Monday, September 18, 2006

SEPT 17TH ACTIVISM: AWESOME! BUT NOT STOPPING GENOCIDE IN DARFUR

It only took just one failed component, one failed component out of millions that painstaking effort had made right, to cause the searing tragedy of the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion. You'll remember that for Challenger it was a faulty "O ring."

The contributions of the many that led to a brilliantly executed September 17th series of worldwide events is something we all should humbly honor, praise, reverence and express our deep respect and gratitude for. I do. It was awesome. And a handful of truly heroic efforts took place - promoting/filling busses from Pittsburgh, Boston, Ohio, Washington...; logistics; PR.... Thank you and God bless your commitment. And your accomplishments including front page coverage in the New York Times, appointment of a special envoy to Darfur as desrcibed in Bush to Name Envoy for Darfur Washington Post, By Colum Lynch and Glenn Kessler Staff Writers Tuesday, September 19, 2006; and finally, a spotlight on China, for example The Genocide Test, Editorial, Washington Post.

What the September 17th teams worldwide did is absolutely necessary! But there is a faulty "O ring" in the Campaign to Save Darfur. SEPTEMBER 17TH, AND THE FOLLOW-ON EVENTS CONTEMPLATED AND PLANNED WILL NOT STOP THE GENOCIDE. And I have yet to have anyone prominently involved with the Darfur movement disagree. And I've asked them. And I've received responses.

A crucial component is missing; a component that has been essential for every previous social-change movement. Stopping Genocide requires Monumental Social-Change - NEVER has genocide been stopped. N-E-V-E-R. Never. Not Rwanda, Cambodia, Kurds, Serbrinka, not 6,000,000 Jews.... Kosovo was far too late addressed to some degree.

What is profoundly missing is a Core Group of Leaders that anyone, EVERYONE SEES is heroically putting their skin in the game, standing up for, getting in harms way for, SACRIFICING PERSONALLY for Darfur. Name major social change that has ever come without this. Civil Rights? Apartheid? Stopping Vietnam War? Suffrage? IT HAS NEVER HAPPENED.

Unmistakable-Sacrificial-Leadership-visible-to-the-masses is the spark plug; the inspiration; the moral clarity; THE PROOF OF IMPORTANCE THAT INSPIRES COMMITTED ACTION IN OTHERS. Leadership of this kind, in sufficient quantity is - the price to Save Darfur. Until the "price" is paid, the genocide will not stop, no matter what else we do.

We can do everything else right (and these are NECESSARY): advertising, PR, rallies, celebrity participation, strategy, Sudan Envoys... but without the ignition, without the spark-plug we've got our "O ring," our efforts will crash in defeat, and 4,000,000 family members in Darfur are exterminated.

I have been begging for two years for such effort:
9/23/04: http://platform.blogs.com/passionofthepresent/2004/09/radical_commitm.html
10/17/04: http://platform.blogs.com/passionofthepresent/2004/10/jay_mcginley_ai.html
8/11/05: http://rescuerestoredarfur.blogspot.com/2005/08/hunger-strike-day-6-pioneers-must-pay.html
8/14/05: http://platform.blogs.com/passionofthepresent/2005/08/the_latest_from_1.html
7/11/06: http://standwithdarfurwhitehouseii.blogspot.com/2006/07/call-to-battle-launch-all-out.html
8/16/06: http://rescuerestoredarfur.blogspot.com/2005/08/hunger-strike-day-12-enough-radicals.html
8/22/05: http://platform.blogs.com/passionofthepresent/2005/07/jay_mcginley_hu.html

So Jay, does all this make you right? What matters is: 1. Might it be correct?; 2. That YOU decide, correctly, in time. As Reverend Gloria said in NYC on Sunday, “It’s about T-I-M-E.”

Rosa Parks was a seamstress. Steven Beko was from no organization. Ghandi was a young lawyer and the wave upon wave of fellow leaders were from all walks of life. Dr. King a brilliant minister and many co-leaders were uneducated laborers. King said, "Anyone can be great because anyone can serve." Gandhi said, 'The frailest, old crippled body can be just as powerful as any head of state."

BUT THE MOST LIKELY SOURCE FOR THE LEADERSHIP CORE IS STUDENTS. This has been true in every movement. And if the students of this country do not rise up for humanity and justice, NOW, there is no hope. THEY must form the core of our leadership. We adults in the NGOs, Churches, Synagogues, Mosques HAVE MADE OUR POSITION CLEAR. WE WILL NOT GET IN HARMS WAY FOR DARFUR.

Someone(s) cried out about the "O ring" long, long before the Challenger exploded. I'm sure of it. He/She/They were blown off as troublemaker, renegade, lone ranger, loner, outsider, not-a-team-player.... The Challenger exploded. All that is left are, regrets.

6 comments:

maryt/theteach said...

