO CONFORMISM

CHARITY SUBSIDISES INJUSTICE

MESSAGE FROM THE PENTAGON:
¡VIVA PACIFISM!

EVERYTHING IS GOING
TERRORIFICLY WELL

IF YOU VOTE,
DON’T COMPLAIN

The rest consist of (puns) and do not translate.
www.sueltate.es/alaputacalle
sinorio@sueltate.es