PEACEFUL HOME PROTEST RULES

PEACEFUL HOME PROTEST RULES

1. We’re leaving if any violence starts. 

2. Media Messaging / Communications: 

IF there is someone designated as the lead on messaging / communications, defer to them? ;)  

IF there is an agreed upon hand out of talking points, use it ? ;) 

Sound bites work better to get attention than big sentences filled with big words. Sorry. 
(Be able to explain the sound bites! ) 

The actions of the people we're protesting are harmful and offensive, that's why we're here. 

Where is the bright line between pointed commentary on offensive actions and offensive commentary…?  

3. Check out the protest location address on an internet map thing before going. Familiarize yourself with the local roads. 

Where will you park? How will you get to the protest location? Will that method work when returning to home?

4. If things get goofy, remember details. Scribble them down, repeat them to others you're with, leave a voice message to someone, email them off … 

Details to remember: the time, the place, the characters /people (badge numbers…), directions


SOME OF MY SOURCES FOR PEACEFUL PROTEST 'RULES'


The Ruckus Society
http://ruckus.org/index.php

Manuals & Checklists
Security Culture for Activists
http://www.ruckus.org/section.php?id=82

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Handbook For Nonviolent Action - SOA Watch
http://soaw.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=644#1

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Veterans For Peace: Protest and March
Organized Locally. Recognized Nationally. Exposing the true costs of war since 1985
http://www.veteransforpeace.org/files/6413/3312/6472/Protest_and_March_Toolkit.pdf

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How to Organize a Protest or March
Read more : http://www.ehow.com/how_135670_organize-protest-march.html

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How to Protest
http://www.wikihow.com/Protest

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Survey - YOUR PEACEFUL PROTEST ORGANIZING COMFORT ZONE.

I PHILOSOPHICALLY believe in open processes and open involvement.  .  I'm not into zapping people at the last minute with info from The Secret Clique They're Not Part Of.

When it comes to organizing, each thing / step "we" are going to do needs the The Questions Of Organizing answered: WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, HOWI I honestly can't figure out how to solve The Questions Of Organizing, efficiently, without email and or blogs

CIRCLE 1 ANSWER FOR EACH.

MY PREFERENCE for organizing is a Blog Diary with email sent to possible participants, pointing to the Blog Diary

1.  Is this within YOUR comfort zone?

a. yes

b. no

c. other _______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Are you comfortable using email such that all of us are openly on the To: line?

a. yes

b. no

c. other _______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________

3. IF you answered "no" to #2, I am in no way committing to keeping people updated via phone, snail mail, pigeon …

Would you accept being part of a BCC group who get to know what is going on?

a. yes

b. no

c. other _______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________

In conclusion, I have purposely not mentioned civil disobedience. Given the level of participation in community events by the population at large, I'm not interested in risking arrest for people who won't vote, or hold a sign on street corner, or write a letter to politician, or ...  

If you're interested in civil disobedience, you really really need to skim the resources of Ruckus and SOA Watch, and make sure those who are going with you know what you're up to so that they can decide if it is in their comfort zone.

PARTICIPATION AND RESPECTING PEOPLE'S TIME

VERSION ONE

In the community organizations which you belong to, is open, accessible participation by community members a core value of yours? Do the processes of your organization run openly, and on time, so that when people try to participate their time is respected?   

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I.) Will decisions (votes) on proposals (New business Items, rules, regulations, norms, …) be made at specific times during the meeting, according to the agenda?

- Are those times be held to?

Did people have time to discuss the proposals at a prior meeting?  

- Was the discussion period at the end of the meeting, after votes, so that people who weren't interested in the discussion, or who didn't have time, could leave?

Were the proposals available, electronically, at least 2 weeks before the prior meeting? 

II.) Was the agenda available at least one week before the meeting? Is there a consistent, open, electronic, accessible opportunity for community members to weigh in on the agenda before the agenda was available? 

