Love this design, and this organization. Volunteered with them a little in college and have always b

Four Years. Go., at first, might seem like another re-hash of the same tired theme. Time is running out, climate change is going to kill us all, yada yada yada. It’s not. Not at all, and even from this very brief introduction I’ve seen to their campaign, I can tell it’s different and it lifted my spirits like none other tonight.

For weeks now we’ve been watching the tragic oil spill in the Gulf. And every single time I see an image, hear a story, watch another failed attempt, or see more of BP’s bullshit (not to mention professional bad) public relations attempts, it makes me want to cry. Watching the video below reminded me that we can still have hope. Sure, time is running out, but if we set a realistic goal–like four years–it gives us a realistic chance of meeting, or even exceeding that goal.

So here’s the basic premise: we’re setting a goal of four years. It’s not four years to get to carbon neutral, or to decrease carbon emissions by X%, or to reduce crime rates and war in developing countries… it’s all those things–it’s to make the world better. It’s a global call to action, by activists, organizations, politicians, students, and everyday people, to just work a little harder to make our planet a better place. To save the next 1,000 years by stepping up our game in the next four years. Buy a car with better gas mileage. Get to know your neighbors. Learn about issues abroad, donate to a worthy cause, or start a rally in your town or city.

I’m thrilled to have signed up tonight. I’m thrilled to watch this movement come to life, and I’m thrilled to hopefully play a role in it–no matter how small. Check out the video below, and go to their website and check out all the details and sign up.

Here’s Esfandiari’s take on what she calls the “Twitter Devolution”:

But it is time to get Twitter’s role in the events in Iran right. Simply put: There was no Twitter Revolution inside Iran. As Mehdi Yahyanejad, the manager of “Balatarin,” one of the Internet’s most popular Farsi-language websites, told the Washington Post last June, Twitter’s impact inside Iran is nil. “Here [in the United States], there is lots of buzz,” he said. “But once you look, you see most of it are Americans tweeting among themselves.”

She’s just missing the point. Of course there wasn’t a Twitter revolution inside Iran. It was a revolution outside Iran. It alerted millions and millions of people in the United States, Europe, and elsewhere that there are serious problems in Iran that need to be fixed. It made the world wake up and realize that the people in Iran aren’t particularly happy with their corrupt and, dare I say, evil government. It showed that the world has become far more interconnected over the past decade than anyone realized.

The article mentions @oxfordgirl, and it does her an incredible disservice. Take a look:

Oxfordgirl was ultimately more successful at gaining publicity for herself than at helping any protesters in Iran. Compare her 10,000 Twitter followers with the 300 followers of a Karaj-based Green activist (who prefers not to be identified or to have his Twitter page publicized). The activist tweets in Persian, which few Western journalists can read, and he is often a source of valuable information about the mood in the country.

Yet again, she’s simply missing the point. Anyone who knows social media, communications, or even marketing knows that comparing number of followers is naive and immature, and insinuating that @oxfordgirl was doing it all for the “publicity” instead of helping the protesters in Iran is offensive to her and to her friends. I know her, respect her, and I understand her background. And if this journalist had done her research, maybe she would too, instead of sounding catty and accusatory.

Esfandiari recovers a bit with the following paragraph:

The story of Oxfordgirl gives a clue about the real role that Twitter played. There is no doubt that she helped spread news about the Iranian protests — often very quickly. Twitter played an important role in getting word about the events in Iran out to the wider world. Together with YouTube, it helped focus the world’s attention on the Iranian people’s fight for democracy and human rights. New media over the last year created and sustained unprecedented international moral solidarity with the Iranian struggle — a struggle that was being bravely waged many years before Twitter was ever conceived.

But that doesn’t make up for the downright misleading nature of the article. In the end, to me this sounds like a frustrated and desperate print journalist, all too self-aware of her impending irrelevance. It sounds jealous, naive, and uninformed. And the accusations pointed at @oxfordgirl are downright mean.

[Foreign Policy]

Passion poured out in the form of ten completely different presentations, all united around a single purpose: to share what they’re thinking, dreaming and doing. This was Chispa D.C.

At first, I was on the fence about attending. I’ve got lots of schoolwork, I’m clearly behind on my blogging, I’ve got enough reading to do to keep me engrossed for 48 hours straight… but this was well worth it. Never again will I question going to an event in D.C. like this–these don’t happen every day, and each one is another chance to learn and to grow. Check below the cut for a quick summary and some of the photos I shot tonight.

The event kicked off with Jared Ball, presenting his views on “mixtape radio, emancipatory journalism and anti-colonial media.” Was it a bit radical? Of course–he argued that capitalism is equal to commoditization, and that we’re witnessing neoslavery in the prison system of the United States. My views certainly differ from his in many ways, but it’s always fascinating to hear different viewpoints, no matter how “radical” they may seem to some.

