Dear "Turn your back on Bush," uhm..

I appreciate your resolve and commitment, but I can guarantee you that this protest will not work. The media will shun to completely, just like they shun every other protest against Bush.

I was in DC for his inauguration in 2000. I saw thousands of likeminded people marching through the streets, skirting the security checkpoints and breaking through the barricades, spilling out onto Pennsylvania Avenue. I saw hundreds of signs. I saw an anarchist on top of a light pole, proudly waving a black flag to signify that the protesters had claimed this part of the new president's parade route.

However, I did not see any of this on the news.

My advice to you: Your hearts are in the right place, but this type of protest will be correctly regarded as pretenious by the very people whose support you are trying to woo, and ignored by the media whose attention you are yearning for. Focus your efforts on organizing a general strike and shutting down DC. And, I hate to say it, but at this point breaking a few windows probably wouldn't hurt.

The days of simple demostrations making any waves are gone. The reason why the WTO protests in Seattle were so successful and looked upon as a watershed event for the Progressive movement in America is because they succeeded in shutting down the first day of meetings, along with grinding the city to a halt. I showed up a day late for N30, and while I didn't get to taste the tear gas, I witnessed firsthand the reaction Seattle had to the protesters while marching through the streets with them. The people of Seattle loved us. The people lined the sidewalks and stood on the roofs of their apartment buildings to cheer us on as we made our final marches through their streets. So don't be afraid to organize a protest that actually does something. The Republicans, via the media, will label any protest where the streets are blocked and some windows are broken, as being staged by radicals. They will say this no matter what we do, so what they have to say really doesn't matter at this point.

So please, plan a protest that does something beyond people simply turning their backs. The right and the media won't notice it, for they have already turned their backs on us. And we don't need them to notice us, our concern is with what the people will think. If we stand up to tyranny, the people will cheer for us. Don't let anybody tell you otherwise.