Early Retirement Blog

10 Lessons From the Egyptian Revolution for Wisconsin Workers

As an American of Egyptian descent, with Egyptian relatives involved in it’s revolution, and as someone who has been fighting to save the American dream of retirement.   I would like to share with my Wisconsin brothers and sisters, the Egyptian tactics that led to their successful revolution, and the lessons Wisconsin workers can learn from the Egyptian revolution.

1.  Don’t Listen to Your “Leaders”
Your quote leaders, your union bosses and the Democratic Senators, do not care about your salaries and wages, their only interest is to maintain their power.  They will, and already have, sold out your futures.  Your “leaders” want to negotiate, and compromise away, your income and retirements.  Tell them no negotiations, no compromise, kill the bill.

Early in the Egyptian revolution, a council of wise men and opposition leaders was set-up, to negotiate on behalf of the protesters.   The protesters wisely ignored the “wise men” and their offer to negotiate.  Negotiations are a trap.

2.  One Message One Demand
Kill the bill, the entire bill, not half the bill, or a third of the bill, or any fraction.  If everyone sticks to one message and one demand, you will be able to maintain unity.  As soon as you start debating and negotiating, over what to give up, you will create divisions.

3.  Do Not Leave the Capitol Building Until Your Demands are Met
Realize that you could be in the Wisconsin Capitol building for weeks and prepare for the long haul.   Create a shift system, and maintain as large a presence as possible, that cannot be easily dislodged by law enforcement.

4.  Create Worker Committees
Organize worker committees from the ground-up, not assigned by your “leadership”, to take care of logistics.  Sanitation, health care, transportation, media relations, communications, food and water, etc.

5.  Invite the International Media
Contact Al Jazeera, the BBC, Russia Today, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Agence France Press, the U.K. Guardian, and as many international journalists to join you in the capitol building.

Turn the corporate owned American Mainstream Media into your allies.  Invite Anderson Cooper, Rachel Maddow, Keith Olberman, Paul Krugman, Robert Reich, and other U.S. Media personalities to cover the revolution in Madison Wisconsin.

6. Spread the Revolution
Encourage  workers in other states, who are facing a similar situation, to stage protests in support of your cause.

7. Create Days of Action
Create days of action, Wednesday 100,000 man march, Friday solidarity strikes, Sunday mass prayer in front of the Capital, etc. to maintain your momentum and support.

8.  Turn Law Enforcement into Allies
The Egyptians wisely neutralized the Army, preventing a tremendous amount of bloodshed, and turned the army against the dictator, by embracing the military and proclaiming that the “Army and the People are One!”  Remind the police that their duty is to PROTECT and to SERVE the People, not the Governor or the regime, and that if you fall – their salaries and pensions will be next.

Have the police and national guard  pledge not to remove you from the Capitol building.

9.  Mobilize the Youth
Get University and High School students involved.  Invite them to participate in the revolution.  Have them stage student walk – outs and organize other solidarity actions.

10.  Wave the American Flag
Fill the capitol rotunda and your protests with the American flag.  Make everyone know that you are patriotic Americans, fighting for American values, fighting for all Americans.  Wave the American Flag and the nation will join you.

Wisconsin workers, you are fighting for more than your salaries and retirements, you are fighting for more than saving the American middle class, you are fighting to save Democracy in America.

What happens to you in Wisconsin, the outcome of your struggle, could determine whether Democracy survives in America.

We are all Cheese heads now.

Update: 3/10/2011 – Wisconsin Won’t Be Fooled Again!
Wisconsin workers mobilized, after Senate Republicans used a sneaky move to pass Governor Walker’s union busting bill, and retook the state Capitol in protest.  Right now, workers are fighting to hold onto the Capitol building, as law enforcement attempts to clear them out.  Do not repeat the same mistake, do not be fooled again, do not leave the Capitol building under any circumstances.

Wisconsin state workers are debating whether to call for a general strike, which is illegal in Wisconsin.  Again, the turning point in the Egyptian Revolution came, when workers went out on a massive general strike.  Shut down Wisconsin.

You can watch the Wisconsin Worker Revolution Live.

Update: 3/4/2011  – WTF Wisconsin!
Wisconsin workers committed a perhaps fatal flaw, in their struggle, when they left the capitol building yesterday evening.   Wisconsin workers failed to follow lesson 3 – Do not Leave the Capitol Building Until Your Demands are Met in Full.  Wisconsin – you blew it.

Look at what happened to the Democratic legislator, when he tried to enter the capitol to get his clothes, violently tackled to the ground.  Egyptian protesters gave up their lives to hold on to liberation square.  Either take back the capitol or quit the struggle.

The tipping point in the Egyptian revolution came when Egyptian workers went on strike.  Why has their not been a general strike in Wisconsin?  Is it because you also failed to follow lesson 1?  Do not listen to your leaders.

UPDATE: 3/1/2011 – Lock Out!
Governor Scott Walker has locked out protesters from the Wisconsin State Capitol Building in Madison.  Only 60 demonstrators remain in the building.  Food supplies are running low.  Wisconsin workers are not following the lessons learned from Egypt.  However, Egyptian demonstrators faced similar obstacles, and were able to over come them.  On Wisconsin!

UPDATE: 2/22/2011
The Retirement Revolution is spreading to Indiana, as their state Democrat lawmakers have left Indiana for Illinois, just like their Wisconsin counterparts, to avoid having another union busting bill passed into law.  Ohio will be next.

The main stream media is making it appear, as though Wisconsin workers are willing to sacrifice their wages and pensions, in exchange for saving their unions.  The MSM mainly interviews corrupt union bosses, weasily Democrat politicians, Governor Scott Walker, and pundits, but not the actual workers of Wisconsin.

An excellent interview of Wisconsin workers, published in today’s edition of Counterpunch, makes very clear,  that Wisconsin workers do not want to give up their wages and retirements.

Also Read:
American Wage Slavery
American Class Warfare
Lower the Retirement Age