Hello again from my week of living dangerously. I’ve been out and about in the community. Getting a sense for what is happening with local activists. Very cool, really.
Monday was my first visit with our local anti-war chapter, as some of you read. Tuesday night was with a university war resistance movement that has garnered attention from the FBI — think the group of people from the Michael Moore movie, only younger. Tonight is a group trying to bring about a sustainable community.
But, the really interesting news of the day was just something I heard from a truck driving buddy of mine. He tells me that there is some kind of loosely organized general truck strike tomorrow (September 15). More after flip.
Basically, this could amount to nothing, but I love the idea of it. A bunch of blue collar truck driving guys (and probably some gals, but my actual knowledge of the truck driving scene ended with the movie “Convoy” and I don’t recall the chick drivers in that film, so I am stuck with the stereotypes foisted upon me in the 70s, or was that the 80s) have been talking it up on the CB. That’s right. They still communicate by CB.
Anyway, the way it is explained to me, they have been talking about this day for some time. Seems many of them (I believe independent drivers) are pretty ticked off at the price of gas, going back to before the Katrina shockwave hit the market.
The mechanics of it don’t sound wholly effective. Basically something like a sick-out tomorrow. So they are going to try to stop as much trucking as possible. Some talk of parking vehicles on overpasses and what not, from the more militant dudes (and dudettes, assuming again, things have changed since the “Convoy” era). So who knows what will come of it. Plus, it could be wholly localized for all I know, but my “source” makes it sound dire anyway, and I am happy for his enthusiasm. There is talk of crippling commerce and stocking up on food and gas today (September 14).
Well, just thought you here at the Frog Pond should know. Wouldn’t want any of you left alone, caught unaware by the great general truck strike of 2005.
As you can probably sense from my tone, I am not overly optimistic about the chances that such a thing will materialize. But, I love the idea. People acting to try to effect something, instead of listening to Hannity and sitting on their arses.
Well — off to find out if my community can sustain itself, through general strikes, peak oil, the Bush presidency, and the like.
P.S. Chocolate Ink tells me that there is nothing accidental about my latest exploits — wading into the community like Geraldo Rivera (but with much more sincerity, I assure you) so I can report back to you, in the Frog Pond. I know she is right. But, I like the ring of it. Reminds me of the Accidental Tourist and all. So I’m sticking with it. At least for this week. Peace. Out. (If you can imagine a 38 year old pudgy dude, actually saying “Peace” followed by “Out” and meaning it).
Scopes calls this rumor “undetermined.”
Seems to me that for a one-day strike to have any impact, it would need to be very well-publicized beforehand. In Japan, transportation unions will often strike for just a few hours at a time. Everyone knows it will happen, everyone is MASSIVELY inconvenienced that day, and it gets the point across quite well.
What the hell is Scopes? You mean you actually have a site or something where you can go and type in my crazy-ass rumor and find out if it is, like, confirmed or undetermined. This is a seriously crazy world we live in. I grew up without computers. I can’t take this shit.
http://www.snopes.com/snopes.asp This is a great site, it’s fun but also informative and debunks or not thousands of urban legends-broken down into dozens of categories including political/race/military etc. Go check it out, you’ll be hooked. And yes the truck driver strike is on there and for now the site says ‘undetermined’?
I just happened to use Snopes the other day when someone was saying they saw an ad on tv for some stupid pill that is supposed to clean out your intestines and the ad was using John Wayne as an example. Saying that the autopsy on him showed his intestines were literally packed full of 40 pounds of crap and that is what killed him(forget the whole cancer thing, right). Going to Snopes will tell you one particularly damming fact that debunks this whole scam and that is that Wayne’s family didn’t have an autopsy performed on him. When I told the woman(a retired school teacher no less)she didn’t really believe I don’t think cause she kept saying well how could they say something like that on tv if it wasn’t true.
Guess I’m off the whole track about truck drivers but this site(several others like it also)are fun but are quite handy for debunking urban legend crap that people will tell you.
Snopes, not Scopes. I am forever doing that. I think “rational approach to dubious legends” and somehow Clarence Darrow and the Scopes “monkey trial” comes to mind.
Yes, I love the site. My brother introduced me to it, and since his death, I’ve sort of assumed the role of official Snope-user on behalf of family and friends.