March 27, 2003
As a concerned-citizen-weblogger/non-mainstream-sharer-of-political-information, b!X has been trying to understand and work with and within his local government system so that he can have access to the kinds of information he wants to share with his fellow citizens. Part of this effort requires that he try to attend local government press conferences and open meetings.
The local government official who told b!X last week that he could attend a press conference being held today left instructions at the last minute to bar him from the event. He’s trying to find out why, but I suspect that someone from the Portland Business Alliance that b!X has been criticizing (or some other politically influential persons) got to that government official and convinced her that b!X is not supportive of whatever it is they support. And he’s not a part of the official mainstream media establishment either, which maybe gives them the rationale for excluding him. And, maybe, weblogging is proving to be a potent non-mainstream-media force, and b!X’s posts are getting more attention than those he opposes like.
Is this an example of an emerging Fear of Webloggers because concerned citizen webloggers are counteracting government’s efforts to restrict access to information, discussion, and dissent?
Meanwhile, b!X describes a great idea for an alternative way to publicly express dissent.
Imagine, if you will, hundreds of protestors fanning out into downtown Portland, each taking up a solitary position at some intersection, or some relevant building. No groups. No marches. Just single individuals each stationed alone at their own respective points.
No mass. No crowd. But nevertheless omnipresent. As people go about their daily routines in downtown Portland, they would not be able to turn a corner without running into yet another solitary dissenter, standing watch, bearing witness, and ready to talk.
I'm sure he will post about it here when he finds out why he was kept out of the press conference.
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Old Comments (3)
The One True b!X on 27 Mar 2003
No, it's not that she previously approved me for this one and then rescinded said approval. I attended a different news conference last week after she told me there was absolutely no policy regarding who could attend City news conferences. What happened today was that she somehow, for some reason, changed her mind and decided that there was some sort of such policy, and that it excluded my entrance. Details are non-existent, since she has yet to return my call.
sya on 27 Mar 2003
I'm sure the motivation behind that idea was well-intentioned, but I can't help thinking there might be a better way for making people more aware. Protesters standing at every corner? It sounds a lot like religious evangelists standing on street corners handing out pamphlets. Sure, you notice them but very quickly you learn to ignore them like fire hydrants on the pavement.
Elaine on 28 Mar 2003
I guess I was envisioning such a protest being world-wide only for, say, three days or one week. A sort of peaceful version of "shock and awe."