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Send your shoes to protest virtually for you in #MEAction's Millions Missing campaign!

Sasha

Fine, thank you
Messages
17,863
Location
UK
This is a BRILLIANT idea!

Part of the new Millions Missing campaign - millions of us missing from our lives, millions missing from our research funding...

shoes-300x200.jpg


There's going to be a protest in Washingon DC and San Francisco in May and you can send a pair of shoes (either yours, or a cheap pair from Ebay or Amazon) to represent you at the protest.

Genius! I'll definitely be sending a pair.

Other methods of virtual protest too.

Details here.

Very creative!

Edit - latest details:

#MEAction said:
We are now accepting shoe donations!
#MEAction said:
To participate in the #MillionsMissing campaign, please send your shoes to:

Paige Maxon
P.O. Box 26051
Winston Salem, NC
27114

(The shoes will be transported to the DC demonstration from NC)

AND Fill Out this Form, if you have not already.

**Include your name on the return address of your shipment to match your name on the form.**

Please have your shoes mailed by Tuesday, May 10th

You can send a pair of old shoes or if it’s difficult to get to the post office, order shoes on Amazon or Ebay and have them shipped directly to us. Try to send a pair of shoes that represents you – perhaps your personality, fashion style, age, gender, or careers and hobbies that you may not be able to participate in any longer.

During the protest, we will post images of these shoes to #MEAction’s social media account using the #MillionsMissing hashtag, so patients can see that they are being represented during the demonstration. The shoes will also be tagged with your information from the form.
If you have any questions, please email millionsmissing@meaction.net
Paige

--
Paige Maxon
#ME Action
Community Organizer
 
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Sasha

Fine, thank you
Messages
17,863
Location
UK
Yes. I just went to do it but they're not ready yet. You fill out the form and they send you the postal address when they're ready to go. I think they're going to be busy!

But you can fill out the form now, so you don't forget, and they'll notify you.

Yes, I hope they get lots of responses! It's a very cheap and easy way to participate in a mass-demo.
 

Simon

Senior Member
Messages
3,789
Location
Monmouth, UK
What a brilliant idea.

Virtual Protest – Millions Missing


Here's the form to register, more info below. Note you have to use the tab key, rather than click, to go to the data entry fields (at least I had to using firefox).

Here are 3 ways you can protest virtually:

1) Post selfies – in your bed, home, wheelchair, at work, wherever you live – to help us show online the millions who are missing from the protest.

2) Send your name and a pair of shoes to the Washington, DC protest

We are asking patients who are unable to make it to the physical protest locations to please donate one pair of shoes to the address below and we will display them in their honor at the Washington, DC protest. You can send a pair of old shoes or if it’s difficult to get to the post office, order shoes on Amazon or Ebay and have them shipped directly to us.

Address: We are still looking for a packing receiving solution in the Washington, DC area. If you would like to send your shoes, please fill out this form and we will be in touch to send you address and mailing details.

3) Be a virtual protest organizer
Promote the hashtag and shoe installation on your social media accounts. Email patients, friends, families, allies who are in the vicinity of the satellite protests.

[4. Donate]
A campaign this brilliant deserves hard cash too, in my view
 
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Old Bones

Senior Member
Messages
808
I love the idea! But, I'd love it even more if advocacy groups in other jurisdictions would do something similar. For us Canadians, wouldn't it be wonderful if Parliament Hill in Ottawa was blanketed with shoes? Just imagine, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau taking a selfie in front of thousands of pairs of shoes. The photo would get worldwide coverage!
 
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waiting

Senior Member
Messages
463
Agreed -- brilliant, brilliant idea that lets us participate via our shoes!! I'm registered, plus forwarded this PR thread to some others!

FYI, @JenB, I'm on MEACTION's email list so I received notification today -- but, blaming my brain fog, I couldn't initially see where the actual info was once I clicked their link.

Then I tried clicking on the icon in far upper right corner -- and THEN I got the pop-up menu where you can click on options like "updates", etc.

Thank you @Simon for posting the relevant links on how to register.
 

