Hey, guess what? Civil liberties activism and psytrance!
Back in 2008, It’s the Fourth of July and we’re fighting for our civil liberties was written the day after Senator Obama responded to Get FISA Right’s open letter. It was a great moment in grassroots civil liberties activism, and the bonds we formed then have remained. It’s Goa Gil’s birthdy, and we’re *still* fighting for our civil liberties is from October 2009, in the midst of the battle over Patriot Act renewal. Hail Eris! All Hail Discordia! is from December 2010, featuring wikileaks and anti-TSA activism. Hey wait a second. I’m noticing a pattern here …
Tonight we’re in the middle of another Patriot Act battle; trying to building on an unexpected victory with grassroots activism. As always the odds are stacked against us … hey, if changing the world were easy, everybody would do it! With Tunisia and Egypt leading the way, 2011 is shaping up to be the year where social network activism breaks through internationally. Will it happen here?
But the Patriot Act isn’t the only civil liberties battle that matters. The TSA is still clinging to its scanning/groping policy, insisting that the only way to keep us safe is to touch the breasts and genitals of 2% of travellers (including all Sikhs, women wearing saris, and other “anomalies”). And here in California, Save the Rave is taking the lead in standing for our right to peacefully assemble and fighting back against the war on fun.  When worlds collide …
So after spending the last week hunched over a computer dealing with the bizarreness of legislative process (“S.249 is also S.289 is likely to make it to the floor, while S.193 aka S.290 may get marked up by the SJC, but how to reconcile with HR 514?”), it was great to go out tonight to Synchronize, San Francisco’s Wednesday night psytrance weekly. As usual, there were few dozen people there, and the DJs tonight were great. I got there at 11:30 and danced until 1:55, when it closed.
Tomorrow’s back to work, and I’ll be hurting in the morning. But it’s worth it.
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