The first half of the event was mostly speaking presentations. But boy were they good.

Regina Holliday was fired up as always!

We heard from Kristy Li Puma Herrera about her fascinating life bouncing back and forth between living in the U.S. and visiting her family back in Lima, Peru. ”Packing a suitcase is like an act of subversion,” she said, saying that really, the different parts of the world aren’t as backwards, as different, or as far apart as they may seem.

Adam Eig showed us some absolutely incredible photographs of his cross-country motorcycle trip and spoke about the lessons he learned along the way.

“Sometimes you have to drive on the wrong side of the road… to get a good shot,” he said.
“This is a journey you can have walking down the street.”
“There’s a lot of reasons to smile,” said Adam, as we go about the world we live in.

All incredibly valuable lessons. Most importantly though, he wrapped up with some of the best advice I think I’ve ever heard: “Live, smile, enjoy, appreciate.” Love it.

Loryn Wilson told us about why “black girls rule the Twitter world.” Charlie Seashore gave us an awesome presentation relating the challenge of diversity to a wide variety of chickens. “Being adult is hard work,” he said, “It involves speaking out and pushing back.” We should look at being adult as a moment in time, not a stage of life. You can choose to “act like an adult” or let our your childish side–that’s ok too.

The second half of the event kicked off with a bang after a quick intermission. Tiik with G.U.T.S., a local indie band, kicked off the fun with three of their songs. Binahkaye Joy followed them up with a lesson in “booty” that ended up with the entire room on their feet, dancing around and shaking their booties. “A liberated booty is a liberated being,” was her mantra.

“The Holy Grail Gone Wild” was Zaccai Free‘s wild presentation that, I’m pretty sure, just about blew everyone’s mind. Relating sex and religion in some no doubt controversial ways, it was fascinating to watch and certainly an attention-getter. The HollabackDC crew gave an awesome presentation with the brilliant Regina Holliday and Josef Palermo of CHarts, the Columbia Heights Arts Foundation.

And finally, the event wrapped up with a great presentation by the Potomac Group, LLC, about “The Dream and the Drama”–power, conflict and structure within social justice organizations, possibly the more incredibly relevant and important topic of the night for all us activists in the room.

For more info on the presenters tonight, check out their bios on the ChispaDC blog.

I could literally talk for hours about how much fun the event was, how great it was to see friends, meet new people, and hear new and fascinating ideas. But I’ll stop here and instead ask you: why weren’t you there? Follow me on Twitter and rest assured I’ll let you know when the next ChispaDC is coming up. I dare you, come out and see what all the fuss is about–it was well worth it.

Oh, and don’t forget to check out my photos from the event on Flickr here, or just by scrolling through the slideshow below.

]]> http://alexpriest.com/2010/03/12/chispa-dc/feed/ 8 http://alexpriest.com/2010/02/21/roots-camp-photo-wrap-up/ http://alexpriest.com/2010/02/21/roots-camp-photo-wrap-up/#comments Sun, 21 Feb 2010 05:20:29 +0000 Alex Priest http://alexpriest.com/?p=637 Continue reading →]]> So no time to do a proper text wrap-up of Roots Camp tonight, but I did manage to get all my photos online from today. Take a look on my flickr set here, or just click through the embedded slideshow below. Thanks everybody at Roots Camp for a fantastic day today, it was a blast and I learned so much. Can’t wait ’til Roots Camp 11! I’ll try and get my text-based wrap-up (lessons learned, criticism, etc.) at some point soon, probably sometime during this week.

]]> http://alexpriest.com/2010/02/21/roots-camp-photo-wrap-up/feed/ 0 http://alexpriest.com/2010/02/20/roots-camp-so-far-in-photos/ http://alexpriest.com/2010/02/20/roots-camp-so-far-in-photos/#comments Sat, 20 Feb 2010 18:47:59 +0000 Alex Priest http://alexpriest.com/?p=635 Continue reading →]]> Hey guys! So just a quick update–next session starts in 15 minutes–but I wanted to give you some photos from this morning, the first event, and some photos from the unconference “wall”. They’re embedded below, enjoy!

Update: I’ve posted my full set of photos from the event now, they’re in the post just above this one.

]]> http://alexpriest.com/2010/02/20/roots-camp-so-far-in-photos/feed/ 2 http://alexpriest.com/2010/02/20/roots-camp-rc10-begins/ http://alexpriest.com/2010/02/20/roots-camp-rc10-begins/#comments Sat, 20 Feb 2010 15:24:33 +0000 Alex Priest http://alexpriest.com/2010/02/20/roots-camp-rc10-begins/ Continue reading →]]>

Breakfast at Roots Camp! #rc10
Originally uploaded by alex.priest

So just wanted to toss out a quick update this morning as I’m sitting here waiting on NOI’s Roots Camp to begin. So far, so good! I biked down here about 20 minutes ago (it’s a beautiful day, by the way) and now I’m sitting in the atrium of the National Education Association waiting on the festivities to begin!

