Oou, I Like It Like That

The stories that are emerging from the Dance Party @ TJ's Event yesterday are kind of thrilling in a certain "You're not the boss of me!" way. Of course, it's only meaningful in the context of a Police State® running rampant, and what has been happening at the Thomas Jefferson Memorial -- dancing, fack! -- is about as minor an act of Civil Disobedience as can be imagined.

But the point is to get to Critical Mass. Everyone who actually practices in the field understands that. No individual act by itself in isolation IS that Critical Mass (as even Rosa Parks knew full well) but the cumulative effect of them over time, and the ability of these acts to spontaneously (well...) generate more, to act as a catalyst in other words, is the thing.

How can Forbidden Dancing ("El baile prohibido?") be that kind of catalyst? Is it even, reasonably speaking, civil disobedience?

Sure it is.

And despite his professed Libertarianism, apparently Adam's Actions at the TJ are Marxist no less! Well, after all, he's a featured installation artist at Russia Today, the notorious Soviet Commonist Television Station which hardly any Americans have access to.

I love it.

A performance artist. A provocateur. A rabble rouser. That's Adam and his buddy Medea.

Yes.

What they do does not necessarily directly lead to positive change any more than what Cindy Sheehan did directly led to the collapse of American support for continued war in Iraq and the other Imperial provinces and satrapies. What they do brings attention to a problem that needs to be addressed. In the case of the TJ Dance Parties, the problem is the overwhelming stupidity and brutality of the Authoritarian State we've been living under for some time.

When attention is brought to the problem, something can then be done. Without public attention, through the media and elsewhere, if something gets done about a problem, it is generally through backchannels, and ordinarily not in the Public Interest.

In that regard, it is interesting that when millions of people marched and carried signs -- repeatedly -- around the world in protest of the invasion of Iraq, it had no effect whatever on the actions of the High and the Mighty, whereas one woman -- and a few sweaty friends -- sitting by the roadside beyond the gates of Bush's "ranch" in Texas seemed to shake the Powerful to the core, no matter how much they mocked and disparaged her and her actions. They could ignore the millions but were caught short by one.

So it may be with the Dance Party Movement.

Oh yes, much more is planned, and the Fourth of July has been designated as Nationwide Dance Party Day. Protesting everything that the State has been doing to Stifle the People.

Long row to hoe, eh?

But you can't get to the end without taking that first step....



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Just as a style note, these people need some serious Latin Dance lessons. Pots and pans are good for rhythm, too. Also, they need to learn to get the chants right, id est: Individual: "Show me what Democracy looks like!" Group: "This is what Democracy looks like!" Of course, good luck with that with a bunch of Libertarians ("There is no 'we', this is a spontaneous collection of 'I's'". Groupthink is the Problem, not the Answer.") But give them time...☺