Freedom Day – Freedom for All |

#Juneteenth
Tomorrow is Freedom Day, also called Emancipation Day and best known as Juneteenth, which originally commemorated the abolition of slavery in Texas but has reached across the nation to be recognized by 31 states in the United States of America. By no means should anything detract from the day’s meaning in honoring those who suffered under slavery in the USA and those who fought to overcome it. But just as its meaning has already grown beyond Texas, maybe it can grow even more. Maybe we can honor the former slaves even more strongly by talking about everyone’s freedom.

“…the 4th of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day when the world declared in one voice, ‘We will not go quietly into the night! We will not vanish without a fight! We’re going to live on, we’re going to survive.’ Today we celebrate our Independence Day!” – Bill Pullman as President Thomas Whitmore in Independence Day (1996). (This is still a movie site, after all.)

#IranElection
While websites are going green all over the Internet this week in support of Iranian citizens who struggle via twitter, fax, and any other means at hand to tell us about their protests over police violence and how a corrupt administration turned their vote for freedom into a bogus election result, maybe this year Freedom Day can be about everyone’s freedom. It sure seems like a win-win to me because Juneteenth needs a lot more attention too.

#FollowGreen
Every Friday a lot of people on twitter swamp each other with lists recommending tweeters they think others ought to follow. This year June 19th happens to fall on a Friday. Here’s a retweet of an actionchick post from last night:

hollywoodshorts RT @actionchick: When #FollowFriday arrives, consider discussing #IranElection w/enthusiasm typically used 4 #ff. @followfriday #FollowGreen

Those of you unfamiliar with twitter might have trouble following that. The comment was made by actionchick and then got retweeted (RT) by numerous people, including the user who goes by hollywoodshorts.

bookbrowzers RT @actionchick: Add yr name to the Green Wall to show support for #IranElection http://tinyurl.com/lohar7 & get green avatar! #Tehran #gr88

We’re going to list those that we discover are indeed using this the FollowFriday madness to help the #IranElection cause. Maybe they’ll use the #FollowGreen hashtag (or #FollowIran), maybe they’ll tell us in a comment in response to this post, or maybe we’ll just spot their relevant tweet.
We’re talking about real people with real lives. People are dying. People are being brutalized by their police, and they’re getting robbed of their voice by a corrupt government. They voted for freedom. The government that didn’t like the election results chose not to abide by them, and now the Iranian people are asking the rest of us to spread the word. This is not just some token effort to make ourselves feel good and sanctimonious by pointlessly waving signs. If you’ve watched much news this week, you should know that twitter, Facebook, MySpace, and the rest truly have made a difference. This matters.
Thank you.

^*Some people have asked why the Action Flick Chick is actionchick on some sites. Well, twitter limits usernames to 15 characters and actionflickchick would be 16.

#IranTools: Iran Election Resources

@fickledeity: List of confirmed & suspected fake Iranian twitters updated regularly http://twitspam.org/?p=1403

@mirandafox This seems to be the best webpage for Iran updates I’ve found so far – http://bit.ly/PUV8B

Add green ribbon to avatar at http://helpiranelection.com/.
From @iranix RT @BoFFire

#FollowGreen Tweeters and ReTweeters:
putting #FollowFriday and #IranElection together
(or helped AFC try find tools to help tweet #IranElection)

@2574Design @Abeeliever @anotherside @appulo
@AtlantaJJ @AZBlueEyes @bandyt88 @bceonline
@bltjesus @bodiegroup @CalBerkeley @chiniehdiaz

@ChristianIvann @daquess @dewdropper @@Doc_Remy
@DontKnowAskJoe @ElTremendo @EMofford @filmlandschaft
@fireflybb @geekfeed @gloxpolguard
@Hollywood_Tweet @hollywoodshorts @hypnoticyogi
@In_Excess @iranibot @Jason_Pollock @kirste
@MarlaBelson @MATT_369 @meme2st @michaeldcarney
@MichellesCats @moble @muckp @murmur55
@mustafayusuf @mirandafox @moviemistakes
@perthtones @PinkBerryGirl @primetimegay

@ravenlaughing @ReporterFi @rdomin @Schelmy
@Shannon_Blalock @starlingpoet @RocketLlama @tamaraschilling
@trekkerguy @muckp @weava77 @Willscrlt @WOTN @ZenDoc

Suggestions

@michaelleicht help Iranians keep twitter access, confuse govt & get news out: Go to settings>account>time zone change to Tehran, +3:30 GM #iranelection

Post-Script: Going Green (6-21-2009)
Numerous people have asked @actionchick how to turn their avatars green. Here are some of the simplest methods.

1. Green Wall: Go to http://iran.greenthumbnails.com/ (shorter address http://tinyurl.com/lohar7) and join the Green Wall. A link to your green-ified avatar will appear at the top of the page. Yes, it’s tiny, but it’s quick and easy. Even if you use another method to get the green, join the wall.

2. HelpIranElection: Give your avatar a green overlay or add green ribbon at http://helpiranelection.com/. The site also links Iran information and live updates.

3. Microsoft Office Picture Manager: If you’re on a PC, open your avatar image with MS Picture Manager. Click Edit Pictures at top. Click Color on side. Slide Amount to 100 and then slide the Hue bar until it reaches the shade you want. Then if the green is too thick, lower Amount.

4. Mac: We don’t use Macs. All our artist friends do, so either we’ll ask them or one of you will tell us what information we can share here. We’ll only post the easiest method that even someone who knows nothing about art programs ought to use easily enough.