From Egypt to Wisconsin: tactical innovation with digital media

Abstract

In 2011, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker introduced a budget repair bill that removed the rights of public sector unions to collectively bargain and inspired mass protests at the Wisconsin State Capitol and beyond. This article provides a first-hand account of these struggles from the perspective of online activists who designed DefendWisconsin.org, a digital organizing tool used widely during the protests. Although only one of several such sites, DefendWisconsin.org was essential for organizing graduate students in the Teaching Assistants' Association, a union that played a critical role in grassroots mobilizations. Squire and Gaydos detail the context for DefendWisconsin's design, launching, and evolution, with particular emphasis on its role in the broader ecology of online communities, activists, and resources. They situate this effort in a framework of nonviolent resistance and the broader peace movement highlighted by Ivan Marovic, a Serbian organizer who visited Madison during the protests. Squire and Gaydos conclude by contrasting the protests that occurred (particularly online), with the characteristics of broader social movements, suggesting lessons that grassroots organizers might learn from Wisconsin and revealing where there may be digital infrastructure for future organizers to leverage in their work.

Keywords:

• cultural and media studies
• globalization and internationalization
• language–culture–pedagogy–identity
• practitioner/practice-based research
• technology in education

Notes

1. Anonymous is an unorganized ‘hacktivist’ group that originated on the board 4chan and operates as a global, anarchic, digital hive mind. Anonymous has engaged in high-profile battles with the Church of Scientology and vigilante campaigns against companies attacking Wikileaks, among others.

2. These are rough transcripts based on audio recordings, cleaned up for presentation.

3. Because in Wisconsin public officials must be in office for at least one year before they can be recalled, efforts to recall Scott Walker himself could not yet begin. Elected officials in the state senate whose term had started two years prior were eligible for recall, and protesting constituents interested in participating in future recall efforts were asked to sign up for a mailing list.

4. The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is a non-profit think tank advancing a conservative agenda (e.g. free markets, limited government) by researching and drafting legislation for government officials who agree with its values. The Tea Party is an American grassroots political movement that was founded in 2009 and that many members of the Republican Party are affiliated with. The views of the Tea Party vary based on its non-central organization and include limiting government through strict interpretations of the Constitution, anti-immigration reform, and conservative social and fiscal policies.