Join Me
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Join Me is a movement started in London by Danny Wallace when he was bored. On an impulse (and inspired by a similar project attempted by a relative who had recently died), Wallace put a classified advertisement in Loot magazine, asking readers to "Join me. Send one passport-sized photograph to...", but without giving any further details. Wallace states he had no plans as to what he would do when the photos came in, although he was curious as to whether he could reach and better the total number of joinees sought by his great uncle Gallus.
Wallace claims "It was a piece of whimsy. A silly half-project. But thanks to a huge and diverse group of perfect strangers, it became something much bigger. I'm still trying to work out how."
The Join Me movement soon took shape, and now has over approximately 10,000 members (known individually as Joinees or collectively as The Karma Army). Its primary tenet is that followers should perform Random Acts of Kindness, preferably to a stranger, every Friday (known as a Good Friday). As of December 2003, a trial period of Happy Mondays will begin, where a Joinee is encouraged to go that little bit further to treat themselves.
In 2003, he wrote the book Join Me about how he started the 'cult'. The popular quote is that "it's not a cult, it's a collective", because Danny didn't want to encourage the wrong ideas -- however, he has begrudgingly admitted that it is, hence the book's cover blurb: "The true story of a man who started a cult by accident."
Joinees regularly meet-up at JOIN MEets [sic], which are basically an excuse to exchange stories, have a laugh and get drunk.
Every December (in 2003, it was December 6), Joinees meet up for the biggest yearly MEet, also known as Karmageddon. It begins at Tottenham Court Road tube station and travels along Oxford Street, where-upon members hand out leaflets and, occasionally, gifts. At the end of the day, the masses retire to a pub. As of June 2004, there is also the event known as Join ME June (this year it was on June 6), which splits the Join Me calendar into two. Because of the popularity of these events, frequent JOIN MEets are organised to fill the gaps.
External links
- An extract from 'Join Me' (http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/collective/A1127341)
- Join Me (http://www.join-me.co.uk) - the official Join Me site
- Join Me Forum (http://www.joinee.co.uk) - the main Join Me forum
- Karma Army (http://www.karmaarmy.co.uk) - the alternative Join Me site
- Join me and be good on Friday (http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/06/26/1056449349974.html) - article in Melbourne's The Age