(via mainstreamrevolution)
Fault Lines — History of an Occupation.
Great 25 minute mini documentary on the first 3 months of OWS — the birth of the movement, it’s evolution, and the police brutality crack down and clearing of the camps.
It is one in a series of mini documentaries done by Al Jazeera on OWS.
via: https://www.facebook.com/occupyeducated
(via mainstreamrevolution)
Well said.
The right to use chalk as an expression of free speech is currently upheld by the 9th circuit court decision of Mackinney vs. Neilson (1995) that states, “No chalk would damage a sidewalk.”
However, 17 Occupy LA protesters were recently arrested for chalking the sidewalk during an Artwalk in downtown LA. Some people are outraged at the Occupiers and some people are outraged at the police for an abuse of force. I have included 2 news articles below that I think give both sides a fair hearing, and unfolding of the events. The devil lies in the details of how these things unfold— and more often than not, the details of how protests emerge and unfold on the ground are often left out of the media most people consume. The details don’t fit in a 30 second sound-byte, they don’t make for good headlines. But the details of police escalation tactics against protesters will have a lasting effect on the future of dissent in this nation. I hope you’re paying attention.
KPCC: “Occupy LA acks for an investigation into Artwalk arrests”:
http://www.scpr.org/blogs/news/2012/07/17/9020/occupy-police-commission/
Or from the LA Times.
“Chalk draws Occupy L.A., LAPD into conflict over wider struggle”:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-banks-chalk-20120717,0,5566039,full.column
I like the LA times piece because it addresses the underlying struggle that has emerged across the nation between police and peaceful protesters since most OWS encampments have been cleared. It’s a dynamic that will shape the future of our society, and the future of dissent and peaceful protest in America. It might not be as sexy and eye catching as large occupy encampments, nor has it been making major headlines. It seems most people have stopped paying attention. Many think the Occupy Movement has gone away, or that it is over; which is a common assumption that is made, since the most visible aspects of OWS have been forcibly removed (with many court cases, and legal battles still pending on the legality of the evictions).
However, the movement has not gone away, and there are still many protests across the nation. May 1st or “Mayday” OWS protests drew thousands of protesters in numerous cities across the nation (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/01/occupy-wall-street-may-day-new-york-nypd-arrests-photos_n_1469113.html)
Occupy San Diego held a protest against the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) on July 7th that drew several hundred, and inevitably several people were arrested under various charges.
While these events no longer seem to glean ‘media sex appeal’ they occur quite frequently. The dynamic emerging between peaceful protesters and police across the country is quite hostile, and continues to involve the same excessive displays of force against occupiers that were seen in the fall when the encampments were cleared, as the above LA Times article points out. Remember Mayor Bloomberg’s no fly zone, and frozen zone during the clearing of Zucotti Park, and the UC Davis pepper spray incident.
I believe constructive, peaceful dissent is one of the most patriotic activities a citizen can engage in. The ways of expressing such dissent are as multifarious as the citizens this nation contains. But when the ability to express dissent is continually met with excessive force, it dissuades individuals from expressing their critiques about society. And without critiques, our society cannot grow or change for the better.
The future of dissent in this nation hinges on the police reaction to these small protests, these scuffles, and the court cases that will inevitably follow.
One’s opinions or support for OWS are irrelevant for this discussion. It matters not if you support this cause. What matters is how your tax dollars are being spent, and the behavior of law enforcement agencies that receive them. If OWS protesters can be harassed, suppressed, and met with an overabundance of force, your cause and endeavors in free speech can too.
In a nation that bemoans the virtues of free speech, and the first amendment, it concerns me that no one seems to be paying attention anymore.
(via occupiedstories)
(via mainstreamrevolution)
Inter-generational protest video.
Here’s my latest music video meant to activate and engage. Please share it with freedom fighters everywhere. peace, Dusty
The American media would lead you to believe that OWS is over, that it’s dead. However, the May 1st protests drew over 30,000 protesters in NYC alone. Yet the NY Times relegated the brief coverage to page 6. These two articles confirm the number of protesters present.
http://truth-out.org/news/item/8965-the-corporate-medias-attempt-to-kill-the-occupy-movement
Additionally, the U.S. media continually fails to situate the OWS movement in its proper place, by framing it as part of a larger global social justice movement linked to The Arab Spring, and Los Indignados in Spain. When this context is removed, it is easy succumb to the misperception perpetuated by the media that OWS is an isolated, fragmented phenomena occurring only in select cities across the U.S. What is lost in translation, is that OWS is not separate from the protests in Latin and Central America, the Middle East, Greece, Spain, or the UK, which have been drawing hundreds of thousands of protesters. It is all part of the same global revolution.
This International manifesto marks a great significance for the OWS movement. Those that oppose the OWS movement, say we are disorganized and lack cohesion. However, this document which involved inter occupy conference calls, and massive communication between various occupy sites across many nations— all done on software developed by activists to allow for consensus based decision making, displays an amazing amount of organization and cooperation among an incredibly diverse group of individuals across the world.
The preamble to the manifesto describes the process:
The statement – the Global May Manifesto – calls for systemic change in the global economy: the radical democratisation of international institutions like the IMF, BIS and UN; the replacement of the G8/20 with a democratic UN assembly; a system of global taxation on financial transactions; and for the abolition of tax havens. It does not represent the position of any local or city assembly; rather it is offered for their consideration.
Endorsed by consensus on 4 May 2012 by the International Assembly, this statement has been in development since January 2012. It was a process that has seen thousands of people from six continents and hundreds of cities participating in the discussion and planning for the international days of protests this month – particularly focusing on the 1, 12, 15 and 18 May. These International Assembly meetings have been convened in bi-weekly assemblies, over an online VoIP platform (called Mumble, which enables mass conference calls and give the assembly its formal name – the International General Assembly on Mumble).
The process for developing this global manifesto – which is a work in progress – started by collecting statements from the different local and city assemblies, then merging these into a common statement. Individuals were then invited to make new proposals through a public website and a number of mailing lists that are used for international inter-movement communication.
Alvaro Rodriguez, 31, of the Indignados movement in Spain, who participated in the process of writing the statement, said: “This is the beginning of a new global process of bringing the opinions of many people around the world together. It represents the beginnings of a form of global democracy in its infancy which is direct and participatory – of the people, by the people and for the people. While the statement does not represent the position of local and city assemblies, the next step is to present it to assemblies around the world for consideration, discussion and revisions, as part of a dialogue of the ‘Global Spring’ movements taking place across six continents.”
Next steps for international coordination
Individuals around the world are invited to participate in this process of further developing this global manifesto through their local and city assemblies, through the facebook group and through the website.Global May Manifesto
The statement below does not speak, or claim to speak, on behalf of everyone in the global spring/Occupy/Take the Square movements. This is an attempt by some inside the movements to reconcile statements written and endorsed in the different assemblies around the world. The process of writing the statement was consensus based, open to all, and regularly announced on our international communications platforms, that are also open to all (e.g. the ‘squares’ mailing list, the weekly global roundtables and the ‘international’ facebook group). It was a long and difficult process, full of compromises. This statement is offered to peoples’ assemblies around the world for discussions, revisions and endorsements.
There will be a process of a global dialogue, and this statement is part of it, a work-in-progress. We do not make demands from governments, corporations or parliament members, which some of us see as illegitimate, unaccountable or corrupt. We speak to the people of the world, both inside and outside our movements. We want another world, and such a world is possible:
Now, if that doesn’t sound organized or cohesive, I don’t know what does.
The full Manifesto can also be found on the official Occupy Wall Street page:
http://occupywallst.org/article/international-assembly-globay-may/
