Power to the People Right On

Well it's now 2:47 on November 24. This is my first post, but I intend to document my efforts for some reason. I'd like to say "for future generations..." but I don't really believe that right now. Ok, I guess I do, or I really wouldn't be writing.

Gradually, we've been seeing stories leaked from all over the world about what's going on. At first it was interesting to see the flow of news - how it started to come out. Of course, the internet was first. Blogs and youtube showed all kinds of crazy things happening, but what could you really believe?

Then the major cable networks started covering the "story," but not the actual outbreak. I remember seeing CNN covering the start of this mess with stories like "Internet Rumors of Cannibalism Run Wild." Fox News talking did segments about how this was a hoax put forth by the "secular humanists" who want to destroy religion.

It didn't take time for actual journalism to start uncovering some really weird stuff. The whole Halloween trick-or-treat massacre at the shopping mall in Columbus, OH that was treated as a lone crazy got considerable attention again. The video showed some very disturbing things, no doubt, but nothing conclusive, and the autopsy reports never were completed. The hospital riots in Los Angeles, Houston, and New York all were treated by the media as something that was happening to someone else, not them, not all of us. That strange video from Madison got me worried. You know, the one with the Wisconsin students at the football game? That meant the outbreak was only one state away from me and my family.

Even so, it was all mixed in with the news of the election, the transition of power, the fall of the economy, the war in Iraq.

The trickle of news turned into a steady flow, and now, I don't know who can turn off the faucet. I just read a CNN alert that said the national guard has been activated in almost every state now.

Today I showed up for work, but I don't know if I'm even staying the whole day. Too much craziness going on, and with the way the everything is falling apart, the things I used to do to "save the world" don't seem like they will work any more.

Jesus - I just heard gunfire outside of my office. I've really got to get going and get my family. Cell phone service is almost non-existent right now. Damn.

One last thing before I head out. See, I'm one of those "community organizers" that supposedly have less responsibility than the mayor of a small town in Alaska. I could dismantle that argument in about 2 seconds, but it doesn't seem to matter anymore huh? If the dead are rising (I should stop saying "if' now) than Alaskan zombies are just as hungry as Iowan ones I suppose.

Collective action is the only thing that ever accomplished any large scale social change, rebuilt a community, or got anyone through a crisis. In fact, I believe that crisis demands organizing - on your own solutions just can't work well in this kind of situation. But like I said, the normal actions to organize people don't seem to work any more, or at least I can't imagine them working if the normal lines of communication and society are breaking.

I guess, it's time for some new tactics.