From an email I distributed to thousands of secessionists:The Second Secessionist Convention was held Oct 3-4, 2007 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Read the Associate Press and other articles and you'll see there was controversy over (mostly Southern Poverty Law Center) allegations that convention co-convener League of the South, or at least one of its leaders, is racist. More info at: WikiPedia. The Middlebury Institute co-convened.
In truth, all secessionists risk being tarred by "unionists" with the
"bigotry" smear because *some* secessionists obviously want separatist organizations, communities or nation states based on race, religion, ethnicity, language, gender, etc. The desire to work in political community with one's own kind does not necessarily mean hateful or supremacist or colonialist beliefs - though when it does we should protest the fact. But that doesn't mean we have to spend half our time denouncing any secessionist who doesn't toe any unionist's politically correct line.
To me a greater concern about the conference itself is that most of the attendees assume seceding entities will be one or more of the current states of the union. One of these days I'll list all the arguments for why we should be promoting secession by smaller entities (communities, cities, counties) which then form regional networks and confederations. See my site Secession.Net
One argument is suggested by the fact that two different gay blogs below gave the convention relatively positive coverage. Minority groups that want self-determination can most easily be accommodated by community-based secession movements.
Considering that a time of great change is coming, we must get our strategies and goals in order if we are to offer a real alternative to the various authoritarians jockeying to take greater control of
nation states worldwide. Help my personal effort, buy the button or the t-shirt/sticker/hat/etc.
See local tv video:
Second North American Secessionists Convention held in Downtown
WDEF News 12, TN - Oct 3, 2007
Also Video from First North American Secessionist Convention
Secessionists Meeting in Tennessee
The Associated Press - Oct 3, 2007
(NOTE: Versions also published by Fox News, USA Today and couple dozen local papers.)
Anger over Iraq and Bush prompts calls for secession from the US
Independent, UK - Oct 4, 2007 - By Leonard Doyle
The state of independence
Dublin, Ireland Saturday, October 06 2007
People Who Want To Secede From United States Hold Convention
John Pless - Oct 4, 2007
A House Divided Against Itself Can Not Stand . . Or can it?
Boston Magazine, United States - Oct 3, 2007
USA in 2008 and after
Roberto Carlos Alvarez-galloso
Yankee and Rebel Secessionists Meeting in Tennessee
MonstersandCritics.Com
Liberal State Secessionists Meet
365gay.com
Talking ‘Bout a Revolution
gaycharleston.ccpblogs.com/
1 comment:
I was happy to see your article in the blog at Vermont Commons, but it will probably take a while for it to digest. I believe the article will go a long way toward clarifying our thinking about what secessionism really is, and how to proceed along really decentralist lines.
Harold D. Thomas
The Ohio Republic
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