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News :: Miscellaneous |
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Grassroots Goes Global: Millions Drawn to Website Promoting Justice |
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by 9-11Peace.org
(No verified email address) |
02 Oct 2001
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Millions of people around the world believe that the perpetrators of terrorim should be brought to justice without harming more innocent victims. |
BELMONT, MA - September 26 - College students protesting on campuses are not the only ones advocating a non-military response to the terrorist attacks of September 11th. Millions of people around the world believe that the perpetrators of terrorim should be brought to justice without harming more innocent victims. Some are addressing their concerns in community meetings, at vigils, or in worship services. Others are tapping into technology to oppose war.
On the night of September 16th, Eli Pariser, a 20-year old web designer from Boston, launched a site to encourage citizens to participate in the democratic process, contact legislators, and urge a nonmilitaristic response to the terrorist attacks. Within a few days, www.9-11peace.org received about 2 million hits and claimed one seventh of Alta Vista's browsing traffic. Since then, Pariser's been fielding calls from media all over the world, including China, Bulgaria, The Netherlands, and the UK. The Wall Street Journal cynically referenced the site in its "Best of the Web" column. Pariser wanted to create a mechanism for people to take political action in the aftermath of last Tuesday's attacks. "When the tragedies occurred," he says, "I immediately started thinking about the response that was likely to come and what I could do to ensure that this wouldn't result in immediate military re! taliation and a lengthy ground war with more lives lost. Since my skill lies in web design, I figured I would go with what I know. Initially, the site was just a form that made it easy to email Senators; I've added other elements and strategies as I've heard about them or realized they could work."
The site offers links and suggestions for ways individuals can contribute to relief efforts, participate in vigils and events nationwide, and sign a petition urging a response to terrorism that brings the perpetrators to justice, rather than war. More than 600,000 people have signed the petition that will be delivered next week to U.S. President, George W. Bush; NATO Secretary General, Lord Robertson; and the President of the European Commission, Romano Prodi. Pariser is also collaborating with youth organizations internationally and invites groups to sign an International Youth Declaration, a plea from the youth of the world for a! nonviolent response to terrorism addressed to President Bush. To date, groups representing over 430,000 young people all over the world (including the U.S., the Middle East, Asia, Latin America, Africa, and Europe) have signed on. Commenting on the power of the medium, Pariser notes, "This is the biggest crisis to emerge in an era where the reach of the worldwide information infrastructure is so vast that organizing can take place nearly instantly and with global input. During the Gulf War in 1993, there simply weren't enough people online to effectively draw attention to a petition; our legislators didn't have public email addresses. This is the real payoff of the e-commerce boom: that it got people online and into a position where they could use the Internet to act, be they from Boston or Bhutan." In the 21st Century, grassroots activism has gone global. |
See also:
http://www.9-11peace.org/
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