It looks to be a fun-filled day of learning, talking, networking and organizing. For those of you unfamiliar with Roots Camp, it is, in a lot of ways, just a look back at the progressive organizing of 2009, what we’ve learned and what we can do better. Expect lots of talking Twitter, online organizing, as well as the “old” methods of offline organizing!

Roots Camp is what they call an “unconference,” a really cool, somewhat new format of conference where, quite literally, the participants set the agenda. When you walk in, they give you a blank card with the words “Session title:” and “Your Name:”. The participants create sessions (as many as possible!) and then arrange them on a giant grid in the atrium to fit with the pre-set schedule. Then you just go to it! The schedule may change and fluctuate throughout the day, and yes, it’s a little chaotic, but it’s also fun and gets everyone participating.

Another quick thing: my friend Chris Golden pointed out that the infamous Glenn Beck is speaking at the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) here in DC. Interesting contrast, I’d say.

More to come later on, possibly today, maybe tomorrow, maybe this week… who knows. Regardless, you know you can always find me tweeting (and I’ll be tweeting about Roots Camp all day with the hashtag #RC10).

]]> http://alexpriest.com/2010/02/20/roots-camp-rc10-begins/feed/ 3 http://alexpriest.com/2010/02/01/being-an-ist/ http://alexpriest.com/2010/02/01/being-an-ist/#comments Tue, 02 Feb 2010 00:24:32 +0000 Alex Priest http://alexpriest.com/?p=541 Continue reading →]]> Are you an -ist? You know what I mean. One of those pesky -ists, hanging around capitol hill, bugging all our government leaders. One of those crazy -ists, pulling nutty stunts just to get media attention. Or maybe one of those -ists, making outrageous Super Bowl commercials just so you can get banned and get some free publicity.

No?

Well I’m talking about them all. Feminist. Environmentalist. Capitalist. Socialist. Communist. Social media-ist. Name-your-own-issue-ist. What about activist, you say? Well does activist fit in with the rest of those?

We had an interesting discussion today in one of my honors colloquia classes, “Media for the American Mind.” In our conversation, we began talking about feminism and what it means to be a feminist. Does it mean you were a supporter of equal rights for women? Or do you have to be an outgoing, let’s-start-a-movement kind of activist to be considered a feminist?

That got me thinking. Why can’t we all be feminists? Why do we have to start a movement–or even participate in a rally–to be considered a supporter? There are so many causes out there, it’s impossible to be an everything-ist, you’ve got to make some hard decisions. I mean, does being a feminist mean I can’t also be an environmentalist? What about a capitalist? And maybe I want to be an activist, but not in any of those areas of -ists.

This is a lot of -ists, but you get the idea. My point is that I don’t think you have to an integral part of a social movement just to consider yourself a feminist, environmentalist, or whatnot.

I do believe there’s such a thing as a slacktivist–those that join a Facebook group or subscribe to a newsletter but then never participate. Even if you aren’t leading rallies, you should be a thought leader. You should be talking about these issues every day. You should invite debate, evolve your positions, learn as much as you can. You should write about them, if you can–maybe like I’m doing right here. You don’t necessarily have to be out on the front lines, but you do have to show support, you can’t just give yourself a label.

I guess I look at it like a tiered system. On the bottom rung is, naturally, the racists, egoists, and sexists of the world. A step above that (a large step) are the slacktivists, described above. Above them are the passive but thoughtful supporters, those that contribute thoughts, ideas and mental energy, even if they aren’t on the front lines beating down the doors of the Capitol. And finally on top are the real activists, people who really do fit that description. They devote their lives to a cause. People like William Lloyd Garrison, Margaret Sanger, and Robin Morgan in the past. People like Bill McKibben, Al Gore, Andy Carvin, and the folks at MoveOn.org, today.

Right now, I fit in that second to top rung. Who knows where I’ll end up, but I certainly hope it’s one of the top two. Where do you fit in? Any causes in particular you’re involve in? How do you classify the -ists? Let me know in the comments, on Twitter, on Facebook, or even shoot me an e-mail. I want to talk.