III.) Is there an abbreviated, single page, large font subset of Robert's Rules used? If people aren't paid, as their full time job, to participate in meetings, then people don't have the time to master the ins and outs of Robert's Rules. Period. 

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VERSION TWO

In the community organizations which you belong to, is open, accessible participation by community members a core value of yours? Do the processes of your organization run openly, and on time, so that when people try to participate their time is respected?   

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I.) Will decisions (votes) on proposals (New business Items, rules, regulations, norms, …) be made at specific times during the meeting, according to the agenda?

- Are those times be held to?

When people show up, on time, and things don't happen on time, what does that say to those who took time to show up? 

Did people have time to discuss the proposals at a prior meeting?  

Why do people have to make decisions with only hours, or a few days, to think about a proposal, to discuss the proposal, to think about it some more, to lobby for and against the proposal?

- Was the discussion period at the end of the prior meeting, after votes, so that people who weren't interested in the discussion, or who didn't have time, could leave?

Discussion time can be very passionate and contentious. When there are only a few hours or days notice to vote on a proposal, those passions only get amplified.  Why can't the discussion happen after the votes, which happened at well defined times? 

Were the proposals available, electronically, at least 2 weeks before the prior meeting? 

Why are proposals available a few hours or a few days before discussion and voting? In the internet era, why aren't the proposals available for all interested parties?  I've been a member of a score of orgs over the years. In some orgs you can't vote on anything which wasn't discussed at a prior meeting. 

II.) Was the agenda available at least one week before the meeting? Is there a consistent, open, electronic, accessible opportunity for community members to weigh in on the agenda before the agenda was available? 

Adopting the agenda at the beginning of the meeting is fine when you're part of a paid legislature. If you don't like the agenda and wish to revise it, as a paid member of the legislature you can use Robert's Rules to do that. How does last minute, arcane manipulation of Robert's Rules of Misrule engender participation? trust? 

III.) Is there an abbreviated, single page, large font subset of Robert's Rules used? If people aren't paid, as their full time job, to participate in meetings, then people don't have the time to master the ins and outs of Robert's Rules. Period. 

Want to turn people off? Take your last minute agenda, with your last minute proposals, your last minute discussion, and add last minute process manipulation with Robert's Rules of Order. 

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4 - 3 - 2 Is Needed From You

IF our unions are going to matter to the decision makers, the decision makers are going to have to be scared of us. When they're scared of us, they'll work with us. When they work us, they'll stop pulling the kind of garbage they've pulled on Washington State educators over the last 5+ years: denial of citizen approved cost of living raises, denial of citizen approved smaller classes sizes, a multi billion dollar Boeing give away in the fall of 2013 in an emergency 3 day session.

They'll be scared of us when 4 times a year, during 1 of the 3 important political seasons of the year, each of us does something political for at least 2 hours.

IT'S TIME To Evaluate Democratic Politicians Every 2 Years

IT'S TIME to support 10 primary challengers for the WA. state legislature every 2 years. Every 2 years over 100 Washington State Representatives and Senators are up for re-election.

IT'S TIME  to put up 1000 yard signs for 10 primary challengers on the 2 weeks after the deadline for candidates to file for office.  At Boruck Printing & Silkscreen in Seattle, for $5000 you get 1000 plastic 2 sided 2 color signs and the metal thingies the signs go on. What candidate wouldn’t love to have their name on 1000 signs around a legislative district in the short window between filing and the primary? WEA spends hundreds of thousands of dollars every year in Olympia – what is 50 grand for 10 primary challengers?

IT'S TIME to evaluate all legislators all the time. Did they vote for anything that made things worse for our kids? Yes or No. Did they stand by while some legislation made things worse for our kids? Yes or No.

IT'S TIME to quit playing these insider games about who is electable and who is a lessor of two evil – did s/he help or stand by while our kids were hurt? How many people on WEA-PAC’s 2014 endorsement page betrayed us working stiffs with their votes for tying test scores to junk evaluations in SB5748? (Senators Kohl-Welles, Habib and Frockt!!)  

