In the Dominguez piece we first learn about where Dominguez grew up. He was raised in Nevada and was very formed by the fact that he believed that Nevada was 3 distinct worlds. He eventually began attending cocaine parties that he learned about through his job at a lesbian bookstore after being asked to leave school because they didnt believe he was doing what he was supposed to do. Through these parties he met the people he would form the group ACT UP with and they began protesting once they found many of their friends were dying of AIDS. After a while he moved to NYC once he had heard of the artist infrastructure “The Thing.” He sold all the books he had except for 50 that he thought would help him greatly in the realm of electronic civil disobedience.
A major moment when he found electronic civil disobedience could work was when Chase Manhattan sent a memo that was only to be sent to their investors. It made a statement that the Zapatistas were bad for their business and called for their elimination. This memo was leaked and the result was astounding. It was plastered on posters and sent to the NYT and eventually forced the Mexican governments hand and they met with the Zapatistas face to face for a discussion. This was just an early example of the power that the internet could have on protests and taking a stand against something.
“The new ‘less than lethal’ technology represented reform then. Today, protesters and bystanders are choking on it.”
I picked this quote because I think it sends a powerful message. He is speaking about how tear gas was being used as a alternative to live ammunition being used was heralded as a victory back in 1968. Its insane how bullets by the thousands were previously being fired during unrest and that by replacing it with tear gas is seen as major progress. The police still feel it necessary to use tear gas today even when people are protesting peacefully, it all seems to be a part of their lust for complete power.
