You can't arrest an idea whose time has come, and the gathering of about 150 occupiers from all over the state of Maine last Saturday in Augusta was brimming with ideas. People of all ages came together as the 99%, and the youngster on the left wanted people to think about an economy that is based on value rather than on cash. She joined the Alternative Economies breakout session and explained her idea; she also listened to the ideas of people who have experienced those kinds of arrangements. The next day she told me, "I want to do more stuff like that. Stuff that changes things and make it better."
Introductions during
which people identified where they Occupy ... Portland, Augusta,
Bangor, Brunswick, Ellsworth, Blue Hill, MDI (Mt. Desert Island),
Waldo County, Mt. Washington Valley/Conway, Boston, Wall St.,
cultural mythology, the food supply, independent media.
Portland, Maine was identified as the longest continuous occupy encampment in the country -- established October 1 and still going strong despite punishing cold, and an eviction notice from the city hanging over their heads since December 15. They have vigorously pursued relief in the courts, and are awaiting news on a permanent injunction to halt eviction.
Occupy Augusta pulled up stakes rather than apply for a permit, removing their Capitol Park teepee with dignity and self-respect, continuing to hold General Assemblies each Saturday at 5pm indoors.
In our diversity lies our strength!
After an amazing rapid whole group share of examples of occupation that covered centuries, we moved into small groups with people we didn't know to address two prompts:
1) Why did you join the Occupy movement?
2) What's special about the Occupy movement?
This was ably modeled by Curtis (above, left) who responded:
To gain experience. Our world's
falling apart and many people don't seem to care. But those who do
care need to get together, share knowledge, and form a movement.
It signifies nations all across
the world rising up and demanding an end to the common ills we all
share – war, poverty, unemployment. Shows the governmentts that we, the workers,
will not be silent. We will fight back, and take what's ours.
I joined a group to talk about Media. Ten people briefly discussed the
problems with mainstream media, and then spent most of the time
talking about alternative media in forms including local access
tv and radio, online news, YouTube, blogs; and direct
actions/publicity stunts that attract MSM attention. Further uses of
MSM included letters to the editor, online comments, developing
relationships with reporters, and providing press releases to
reporters. The role of drum circles at Occupy sites from Wall St. to
Maine to Native communities in Canada was examined also, with reference to
their importance in building community, and as an outlet for
expression that is non-verbal.
Then I joined a group to talk about Food and Land. About 35 people gave examples of local
food production and land use including becoming farmers, supporting the work of
farmers, addressing the problems of landless farmers, various land
use schemes, cooking, educating, gleaning, and exchanging food for work. Then
the group brainstormed ways that the Occupy movement can or does
connect with food production/land use.
This is a strong strand for Maine and there are years of intelligent collaborative effort to build on. A murmur of delight went through the crowd when I mentioned a Wall St. tweet I'd seen that the OWS kitchen had quickly organized to feed the largest number of folks ever, daily, in NYC. No wonder they were perceived by authorities as such a threat!
Further news of the 99%: While we were meeting, Occupy Oakland in California was being tear gassed, beaten, shot with rubber bullets and flash bang grenades, and arrested in droves (especially reporters). Their crime: trying to occupy a years vacant building to establish a community center. Solidarity events broke out everywhere on Sunday. Here's an inspiring video from Occupy Boston:
I grew up in a single parent home in a basement apartment. The
government has refused to give my family any type of financial help
since ‘95. My playgrounds were surrounded by rapists. My schools were
filled with drug dealers. My apartment building was taken over by
gang-bangers. And many of my friends have been shot/murdered. I am an
African-American female. I have been told that I am at ‘the bottom of
the list’…as in the government’s list of concerns. My family has never
been on vacation and we still can not afford a car. BUT THAT HAS NOT
STOPPED US! My mother has been ill for almost 10 years, but that has not
stopped her. My brother and I have made it to college because they
can’t stop us. Even now, my mother is unemployed and can’t afford our
education…but guess what? THAT WILL NOT STOP US! I am 19 and have been
denied jobs because my name is Akuabba. I am the 99% looking for change.