IT'S TIME     ORGANIZING WORKING EDUCATOR COMMUNITIES

1. BY LOCATION, 2. BY ACTIVITY, 3. BY CANDIDATE / ISSUE

IF we the little working people are going to have sustainable influence on the decisions juggling the trade-offs which are made in our communities, we need to organize ourselves differently.

http://organizingteacherswa.blogspot.com/2014/06/organizing-working-educator-communities.html

IT'S TIME           4-3-2 IS NEEDED FROM YOU.

IF our unions are going to matter to the decision makers, the decision makers are going to have to be scared of us. When they're scared of us, they'll work with us. When they work us, they'll stop pulling the kind of garbage they've pulled on Washington State educators over the last 5+ years: denial of citizen approved cost of living raises, denial of citizen approved smaller classes sizes, a multi-billion dollar Boeing give away in the fall of 2013 in an emergency 3 day session.

They'll be scared of us when 4 times a year, during 1 of the 3 important political seasons of the year, each of us does something political for at least 2 hours.

http://organizingteacherswa.blogspot.com/2014/08/4-3-2-is-needed-from-you.html

UNION ENDORSEMENTS - ONLINE VOTING & SKIN IN THE GAME

Union endorsement processes should be online voting. They should be open to all members who are contributing financially and who will commit at least 2 hours of work to each candidate or issue they vote to endorse.

Given that the processes of primary and general elections have hard legal deadlines for filing as candidates and for the dates of the elections, there is no legitimate reason that endorsement processes aren't detailed on the web at least 3 months before legal filing deadlines.

Given this tool called the internet, why are union processes stuck in the 30's and 50's? In the 30's, and before, millions of us lived close to where we worked. IF leaders wanted membership at meetings, they could hold the meetings miles from the work site. For a few decades after WWII, even though sub-urbanization was exploding, there were millions of family wage jobs. Family wage jobs mean it is easier to participate in non work activities, and, those days are gone. We can change, or, we can continue to shrink.

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MEETINGS, AGENDAS, ABBREVIATED ROBERT'S RULES - ONLINE AND OPEN
We working stiffs need a different structure to meetings, agendas, proposals (new business items) and Robert's Rules. Structures and processes from legislative bodies who are paid and who work full time at legislating don't work for people who participate on a part time basis.

http://organizingteacherswa.blogspot.com/2014/06/meetings-agendas-abbreviated-roberts.html

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UNIONS MUST DO ORGANIZING ONLINE
Campaign volunteers need to be able to self-organize on the web because it is too hard to participate. It is too hard to participate because campaign volunteers spend too much time searching for the details to the questions of WHAT, WHERE, WHO, WHEN, HOW when volunteers want to help a campaign.  Volunteers should just be able to go to 1 or 2 connected websites to get calendar information and to get the following details for whatever they're going to do:

http://organizingteacherswa.blogspot.com/2013/08/unions-must-do-organizing-online.html

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ORGANIZING WORKING EDUCATOR COMMUNITIES
1. BY LOCATION, 2. BY ACTIVITY, 3. BY CANDIDATE / ISSUE

IF we the little working people are going to have sustainable influence on the decisions juggling the trade offs which are made in our communities, we need to organize ourselves differently.

http://organizingteacherswa.blogspot.com/2014/06/organizing-working-educator-communities.html

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4-3-2 IS NEEDED FROM YOU.
IF our unions are going to matter to the decision makers, the decision makers are going to have to be scared of us. When they're scared of us, they'll work with us. When they work us, they'll stop pulling the kind of garbage they've pulled on Washington State educators over the last 5+ years: denial of citizen approved cost of living raises, denial of citizen approved smaller classes sizes, a multi billion dollar Boeing give away in the fall of 2013 in an emergency 3 day session.

They'll be scared of us when 4 times a year, during 1 of the 3 important political seasons of the year, each of us does something political for at least 2 hours.

http://organizingteacherswa.blogspot.com/2014/08/4-3-2-is-needed-from-you.html

4-3-2 IS NEEDED FROM YOU.