Dolphin

Senior Member
Messages
17,567
I remember the fall-down protest in London in 2013 (?) which had 95 (?) people at it and had virtually no effect including no (or virtually no) media coverage.

I think in many situations putting the time and energy into a fundraiser or fundraising on the street would be better. This could include giving out information.

One of the reasons I think there has been a lack of researchers in the field is that there has been a lack of money raised privately. Government agencies are only ever going to fund a fraction of the potentially interesting studies that can be done and we need private money to make up the difference. And also to allow researchers get pilot data from small studies to help enable them apply for bigger grants. Whole countries raise very little privately for research. For example Canada is mentioned above: I don't think much money has been raised for research there. People blame governments for the lack of research but I think a big problem is the lack of money raised privately to support research.
 
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SB_1108

Senior Member
Messages
315
I love the idea! But, I'd love it even more if advocacy groups in other jurisdictions would do something similar. For us Canadians, wouldn't it be wonderful if Parliament Hill in Ottawa was blanketed with shoes? Just imagine, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau taking a selfie in front of thousands of pairs of shoes. The photo would get worldwide coverage!

Love that idea! There is a place on the website where you can sign up to "Lead a New Location": http://millionsmissing.meaction.net/locations/lead-a-new-location/

I also think it would be a great idea to protest (or have a shoe display) at the Lancet or Queen Mary University of London (QMUL). :D haha!
 

Sasha

Fine, thank you
Messages
17,863
Location
UK
I love the idea! But, I'd love it even more if advocacy groups in other jurisdictions would do something similar. For us Canadians, wouldn't it be wonderful if Parliament Hill in Ottawa was blanketed with shoes? Just imagine, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau taking a selfie in front of thousands of pairs of shoes. The photo would get worldwide coverage!

@searcher - once the Washington demo is over, could the shoes be trucked elsewhere for other ME/CFS demos? Canada's national seat seems a sensible destination!
 

Sasha

Fine, thank you
Messages
17,863
Location
UK
FYI, @JenB, I'm on MEACTION's email list so I received notification today -- but, blaming my brain fog, I couldn't initially see where the actual info was once I clicked their link.

Then I tried clicking on the icon in far upper right corner -- and THEN I got the pop-up menu where you can click on options like "updates", etc.

I had the same problem, @searcher.
 

Sasha

Fine, thank you
Messages
17,863
Location
UK
I remember the fall-down protest in London in 2013 (?) which had 95 (?) people at it and had virtually no effect including no (or virtually no) media coverage.

TBH, 95 sounds like a very small demo to me and I'm not surprised it didn't get much media coverage. I saw a photo of it and - no disrespect to its participants or organisers - it looked small, even though it may have felt big to people on the ground. London sees loads of protests from various groups for various causes that get thousands of people turning up with hardly any media coverage either and I think we've got to come up with something unusual and eye-catching to get coverage.
 

Dolphin

Senior Member
Messages
17,567
TBH, 95 sounds like a very small demo to me and I'm not surprised it didn't get much media coverage. I saw a photo of it and - no disrespect to its participants or organisers - it looked small, even though it may have felt big to people on the ground. London sees loads of protests from various groups for various causes that get thousands of people turning up with hardly any media coverage either and I think we've got to come up with something unusual and eye-catching to get coverage.
The attendance of 95 was the biggest I recall (or perhaps Action for ME once had a bigger one on a bridge).
There were also a lot of ME/CFS protests that were a lot smaller in London, during the 2000's. They weren't planned to be smaller, but not many people turned up.
 
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Sasha

Fine, thank you
Messages
17,863
Location
UK
The attendance of 95 was the biggest I recall (or perhaps Action for ME once had a bigger one on a bridge).
There were also a lot of protests that were a lot smaller in London, during the 2000's. They weren't planned to be smaller, but not many people turned up.

Big for an ME/CFS protest to be sure, but not big for a London protest.
 

actup

Senior Member
Messages
162
Location
Pacific NW
I'm in as well. Love these creative ideas. Now if we could only get Anonymous to hack into the qmul Pace database. Truly kidding.