Wear Red For Freedom Friday

(Found this on my DFA site. Worth a try...I'm going to do it...will you??)

My name is Nadia Jensen and I have an idea for a quiet revolution.
Please take 5 minutes to read my email and then help me if you can: Here's some history behind this idea: When Norway was occupied by Germany in 1940, Norwegian women began to knit RED caps for children as a way of letting everyone know that they did not like what was happening in their country, that they didn't like having their freedom taken away by the Nazis.

My great aunt, Karin Knudson Myrstad, was one of the women who knit red caps for her children and others.  Similarly, in Denmark, women knit red-white-and blue caps (colors of the Allies) for the very same reason.

The result was that whenever Norwegians and Danes left their homes --to go to the store, to work, etc, they could see that THE MAJORITY opposed what was going on in their country. As you know, both countries organized effective Resistance efforts and changed history -- everything that happened began simply by wearing red!!!! (or the colors of the Allies, in Denmark).

I believe, as many of us do, that at the very heart of our democracy is our right to oppose certain policies of our government.  Increasingly, our Government is redefining "freedom" in ways that make too many Americans perceive that it is risky to oppose his policies -- and, in particular, current inroads about individual freedoms and policies in the U.S. and abroad.

However, many of us DO oppose what our government is doing to individual rights--and I have an idea that will allow all of us to recognize each other very easily so we can see that WE ARE THE MAJORITY.
SO... I have been thinking that it's time to take action in a way that is effective and easy for all of us to do:
Just wear red every Friday between now and election day.

Wear a little or a lot-- just be sure that when you leave your house to go about your day -- to work, to school, to the store, to the gas station, wherever you go in your daily routine -- that everyone who sees you will see that you are wearing red because you believe in freedom and you don't agree with our current administration's policies at home and abroad. I'm really certain that we'll see that lots of us wearing red for freedom -- because WE ARE THE MAJORITY. We just need a way to show each other who we are!!! Between now and election day, ask everyone you know to wear red for "Freedom Fridays".

I have already spread the word to friends and have had a very enthusiastic response. This email has been forwarded around the country by many who receive it - feel free to send in on to your friends and co-workers.
Nadia Jensen

Comments

[Dot]

Wear red on Friday sounds like a good idea and I would have done it. I must throw a monkey wrench in however. Wearing red on friday seems to have too many meanings. Maybe you can come up with another color. e.g. 1)The American Heart Association is asking all women to wear red on Friday Feb 6, 2004 to help make public their campaign to educate women of their risk of heart disease. http://seniorhealth.about.com/b/a/062491.htm. 2) a grass roots movement using the membership of the Special Operations Association and the Special Forces Association to recognize Americans who support our troops. "it will not be long before the USA will be covered in Red much to the disdain of the the un-American ralliers." http://www.onceawave.org/archive/allhands.archive.0304/57.html">http://www.onceawave.org/archive/allhands.">http://www.onceawave.org/archive/allhands.archive.0304/57.html">http://www.onceawave.org/archive/allhands.">http://www.onceawave.org/archive/allhands.archive.0304/57.html">http://www.onceawave.org/archive/allhands.archive.0304/57.html">http://www.onceawave.org/archive/allhands.">http://www.onceawave.org/archive/allhands.archive.0304/57.html">http://www.onceawave.org/archive/allhands.archive.0304/57.html">http://www.onceawave.org/archive/allhands.archive.0304/57.html">http://www.onceawave.org/archive/allhands.">http://www.onceawave.org/archive/allhands.archive.0304/57.html">http://www.onceawave.org/archive/allhands.">http://www.onceawave.org/archive/allhands.archive.0304/57.html">http://www.onceawave.org/archive/allhands.archive.0304/57.html">http://www.onceawave.org/archive/allhands.">http://www.onceawave.org/archive/allhands.archive.0304/57.html

Please let me know if this could effect from other groups can make an impact by having it diluted with conservative mocking and health issues.

[Jean Knox]

Yes, red has many connatations, but the most recent in the political realm is red states (Republican) vs. blue states (Democratic).

In this context, I see wearing red on Friday as a way to say "Take back the red states."

I like the idea and am going to do it and look around for others.

[Michael]

Red is the perfect color! It is for communist Russia and China, a tip of the hat to those great Marxist and Stalin leaders of the past. What a great idea. Peace and Freedom are not free, just ask our founding fathers, or those in Europe America liberated from the Nazi's.

[Laurie]

Red also signals danger, as in the dangerous
direction into which the neoconservatives have
coerced us. It also signifies bloodshed, so wearing this color would be a fitting tribute to those who have suffered at the hands of Bush's foreign policy.

[Julie]

Be really careful here. Someone sent me this email -- forwarded from "Nadia Jensen", then 24 hours later sent me another email telling me it was a hoax perpetrated by a pro-war group. I decided to research for myself, so I typed "wear red fridays" into Google. I found lots of folks like you who had put this up on their websites or blogs, and I found even more pro-war activists putting forth the same idea, although not cloaked in the Nadia Jensen fairytale. Take a look for yourself.

[Kath]

Have gotten alot of email on this post. Look, red means different things to different people....just take a look at the comments posted above. For those of us that are wearing red on Fridays we are taking the extra step and explaining (to those that ask) WHY we are wearing red....and yes, it is related to the Kerry buttons that some of my friends wear with their red attire as well...or the anti-Bush buttons that other friends wear.

Thanks for the fyi Julie...appreciate your post!!

[Betsy]

A search of the web did not yield confirmation of the story about the Norwegian and Danish resistance wearing red. What I did find though, was a notation that the Norwegian resistance "displayed a paper clip on the lapel; an innocent item unlikely to draw attention, the paperclip was a Norwegian invention, and the display symbolized 'binding things together.'"

If it is true that red caps were also worn for to symbolize solidarity in resistance, it is possible that it was a nod to the Soviet Union, which was a powerful ally in bringing down Hitler.

[Tim]

1st: Could you be specific about what your complaint really is? Or are you just generally upset about everything?
2nd: We are not controlled by Nazis and if I want to wear an openly political pin, shirt or whatever I can do so without any fear of governmental reprisal.
3rd: Why Red? Isn't that the distinctive color of communism? So now if I disagree with, I guess generally everything, I have to be a communist?
4th:I would understand if it was a red hat or something. but if I have red socks on or a spaghetti stain on my tie am I now one agreeing with whatever vague thing you are quietly revolting against?
5th: I declare that white shirts on tuesday mean that you agree that the author of this email should loose their right to vote.

Ridiculous