Greetings from the heart of the Puget Sound. For three years now, ever since I stepped down as Executive Director of Ruckus, and stepped onto the Board as President, my family and I have been going feral on a magical little island called Vashon. We've got the "whole 9" out here, where glacier-topped mountains meet ocean and Orcas. It's a (relatively) healthy powerspot on Planet Earth. We try our best not to take it for granted that we get to live here.
So last year we were alarmed and infuriated to hear that a Japanese multinational corporation (Glacier Northwest), masquerading as a local Mom 'n' Pop company, has designs to dig the largest gravel mine in the United States on our little island.
My wife, Genevieve our twins Sammy and Hazel, and I did what any self respecting family of dirt-worshipping tree huggers would do. We became community organizers. Naturally we started to look for friends and allies to help us kick these corporate carpet baggers off our island. But who you gonna call when you've got to help an island as big as Manhattan with 10,000 inhabitants get trained and organized?
Well, I tell you who we called: The Mutha F^@&!n' Ruckus Society, that's who!! ('Scuse my potty mouth!) Who else has the network, the skills the strategy and love to help directly impacted communities like ours bring our A game to save the Puget Sound?
Fortunately, they took my call, and accepted the job. That's what Ruckus does: respond to communities in need of action training and support to defend their families, their homes, and their right to self-determination.
Now, I've worked with Ruckus since the last Democratic Administration that was gonna get all "serious on climate and overhaul healthcare". So I've seen the power of its mighty network of trainers and action experts manifest itself in a whole buncha ways before. But this is my very first time witnessing the awesome assets of Ruckus from the perspective of a community organizer.
Ruckus trainers from many different struggles all over North America who have responded to our call will be descending on our little island in two weeks to help us pull off the Localize This! Action Camp. The camp is designed to help us safely launch the Mosquito Fleet, an armada of direct action kayakers who are resisting the gravel company.
At the same time, Ruckus will use this local struggle as a platform for training dozens of other individuals from communities all over the U.S. and Canada in nonviolent direct action theory, planning, strategy and tactics - learning techniques to defend their own communities on land and sea. Folks will be coming who are bringing community voices into the debate around the Alberta Tar Sands, the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, oil extraction in Alaska, and other indigenous and impacted community organizing issues in the region.
This camp will happen almost exactly ten years to the day that Ruckus pulled off the Globalize This! Action Camp to prepare for the historic Battle in Seattle. Coincidence?? Not!
On August 16th a company that has been convicted of multiple felonies for Crimes Against the Planet will invade our island to eviscerate an Aquatic Reserve where Orcas have brought their kids to hunt for salmon since the beginning of time.
My neighbors and I will meet them on the beaches and in the Sound, ready and willing to use all the skills we learn from the team of kick-ass Ruckus trainers during the Localize This! Action Camp. And God willing we will stop them and turn them back forever.
We could not do this without the unique support of Ruckus.
This is probably not the most critical ecological battle that you're gonna read about today. Lots of folks have politely asked us to keep our local issue in perspective. But we Vashon Islanders know that this ain't no mamby pamby NIMBY issue. It's the fight for Puget Sound and the Pacific Northwest. For we all know that there are front lines everywhere, and good community organizing happens when we start with the fight at our front door. If we win this battle and launch our Mosquito Fleet then you'll see us paddling more and more bad guys out of the Sound.
That's why Ruckus is so effective - Ruckus recognizes that the power for change comes from local communities - and therefore, Ruckus supports those communities by developing leaders, leaving skills behind wherever we go, and helping the communities take action and win.
We're excited about the local training we're going to get here on Vashon July 13-18, and we want to make sure that other communities are able to benefit from Ruckus's tools and training, just as we are.
So I'm humbly (but firmly) asking you to get out your checkbook or credit card RIGHT NOW and ensure that Ruckus can stand with other communities across North America. It's time for us to Localize This! - our marketplace, our energy infrastructure, our food systems and our politics. The Ruckus Society has the ultimate set of tools for community organizers to make that possible.
Give organizers the gift that keeps on giving by doing a big phat digit for Ruckus right now.
Love,
Smellers
(aka John Sellers, humble community organizer and Ruckus Board President)
P.S. If you or someone you know wants to join in the fun, come on out to Localize This! July 13-18 - sign up at www.ruckus.org/localizethis
P.P.S. Donate now at www.ruckus.org/donate or send a check to P.O. Box 28741, Oakland, CA 94604
