The whole world's against us, Silent Bob, I swear. The weekly voter registration event, planned for every Thursday at Waterstone's on Dawson Street, may be a no-go after this week. The confused and alarmed management begrudgingly allowed us to hide in a corner in the politics section before kicking us out an hour later, saying they'd been on the phone to the 'head office' (? do such places actually exist or are they figments of corporatia perpetrated by people who really can't be arsed to do their actual job?) who couldn't allow any political events in the shop, even though, technically, we were going in as an apartisan entity, allowing people to register for any party they want. We just happen to be organized under the auspices of the Democratic party, which, under the more bizarro aspects of McCain-Feingold, restricts us from even campaigning for Kerry, because we are not allowed to promote or disparage any federal candidate. (No link provided to Kerry campaign, because as co-secretary of Dems Abroad Ireland, I suspect I could get reprimanded by the international chair for doing so. I'm not kidding. Might even have to edit this post, or my links list...or just keep this under the radar from them.) We can gather at pubs and go 'Yay Democrats.' And that's about it.

But the finer points of discussion were lost on the beleaguered Waterstone's staffers, as they were at the Irish Anti-War concert held here last weekend. The chair and I were greeted with sneers, snickers, and fights picked with us--and that was just by the organizers of the event, who considered it a 'bombshell' that minions of the Democratic Party would show up at an anti-war event, 'considering the history of the US involvement in foreign affairs starting with Clinton' etc, etc.

Look, lads: we're all on the same team. Knock it off already. I know the two parties are more similar than not; I know mainstream American politics are more about politics than actual issues; I'm not terribly enthused about how the primaries went, and my heart will always beat for Dean. I know all of this and I endure, because a)Democrats living abroad are a highly liberal bunch (we referred to as 'the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party'), b)we have to work with what we've been given, and c)we're the only ones registering American citizens to vote here. The system is so convoluted and obscure that people don't even know THAT they can vote, let alone how to go about doing so. Even if they're not here on a work visa, even if they never registered to vote in the States, even if they're behind on their taxes (and, um, have no intention of paying them). AND, even if they're US Citizens who've never actually lived in the US, and there are quite a few of them in Ireland--they are still guaranteed the constitutional right to vote in the election. The links on the right under 'expatica' etc. have all the info on how to get started on this process.

The thing that irks me about all of this is the flagrant agenda of those people automatically rising to anger when we present ourselves as part of a mainstream American political party. I'm of the belief that agendas are agendas, and each have the potential to involve the same tactics, whatever team you're on, and I'm not interested in buying and selling an agenda, I'm interested in actual understanding of the forces involved and working to get the destructive ones out of power. There's a difference. It's why I can't really read BuzzFlash more than a few times a month because the tone is alarmingly similar to those whose methods we are fundamentally opposed to. People aren't even listening on our end. We can't just blindly adhere to anything. We must continue to question and deepen our understanding of the issues, because our most effective tactics in this fight are not our ability to parrot the rhetoric and tactics of those in power--we have knowledge of the sophistication of the arguments, and it is from that that our strength of character, and compassion comes, NOT spouting catchphrases and soundbites, even if they're the, well, the 'right' ones.

(And then I wake up and remember that I have to live in the world, and work within the system. So, yes, we do have to be political and media-friendly and know how to communicate a world of information in nine words or less, BUT...I find it hard to do so without slipping into a nasty tone, which, as a general principle, I try to move beyond. I wrote an epic rant about this about a year and a half ago, which I think still exists somewhere. Can't find it yet. Working on it.)

in related news...

Cead mile big two fingers:

Bush was here, and now he's gone. 18 whole hours. Very useful, I'm sure. Full rundown here.

I didn't get to any rallies or the protests because, well, in addition to being a little sick of the thinly veiled personal hostility I'm getting from people here, I'll be on a plane in three days and I didn't really feel like putting myself in any situations that might compromise my ability to get back to New York, such as being in jail. I'm saving up all my insurrection for the UnConvention. Turns out we're going up mere blocks from MSG. Yeehaw! Who knows a good lawyer?  ¶ 6:09 PM