NEW SIDEWALK TALK WEBSITE!
Finally, after much anticipation, the Sidewalk Talk website has arrived! While it may not give much information to you Myspacers, those without it can now view info about it here! The new website's address is http://sidewalktalk.4t.com.
Spread it around to your friends!
MISSION STATEMENT
In an allegory he wrote called The Cave, Plato likens the uneducated masses to prisoners in a cave. These prisoners are chained, and unable to move their heads so that all they see is the wall of the cave. A large fire burns behind them casting it’s flickering lights on the wall before the prisoners, and between the fire and the prisoners is a long walkway. The captors walk by using objects and puppets to cast shadows on the wall acting out stories, etc. To the chained prisoners who cannot see the puppets or their captors, these shadows on the wall are reality.
If a prisoner saw the shadow of a man being killed, he would genuinely believe he had seen a man killed and would accept the shadows as truth. But, if the prisoners suddenly became able to turn their heads, they would realize their mistake. They would come to realize that they knew nothing of reality for they lived in darkness.
Should one of the prisoners escape the darkness of the cave and emerge onto the surface, the light of knowledge would at first assault his senses, and he would be blinded by the experience of sudden enlightenment. However, as he spent more time in the sun, he would adapt and would know the truth.
Upon learning the truth, the enlightened man would want to share his enlightenment with those that remained hidden away by the shadows of ignorance.
That’s where we come in.
Every day millions of people in the United States go through their routine surrounded by a protective bubble of self-absorbed thought. Our biggest concerns are what we’re having for dinner, or who’s going to get kicked off of Survivor. These are shadows on the wall, invented to shield us from knowing how bad the world around us really is. The goal of Sidewalk Talk is to unfetter as many Americans as we can for as long as we can.
We plan to do this by writing the statistics and factoids that people don’t hear, don’t see, and therefore, don’t remember.
It is not an attempt to sway people towards our side of the political spectrum, we don’t want you to join our church, buy our newspaper or watch our 24 hour news coverage. We want you to think and to understand for yourself.
Did you know? For the price of
one stealth bomber (2.1 billion dollars) we could pay the annual salaries and benefits for 38, 000 elementary school teachers?
Source:: UWEC
Regardless of your opinion on war, this one or any other… is that stealth bomber more important than the 950, 000 kids those teachers will reach out to? (assuming each teacher has one class of 25 kids).
How many “Support Our Troops” stickers do you see on any given day? Did you know that on any given night 300, 000 US veterans are homeless?
Source:: StreetRoots
That’s 23% of the homeless population. Tell me, where is the support?
If either of those things got your attention, you know what we’re trying to do. If you’d like to help out, join the group and hop right on into the discussion. We’d be happy to have you.
SIDEWALK TALK ACTIVIST GUIDEBOOK V1.0
(1) Sidewalk Talk = Sidewalk Chalk
We're not criminals, we're activists. Vandalism is a crime, don't do it. Our method of choice is of course, sidewalk chalk. It's cheap, comes in a variety of colors and is easily removable. In addition, sidewalk chalk is made to be used on sidewalk which lessens the chance of you being accosted by folks who don't like what we're doing. We'll see if we can come up with a chalk alternative that meets all those guidelines. You guys have been on the right track when trying to come up with those alternatives, although we'd like to be able to test them all out first, to get an idea of what may or may not be effective.
(2) Businesses, Private Property, etc.
I don't know specifically whether it is illegal for us to write on the sidewalk outside businesses or people's homes, and I'm not going to bother looking it up. However, if someone comes out of their house or an employee asks you not to write in front of their home or business, don't write there. You can move and write in front of the neighbors house, or you can leave that area altogether. It's up to you.
(3) Courtesy.
This ties in with number two. Last year when the smaller version went down we had several run-ins with people who didn't like what we were doing. Here are some people you may encounter:
Haters:
These are people who are going to try and smudge out your facts with their feet, tear down your posters, or otherwise do rude things when you leave the area. The solution, ignore them. Then when they leave you can replace whatever it is they destroyed. Put the poster back up, re-chalk that fact, etc.
Haters v2.0:
These are people who are going to be really pissed off at you for whatever reason. I don't think they'll be too common, but if someone starts harassing you... just try to ignore them or politely diffuse the situation. If they persist, leave that area. If they keep persisting and you feel threatened... involve the police.
The Police:
We only ran into the police once last year. And that's cause we were inadvertanly doing something we weren't supposed to do. If you get stopped by the police be polite and respectful. It's the only sure way to avoid a beating...
Businesses:
This includes owners and employees. It's covered pretty well in number 2, but I'm going to reiterate. Just be cool, polite, and if you feel particularly charming, apologize.
(4) Facts
Collection of Information.
Feel free to submit whatever you want to submit in the way of facts on the MySpace forums. But please, please, please make sure you have researched your information. Include a link or the URL of the site. And please try to use reputable sources. Colleges, universities, the government, and even news organizations are much more accurate than joeblow.net. If you do find something on a personal site, google the fact and you'll probably find it somewhere else too.
Unity of Information.
As the demonstration date nears, all of the submitted fact will be looked over, considered, and a "master list" of facts will be compiled. You will then print this list or copy it however you see fit and use it to chalk up your town. Please don't get angry or be sad if your fact doesn't make the master list. It's nothing personal.
(5) Be Smart, Be Careful.
The last thing I want to see is someone getting hurt, or worse, arrested in the name of this little demonstration. So look both ways before you cross the street... don't help the furry stranger find his puppy, etc. Just remember all the things you learned in kindergarten and you'll be fine.
(6) Tips
a. Bring a friend, or friends. You'll cover more ground, have someone to talk to, and will generally be more effective.
b. Be creative. People are more likely to stop and look at something visually stimulating. So use multiple colors, underline important stuff, etc. Chances are people will stop and look anyway, but a little imagination can go a long way.
c. Have fun. While this is a serious demonstration, we are in essence, playing with chalk. This shouldn't feel like a chore. Take your friends, go out and chalk a few places, hang a couple posters then go get lunch and chill outside, of course... the more you chalk the better.
WE'LL GIVE YOU GUYS MORE INFORMATION AS IT BECOMES AVAILABLE!!