The protests, though, are more than a youth uprising. The protesters’ own problems are only one illustration of the ways in which the economy is not working for most Americans. They are exactly right when they say that the financial sector, with regu…
[Read More]Good Sunday Afternoon, I speak to people about the Movement each and every day, especially those who should be our allies but, for whatever reason, have yet to come on board. Last night was a typical case: a college student in upstate New York, sympathetic with the cause, said he wouldn’t join on until we had a “leader”. While I didn’t have time to get into the philosophy of having a leader or not I realized that aside from, “What do you stand for?” (which is easily handled by listing … [Read More]
Many of us will be visiting with family over the coming holidays, starting this Thanksgiving. How can someone who supports the Occupy movement have a civil conversation with family members who may have a different view of things? How can you be prepared if someone else brings up the topic? I’d like to start the ideas flowing on this with a few thoughts here.
For such a discussion it’s vitally important to set realistic goals about what you want to accomplish. It’s probably impossible to change someone’s mind with a short conversation about facts if they have strong emotions about their beliefs. Don’t even try, this is not about winning debate points awarded by some imaginary judge. What is it about then? I’ll address that later.
Here’s some specific suggestions on what to do and what to avoid doing.
via 5 Rules for Talking OWS With Your Conservative Relatives | | AlterNet.
[Read More]In New York, a state supreme court justice and a New York City council member were beaten up; in Berkeley, California, one of our greatest national poets, Robert Hass, was beaten with batons. The picture darkened still further when Wonkette and Washingtonsblog.com reported that the Mayor of Oakland acknowledged that the Department of Homeland Security had participated in an 18-city mayor conference call advising mayors on "how to suppress" Occupy protests.
via The shocking truth about the crackdown on Occupy | Naomi Wolf | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk.
[Read More]POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. — Shanon Murray’s brother, parents, and son convened in Poughkeepsie to celebrate the holidays. But instead of a big meal with just their family, they joined to "Occupy Thanksgiving.""Even though family is so important it’s like looking at family in the bigger sense and that’s what this movement about," said Murray. "It’s looking out for one another, looking out for more than just your own."Over 60 showed up in solidarity, including an informal group of supporters called the "Occupy Poughkeepsie Moms and Dads" who collaborate on a regular basis to make sure the movement gets fed."And so we cook food and bring a hot meal every night," explained Vonn New. "We try to make sure that everybody down here gets plenty of vegetables in their diet–and eat healthy.""We all have to pitch in as a community to see what we can do to bring our community back together," said Nicole Kennedy, another member of the "Moms and Dads." "You know you can’t always depend on the government or the powers that be to take care of you."
via Occupy Thanksgiving – YNN, Your News Now.
[Read More]You’ve been seeing this across the country … Americans assaulted, clubbed, dragged, pepper-sprayed … Why? For exercising their right to free speech and assembly — protesting the increasing concentration of income, wealth, and political power at…
[Read More]Critics who label them slovenly misfits, troublemakers and drug addicts, have not bothered to take the time to engage them.
Nor do those critics understand that social movements are never neat and tidy or easy to decipher — not at the beginning.
Even…