IF our unions are going to matter to the decision makers, the decision makers are going to have to be scared of us. When they're scared of us, they'll work with us. When they work us, they'll stop pulling the kind of garbage they've pulled on Washington State educators over the last 5+ years: denial of citizen approved cost of living raises, denial of citizen approved smaller classes sizes, a multi billion dollar Boeing give away in the fall of 2013 in an emergency 3 day session.

They'll be scared of us when 4 times a year, during 1 of the 3 important political seasons of the year, each of us does something political for at least 2 hours.

The something political can be: leaflet for an issue or candidate, write letters to the editor or comment on media stories or blog stories, doorbell, literature drop, phonebank ...

The 3 important political seasons are: 1. while the legislature is in session. 2. the primary and general election season, 3. the rest of the year.

As of Labor Day 2014, in the Washington Education Association (WEA) there are appx. 83,000 members. In the Seattle Education Association there are appx. 5000 members.  5000 members times 2 hours times 4 times a year = 40,000 hours of something political. 83,000 times 2 hours times 4 times a year = 332,000 hours of people doorbelling, rah rah sign waving, phone banking, writing letters to editors and legislators and comments to news and blog stories, ... It equals legislators listening to and acting on our concerns because they're terrified that too many of those hours and too much of the political something will be used against them.

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UNIONS MUST DO ORGANIZING ONLINE
Campaign volunteers need to be able to self-organize on the web because it is too hard to participate. It is too hard to participate because campaign volunteers spend too much time searching for the details to the questions of WHAT, WHERE, WHO, WHEN, HOW when volunteers want to help a campaign.  Volunteers should just be able to go to 1 or 2 connected websites to get calendar information and to get the following details for whatever they're going to do:

http://organizingteacherswa.blogspot.com/2013/08/unions-must-do-organizing-online.html

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ORGANIZING WORKING EDUCATOR COMMUNITIES
1. BY LOCATION, 2. BY ACTIVITY, 3. BY CANDIDATE / ISSUE

IF we the little working people are going to have sustainable influence on the decisions juggling the trade offs which are made in our communities, we need to organize ourselves differently.

http://organizingteacherswa.blogspot.com/2014/06/organizing-working-educator-communities.html

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MEETINGS, AGENDAS, ABBREVIATED ROBERT'S RULES - ONLINE AND OPEN
We working stiffs need a different structure to meetings, agendas, proposals (new business items) and Robert's Rules. Structures and processes from legislative bodies who are paid and who work full time at legislating don't work for people who participate on a part time basis.

http://organizingteacherswa.blogspot.com/2014/06/meetings-agendas-abbreviated-roberts.html

+++++
UNION ENDORSEMENTS - ONLINE VOTING & SKIN IN THE GAME
Union endorsement processes should be online voting. They should be open to all members who are contributing financially and who will commit at least 2 hours of work to each candidate or issue they vote to endorse.

http://organizingteacherswa.blogspot.com/2014/09/union-endorsements-online-voting-skin.html

Educator Rah-Rah For Jess Spear, Sat. 2 Aug, Sun. 3 Aug, Mon. 4 Aug

WHAT:
Educator Rah-Rah For Jess Spear, Candidate WA. House, Position 2, 43rd Legislative District

http://www.votespear.org/

WHEN:
Sat. 2 Aug. - 11:00 A.M. to 1:00 P.M.
Sun. 3 Aug. - 4:00 P.M. to 6:00 P.M.
Mon. 4 Aug. - 4:00 P.M. to 6:00 P.M.

WHERE:
South end of University Bridge - if there are enough of us, let's cover both sides of the bridge into the U-District?

http://43rddemocrats.org/about-us/district-map

Note - there are a lot of major intersections in the 43rd LD - If you and others have different preferences, go for it! Let everyone know in the comments!

HOW: 
Make a sign*, hang out on the street corner, wave at fellow citizens & chat with fellow educator rah-rah peeps!

