Ever at the forefront of Internet activities, MoveOn.org has another website to their credit, and it's making quite a stir over the unrest in Burma.
Jump over to the website and join the world in protesting the crack-down on the democracy movement. Show the world how outraged you are that Buddhist monks and innocent men, women and children are being imprisoned without trial, beaten and murdered. Sign the online petition and stand, well, not side by side with the monks because that could get you killed. Click a link and let some electrons express your opinion.
It sounds so powerful, doesn't it, to add your name to a growing list. And what will happen to this list of names? Will it be sent to the military junta that is squeezing the life blood out of the Burmese people? Considering the fact that the country's leader won't even bother to meet with the UN's special envoy, I highly doubt that he'll notice some online petition.
Want to do something really powerful and constructive? Don't buy anything made in China.
China supports the current regime in Burma, and the cash that you spend on Chinese manufactured goods will find its way to Burma, to pay for bullets and tear gas and thugs to beat people to bloody pulp. If the Chinese wallet is pinched, and China understands the reason for the boycott, things will change. Millions of signatures on millions of Internet petitions? Very nice, but does it have a measurable effect on something that matters? When factories have to lay off workers because the product isn't selling, that's impossible to ignore.
The problem with a boycott is simple. It will hurt you. It will force you to make a tremendous effort to find what you need, because so much is made in China. It will require you to sometimes do without, make do with what you already have, rather than purchase an item and add to the problem.
Thinking of buying some Beijing Olympics merchandise? Don't. Thinking of reserving a hotel room in Beijing to attend? Don't. Give it up, sacrifice for the good of others.
If you do all that, you'll understand why the Internet petition is so popular. It's too easy and entirely painless.
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