Until I am able to pay off my mother’s piling medical bills, take care
of my tuition bills and take my mother on a two week vacation, I will
not stop occupying Chicago.
Now is the winter of our discontent, and I am often awake too late or too early watching the sometimes violent, sometimes sneaky, sometimes ridiculous attempts of the poorly paid minions of the 1% -- whose growing arsenal of sophisticated weaponry is worth far more than their pension -- to evict the 99% from their encampments.
There has been a lot of thoughtful talk about how the encampments aren't really a necessary part of the Occupy Everything movement, and the compelling case against them lines up like so:
1) Maintaining the encampments takes so much energy and time that the activism they were supposed to supports is harmed, not helped.
3) Many of the encampments are not safe for anyone, because in some cases municipal police deliberately populate them with violent or drug addicted citizens. In other cases, people who were already living on the streets are drawn to a place with free food, shelter, warmth and companionship -- which is understandable, and mirrors the fundamental failure of capitalism to care for people that the 99% have been talking about -- until someone gets hit on the head with a hatchet for playing a snare drum at 7am and refusing to stop when asked. A not insignificant footnote to this point is that some of the encampments were and are located in a public space that homeless people were already using.
4) The encampments necessarily look messy, ruin the grass and, for a variety of similar reasons, create a bad impression on fence sitters among the 99%. It hardly needs mentioning that the mainstream media capitalizes on this at every turn. (Remember back in the day when mean cheerleaders grew up to be mad housewives instead of snarky t.v. "news" anchors?)
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Why Occupy Wall Street isn't about a list of demands CNNMoneyTechOctober 12, 2011
So a typical scenario, in a U.S. big city at least, goes something like this: an encampment springs up for political reasons, it attracts some apolitical people just looking to get their needs met, it becomes somewhat messy in the way of campsites everywhere, it is threatened by authorities on the basis of either crimes that occur there or perceived public health issues, it draws a large crowd of supporters in response to the threat, and it is raided under cover of darkness once the crowd has dwindled.
Repeat cycle, except maybe in the unseasonably warm but still growing chilly northern latitudes.
Sometimes an encampment wins in court, then loses, or vice versa. Sometimes, as in the case of Occupy Augusta, it loses in court and decides to decamp by choice and with dignity, rather than apply for a permit to exercise 1st amendment rights of speech, assembly, and petition for redress of grievances.
But here is why I don't agree with those who argue that encampments are not necessary to continue to grow the movement.
1) While monitoring the Twitter feed as Occupy Boston faced eviction after losing in court, I saw a tweet that said something like The last 20 calls on my phone are from people I didn't even know a month ago. #OccupyBoston.
2) For many teenagers, their closest Occupy site is like Woodstock: something inestimably attractive, shining like a beacon in the distance when one has turned 18 and one's parents can no longer forbid one to go to it.
3) Without continuous presence in public space, how much mainstream media coverage would the grievances of the 99% be getting? Compare with nearly non-existent MSM coverage of large marches, well-attended demonstrations, and small but colorful one-off events speaking truth to power.
I want to elaborate more on reason #1 because I think it is the most important. I am an organizer, and a communications specialist, so people in my area often contact me or read one of my email blasts to find out what's going on. Just yesterday one of the most dedicated long term activists in my state called to discuss something else, and was surprised -- and glad -- to learn of a large rally on Wed. 12/14 at 10am in the Hall of Flags in Augusta to protest the huge cuts to funding for health care and other services about to come down in Maine. I did not organize the rally, nor will I be able to attend, but I help by publicizing it. I do not fault my peaceful friend for not reading all the emails I send him. Who could? Even an information junkie like me often finds it challenging to know what's happening when and where, and to arrange my life so that I can show up and lend a hand. And I'm one of the lucky ones, because I have the resources and time and motivation to be involved, and the contacts to help me.
But as long as there was an encampment in Augusta, or in Bangor, or Portland, or SF, or NYC, I didn't need any additional information. I didn't need to know anyone or coordinate with anyone if I wanted to support the effort. I just showed up. And so did students, and grandparents, and environmental advocates, and reporters, and infiltrators, and tourists, and....
