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Boycotting the Airlines is Not Enough. We must do more.
Please take a look at the short video message I recorded (above). Consider the We Won’t Fly community as the sum of individuals who want airline passenger security that doesn’t trample basic human rights and dignity. Consider that as we move towards achieving our goal, we will pass through stages.
Also consider that this project looks really hard. That’s normal. Any big goal looks hard. That’s why we need to break it up into small bite-sized steps. Don’t be deterred by this.
We’ve reached stage 1. At least, a whole lot of us have. Stage 1 is what I call Knowing. We know there is a problem. We know the details. We’re up on all the cases of abuse and how these people operate. We can speak intelligently about the issue. We own the issue. This is stage 1 – to know the issue so well that we are masters of it.
Stage 2 is doing something about it. Stage 2 is the first stage of the solution. Here are some goals for stage 2. Add your own as well.
- Build a cohesive community where people know each other and can work with each other comfortably when they get ideas, not just on a national level but also on a state and local level.
- Hold conferences where audiences of new and veteran community members can come and speak about the issue. Hold these both online and in real life around the country. Attend and/or speak at the Agora I/O free, online unconference Sep 23-25 where there is an entire track for this issue. Ban the Scan was an in-real-life conference held on this issue June 10th in New York City. This should be replicated in Philadelphia, Atlanta, DC, Houston, Dallas, San Francisco, and all points in between.
- Create mutual aid brigades and once a month go to your local airport to counsel travelers before they enter the security line. Give them a number where they can get help if the TSA abuses them or has them arrested. Give them educational materials. Ask permission from the airport management first (so you aren’t risking arrest).
- Let’s design a really nice tri-fold pamphlet on this issue and hand it out liberally in our local areas. Let’s create more websites about this. Let’s write more blog posts about this.
Now that we’ve reached stage 2, it’s important to not just rant, not just boycott, but to also add more means of resistance and community cohesion to our activism menu. Together we are having an impact, but we are kidding ourselves if we thinking boycotting alone is enough. Challenge yourself to go beyond your current limits.
We are people of principle. We care about this issue. If we don’t also stand up and doing something about – everything we can do about it – then we’re not really living our principles.
Live your principles. Make something big happen here!
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