PRACTICALITIES OF REVOLT
proposed by caleb waldorf
http://la.thepublicschool.org/class/3207
Practicalities of Revolt
This class would look at the nuts and bolts of revolution and insurrection to better understand (and have a roadmap) during the disarray of a popular revolt. For example, if all businesses are closed, where does one get food? Water? Medical supplies? What happens if the power grid is shut down? How do you make gear to protect from the onslaught of thugs/police (see Egyptian homemade helmets)? What are the basics of first-aid you should know? What do you do if the government shuts down mobile communications and access to the internet or is monitoring them to stop organizing before it begins? Also, what are useful things that can be done from abroad to assist in other people’s struggles? Spread information? Electronic Civil Disobedience? And on and on…
The answers to these questions would be different for specific situations, but could we develop some general information that would be useful? Perhaps develop a web platform to collect and gather knowledge that could be put to practical use in the future?
A couple examples that might be a good starting point:
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2011/01/egyptian-activists-action-plan-translated/70388/
Leaflets that circulated in Egypt (shown by Ethan during the The Egyptian Revolution and its Historical Context class)
http://72hours.org/index.html
This is a guide from the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management of what to do in an emergency. They are coming from a different angle (!), but there is useful information here that is clearly explained and accessible.
http://www.google.com/crisisresponse/egypt.html
Google Crisis Response for Egypt