We recently returned from the Occupy National Gathering in Philadelphia and we have a lot to share with you.
The energy at the #NatGat was tremendous. The gathering was a huge success due to the quality of the event. Hundreds of people came from all across the country to share information, ideas and creativity.
The police presence in Philadelphia was high, with multiple law enforcement branches and their dogs stationed near the camp area and parks. Mayor Nutter ordered the fire department not to share water with the occupation despite their previous agreement to do so. But the Occupiers let nothing stop them.
There were numerous tents in Franklin Square Park offering information, training, medical treatment and massage. There were marches and workshops. The General Assemblies were well-attended and informative; and sometimes entertaining with jugglers, dancers and a baseball game between the Tax Dodgers and the 99%.
One of the goals of the gathering was to create a Vision Statement about the world Occupiers want to create. We have not seen the final version yet, but we will share it with you when it is available. In the meantime, we urge you to read the newly-published “Occupy G8 Peoples’ Summit Report: And Economy for People and the Planet.”It contains a history of the G8 as well as an inclusive economic alternative, information on the new secret TransPacific Partnership (TPP) and resources to learn more about models currently in use to build a bottom-up and participatory solidarity economy.
We learned about the updated InterOccupy website. The new website has more tools to assist Occupiers in connecting from all over the country to collaborate and organize. We encourage you to visit it and consider creating a ‘hub’ there.
We attended the first Veteran’s Peace Team (VPT) annual meeting where the mission statement was adopted and committees were created. Members of VPT will attend nonviolent protests when invited to provide a nonviolent presence that can interface with law enforcement. They are accepting applications and are allowing 20% of members to be civilians. If you are interested, contact us at info@october2011.org.
Occupy events took place in other areas this past week too. Protesters took action against drone warfare at Hancock Air Field in Syracuse, New York. This video of the action is a useful guide to effective resistance. In Paonia, CO, a single person stood up to a tank owned by Bill Koch during a July 4th parade to protest the glorification of the military.
On a sad note, police shut down the 17-day-old occupy camp at Lakeview Elementary School in Oakland, CA. Parents and teachers were protesting the closing of 5 public schools (one is being converted to a private charter school) and had set up a Peoples’ Summer School. The camp moved to a local park from which protesters marched to the home of the School Superintendent. We encourage you to read an article written by Terry Flowers on Facebook about the new OECD findings on education and inequality in the US.
And here’s a new term to add to your vocabulary: Bill Moyers explains ‘plutonomy’ – “an economic system where the privileged few make sure the rich get richer with government on their side.” We like to call them the ‘Looting Class.’
The Looting Class gained a major victory when Citizens United Chief Justice John Roberts switched partisan sides and upheld the Obama healthcare law. This law puts corporate power even more in charge of health care and opens a new avenue to privatize Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security as Margaret Flowers, Sam Smith and John Stauber explain.
We do have some good news. If you haven’t seen it yet, October2011 organizer Dennis Trainor, Jr. created a feature length documentary explaining Occupy called “American Autumn.” You can watch it for free. It is an excellent tool for local movement building, outreach and education. Use it widely!
You can also see weekly programs on occupy actions across the nation and around the world at “Occupy Week.” We are excited to announce that the ‘Real Democracy Now’ movement in Spain has had a huge victory: their campaign called “@15MpaRato” has succeeded in having the former head of Bankia, a Spanish bank that engaged in foreclosures and evictions, Rodrigo Rato, brought before the courts with charges of criminal conduct. Let's hope Occupy in the U.S. can do the same for the CEO's of JPMorgan, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and others who crashed the economy with so far un-prosecuted securities fraud.
And finally, if you need to buy books and want to both avoid Amazon and support social justice organizations, we encourage you to check out OccuBooks.
In peace and solidarity,
October2011/OccupyWashington,DC
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