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So, catching up on the news, and see where the Occupy Movement is going to have a presence of some sort at the Rose Bowl Parade in Pasadena, California. The Police Department in Pasadena has been negotiating with people in the movement, trying too get them to agree to march at the VERY END of the parade after all the floats, bands and various other groups have passed along the route, and the media wraps up its coverage.
So, the question..."Should the Occupy Movement accept this offer, or instead hold a full fledged demonstration, try to disrupt the parade?"
I have mixed emotions on this one...as a firm believer in our First Amendment Rights, and because there is very little chance the movement will gain much coverage marching at the end of the parade, I tend to support the idea of a full on protest with tens of thousands of protesters showing up in force. From a sentimental stand point, having watched the parade on TV for decades, kind of hate to think of the day being spoiled for every one in the viewing audience. But, sometimes, social issues of this magnitude have to trump the entertain value of the event.
NYC Police WRONGFULLY USING BRUTE FORCE on Occupy Wall Street Protestors
The occupation of Wall Street is gaining momentum as communities all across America join in, exercise their Freedom of Speech as together in one voice they try to save America's middle class from extinction. The movement has gone virile ONLINE, and demonstrations are blossoming to more and more cities and small towns. What was just 1,000 protestors, the movement demanding jobs has grown to a group of angry citizens numbering into the hundreds of thousands, and there is no sign of movement stalling out...in fact, the movement could far exceed the political clout that has been gained by the Teabaggers as the disenfranchised, out of work citizens from the political left flex their muscle IN THE STREETS as they exercise their First Amendment Rights.
This is a movement that all 79 million Baby Boomers here in America need to seriously think about joining. Wall Street and our government are stripping away all the things we have already paid for, while we sit quietly...Medicare, Social Security...we have paid for these benefits our entire working lives. Our homes...how many of us are in upside down mortgages as a result of Wall Street and the Banks? Stand up and be heard, or be silent when your fate arrives at your front door.
Received in my Email this morning is this movements latest message:
This document was accepted by the NYC General Assembly on September 29, 2011
Translations: French, Slovak, Spanish, German, Italian
As we gather together in solidarity to express a feeling of mass injustice, we must not lose sight of what brought us together. We write so that all people who feel wronged by the corporate forces of the world can know that we are your allies.
As one people, united, we acknowledge the reality: that the future of the human race requires the cooperation of its members; that our system must protect our rights, and upon corruption of that system, it is up to the individuals to protect their own rights, and those of their neighbors; that a democratic government derives its just power from the people, but corporations do not seek consent to extract wealth from the people and the Earth; and that no true democracy is attainable when the process is determined by economic power. We come to you at a time when corporations, which place profit over people, self-interest over justice, and oppression over equality, run our governments. We have peaceably assembled here, as is our right, to let these facts be known.
They have taken our houses through an illegal foreclosure process, despite not having the original mortgage.
They have taken bailouts from taxpayers with impunity, and continue to give Executives exorbitant bonuses.
They have perpetuated inequality and discrimination in the workplace based on age, the color of one's skin, sex, gender identity and sexual orientation.
They have poisoned the food supply through negligence, and undermined the farming system through monopolization.
They have profited off of the torture, confinement, and cruel treatment of countless animals, and actively hide these practices.
They have continuously sought to strip employees of the right to negotiate for better pay and safer working conditions.
They have held students hostage with tens of thousands of dollars of debt on education, which is itself a human right.
They have consistently outsourced labor and used that outsourcing as leverage to cut workers' healthcare and pay.
They have influenced the courts to achieve the same rights as people, with none of the culpability or responsibility.
They have spent millions of dollars on legal teams that look for ways to get them out of contracts in regards to health insurance.
They have sold our privacy as a commodity.
They have used the military and police force to prevent freedom of the press.
They have deliberately declined to recall faulty products endangering lives in pursuit of profit.
They determine economic policy, despite the catastrophic failures their policies have produced and continue to produce.
They have donated large sums of money to politicians, who are responsible for regulating them.
They continue to block alternate forms of energy to keep us dependent on oil.
They continue to block generic forms of medicine that could save people's lives or provide relief in order to protect investments that have already turned a substantial profit.
They have purposely covered up oil spills, accidents, faulty bookkeeping, and inactive ingredients in pursuit of profit.
They purposefully keep people misinformed and fearful through their control of the media.
They have accepted private contracts to murder prisoners even when presented with serious doubts about their guilt.
They have perpetuated colonialism at home and abroad.
They have participated in the torture and murder of innocent civilians overseas.
They continue to create weapons of mass destruction in order to receive government contracts. *
To the people of the world,
We, the New York City General Assembly occupying Wall Street in Liberty Square, urge you to assert your power.
Exercise your right to peaceably assemble; occupy public space; create a process to address the problems we face, and generate solutions accessible to everyone.
To all communities that take action and form groups in the spirit of direct democracy, we offer support, documentation, and all of the resources at our disposal.
Join us and make your voices heard!
*These grievances are not all-inclusive.
Occupy Wall Street: List and map of over 250 U.S. solidarity events and Facebook pages
[Here is] a comprehensive list of links to locations in the United States and Canada with Occupy Wall Street solidarity events. Click on the link to be taken to a hyperlink for the specific city in which Occupy Wall Street actions are taking place.
If you know of a solidarity event, Facebook page or website that is not listed, please either post a link to it in the comments or send the link in an email to chris@dailykos.com. Use the subject line "new event."
Portside aims to provide material of interest to people on the left that will help them to interpret the world and to change it.
