Out of the bunkers, into the streets

 

 

Out of the bunkers, into the streets For those of you who contributed last week to The Yes Men are Revolting Kickstarter campaign—thank you! You were a beacon of hope in an otherwise weird, rough week. Superstorm Sandy knocked out our power, locked us out of our offices in lower Manhattan, and reduced us to hauling water up 19 floors to Andy's dark apartment so we could attend to our rapidly failing hygiene. (#revolting #TMI) But that was a blast compared to what people are still going through in nearby places like the Rockaways, a part of New York City, which we visited Friday and Monday. There, we saw firsthand the devastation, on the one hand, but also some amazing, heroic people-powered relief and rebuilding efforts. Well before FEMA and other official relief orgs began rolling in, folks from Occupy Wall Street sprang into action, organizing an impressive (and absolutely critical) series of relief efforts in some of the most affected parts of the Rockaways. We did our best to pitch in, and we're urging everyone who can to do so as well. But there are much bigger problems looming. But despite hundreds of thousands of annual deaths, historic drought, and the ominous, accelerating melt of Arctic sea ice, politicians don't even mention climate change, let alone move to do anything about it. But now that the posturing is over, and Obama is back in office, we need to give our elected leaders the pressure to do what they need to do—among other things, to stop privileging the well-being of the fossil fuel industry over humanity's prospects. That's what our movie, The Yes Men Are Revolting, is about, as is our Action Switchboard, a human-staffed platform to help every inspired viewer of our film plug into ongoing actions, or get help starting a new one. We're collaborating with some amazing organizations and individuals to do everything that we can to contribute to this movement, and to make it as easy as possible for you to get involved. But our plans are not possible without the funding to get things off the ground. Please join us by contributing to our Kickstarter campaign. In the meantime, please tell your friends to join the revolt at www.yesmenkickstarter.com. Like us on Facebook, join our event, and follow us on Twitter. Thank you!! The Yes Men