50 days and counting

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

On the 50th day of ongoing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, there will be a vigil in Davis Square to show solidarity with those directly affected and to call on elected officials to take more effective action to prevent future spills. (Protecting worker safety during the cleanup, fixing unsafe conditions at other rigs before they turn into disasters, etc.) 7pm Tuesday, in front of JP Licks.
http://pol.moveon.org/event/events event.html?event_id=104126&id=
(I am not the organizer, but I think it's a good idea.) The organizer says to sign up at the website if you have a chance, or just show up.

Edit: The website should be http://pol.moveon.org/event/events/event.html?event_id=104126&id=

Comments

[veek.livejournal.com]

The link is broken.

Also, will there be candles at this vigil?

[thespian.livejournal.com]

or better yet, oil lanterns?

(I am going to hell. also to the vigil, despite the flippancy)

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

I just fixed the link. I don't know if there will be candles or not. This time of year, there's so much daylight at 7:00 that lighting a candle doesn't have a dramatic effect. I don't know how late the vigil will go, or what else is planned. Like I said, I'm not organizing it. (I don't think there's any reason not to bring a candle, if you feel like it.)

[veek.livejournal.com]

My admittedly snarky and implicit point was that many candles are made with petroleum.

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

So? I'm not looking for a world where nobody uses petroleum. I'm looking for a world where petroleum companies* are responsible for protecting worker safety and avoiding environmental damage. That will mean less oil, and more expensive oil. It won't mean none.

*Not just petroleum companies, of course. But that's another story.

[veek.livejournal.com]

I don't disagree, and I don't think I'd want a world without petroleum either. I do think an oil spill vigil with candles would be a bit too much *for me*. But hey, diversity of opinion is a good thing.

[aroraborealis.livejournal.com]

I've been seeing announcements for this, and it's made me wonder: what good does this do? I'm not asking to be snarky or flippant but because I really don't see how it makes a positive difference (and if people drive to get to it, it's worse, right?) So maybe someone here can help me understand!

[dcltdw]

My vague understanding is that raising awareness is a good thing. "Hey, this thing that's going on, it's not normal, it's not okay, we shouldn't be just blase' about it."

Emphasis on "vague understanding". :)

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

I don't think there's any kind of political action that does a LOT of good. It's frustrating. A vigil or demonstration or protest march works, not by raising awareness that a problem exists, but by showing that a significant number of people CARE about the problem. Will listen and respond? Maybe a little. Gradually. Like I said, it's frustrating.

Is anybody planning to drive to get to this? I thought Somerville was working hard to discourage everybody from driving into Davis Square to do anything at all. At least this event is right next to the T station. And for those in the northwest suburbs, there's another event in Lexington.
http://pol.moveon.org/event/events/event.html?event_id=103928&id=

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

Rallies and vigils are not intended to change the minds of the targets (nobody thinks BP will be all "Oh, people are in Davis Square and they're really angry with us! LET'S CHANGE EVERYTHING!")

They're intended to focus the concerns/anger/sorrow/what have you of the participants and encourage them to take part in other actions that would play more effective roles in solving the problem (donating, voting and canvassing votes).

Rallies and vigils have been part of every effective citizen movement for change, from the American Revolution through Abolition through women's suffrage through the Civil Rights movement through the apartheid divestiture movement.