Shameway Sunday Socials

[Guest guest]

Dear Friends,

 

As most of you are aware, our local ad-hoc group of concerned citizens has

been holding leafleting demo/socials outside of the Church & Market Safeway

grocery store in the heart of the Castro district of San Francisco every

Sunday.

 

LAST SUNDAY:

Last Sunday, we decided to add a little sugar & spice (and other

ingredients) by first meeting for brunch at the new Herbivore on Divisadero

(much recommended!!). We chatted about the campaign, tossed around ideas,

and then headed over to Safeway. Ten people and one very sweet dog showed up

for brunch, and eleven people (and one very sweet dog) came to the

demo/leafleting/social. With Polly Strand's battery cage display, lots of

great signs, a large professional banner, and glossy leaflets, we were an

enviable troupe. Our tv/vcr/generator combo had its amazing debut as it

played a loop of the undercover videos taken at Safeway's suppliers of meat,

dairy, and eggs.

 

It's clear that we're getting under the skin of the Safeway store manager,

as the security guard came out several times to urge us off the sidewalk (!!

- later SF police assured as -- as if we didn't know -- that we were very

much in the right!), and they turned on their sprinklers forcing us to move

our display. The greater the heat felt by store managers, the greater the

likelihood that they will put pressure on corporate to address our concerns.

So, we really need to keep up our presence!

 

THIS SUNDAY:

This Sunday's leafleting demo/social (Sunday, May 12th) will have a large

social component indeed! As most of you are aware, Polly Strand, activist

and shining beacon extraordinaire, is having a phenomenal fete which will be

kicked off with a Shameway protest. This is taking place in the Rockridge

neighborhood of Berkeley, at the Safeway store on College at Claremont (a

mere 8 minute walk from the Rockridge BART station). The protest will begin

at 10:30 am. Polly estimates anywhere from 45 to 80 people will be at the

demo, based on her RSVPs. We'll be taking photographs for PeTA's Animal

Times magazine, so this is your opportunity to get into the pages of Animal

Times without having to go naked (har har - how many times can I use that

tired old joke?).

 

AND BEYOND:

The following Sunday's protest will be cancelled in lieu of the weekday

protest (Thursday, May 16th) that we'll be staging for Safeway's annual

shareholder meeting (email to follow). To reiterate: there will be NO

LEAFLETING/DEMO/SOCIAL on Sunday, May 19th. We will resume the following

Sunday (May 26th).

 

Although we're having the leafleting demo/socials on a weekly basis,

everyone need not come out to every gathering. Many people are choosing to

make a once-a-month or once-every-two-weeks commitment. That's FABULOUS, and

so, so appreciated. We do have a very large community, and if everyone

pitches in to some degree, we can ensure a solid presence every weekend. Our

work at the grassroots level, Ingrid Newkirk assures us, goes a long, long

way in assisting the negotiators who work for PeTA to leverage greater power

against corporate inaction. With our protests, we can and do make a

difference. Plus, they're a lot of fun. As Tammy noted in a previous email,

you really can define your own role at the protest autonomously. If you'd

like to hold the banner and chat with a friend, that's great. If you'd like

to hold or wear a sign and stand in witness, that's great. If you'd like to

engage passersby in conversation as you leaflet, that's great too.

 

Thanks so much for your support of the Shameway campaign. For more

information on the campaign, please check out: http://www.shameway.com. If

you would like to join a listserv (created by web-geniuses Tammy & Chris)

focused on discussions/strategy/actions on the local campaign, you can get

the requisite info at:

http://www.generationv.org/mailman/listinfo/sfshameway

 

Hope to see many of you at the Berkeley protest on Sunday! PETA's Bruce

Friedrich will be attending the protest as well. We'll be bringing

signs-a-plenty, Polly's battery cage display, the tv/vcr, a cow costume, and

lots of other protest gear. Polly has written a kick-butt song for the

occasion, so do bring your singing voices.

 

Best regards,

Alka