We received the following correspondence which has many good and powerful ideas with the right spirit and direction for August 9^th – Let's Go!

Ideas and Thoughts on August 9^th – Correspondence from a Reader

July 28, 2014 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us

Hi,

I have been doing some thinking and brainstorming regarding the very exciting "Break ALL the Chains" Day coming up on August 9. I want to share these ideas so I thought it would be helpful to just quickly outline them.

So, here goes:

1. I think it would be good to start now to gather video and written testimonials of people—both individuals, and groups of people—responding to BAsics 3:22 and the Break ALL the Chains collection/sampler… and also speaking more generally to the impact that finding out about BA and the BA Everywhere campaign, and digging into BA's work, has had on them.
   
   These testimonials could be both featured at, and utilized in building for, August 9.


2. How about if we get #Aug9BreakALLtheChains trending on Twitter in a big way? This is something really simple and "entry level" that people coming forward could contribute to—ways they could step forward and take up this day and this campaign—simply by sending out and forwarding tweets! (Check @BAeverywhere for more.)
   
   Imagine if this became a significant phenomenon that people kept encountering online, in the same way that #YesAllWomen did… and there were a situation where at least some in the media felt compelled to cover this trend.
   
   I was thinking that people could constantly send out tweets of: 1) Different short quotes from Break ALL the Chains, and obviously BAsics 3:22. 2) Information about different events planned for August 9. 3) short commentary on different outrages concentrating the oppression—and/or the fury—of women coming forth in relation to this… all of this ending with the hashtag #Aug9BreakALLtheChains


3. More generally, I think getting the word out and building broad intrigue around the phrase "August 9 Break ALL the Chains," in a lot of different ways online and on the streets, so to speak, would be really important…
   
   If this phrase starts appearing all over the place – at demonstrations and public forums on this question…chalked on sidewalks where appropriate–perhaps on palm cards that include a QR code that directs people to both the Break ALL the Chains collection online and information about August 9^th events…
   
   If people start feeling like: "What is this 'August 9 Break ALL the Chains'? I keep running into this everywhere!" and feel compelled to find out, that would obviously be good.


4. I don't know where the specific plans are as I write this, but to the degree possible, I think having events that have a powerful visual impact—including in high-visibility areas, such as Times Square in NYC—could have a really good effect.
   
   Related to that, I was thinking… How cool would it be to have a really eye-catching visual depiction of people breaking all the chains? I haven't had a chance to think this all the way through yet, but what if a group of several women—as many as could be involved in doing this—were standing in a line holding a really long chain and then a couple of people came through and did something to depict breaking the chains, and then everybody—those who were part of this and those who were in general part of the action—starting chanting, repeatedly and boisterously: "Break ALL the Chains! Break ALL the Chains! Break ALL the Chains!"


5. I think it would be really good to have visual enlargements of the front cover of the new Break ALL the Chains sampler, which looks really great in my opinion and is very eye-catching…again, I think it would be good to have several of these made in each city…think about the visual impact that having several of the BA Speaks: Revolution—Nothing Less! enlargements have had at various events and moments, including in terms of getting into the local and national media…
   
   Again, I think these could play an important role both on August 9 itself, and in building for it.


6. At August 9 itself, How about a few people reading an excerpt from the Constitution for the New Socialist Republic in North America (Draft Proposal) having to do with uprooting the oppression of women being an absolutely vital goal of the new socialist state and a fundamental part of the process of advancing to a communist society free of all exploitation and oppression?


7. I do think there should be some radical simplicity in terms of gathering art/performances for this day… I think artists could be approached with BAsics 3:22 and the Break ALL the Chains sampler, along with the basic vision for August 9, and asked to create some art or do a performance inspired by this… in the spirit of solid core with a lot of elasticity, giving them the basic themes of the day and then letting them run with it in different ways.

Let's go!

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