This is why I think the encampments are important and will endure, sprouting again like mushrooms come spring.
One last bit of anecdotal evidence: In the summer of 2011 my sister and I visited an encampment of occupiers at Glen Cove on the northern edge of the vast waterway that is the San Francisco Bay. Indigenous people and supporters were encamped there for 97 days to block the proposed desecration of a sacred shell mound burial site -- one of the few remaining heritage sites that has not been disturbed for development. Cookie cutter McHouses in pale stucco marched down a hillside toward the bay, but stopped short of the water's edge, where a large field kitchen and many small tents dotted the undeveloped land.
We were greeted warmly at the Glen Cove encampment, and offered food; it was early in the morning, and we asked permission to sit by the side of the water to meditate, which was granted. Afterward we made an offering to the sacred fire that was kept continuously burning, after receiving some instruction about how to respect the space, and were again offered food. We talked with one of the long term campers for a while about their purpose for occupying, and when we departed we took some literature and bought a t-shirt for another family member.
On the day after Thanksgiving (or as the Wampanoag tribe in New England prefers, the National Day of Mourning) we returned with two more people. The four of us were aghast to find bulldozers and chain link fencing, not an encampment. Of course I did some research when I got home. Turns out that the occupiers were successful in negotiating with those developing a park there not to disturb the shell mound portion of the site, or to pave it to put in a parking lot. Activists say they will continue to monitor the land use closely to see that the agreement is honored.
When Occupy Wall St. sprang up this fall I recognized where I had seen this organized, communal approach to outdoor living: at Glen Cove.
With indigenous wisdom on the proper use and care for Mother Earth, I believe the 99% can endure.
(Yes, of course there are a ton of useful, powerful actions to be taken while occupying/not occupying. More on that in my next post. A particularly lively example: the West Coast Port Shutdown plan for Monday 12/12/11. Onward!)
On the one hand I occupy Augusta, Maine, and sleep overnight in a teepee like in ancient times, and my inner voice is chanting joyfully like the 99% in Oakland did at the very start
of their general strike video:
Hella, hella occupy! The system has got
to die !
I know in my bones that if the system doesn't, the Earth will. And that is what ultimately matters as far as human life is
concerned.
Then, on the other hand, the U.S.
Senate proves itself every bit as venal and corrupt as any Roman body
of leeches ever was by voting – overwhelmingly, only 7 against –
for the U.S. military to be able to detain anybody -- without charges -- on planet battlefield in the war on terror. What rhymes with Indefinite Detention? Could be Extraordinary Rendition. So one more time I write or call my corporate owned so-called representatives, to express
displeasure. I could try to occupy their offices, which are now
barricaded because my friends occupied them years ago protesting war
mongering. Or I could gather with the 99% and make art, not war, and talk about what to do next.
This piece of legislation is horrible, and laws do matter, used
as fulcrums for leverage, and you can't let it pass unremarked without
the outrage it deserves. But, really -- how much can this surprise us
when Bradley Manning has been in jail for one year and five months without a
fucking day in court?
Some say, oh, but he was in the
military, so that's different. Looks like we're all in the throughly
militarized USA now, whether we signed up or not.
The man accused of leaking thousands of
files from Iraq, Afghanistan, and the State Dept. all over the globe,
the man credited with sparking the Tunisian uprising which ignited
Egypt which continues to roll out in great waves of freedom seeking behavior all across the planet
will finally have his pre-trial hearing Dec. 16-17 at Fort Meade, Maryland. I will
be in the streets for Bradley on that day for sure. (Find out how to
join a Bradley Manning support action near you.)
When I contact my senators these days, I never fail to point out something they already know: they don't represent
their constituents. Lately I send copies of the Bring Our War $$ Home Penny Poll, showing how people in Maine last election day wanted their
federal taxes spent (educations, health care and V.A.) and how that
compares with the nearly 2/3 spent on “defense” now. It's a gravy
train for drone and other WMD manufacturers, i.e. the 1%, plus salary
and benefits for a portion of the working class caught in the maws of the
great war machine, forced as National Guardsmen and women to defend the homeland by being stationed in, for instance, Bahrain.
