Activism: Balancing Distance and Presence | Mickey Z.

[Tace]

Photo credit: Mickey Z.

Mickey Z. -- World News Trust

July 9, 2015

Most of my radical life has been, um, occupied with writing and public speaking. Many books published, articles regularly appearing on high profile lefty sites like Counterpunch and ZNet (both of whom now rarely, if ever, run my work), talks and lectures given from coast to coast, maintaining a popular blog, and even appearing on C-Span -- all this added up to global name recognition and a relatively large readership… and quite the reputation for “gloom and doom.”

Then along came Occupy Wall Street.

Thanks to OWS, I got way more involved in street activism in 2011 which also led me to seriously re-connect with the vegan/animal rights protest scene. Practically overnight, I became an omnipresent and well-liked figure at rallies, marches, and demos all across the NYC area.

I made many new friends and comrades, got to meet longtime readers, and received plenty of props for being more than a “keyboard warrior.” This face-to-face solidarity created genuine optimism and suddenly had folks lauding me for my “positive energy.”

Who knew?

more

http://worldnewstrust.com/activism-balancing-distance-and-presence-mickey-z

[murielm99]

1. Interesting that he speaks of thought policing

and the hive mind of activism.

I am seeing a great deal of that on DU lately.