Jay, Thank you for your comments on my blog (WorkofthePoet.blogspot.com) about Darfur. I wish you the best for all you're doing for the people of Darfur.

Marie's Two Cents said...

Jay,

Thank's for visiting my blog, however I would like you to respond back on the post you posted on to clairy what you are wanting.

Are you trying to say that President Bush is the only one who has addressed this problem?

Because I havent seen ONE Democrat address this.

And I never saw ANYONE in the previous administration address this!

And how can you get STUDENTS to do anything when most of the schools are run by LIBERALS? The likes of Ward Churchill, etc...

I'm not exactly sure what you are talking about here.

I would like to hear more about this however.

Please come back to the post and explain all this to me lol

James McGinley said...

Dear sister,

Not sure I understand clearly your questions but here goes.

* Bush has done the most of any president in the face of Genocide, and more than his fellow citizens, with the exception of Eric Reeve (sudanreeve.org) and aid workers in Darfur, to my knowledge.

* Democrats? There are no democrates. Or republicans. Only republicrats anymore - 2 parties by name serving the same constituence in the same way - the paries of the rich, special interests, which of course includes themselves.

* I'll guess that in the 60's the schools were almost as liberal as today, but students led the grass roots of both the Civil Rights movement and the campaign to stop the Vietnam war.

Brother Jay

Marie's Two Cents said...

Jay,

Bush has done the most of any president in the face of Genocide, and more than his fellow citizens, with the exception of Eric Reeve (sudanreeve.org) and aid workers in Darfur, to my knowledge.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ok I am somewhat getting the point here.

Democrats? There are no democrates. Or republicans. Only republicrats anymore - 2 parties by name serving the same constituence in the same way - the paries of the rich, special interests, which of course includes themselves.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now here is where you lost me lol, I am living proof there are still Republicans!!!!
I know you are talking about the ones on Capitol Hill, but BITE YOUR TONGUE!!! Republicrats??? NEVER EVER NO!!!

I'll guess that in the 60's the schools were almost as liberal as today, but students led the grass roots of both the Civil Rights movement and the campaign to stop the Vietnam war.

Brother Jay
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Not in MY school they werent taken over completely by Liberals!!!
Hell if I had Ward Churchill for a teacher for instance, I would have said some choice words to that crackhead and walked out!!

Thank God my daughter feels the same way I do, she ran into a Ward Churchill like type teacher in her last year of high school, and did exactly that, said some choice words to HER, and then walked out! Caused one hell of a bru ha ha, but by the time I was done with those freaks, the principal, teacher, etc.. She never spouted a Liberal word in MY daughters presence EVER again, not while my daughter was in class anyway!

If you are looking for help by the children of the children of the 60's generation, GOOD LUCK!!! Because they are all hanging out with Cindy Sheehan now!

And the students of the 60's didnt end the Viet Nam War, President Nixon, and Ford did with some help from Congress NOT funding the War anymore!

Although I like how you first started out with Bush has done more than anyone else about Darfur.

Hell Bush has done more about Genocide EVRYWHERE than any other President! I have a question though, everyone seems to be on the Darfur bandwagon and that's a good thing I would like to see genocide in Darfur ended also, but where were you guys when Saddam was committing Genocide on the Iraqi people?

James McGinley said...

Hmmm.

I was speaking broadly about republicrats and I stand by that, while acknowledging that there are TRUE Republicans, a few, just like there are true Christians (a few, I hope. Not certain.)

Who is you guys? I have yet to be joined by anyone that wants to put skin in the game today, here and now, to stop the Darfur Genocide. Oh, we'll TALK about sending other folks (peacekeepers) into the game, but "me." Oh no. Where was I, Jay, when the Kurds were being gassed (with US supplied gas?) Stuffing my face and getting l--d, or thinking about it anyway. You know, living the American Dream.

An honor to dialog with you. Now, however, I have to get back to the genocide. Extermination rates are headed toward 25,000 per week. Out if time for chat.

Brother Jay

Marie's Two Cents said...

Well I am glad you acknowledge there are some true Republicans.

Here we go I know how to draw the ("US suppied gas") line out of you people that care only about one group of people and piss on the others!
At least you were honest enough to admit you werent out there protesting about the Genocide in Iraq, and you were to busy feeding your face and getting layed. And now you have decided to get up off whomever you were on, go on a fast, and go protest about Darfur!

How lucky we are to have you to do all that, it's a damn shame you werent doing that for the Iraqi people. They were at about 1 to 2 million getting killed last I heard, that is before Saddam got kicked!

What you are doing is noble indeed, a bit to late but better late than never I guess. You should have been doing what you have been doing with EVERY Nation that commit's Genocide, but if Darfur is your thing right now more power to you!

It's been a real hoot dialoging with you too Jay!

And YOU are the one that started this conversation about Darfur, but now you have no time? lol

So this has been yet another Internet-Drive-By-Public-Service-Announcement?