By Kayla Moon
On February 27th I received an Email from Micah White, one of the co-founders of Occupy Wall Street. I subscribe to his newsletter and this update was particularly interesting and stood out from the rest. White’s Occupy Wall Street’s endeavor was a catapult for many social movements we see today and influenced millions around the world. While Occupy as a movement no longer exists Micah Whites’ activism didn’t stop there.
It too has evolved, he has gone on to create an activist graduate school where classes were filmed at universities like UCLA and others. His activist graduate school has online classes, guest lecturers and professionals in their field talking about the impacts and ways social movements can influence and change society. They look at techniques for revolutions and dig into the history of social movements throughout history, taking you on a journey throughout the globe. White recently spoke in front of some of the world’s most powerful elites at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Yet his latest endeavor could be the most powerful move of his entire legacy of activism.
He has created a new social movement, an entirely new focus group of activism, the only form of activism that will be relevant in the months to come, it’s called Flu Mob (https://flumob.org). Flu Mob is an international apolitical network of people banning together “to eradicate COVID19”. In this groundbreaking activist playbook, this platform breaks down how to successfully eliminate this deadly killer from your community. This platform has three guidelines: Protect the uninfected, serve the infected, and accelerate positive change. A key focus for protecting the uninfected is educating as many people as possible and equipping them with knowledge and skills of how to not contract the virus. A major highlight is grave importance of remaining uninfected until a cure or vaccine is discovered. As for serving those who are infected they request everyone to respect human rights by aiding those who need services necessary for recovery. The remaining focus is accelerating positive change, and focussing on these new lifestyle changes in a positive light.
One of those positives being the decrease in global carbon emissions. It gave a vibe of optimism that feels quite needed in times such as these. The website flumob.org has helpful tips like how to make your own COVID19 mask, recipes to make your own hand sanitizer. There is also daunting information like a general preparation guide on how to prepare for potential lockdowns and quarantines. Although at times the website is terrifying to read, it gives the most adequate representation, expectation, prevention, and solution techniques thus far.
Reading Flu Mobs website will give you more effective information in 30 seconds than watching government officials stumble over their words in trying to articulate the viruses’ names in the months to come. It is important to highlight that the technique of quarantine is the only measure that has proven any success rate in defeating the virus. The website has a suggested community members prep and has a three-month food storage plan. Flu Mob concisely breaks down how the virus is spread, highlighting how one person can infect 8 others including one that arrives in the same location 30 minutes later. An especially heart-wrenching segment on Flu Mobs website included how to help your children cope with the stress of an outbreak. The final segment I will highlight, although there are many is, in my opinion, the most informative and weighted. It’s a highlight from the World Health Organization assessment of what is most likely to occur during this pandemic. WHO states it the pandemic will come in waves. These waves will lead to the “depletion of stocks of consumables, such as personal protective equipment and pharmaceuticals before a second wave.”
The Flu Mob has yet to hit the surface of the mainstream and White doesn’t appear to be optimistic about America’s future. On his Twitter account, White shared a picture of the National Guard unloading pallets of food for a containment zone in New Rochelle, NY. White highlights that they are not wearing masks, therefore, they are entirely unprepared to handle the situation. He also states that America is on track to be the most impacted country in the world.
I can say with absolute confidence that the Central Valley in California has no idea of the extent as to what is about to unfold. We have a week if that to completely curve this virus. Or for the next half a year or more I will no longer be able to give advice on how to win this battle for life and death. Instead, my time will be spent nursing my loved ones and writing what the latest body count is for our community. It is up to all of us to save lives. Nothing else matters we must not waste time. This virus is a swift and deadly killer. Let us act before churches become utilized as mortuaries due to the morgues being full. The time is now, and we must work as one.
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*Kayla Moon is a freelance journalist who focuses on women’s rights, youth advocacy, and environmental and social issues in the Central Valley. Find her work at futureofminds.com, We Are Change, the Conscious Resistance, the Fresno Flyer and Instagram (@futureofminds).Kayla Moon interviewed Micah White in 2016 about his book titled “The End Of Protest”. To view search Micah White Co-founder of Occupy: The End Of Protest on Youtube or click the link: Micah White Co-founder of Occupy: The End Of Protest
