For the seven people following this blog, you might notice I've been unemployed for about, oh, 19 months now. And that I've been YELLING AND SCREAMING for about most of that time FOR JOBS DAMMIT OBAMA WE NEED JOBS.
One of my pet peeves was this realization that for all the Congressional apathy that has been slowing down if not killing any legislative attempts to GET AMERICANS BACK TO WORK DAMMIT, the whole nation seemed to be in this funk of not wanting to do anything about the unemployment problem. While the televised media itself seemed... distant and aloof about it (the local papers have near-daily news updates and check-ups and job hunting tips, so they at least are aware there's still a problem - and this being Florida with 14 percent out-of-work, IT IS STILL A PROBLEM), there didn't seem to be anything else out there going on. No marches on state capitols, no rumors of marches, no mass rallies protesting the lack of effort to 15 million Americans back on their feet with good full-time jobs at good wages (As I've let Congress know, Wal-Mart Greeter is NOT a career!).
Not a peep. And nothing on the Intertubes either. Not from the liberal blogs nor the conservative ones. Not from the blogs that tend to be truly balanced and informed. It was as though NOBODY wanted to go through the hassles of getting into the streets and raising a fuss.
Which is getting really frustrating for me. Because there are other groups in this nation taking to the streets, and these are groups that in my humble opinion don't have any legitimate grievances to drive them into the streets: the goddamn wingnut Teabaggers.
For one thing: these Teabaggers are NOT grass-roots. By definition, grass-root organizations aren't funded by billionaires. For another thing: these Teabaggers are out there protesting things - "OBAMA'S A SOCIALIST ZOMG! OBAMA'S A SECRET MUSLIM ZOMG! HEALTH CARE DEATH PANELS ZOMG! DEMOCRATS ARE EVIL ZOMG!" - that are NOT TRUE.
It came to a head for me this weekend with the realization that a particular Rage Merchant was throwing his own Ego Rally on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on a High Holy Day (Anniversary for Martin Luther King's I Have A Dream speech during a march in 1963 for... get this... jobs!). I felt angry and pissed that an idiot like Beck could get 80,000 Teabaggers to travel to DC to boost his ego, but that 15 million unemployed Americans couldn't get anything together to host a rally in DC to yell and scream for the good jobs we desperately need.
So I went to Daily Kos - yes, Dad, I know they're Socialists - mostly 'cause I figured that would be the one venue where I could vent this matter using a Diary entry. Mostly I raged that we needed to organize and get a Jobs Rally on DC done as soon as possible.
Well, it kinda worked. Within minutes, someone posted a response, letting me know that "Hey guess what? There IS a rally planned for Saturday October 2nd!"
It's being hosted by a group known as One Nation Working Together. It's really associated with the AFL-CIO, as well as the NAACP and SEIU. Yes, Dad, they're unions and they're liberal. They're also the only ones I'm seeing out there in the political arena giving a crap about the unemployment crisis.
So thank GOD there is actually something going on out there. But here comes my next greivance:
WHEN THE HELL WERE YOU GUYS GONNA TELL US ABOUT THAT?
You'd think the AFL-CIO or the NAACP or SEIU would have a grasp on the concept of advertising. Because I certainly didn't hear anything about this and it looks like this has been in the planning stages since June. At least since August 4th, when these guys finally got around to securing the October 2nd event. Nothing. NOT A PEEP.
You've got friendly ears in the televised media, don't you? This was something Rachel Maddow could have been talking about the last three weeks, or at least Keith Olbermann. Why isn't Daily Kos dedicating Diaries and updates on their site? Or FireDogLake, which devotes some talk about SEIU? I will tell you one thing: I'm not hearing anything about this among my fellow unemployed at the Career Center! Sigh.
Look, here's the thing: we've got about a month before the event takes place. We gotta start getting the word out to the unemployed across the nation. It's gonna take time, and money, and travel planning and expenses, and a lot of other things, to make sure we get a good turnout. 'Cause the media's not gonna sit up and take notice if you get just 5,000 people attending. The media's not gonna pay attention if you even get 80,000 like Beck did. No, you're going to have to impress the shit out of the news channels: you're gonna need at least 2 million in the streets of Washington DC. You're gonna need to clog up traffic from Alexandria to Baltimore. You're gonna have the scare the crap out of the political insiders who simply can't see the number of unemployed people who are out there in the United States.
I'll do my part to spread the word. But you guys? AFL-CIO, NAACP, SEIU, the lot of you? Start getting your ads out there! Start chatting up Maddow or Cooper Anderson or god help us someone at FOX. GET THE DAMN WORD OUT.
We need everyone there on October 2nd. EVERYONE!
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