The flag drop went great! We counted how many times people honked, waved, and gave thumbs up, and we decided to go home when hit we 510- it took about an hour and 15 minutes. One of the best parts was that there wasn’t any interference from the police. I can’t wait to do it again!
With the buzz I got from the banner drop, I decided to do a little bit more work for the campaign when I arrived home, so I registered the domain names for www.strikeforstatehood.com and www.strike4statehood.com. These domain names will be used for the promotion of October 1st- Budget Autonomy for the District Day. I am pondering ways in which we can eclipse the activities of last year and make sure there is more national attention given towards DC Statehood. It should be very interesting :-) Now I’m off to Fairfax, Virginia for a friend’s party!
Nik: One of the most important things you should know if you want to be a DC democracy activist is that you don’t work to “eclipse” the work of DC democracy activists. Writing that your ideas will “eclipse” the work of other DC democracy activists is perhaps the most self-centered thing I have ever heard you say…and that’s saying so much. There is a long, storied history of DC democracy activism that you should be aware of before you start saying that your ideas will garner more national media attention. Do your research before you start talking about how great you are.
Real activists, those committed to a cause and not just themselves, will learn from others that have more experience. Real activists don’t just jump in and say that they have better ideas than those that have been working on these issues for years.
Comment by Zoe — 8/23/2004 @ 4:10 pm
Zoe,
Thank you for your comment- it sincerely means a lot to me.
I completely understand your viewpoint and will consider my words more carefully in future posts. However, I feel that some explanation is needed to address my “self-centered” nature.
This is my first campaign and my first foray in DC democracy activism. I have always worked pretty much by myself in all of my previous activism, and working with the campaign has been something that I have been enjoying immensely and through all this, I sincerely know that its not all about me.
It’s about all of us and what we can do together, and I know that you have tirelessly worked night & day for DC Statehood- you have organized mass-mobilizations, you have protested, you’ve gone to jail, and you’ve even beat the system, and to have some upstart like myself make “self-centered” statements about how I can do it better or “eclipse the work of others” sounds like a real slap in the face.
Yet, I want you to know that I am not trying to steal the spotlight, I am not trying to show off, nor undermine the efforts of those before me- I am simply doing what I think is helpful, and in your opinion, I am going about it in somewhat the wrong way. However, I have read over some of my statements and I don’t feel as though I am trying to say my ideas are better than the rest, nor do I feel my statements or ideas are going to garner more national attention than anyone else’s.
In this post, I used the words “..we can eclipse the activities of last year and make sure there is more national attention given towards DC Statehood” I did not say “..think of ways I can eclipse..” I’d like to be considered someone that is working with those who stand in solidarity with me and not someone who is doing this solely for my own ego.
Regardless, I sincerely feel that we have to eclipse the work of those before us in order to create that critical mass of participation in DC democracy activism. It cannot be just a handful of us working toward the benefit of DC residents, it has to be A LOT of us working for the common goal. If my ideas seem like I am trying to steal the spotlight, I sincerely apologize, but I am trying to come up with new ways we can work together in a positive and hopefully successful way. Ways in which there is broad based support that will foster those who sit on the fence to jump off the fence and rally with us to achieve our common goal.
Maybe you are warning me and trying to say in so many words to “not reinvent the wheel,” but I need to add that with every new person working for DC democracy (like myself) there are new ideas and potential new ways to achieve statehood, and those ideas must be listened to with an open mind. Otherwise we will get nowhere.
You are completely right that real activists are committed to the cause and don’t jump in and say their ideas are better than the rest. Real activists work with together and, Zoe, I want to work with you and the rest of DC democracy activists for the betterment of all DC residents. My only request is that you keep an open mind to my ideas and the ideas of others who have not been in it as long as the rest. I know that new ideas come from those that are not as seasoned as the rest, but if you look through their naïveté, their ideas might work. If the ideas have been done before, please tell us, I believe it would be beneficial to know the history of DC’s struggle for statehood better so that we can work to the best of our ability without letting history repeat.
I look forward to speaking with you about this in person, and I’ll do my best to not come off as being a “self-centered” activist that only cares about my own contributions. I want to say in the end, “look what we did together.”
Comment by Nikolas ® Schiller — 8/23/2004 @ 7:17 pm
We agree with you Nick. Zoe is just jealous and thinks she is god’s gift to DC activism.
Comment by Vote DC — 8/24/2004 @ 5:42 pm
I think the strike idea is awesome. Much better than the tired ideas that have been coming from the “established” DC crowd. Don’t let others drag down your work, which actually attracts attention and interest.
Good for u!
Comment by Vote DC — 8/26/2004 @ 10:07 pm