OT: 6/11 Flash Mob Against BP

Oil Over the Bridge

BP Black Friday Flash Mob

Friday 06/11/10 @ 12:11 pm (Rain or Shine!)

Millennium Park Chicago

Bring a black umbrella. If you don't have a black umbrella, wear all black.

12:11 pm: Casually converge on the BP Pedestrian Bridge

12:20 pm: When the whistle blows, we will generate a visual representation of the oil slick seen from above by filling the entire walkway of the BP bridge.

Starting from the middle of the bridge over Columbus Drive, open your umbrella and squat or sit down, covering as much space with your umbrella or body as possible.

Sit close enough to the people around you to create a canopy of umbrellas and bodies.

Please do not: shout, carry signs,confront patrons of Millennium Park, damage property, or otherwise break any laws.

This flash mob is a silent protest intended to bring together a community of concerned citizens in creating a living illustration of the damage that threatens the collective health of our planet.

The intent is not to block the bridge, nor to damage it, but to join together in a lively way to make a statement: swift action must be taken before more of our world is destroyed by oil.

12:35 pm: When the whistle blows a second time, quickly and calmly collect yourself and disperse. Please do not linger any longer than necessary.

Don't forget to greet your neighbors: introduce yourself, make new friends. A key objective for this action is to have fun!

If anyone asks what is going on or what you are doing, we suggest simply stating, "The oil flow must be stopped."

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Permalink Reply by John on June 8, 2010 at 8:12am

OT comments:

Broadcasting something in advance with detailed directions makes it the opposite of a flash mob.

"filling the entire walkway of the BP bridge" and "create a canopy of umbrellas and bodies" makes "The intent is not to block the bridge" nothing more than a useless, butt-covering disclaimer at best.

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Permalink Reply by Tank-Ridin' Ryan on June 8, 2010 at 8:54am

I see it as more of a massive contradiction.

John said:

OT comments:

Broadcasting something in advance with detailed directions makes it the opposite of a flash mob.

"filling the entire walkway of the BP bridge" and "create a canopy of umbrellas and bodies" makes "The intent is not to block the bridge" nothing more than a useless, butt-covering disclaimer at best.

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Permalink Reply by Spencer "Thunderball" Thayer! on June 8, 2010 at 9:52am

John, Flash Mobs started as viral email chains back in the day and this one reads pretty much exactly like any other email flash mob. So it IS a flash mob because it's being distributed in a decentralized manner with very little leadership. I received this through the mail and I passed it on which I have done before for countless other flash mobs.

As far as blocking the bridge goes. If it gets to the size where it will block public way then awesome but I doubt it will. Besides it's not illegal to fill up a pedestrian bridge like it would be a road. This isn't like blocking car traffic or something. Anyone who will get butt-hurt about this is way to sensitive. : P

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Permalink Reply by Spencer "Thunderball" Thayer! on June 9, 2010 at 3:23am

Spencer doesn't come to CCM from the angle of bicycle advocacy-- he sees it as a relatively purposeless effort waiting to be tapped into to energize other causes. Don't make the same mistake

Hmm... I guess that's true but you just make it sound so dirty. ; ) It would be more accurate to say that I think CCM is the bees knees.