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Stand Up Daily and the Moment Of Silence: Stand up for who or what you care about - whenever you can - and like a Flash Mob, use the Moment Of Silence (MOS) as we did with 500,000 in the 2014 People's Climate March in NYC. An organizer for that march was Bill McKibben (cofounder of 350.org), who suggested - days before the march - that at precisely two minutes to 1:00 PM everyone could stop and go quiet for a MOS. There was no announcement that day, so as the time approached, the crowd was wondering if it would happen. AND IT DID. 500,000 marchers went quiet, with a (Nelson Mandela) fist or the peace symbol raised up high, many held hands. That spine-tingling experience inspired the creation of this website.

STANDING UP for MOMENTS OF SILENCE - The BASICS ...

Pick a time to be Standing Up (or seated as preferred) as soon as you can - some days in advance - so no one needs to tell the group during the event when to start (the sooner the better, giving folks time to get excited and chat it up).

For a big or noisy event, many will not hear a verbal announcement. Like a surprise Flash Mob, make it a group-initiated action (followed with a shout-out like: NO KINGS! NO KINGS! NO KINGS! - see below).

Pick a clock time (e.g. 12:12 PM) or the moment right after a respected speaker finishes, to avoid interrupting them, and to show them support.

As soon as an unpopular speaker says something upsetting, that's the time to Stand Up for a disruptive MOS.

Or at a sporting event start when a pre-selected period, quarter or inning ends. Perhaps take a knee during the MOS.

Envision all Americans Standing Up Daily for a MOS - EVERY DAY - at 12:12 PM when many are at lunch together. (At 12 minutes after the hour because we are at the 12th hour for our planet, democracy, Rule of Law, etc.)

Annually on Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom HaShoah) in Israel, the whole country stops - including all traffic - and everyone goes quiet for two minutes.

When it is MOS time: Be standing with hands up! with the peace symbol or the “Nelson Mandela” fist held high or hold hands with others (with permission of course).
Everyone could count to 50 silently, a moment for each of our 50 states.

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For those near others in a: neighborhood home; senior facility; apartment building; cohousing community; townhome association or for those working in a business office or a shopping mall or a big box store, gather together at 12:12 PM in a spot that works.

As needed, discreetly vary the location so ICE won’t know where to find you.

For those who are not with others - or who choose not to gather - stand up alone for a MOS wherever you are at 12:12, knowing that many of your fellow Americans in your time zone stand with you at that same moment - including at-risk immigrants, POC, LGBTQ+, women, non-Christians and victims of gun violence or crappy health insurance, etc.

To let others know that you too are standing up, bang pots or blow whistles so they can hear you.

Breathe that in: take three slow deep breathes real-izing that MLK, fellow ICE observers, Gandhi, Nicole Renee, Alex Pretti, George Floyd, Abraham, Abe Lincoln, John Lewis, Sitting Bull, Frances Perkins, Jesus, Muhammad and your deceased loved ones all breathed those same air molecules.

After Standing Up for a Moment Of Silence cheer and shout out the pre-established meme or the NAG of the day (see below) a few times. Or sing a song.

Then connect with others doing the same and with those who are interested. Hand out fliers (or let folks take pictures of it) explaining what is happening, when it will happen again and invite folks to join in. Tell fellow protectors about the StandUpDaily.org website.

Connect with someone you don't know, perhaps someone who doesn’t look like you. Talk about what just happened, brainstorm when this could happen elsewhere, perhaps at a sporting event, work, school, church, picnic, etc. Encourage each other to do this in their own lives, daily, or just once a week, or whenever it could work.

If you were the organizers for the action, gather to review what happened, what worked and make plans for the next time. And, instead of talking about 'what was wrong' (which can lead folks to feeling embarrassed about an idea they had that didn't work out), identify what was missing, then you're closer to finding improvements for next time. Consider getting copies of "GETTING TO YES - Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In" where e.g. it talks about focusing energy on finding solutions, instead of focusing on people: separate the people from the problem.

Have a meal together or do something fun. Introduce new people. Celebrate your successes and learn from each experience. Consider using the Circle Process when creating plans, or when dealing with a conflict.

Close with a song, have a collaborative game (clickable examples: Elbow Tag and the popular PVC game) and give everyone a chance to check out with just a few words (more heart, less thought).