]]> http://alexpriest.com/2010/02/01/being-an-ist/feed/ 3 http://alexpriest.com/2010/01/25/the-cause-behind-dcs-causes/ http://alexpriest.com/2010/01/25/the-cause-behind-dcs-causes/#comments Mon, 25 Jan 2010 05:05:57 +0000 Alex Priest http://alexpriest.com/?p=503 Continue reading →]]> Last Friday and Saturday, I attended Social Justice Camp DC (on Twitter). I’ve spent over a week thinking about what to write about my experience meeting, interacting and learning from these amazing people, and to be honest, I’m still kind of winging it, here. There’s just too much to say.

These people are the cause behind DC’s cause movement. There is no question in my mind that these people are some of the most important people in the District of Columbia.

These people see more pain than anyone else in DC.
These people endure more frustration than the most frustrated politicians on Capitol Hill.
These people work harder than the hardest office workers the United States has ever produced.

These people put in hours upon hours upon hours of back-breaking, mind-numbing, heart-wrenching work, all for a cause. They want to make D.C.–and the United States–a better place to live. They want to make it a better place to work, a better place to eat, and even a better place to get sick. It’s amazing.

I heard comments describing our group last weekend as “a bomb waiting to explode”, a group with “collective momentum” to change the world. One attendee, Greg Bloom, said “Web sites don’t make change, and neither do rallies”. And he’s right. These people working on these causes, right here in D.C., they’re the ones that make change. And I can see it coming. It’s beautiful.

Now after leaving the conference, I began to feel a little overwhelmed. I was thinking back to the people I heard speak, flipping through my notes, shuffling through the business cards I picked up, and I realized that there’s a lot of work to be done. There’s a lot of causes out there. There’s a lot that needs fixin’. And for me, I didn’t even know where to start.

Should I volunteer for DC Food for All and help make D.C. sustainable and feed those in need? Or should I volunteer with Miriam’s Kitchen to feed the homeless? Or maybe I should go out and volunteer with the MLK Library’s Adult Literacy Resource Center and help teach people to read. Or I could even work with the Open Forum Foundation in their push for more open government.

See what I mean? But now I’ve realized that, really, it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter where you start, as long as you start somewhere. You’ve got to get out here and do something. You’ve got to pick something you’re passionate about and go for it, help out, put some weekend hours into it. It’s worth it, because this is our city. This is everyone‘s country. And we can help make it better.

Personally, I’m hoping to get involved some this semester, if I don’t collapse under the load of schoolwork. Even if not this semester, though, I’m already formulating a plan for the summer to volunteer with ten different causes on ten different weekends, ten weeks in a row. Rest assured, you’ll hear more about that as it comes close.

In the meantime, I’ve assembled a list of organizations and people I heard about and/or met last weekend. The links for organizations will take you to their Web site, where you can find out how to get involved. The links for people will take you to their Twitter profile, where you can contact them directly. And finally, if you have any questions or want to know more about my experience, you can comment and/or e-mail me at alex.priest[at]mac.com. Click the read more for the full list. Thanks for reading, looking forward to seeing you volunteering one day soon.

I’ve done my best to categorize them–some fit into multiple categories, some don’t quite fit anywhere (Hub DC, for example) but ah well. Here they all are, regardless. Please let me know if you have any causes to add to my list, I’d love to turn this into a good, updated resource for friends/family, etc. Also, if you want to be on this list or want to fill in a missing last name, let me know! Just e-mail me (or comment) with your name, Twitter and/or e-mail, Web site, whatever.

Food DC Food for All (on Twitter) Miriam’s Kitchen DC Central Kitchen Food Not Bombs Rooting DC DC Food Finder Bread for the City (on Twitter) Health Regina Holliday’s Medical Advocacy Blog Education DC Urban Debate League Baha’i DC MLK Library Adult Literacy Resource Center Facilitating Leadership in Youth (F.L.Y.) General Social Welfare Save Our Safety Net The Hub DC (on Twitter) ProgressDC New Organizing Institute (on Twitter) Crisis Camp Government & Politics Open Forum Foundation GovLuv You2Gov Politics Under 30 Sunlight Foundation OpenMeetings.org

People Aaron Ginoza – Social Justice Camp DC organizer Jennifer Bonsall – Social Justice Camp DC organizer Kelli Shewmaker – Social Justice Camp DC organizer Greg Bloom – DC Food For All, Bread for the City, ProgressDC Wayne Burke – Open Forum Foundation George Chriss – OpenMeetings.org Noel Dickover – CrisisCamp, CongressCamp, Gov2.0 Jeri Ekdahl – politics, open government, women’s issues Gabriela – Sunlight Foundation Erica Grigg – environmental David Hale – National Institutes of Health Regina Holliday – health care Ben Merrion – MLK Library, adult literacy Joni Podschun – DC Food for All Alan Silberberg – You2Gov Charise Van Liew – Facilitating Leadership in Youth DC Liz Whitehurst – various causes

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