Lynn Redgrave as Mother / photo credit: http://www.veriport.com/galleries/a.htm
Bertolt Brecht wrote "Mother Courage"
about the irony of a working class parent losing her three children one by one to
the war economy she depended upon to feed them.
We can do better than this. And after reading Truthout's breathtaking interview about the Occupy movement with author Arundhati Roy, I think we will.
Occupy Augusta Maine received an ultimatum similar to those being issued by spokesmen for the 1% to Occupy encampments around the U.S.: apply for a day permit by Mon 11/28, or be evicted from Capitol Park. This was their response: 75 or so activists occupied the Governor's residence, Blaine House, which is across the street from the encampment in Capital Park. (Gov. LePage was believed to be elsewhere, possibly Florida or Jamaica where he has other homes.)
A tent was pitched on the governor's lawn next to a snowman that held a sign reading "Maine's Labor History Mural Lives in Occupy Augusta."
Nine people chose to commit civil disobedience for refusing to leave the grounds. They were arrested and it is believed they were charged with criminal trespassing, and failure to disperse.
Meanwhile, a young couple in the neighborhood had a burglary to report, but could not find any police interested in taking their report of a house break-in and stolen laptop. Officers were observed from six jurisdictions: Maine State Police, Augusta City Police, Capitol Police, Hallowell City Police, Kennebec County Sheriffs, and -- most dreaded by Mainers -- Game Wardens.
I asked one of them what the game wardens had to do with what was going on, and he said, "I've got two of my guys in there" as he rushed through the gate.
Note: No animals were harmed in the making of this video.
Occupy Augusta received some terrific mainstream news coverage yesterday from WGME 13 as about 100 folks joined the hardy souls of the tent occupation -- which has doubled in size since I was there two weeks ago -- to march, chant, drum, and take a little field trip to the home of the biggest corporate lobbyist in Maine, Severin Beliveau.
The founding partner of the law firm Preti Flaherty Beliveau Pachios did not appear to be at home. Maybe he was schmoozing with some lawmakers; Severin was a major influence in the administration of (Democrat) Gov. Baldacci, and contributed heavily to the third party candidate campaign that split the Maine vote to put the current corporate lackey (Republican) Gov. LePage in office.
The people I spoke to in Augusta yesterday were clear on the absence of any meaningful distinction between the two corporate-controlled parties, and on the acute lack of people's voices in government at the local, state, or national level. And if the people don't stick up for the Earth, who will?
Meanwhile, to the east of us Occupy Bangor got some kudos from resident author Stephen King, and to the south of us the Occupy Maine folks in Portland received good news that there was no truth to rumors that the police were planning to evict them.
A flotilla with as many as a dozen activists — including Code Pink’s
Kit Kittredge- was bound to Gaza bearing humanitarian aide on November
4th. The Israeli military boarded seized the ship, and took all of the
activists into custody.
Occupy Boston then marched on the Israeli Consulate in solidarity
Notice how -- no matter who is in the White House or which party has a majority in Congress -- that we, the taxpayers, still send Israel $3 billion a year in mostly weapons? That's why corporate media like the Washington Post have to work overtime to keep us believing bullshit:
What can be said at this point is that, after three years of pitched
battles between Obama and congressional Republicans, the country is
heading toward a high-stakes contest. Election 2012 will be a contest
not just between two candidates but also between two starkly different
views of the role of government that underscore the enormous differences
between Republicans and Democrats.
Dear Bangor Public Library, The news of your action on behalf of free
speech and the right of assembly in Bangor tomorrow has been shared far
and wide in my network of women-led activists, coast to coast, and
beyond our shores.
I was born in Bangor and, though I have ranged far, I now live in Solon, Maine and often visit Bangor. Thank you for warming my PINK heart today with your courage, your wisdom, and your historic action on behalf of Occupy Bangor.
Occupy Augusta is alleged to be the only site that has permission
for an open fire. Perhaps Occupy Bangor will be the only site protected
by a public library. Hooray for Maine!
