january 11: wear orange (and other things to do)

I am trying - always - to not bombard you with pitches for activism.

I try to space those posts out, looking for some middle ground between the urgency of the need, and the reality of organizing. If you pile on too much, it all blends together and just gets ignored.

But the urgency is real. The occupation of Iraq drags on, the rumblings of an attack on Iran get louder, my friends the war resisters need safety. I feel a deep personal need to try to move more people into more action.

Nowhere is the urgency more dire than for the US's great shame, happening every minute of every day, on that little island off the coast of Florida.

This Friday, January 11, marks six years since the first detainees were brought to the prison at Guantánamo Bay. For a timeline of what's been happening since, see the ACLU or Witness Against Torture.

Both these groups are spearheading a national and international effort to draw attention to this travesty and demand: Close Guantánamo!

The action is simple: on January 11, wear orange, the colour of the prisoners' jumpsuits.

The ACLU has an excellent organizing tool that every person concerned - ashamed, angry, disgusted, depressed - about Guantánamo can use.

GOT 1 MINUTE?
• Sign the Pledge
• Join on Myspace or Facebook
• Download factsheet
• Sign up for ACLU's Mailing List

GOT 5 MINUTES?
• Get an armband
• Send an E-card: Tell 5 friends about January 11
• Add a button to your website
• Get "Why I'm Wearing Orange" for your office or notebook
• Print a Poster
• Share the Pledge with others

GOT 15 MINUTES?
• Write a Letter to the Editor
• Write a Blog Post

More time?
There's more you can do...

I urge you to go here to get the links. At the very least, we can all sign the pledge and wear orange this Friday. Even better, find a local action - and go.

Witness Against Torture has been campaigning to shut down Guantánamo for several years. They've staged some very bold protests, wearing hoods, masks and orange jumpsuits. You can read about their protests here.

To learn more about who is being held at Guantánamo go here and here. (As I post this, CagePrisoners.org is not working, but hopefully that is a temporary glitch, not something worse.)

I know it can be overwhelming. There are so many people asking for your time and your money. But please, this Friday, take one small action to stand in solidarity with some of the most direct victims of the US's reign of terror. Wear orange - and tell someone why.