Nothing should make Americans feel more comfortable than the thought of radical communist Van Jones getting behind an effort to train 100,000 people on how to engage in 'non-violent' direct action, whatever that means. Just as Glenn predicted,the winter would go quietly and give way to the Occupy movement coming back bigger and more aggressive.
“We are at a crossroads as a country,” a letter on the site dedicated to the new movement says. “We have a choice to make. Greater wealth for a few or opportunity for many. Tax breaks for the richest or a fair shot for the rest of us. A government that can be bought by the highest bidder, or a democracy that is truly of the people, by the people, and for the people.”It continues: “The choice is in our hands. This spring, we will act on that choice and rise up in the tradition of our forefathers and foremothers. We will not be complicit with the suffering in our families for another year. We will prepare ourselves for sustained non-violent direct action.”
That “preparation” looks like a week-long training session from April 9-15. But not just any training session, this training session will be held across the country and will reportedly feature meetings in “places of worship”
At the preparation sessions, people will learn:
1) Tell the story of our economy: how we got here, who’s responsible, what a different future could look like, and what we can do about it2) Learn the history of non-violent direct action, and
3) Get into action on our own campaigns to win change.
"Who's behind it? Van Jones. Who saw that one coming?" Glenn said sarcastically on radio.
Van Jones is listed as one of the co-signers of the letter, along with several union leaders and progressive activists.
"So typical. You make these crazy predictions all the time but I mean, people are going to call you on this stuff, Glenn. For example, you keep saying, oh, they're going to take out these rich American executives and capitalists out of their offices and drag them into the streets, when clearly in USA Today last week, they just said they would take guns and storm Wall Street. They didn't say they would drag them out into the streets. They may very well kill them in their offices. And you continue to mislead the American people," Stu joked.
"America, I warn you. No one in the DOJ will do jack. No one in the administration will do jack. No one in congress will do jack. If you are unlucky and you live in one of the major cities, your mayor will not do jack. Your police officers, because of the union ties, will not do jack. If you have children in college, they will do jack. They will hijack your children. They will involve them in this. Your churches will do jack if you stay silent. They will hijack your religion as well. You can no longer say it's not my union, it's not my school, it's not my church, it's not my city, it's not my country. Because if you remain silent, I guarantee you, I promise you in a very short period of time, you will say, this is not my country, this is not my state, this is not my business, this is not my church, this is not my son or daughter. You won't recognize any of it. You must stand firm," Glenn said.
The full letter explaining the 99% Spring is below:
DATE: February 15, 2012TO: America
RE: The 99% Spring
Things should never have reached this point.
Every day, the American Dream seems a little farther away. More of our grandparents are being thrown from their homes. Our mothers and fathers can’t retire because their pension funds tanked. Our brothers and sisters are burdened by student loan debt. For our children, budget cuts have resulted in crumbling schools, skyrocketing class sizes, and teachers being denied the supports they need to do their best. Our friends and family are being denied collective bargaining rights in their workplaces and are falling further and further behind. Our neighbors are being poisoned by pollution in our air and water.
The numbers are staggering: in recent years, millions of jobs have been destroyed, homes foreclosed, and an unconscionable number of children live in poverty.
And worst of all: this is no accident. It is a result of rampant greed—the deliberate manipulation of our democracy and our economy by a tiny minority in the 1%, by those who amass ever more wealth and power at our expense.
We are at a crossroads as a country. We have a choice to make. Greater wealth for a few or opportunity for many. Tax breaks for the richest or a fair shot for the rest of us. A government that can be bought by the highest bidder, or a democracy that is truly of the people, by the people, and for the people.
The choice is in our hands. This spring, we will act on that choice and rise up in the tradition of our forefathers and foremothers. We will not be complicit with the suffering in our families for another year. We will prepare ourselves for sustained non-violent direct action.
From April 9-15 we will gather across America, 100,000 strong, in homes, places of worship, campuses and the streets to join together in the work of reclaiming our country. We will organize trainings to:
Tell the story of our economy: how we got here, who’s responsible, what a different future could look like, and what we can do about it
Learn the history of non-violent direct action, and
Get into action on our own campaigns to win change.
This spring we rise! We will reshape our country with our own hands and feet, bodies and hearts. We will take non-violent action in the spirit of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Gandhi to forge a new destiny one block, one neighborhood, one city, one state at a time.
We know great change is possible. We inherit a history of everyday people standing up for their own dignity, freedom, and self-determination, shaping our direction as a country. The seamstress in Alabama who launched a bus boycott. The farmers in New England and Virginia who imagined we could be a free nation. The workers in Flint, Michigan who occupied their plant to win collective bargaining rights. The farmworkers in California who liberated our fields. The women in New York who dreamed they could one day speak with equal voice. The mother who stood up in Love Canal to stop the poisoning of her community. And the students who risked their lives during Freedom Summer to register voters.
In the last year alone we watched the teachers and fire fighters of Wisconsin stand for the rights of workers. And we joined those who Occupied Wall Street, inspiring us to stand with the 99%.
We will rise this spring, because we DO hold these truths to be self evident—that all men and women are created equal, that we are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.
Will you rise with us? Can we count on you to join us April 9th to 15th to stand with the 99% for America?