Augusta, Maine Day 1 of #OccupyAugusta October 15, 2011
Learning to make videos in order to "be our own media" has been frustrating at times, but I am beginning to get the hang of doing it. I love the interviewing part -- that feeds my citizen journalist soul. It fascinates me how people everywhere stay on message so clearly (politicians have to be heavily coached to to do this).
#OccupyAugusta (Maine) Day 1 fell on October 15, 2011, the day of global action by people against corporate greed. Here's the local newspaper coverage of the event:
Here's a great video by Bex Hickman from Day 1, showing a lot of the action down in Capital Park, which is an historic public space just opposite the State House capitol building. Campers numbered 16 on Night 1 and were told by capitol police that they could stay overnight and have a fire if it was contained in something. The first General Assembly wasn't really a true G.A. as they were just getting organized as to working groups, etc. but Chris Buchanan taught everyone the hand signals and about 35 people participated. I love this photo of my sister in Pink Cat Erdman circling up, and the State House lit up behind her.
College students were out in force. There were students from UMF, UMA, UMO, and Thomas College. UMF's Taylor Noyes took this photo of me with my grandson:
Here is CODEPINK staffer Alli McCracken getting arrested in the House of Representatives' Armed Services Committee where Defense Secretary Leon Panetta appeared, formerly of the CIA.
Alli was absurdly charged with assaulting Panetta, even though she was no closer than 10 feet away from him, and the alleged assault weapon was a piece of paper.
I guess the truth written down is pretty powerful. Her sign said "Fund My Education Not Your Wars."
The photo is an instant classic. Too bad you can't see Panetta's face, but the sea of dark cop uniforms sets off the pink tunic with the Bring Our War $ Home graphic nicely.
In my opinion, it is of the caliber of the iconic image ofDes and Condi:
You can feel the tide rising. I made a random business call today and the woman who had my info told me that her daughter was at Occupy Wall St every chance she could get. Then she was excited to learn that Occupy Augusta begins this Sat. Oct 15 at Capitol Park.
We should also spread the word that NYC is at risk and needs support. Here's the call put out by their General Assembly.
Prevent the forcible closure of Occupy Wall Street!
Tell Bloomberg: Don’t Foreclose the Occupation.
NEED MASS TURN-OUT: 6AM FRIDAY EVICTION DEFENSE This is an emergency situation. Please take a minute to read this, and please take action and spread the word far and wide.
Occupy Wall Street is gaining momentum, with occupation actions now happening in cities across the world.
But last night Mayor Bloomberg and the NYPD notified Occupy Wall
Street participants about plans to “clean the park”—the site of the Wall
Street protests—tomorrow starting at 7am. “Cleaning” was used as a
pretext to shut down “Bloombergville” a few months back, and to shut
down peaceful occupations elsewhere.
Bloomberg says that the park will be open for public usage following
the cleaning, but with a notable caveat: Occupy Wall Street participants
must follow the “rules”. These rules include, “no tarps or sleeping
bags” and “no lying down.”
NYPD Police Commissioner Ray Kelly has said that they will move in to
clear us and we will not be allowed to take sleeping bags, tarps,
personal items or gear back into the park. So, seems likely that this is their attempt to shut down #OWS for good. PLEASE TAKE ACTION: 1) Call 311 (or 212-NEW-YORK if you’re out of town) and tell
Bloomberg to support our right to assemble and to not interfere with
#OWS. 2) Come to #OWS on FRIDAY AT 6AM to defend the occupation from eviction.
Occupy Wall Street is committed to keeping the park clean and safe —
we even have a Sanitation Working Group whose purpose this is. We are
organizing major cleaning operations today and will do so regularly.
If Bloomberg truly cares about sanitation here he should support the
installation of portopans and dumpsters. #OWS allies have been working
to secure these things to support our efforts.
We know where the real dirt is: on Wall Street. Billionaire Bloomberg is beholden to bankers.
We won’t allow Bloomberg and the NYPD to foreclose our occupation. This is an occupation, not a permitted picnic.
