January 20, 2005 ~ Not One Dime Day

[CrimsonTide4]

I just received this in an e-mail from a coworker. Interesting. . .

"Not One Damn Dime Day" - Jan 20, 2005
(Mark your calendars now)


Since our religious leaders will not speak out against the war in Iraq, since our political leaders don't have the moral courage to oppose it,


Inauguration Day, Thursday, January 20th, 2005 is "Not One Damn Dime Day" in America.

On "Not One Damn Dime Day" those who oppose what is happening in our name in Iraq can speak up with a 24 hour national boycott of all forms of consumer spending.

During "Not One Damn Dime Day" please don't spend money. Not one damn dime for gasoline. Not one damn dime for necessities or for impulse purchases. Not one damn dime for nothing for 24 hours.

On "Not One Damn Dime Day," please boycott Wal-Mart, Kmart, Target...

Please don't go to the mall or the local convenience store. Please don't buy any fast food (or any groceries at all for that matter).

For 24 hours, please do what you can to shut the retail economy down.

The object is simple. Remind the people in power that the war in Iraq is immoral and illegal; that they are responsible for starting it and that it is their responsibility to stop it.

"Not One Damn Dime Day" is to remind them, too, that they work for the people of the United States of America, not for the international corporations and K Street lobbyists who represent the corporations and funnel cash into American politics.

"Not One Damn Dime Day" is about supporting the troops. The politicians put the troops in harm's way.

Now 1,200 brave young Americans and (some estimate) 100,000 Iraqis have died. The politicians owe our troops a plan - a way to come home. There's no rally to attend. No marching to do. No left or right wing agenda to rant about. On "Not One Damn Dime Day" you take action by doing nothing.

You open your mouth by keeping your wallet closed.

For 24 hours, nothing gets spent, not one damn dime, to remind our religious leaders and our politicians of their moral responsibility to end the war in Iraq and give America back to the people.

Please share this email with as many people as possible.

[aephi alum]

<forum-crash>

It's an interesting idea... but it reminds me of that day last summer when we weren't supposed to buy gas in protest of the rising gas prices. Everybody just filled up the day before or the day after. The money still got spent, just on a different day.

Then again, maybe the message will still get through.

</forum-crash>

[msn4med1975]

I'll pass this on at work, see what folks have to say.

[RedefinedDiva]

This type of stuff never works. The word can never get out the way it needs to. We no longer have masses of people that band together for a common purpose. We no longer have people to coordinate or organize these types of "protests." On top of it all, we have to give stuff time. One day won't have an impact.

The reason that the bus boycotts were successful is because people gave it enough time to have an impact on the economy. They also banded together and gave it enough time for everyone to know not to ride the bus. And though the bus was a convenience as most Black people, as a large number had no cars, they had options. They were able to walk, get rides/carpool, take cabs, etc. "Not One Damn Dime Day" leaves no options. It even encourages people not to buy "necessities." Call me crazy, but aren't necessities things people need? Like aephi alum stated, even if it did work, people will do it the day before and day after to make up for the day off. Will it really make an impact?

The most important question is who will it really hurt? What will it really change? Does Bush care if we go to Wal-Mart or not? Does he care if we don't buy Big Macs for a day? All he knows is that the voters spoke. When he was re-elected , he took that as support for his war. On November 4, the damge was done....