*Mine will be ... "High School Math Teacher For Jess Spear" - a friend was thinking "Elementary Counselor For Jess Spear". I'm a math teacher, not a marketing, communications, art, copy writer, graphic design... guru. Express yourself!

WHO:
Washington Educators & Citizens!!
Contact rm  sea mur&&&phy at gma  il.com  -- minus the spaces and the 3 &.
or, leave a comment in this diary.

WHY:
1. Ms. Spear's opponent Frank Chopp is Speaker of the House, has been in the legislature for several decades, and just isn't able to do more than lose against the 1% onslaughts orchestrated from the likes of Tim Eyman, Rodney Tom, and Whoever Is The 1% Master Manipulator Du Jour.
If working people are going to continue supporting people who can't beat the Rodney Toms, the Rodney Toms are going to continue beating us working people.

2. Consider what Barbara Madeloni, the new President of the Massachusetts Teacher's Association (MTA), said about the out going MTA President, Paul Toner. Mr. Toner is a lot like Frank Chopp and many in Washington State Democratic leadership - always telling us working stiffs we'd better accept some garbage 'compromise' or things will be worse.

Standing Up to Superman: An Interview with Barbara Madeloni
https://www.jacobinmag.com/2014/07/standing-up-to-superman-an-interview-with-barbara-madeloni/

"At that hearing, the current president of the MTA, Paul Toner, testified that in spite of what had been said, that the committee must move forward with the bill. His message to the membership was, once again, “If we don’t agree to this bad thing, a worse thing will happen.”

That positions members in a narrative about themselves that says that we are powerless, subject to forces that we can’t control. It’s painful for me to think that this is a narrative that people accept. It makes me sad to hear people talk about themselves that way. It’s such a small vision of life.

What our campaign offered was a broader, powerful vision of ourselves in community. We didn’t offer a simple militancy, but a deeper power to create our world, which is something that we as educators should feel when we head out into the day."

MEETINGS, AGENDAS, ABBREVIATED ROBERT'S RULES - ONLINE AND OPEN

We working stiffs need a different structure to meetings, agendas, proposals (new business items) and Robert's Rules. Structures and processes from legislative bodies who are paid and who work full time at legislating don't work for people who participate on a part time basis.

I.A.) Proposals need to be posted to the internet 1 week before the monthly meeting, and they'll be debated ONLY for 10 mins., at the end of of the meeting in order of submission by timestamp. 
B.) These newly posted proposals can NOT be voted on until the next meeting. 
C.) After all newly posted proposals have had their 10 mins. the floor is ... open?
 
II.) Proposals which were debated at the last monthly meeting will be voted on at the start of business at the next meeting. 3 for, 3 against, 2 mins. each. NO amendments blah blah blah. Vote yes, no, or abstain. 

III.) We need an abbreviated Robert's Rules ... like 2 index cards.

+++++MY ACERBIC COMMENTARY+++++

I've participated as a fly on the wall lowly grunt for decades in scores of campaigns. 

In the last few years I've figured out that the current methods of meeting & proposing are kind of stuck in the 30's, when lots of us didn't live too far from work and meeting before or after work wasn't that hard. When our methods aren't stuck in the 1930's, our processes are stuck in the 1950's, when millions of Americans had family wage jobs and the 40 hour work week meant something. 

Meetings for us busy peee-ons take too much time, have too many last minute shoved-down-our-throats proposals, and are too frequently sidelined by Robert's Rules of Shenanigans. Robert's Rules are for legislatures, where people are paid to piddle around and ... do cruddy things to each other with the rules.

In the last 2 years, I've suffered through meetings of the Seattle Education Association, Washington Education Association, the 46th Legislative District Democrats, the 36th L.D., some Socialist Alternative thing a few weeks ago over $15 Now. I experience the same stuff, over and over and over: Last minute agendas + last minute proposals + last minute editing and last minute amending + last minute procedural shenanigans = fewer and fewer people participating.