Nov 242011
 

short video,  an excellent tool for citizens who are re-claiming democracy,  popularized by the Occupy Movement.

Explanation from Wikipedia is appended. 

350.org

Have you seen the 1% get “mike check’d” yet?  If not, you’ve got to see this video–Ohio State students rock the human microphone at a gas fracking conference, promising we won’t stop until they do.

 Mic Check’d: Gas Industry at Ohio State University

There are some other examples of mic checking, look on the right-hand side at:  www.youtube.com

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Human microphone   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_microphone 

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A crowd of protesters engaging in the ‘human microphone’ on 30 September 2011, at Occupy Wall Street

A human microphone, also known as the people’s microphone, is a means for delivering a speech to a large group of people, wherein persons gathered around the speaker repeat what the speaker says, thus “amplifying” the voice of the speaker without the need for electrical or pneumatic amplification apparatus.

The speaker begins by saying “Mic check”. When the people near the speaker respond “Mic check”, the speaker knows they have the group’s attention. The speaker says a few words of a speech and then pauses. Those that can hear what the speaker has said repeat it in unison, and when finished, the speaker says a few more words, and then pauses for the those who can hear to repeat those words, and so on. At times, the technique has been used by protestors to interupt and talk over another speaker.[1] Politicians such as Scott Walker[1][2] and Michele Bachman are sometimes targets for this style of interruption. [3] Using the human microphone to interrupt an electrically amplified speech has become known as “mic checking” the speaker: “Karl Rove…got mic-checked during his speaking event”. [4] This form of interruption is similar to the crowd at World Wrestling Entertainment events repeating the word “what” to harass a speaker, a technique initiated by Stone Cold Steve Austin.[5]

Origin

 Protesters repeat what is said to replicate the function of prohibited public address systems.

The use of electronic amplification devices, such as loudspeakers or bullhorns, may require permits for “amplified sound”. The use of human microphones provides a way for people to address large gatherings without running afoul of such requirements.[6] This method of communication gained notoriety in its use in the Occupy Wall Street, where it was deployed because New York has such regulations.[7] Other Occupy movement protests also use the method—even those that also use amplified sound — due to its association with the movement.

See also     Occupy hand signals

References

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