Democracy Now!
by Nadine Bloch. Sure, you can do the green-consumer thing and buy your honey some fair-trade, organic, no-sugar-added, sustainably produced chocolate hearts for Valentine’s Day. But you can also show your true feelings by getting up off your butt and doing something for the world — and that would actually be more historically accurate. The
by Nadine Bloch. Last month, black hoods and orange jumpsuits stood out in stark contrast to the marbled pillars of the U.S. Supreme Court. It’s a jarring image — shackled prisoners framed by stately columns more accustomed to suited lawyers and robed judges. This guerrilla theater action on the 11th anniversary of the opening of
by Nadine Bloch. Today marks the anniversary of the 1973 passage of Roe v. Wade, the watershed Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion under most circumstances in the United States. Since then, there has been an ongoing struggle to defend women’s right to choose, which has involved myriad creative actions. In the 1990s, for instance,
by Nadine Bloch. Jan. 18, 2012: The Internet went dark. Google slapped a solid, black rectangle over its logo. Wikipedia turned to shades of gray with the words “Imagine a world without free knowledge” and a zip code tool for contacting Congress. More than 115,000 websites and blogs participated that day; many sites not only
by Nadine Bloch. It’s a plain truth — uncovering oneself in an action can garner a lot of media coverage. There’s a long and fabulous history of baring one’s beliefs while dropping one’s briefs, of taking it off to get on the news. Plus, it’s really easy to think of puns on the subject. Last
by Nadine Bloch. You’ve heard it before: The Internet has revolutionized organizing. It brought you the Arab Spring, the Indignados and Occupy. But it has also produced legions of armchair clicktivists — those who only participate online and won’t budge off their butts. While there is, of course, truth in both the half-full and half-empty
by Nadine Bloch. I’ve had it. Enough with the phone calls, emails and Facebook entreaties for money to pay bail to get someone out of jail for their part in a civil resistance action. Let me explain why I think this is such a big problem. I want to start by talking openly about taking
by Nadine Bloch. Today is the 45th anniversary of the exorcism and levitation of the Pentagon. It’s an anniversary worth mentioning for the sheer joy and uniqueness of the event itself, and also for its historic and seminal merging of a creative “happening” with political intent, the engagement of ritual towards political ends and the
by Nadine Bloch. I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard someone talking about Walmart’s low, low prices with the dollar signs almost visibly flashing in their otherwise vacant eyes. But what are we really talking about here? Do you ever get something for nothing? Walmart executives will say that since the company is
by Nadine Bloch. Slowly, I am learning to embrace the electronic world in an effort to harness ever more tools for revolution. Though I still don’t tweet, I have had the chance to be involved in several online webinars, have used Facebook as a tool for outreach and event organizing, have almost drowned in Google
