Time to get off the fence - Occupy

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Alpine Bakery

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Oct 28, 2011, 11:57:10 PM10/28/11
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Friends and colleagues,

Just wanted to let you all know that I put forward and Victoria council passed the following motion last night:

Motion in Support of the People’s Assembly of Victoria

Whereas there is currently a worldwide citizens movement to address historic and existing inequalities in financial and governmental institutions, policies and practices;

And whereas the People's Assembly of Victoria represents local resident participation and public engagement in this global protest and dialogue;

And whereas the City of Victoria supports the democratic rights of Canadians and people all over the world to non-violent assembly and social protest;

Be it so moved that the City of Victoria supports the People's Assembly of Victoria.

Respectfully submitted by

Philippe Lucas

Victoria City Council

Hurray for the right to assemble and protest, which are the cornerstones of modern liberal democracy.

Philippe Lucas

Victoria City Council

SVIer


On Fri, Oct 28, 2011 at 7:56 PM, Steve | Briteweb <st...@briteweb.com> wrote:
Hi Jason, 

I just wanted to thank and commend you for speaking up to the group about this. I encourage all of us to consider contributing however possible. 

I've been following the #OWS movement closely since it was an idea put forward in Adbusters Magazine earlier this summer. For a while now I've been wondering when people in North America were going to be pushed over the edge to the point of action around the growing inequalities and disparity in our societies. It's exciting to see it happening, whether you view it as a well-organized movement or not. What's most important is that it has forced a dialogue in the mainstream around these critical issues, that the media has been intentionally avoiding. 

We are in an interesting position, as generally successful business folks, especially those of us north of the border where we've been largely spared from the worst of the financial downturn. I can understand how some of us don't immediately resonate with the movement. At the same time, there are many threats to our way of life and future in Canada, due to "big money" in politics (eg: http://huff.to/rU0Urp), and it's important to be aware of that. It's also important to recognize the Occupy Vancouver movement as one-in-the-same with the New York or other US city movements. It's in solidarity with the people all over the world in fact, who are affected by the greed and the erosion of regulation that has allowed the financial industry and big corporations to systematically infiltrate our governments.  

We need to avoid the rhetoric trap aimed at dismantling the movement. I don't think anyone can look at the US financial bailouts, the war-mongering or the criminal levels of lobbying in Washington and Ottawa, and say that nothing is wrong. 

I'm supporting the movement by diligently reading, posting and sharing information and entering in to discussions (and many heated arguments) and doing my best to educate people around me. (I was flooded with a sense of hope when I received an email from my Mom this week asking how she could help the movement after many long discussions.) I've also been down to the Art Gallery numerous times for the evening GA's, adding my physical presence and support to the movement. I'll be looking at making a financial contribution soon as well. 

Jason, I also echo your sentiment about Gregor Robertson and his Vision Council. We're lucky to have such a progressive crew leading our city. 

Anyway, as you can read (if you bothered, ha), this is something that weighs heavily on my mind, and I'm glad you took the initiative to bring it up with the group. Consider this a big +1. 

Rant over. 

peace,
Steve


_______________________________________________________________________________

STEVE RIO // #BRITEWEB // DOT ECO

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email  st...@briteweb.com     skype  steverio604            twitter    @steverio  @briteweb

_______________________________________________________________________________



On Fri, Oct 28, 2011 at 3:55 PM, Jason Mogus <ja...@communicopia.com> wrote:
Hi everyone,

Today I'm getting off the fence about supporting the Occupy movement. I've been following it pretty closely for a while - it's the hottest topic of conversation amongst my Web of Change compatriots working in social movements, largely in the US but also here, many are seeing this as the biggest moment to happen to change in a long time. And I've been heartened by the calibre of movement leaders I know getting very involved in NY, Oakland, etc, some even shutting down their normal consulting practices to do so.

An article I read today put me over the edge such that I know I now need to contribute directly, financially, to their work. Plus, it's getting cold out there, their spirits are low some days, there are a lot of mouths to feed (I've been told it was 1,800 meals a day in Vancouver last week). 


So I'm putting some financial resources into helping them, and would love for other social purpose businesses / orgs to join me. Not everyone will agree with this approach. Maybe some of you are already in there. It's especially tricky locally as it's become a gnarly potential election issue for Gregor and Vision, who I have also supported in substantial ways. 

But today I'm going to donate $250 from my business to Occupy'ers. I'm in touch with some of their organizers on the best way to be helpful - a gift cert at Safeway or Home Depot or ? (I won't deliver cash). And I'd love for a few others to join me, either in an organized way or on your own.  

Important note: I've already given heavily to the Vision campaign, which is the best local investment one can make in long term structural social change. If you have to make a choice, I hope you choose to support Vision first. Gregor's mayor seat appears safe but without a vision majority, implementing their agenda and fighting back the right wing backlash will be very difficult. Every dollar and volunteer hour and re-tweet counts now. 

But if any of you want to join me in supporting the brave people doing the hard messy work of getting issues of corporate control and elite power on the agenda, I am happy to coordinate a collaborative donation campaign, email me directly with a pledge. 

Thanks. In solidarity, 

Jason


An excerpt:

Putting the substantive and the numerical together, it is clear that the possibilities for real change do not rest with the members of Occupy Wall Street itself. It is misleading to measure the movement for change by the growth or shrinkage of the number of occupiers; it must be measured by the scope and effectiveness of the movement of those they represent, that are in sympathy with their feelings and in support of their goals.  It is likewise misleading to focus on a critique of their slogans, the limitations of their theoretical understandings or organization (surprisingly good, even exemplary, as it might be!), or to want them to formulate detailed demands or lobby or get into electoral politics. None of this is what they are about, nor is it the role that they want to or can play.

The Occupy Wall Street  movement It is not about to occupy the Winter Palace, charge the Bastille, overthrow Batista, or even throw cases of tea into Boston harbor. Those reactions that might eventually result from what they do, although it seems pretty unlikely right now. Where the discontent and the deprivation that their movement signifies goes next is not in the first place up to them, but up to those in  whose name they act. They do not occupy positions of influence, their work is not essential to the survival of the system, they do not command the resources that can take on the establishment and win major concessions, let alone overthrow it.

The real support that non-occupying supporters can give the Occupy Wall Street movement, then, is to draw from it the conclusion that the time is right to go on the offensive, to move from Real Politiik to principled politics, to expose and attack the real roots of social injustice rather than only ameliorate their worst manifestations. If they are being accused of not formulating concrete and feasible programs to achieve their clear goals, there are plenty of other organizations and individuals around who can do so. Rather than blaming the occupiers for not doing it, let those who are working within the system  re-double their efforts. The occupation movement is no substitute for the labor movement, for urban social movements, for radical think tanks, for insurgent political organization; it is rather a call to arms for their further mobilization.

But the immediate needs of the occupiers should not be lost sight of in the debate about how their work relates to others. Real support, not only in the obvious ways: pizza, legal defense, blankets, physical presence and encouragement. But also with shared experience, history, theory. There is incredible discussion going on within the occupied spaces, debates, experiments in organizing, discussion of tactics. In one occupation I was at the participants had divided their discussions into those requiring consensus – how to organize, how to run meetings, how to obtain, prepare, and distribute food, how to deal with individual problem – in a sense, management matters — and deal separately with those that required political action, to be decided with debate and discussion but majority vote in General Assemblies. Whether the experience in such an (almost commune-like) setting can be extrapolated to lessons in democracy at other scales is a complex question, but certainly the experience puts vital questions on the table. Such questions have been dealt with before, in much drier fashion, perhaps but deeply and extensively. And need to be faced directly now.



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