I'll be there, for sure (driving from Florida if anybody wants to carpool). This is exactly the kind of movement that gets the attention of our leaders and is the logical progression from the previous Restore the Fourth rallies.
I know this may sound super paranoid... but I'd rather just show up and show my support. This whole giving my info thing makes me think that somewhere there is a list of people the government is deciding to label "terrorists" or "traitors" or "watch list". I don't see any details about where to meet and when and what not.
Stay tuned in the next couple weeks for announcements on rally location, march route, and confirmed speakers.
FWIW, it seems pretty unlikely that you could make it to the rally without leaving a trail. If you drive, you'll probably get scanned by a license plate reader. If you bring your phone, you'll be tracked, if you use a credit card, that'll be recorded, and in DC you'll probably walk in front of a security camera that is or will be connected to a facial recognition system.
I completely understand your hesitation, and I can't say that I haven't thought twice before saying certain things since the Snowden revelations. A lot of people have declined to sign up for the Restore the Fourth NYC email list because they don't want to "end up on a list."
The way I see it, we have two choices; we can accept a world in which we are afraid to take political actions (like RSVP'ing to a rally or putting an email address down on a clipboard), or we can scream from the rooftops that we're not going to allow that world to come about. If enough of us take the second route, we'll win; if too many take the first route, it will be a self-fulfilling prophecy.
There probably all ready is such a list and they probably already know if you would support something like this and what your general political viewpoint is. The flip side of that is that Congress and our elected officials don't know where you stand so it is good to show our support!
Well, you can contact folks at any of the organizations listed to confirm that it's not an NSA operation. Not very likely the ACLU and EFF are going to allow their name to sit on a honeypot site. We asked for the phone numbers because we want to follow up with people who RSVP to see if they need help getting to the rally or finding a place to stay.
It is amazing to me how much press the NSA spying is getting and how little press the CFPB spying is getting. Read up on the CFPB- they are capturing detailed records on 80% of all credit card transactions for instance.
Googling, all I can find are references to a database of consumer complaints that people have proactively made to the agency about Credit Card companies being abusive.
That work seems like good digital government at it's best to me -- helping aggregate and track down fraudulent and abusive companies before they hurt more people through voluntarily submitted complaints from consumers.
To be fair the CFPB claims the data is anonymized, even though there are account level rows in the datasets they are pulling in from the credit card companies they regulate.
Especially give the total US media blackout of SOPA. If it was in the media's commercial interest to keep the NSA under wraps, you'd never have heard of Snowden.
This is great. Outrage over government surveillance seems to be fading among the "mainstream", but this seems like just the thing that is accessible enough to get the general public on board.
What's the best way we can contribute if we can't be there in person for the rally?
Luckily, it looks like public opinion is actually shifting in our direction; the latest AP poll found that "close to 60 percent of Americans oppose the NSA's collection of data on telephone and Internet usage. A similar majority opposes the legal process supervised by a secret federal court that oversees the government's classified surveillance."
In terms of contributing/participating, there are a couple main ways:
1. Next week we're going to launch an Indiegogo campaign to raise money for buses to help people get to the rally, as well as things like permits and sound equipment.
2. We'll need help promoting the event, coordinating transportation for people, and calling people who've RSVP'd to make sure they've found a way to get to DC and a place to stay. If you RSVP on the website, you'll get more information on when/how to help with these efforts.
3. We're going to be organizing an online component to the rally for those who can't make it. Watching parties with high-quality livestreaming is a given (assuming we raise enough money), but we're very interested in exploring what the future of online-offline political action looks like. Any ideas? What would you like to see/do?
I attended the Restore the Fourth rally in Minneapolis on 4 July 2013.[1] It will be interesting to see how much traction the further protests against NSA surveillance will gain. On my part, while agreeing with many that it appears that NSA is gathering more data, testing more limits of federal legislation, than it previously acknowledged to Congress, I'd be especially interested in what anyone could do to roll back the surveillance state in China or in Russia. It's hard even to get leaks out of the surveillance programs in those countries.
That is quite a list of organizations from Mozilla to EFF to FreedomWorks (big Tea Party group). Some of them have run some big protests so it should be well attended.
Ben, interesting that you mention the idea of wondering what "a 21st century online-offline rally should look like," interesting topic and not something I've thought a lot about. My initial thoughts while not the most novel seem like they could be effective, if for no other reason than their simplicity.
Something like -- for each local area having a meetup, a public interaction with that region's congressional delegation before and during the meeting. for ex.)
@$congressman We are meeting at X date at Y p.m. to discuss Z, we would appreciate your joining us.
Then during the meeting, documentation of the meetings members, photo/video perhaps, and drafting of a letter to be sent to non-attending congressional delegates, making clear that this is a collective opinion that has come from this public deliberation.
And I'm sure there are many other avenues to explore that are not of the Schoolhouse Rock, "I'm just a bill on Capitol Hill" route.
I wish I'd known about this further in advance. ~ a month isn't enough time for me to get funds and travel arrangements made to come from Arizona. I hope there's some kind of event here. Regardless, this is exactly what I was hoping would happen in response to the news lately, so happy to see this.
We would have loved to get news out sooner, but unfortunately mobilizing a coalition of this size is a substantial process. If you RSVP and sign up with your zip code and phone number, we'll follow up with you to let you know if any events are planned in your area.
Would you be interested in helping to support or organize an event like a livestream viewing party in your area?
Thinking about going down from Boston too! I just moved here and the way to say "in force" makes me wonder if there is a local group or even subreddit I can look into to help with this cause. Slightly OT but I have also been curious about "meshnet" groups in Boston, have you heard of any?
If you RSVP on the site and put in a Boston zip code, you'll get information on how to link up with other people heading down from Boston. I know Restore the Fourth Boston is having a meetup in the next week or so for folks interested in the rally.
If you're interested, I know Restore the Fourth SF is working on their plans for the day. I believe as of now they're structuring it as co-presence with the DC rally, so some combination of livestreaming, online participation and possibly collaboration with other cities. I'd be happy to put you in touch with someone there who could give you more info.
Would you be interested in helping to plan a livestream viewing party or other type of gathering in the Atlanta area? We're trying to figure out what a 21st century online-offline rally should look like, very open to suggestions!
