In his March 20, 2012, article for Truthout (“Gated Intellectuals and Ignorance in Political Life: Toward a Borderless Pedagogy in the Occupy Movement”) Henry A. Giroux writes:
… [T]here is a need to develop what I call a project of democratization and borderless pedagogy that moves across different sites – from schools to the alternative media – as part of a broader attempt to construct a critical formative culture in the United States that enables Americans to reclaim their voices, speak out, exhibit moral outrage and create the social movements, tactics and public spheres that will reverse the growing tide of authoritarianism in the United States.
In this spirit, beginning on April 12, 2012, in Brooklyn, New York, the National Know Drones Tour will use three Reaper drone replicas – 8 feet long with wingspans of 11 feet – to undertake sidewalk education on drone warfare and drone surveillance.
The premise of the tour is simply to take information, in however small a way, directly to people, where they already are, and to engage them in conversation. The hook is the drone replica, which has proven to stimulate great curiosity and, always, questions.
The tour is focused exclusively on the home districts of 18 of the 55 members of Congress who are members of the Unmanned Systems Caucus, know informally as the Drone Caucus. These members function within the Congress to promote the interests of the drone industry, which includes all the major aerospace contractors and other makers of robotic machinery.
The schedule for the tour appears on www.KnowDrones.com.
This ten-minute film, based on sidewalk education visits in late 2011 outside New York City’s Museum of Modern Art, shows what will be happening on the Know Drones Tour.
Defying Trump’s right-wing agenda from Day One
Inauguration Day is coming up soon, and at Truthout, we plan to defy Trump’s right-wing agenda from Day One.
Looking to the first year of Trump’s presidency, we know that the most vulnerable among us will be harmed. Militarized policing in U.S. cities and at the borders will intensify. The climate crisis will deteriorate further. The erosion of free speech has already begun, and we anticipate more attacks on journalism.
It will be a terrifying four years to produce social justice-driven journalism. But we’re not falling to despair, because we know there are reasons to believe in our collective power.
The stories we publish at Truthout are part of the antidote to creeping authoritarianism. And this year, we promise we will kick into an even higher gear to give you truthful news that cuts against the disinformation, vitriol, hate and violence. We promise to publish analyses that will serve the needs of the movements we all rely on to survive the next four years, and even build for the future. We promise to be responsive, to recognize you as members of our community with a vital stake and voice in this work.
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