4/25 Meeting notes. Re: chosen a working version of general framing of our campaigns - FAIRNESS

[Shentongnewyork]

Dear colleagues:

Quick notes from today's meeting so I don't drop the ball before my week long travel.  Please add to it for those who were also present.  Please also pass on to our fellow occupiers in Atlanta, and others on the phone bridge whose emails I don't have.

Report backs 

* Chicago May 18-22 http://99solidarity.net/chicago/

* on A17, 

- http://99solidarity.net/2012/04/17/tax-day-usa-the-1-should-pay-their-way/

- http://99solidarity.net/2012/04/17/tax-day-2012-future-property-of-the-1/

* Srdja Popovic spoke with observations and suggestions to OWS, followed by lively discussion.  The Serbian student nonviolent movement have much to offer.  We were only limited by time.

Discussion on 7 key campaign issues and how best to focus OWS resources and capacity on one platform or one campaign 

Living/Minimal  wage 
Get Money out, End corporate personhood, Campaign public financing
Healthcare for all
Break up big banks
Occupy Student Loan
Occupy Our Homes, Occupy Mortgage
Multi-party system (fusion voting)

We've developed a working version of an overall framing of a multi-demands campaign platform - Fairness. And we focus our approaches on big banks/debt, and on 99% Solidarity meme.  This will contextualize all of our future messaging starting with our national action in Chicago May 17-22.

Eager to hear more from you on this to continue in this thread, and would take points in passing on good posting from some lists to other lists. This will frame well 5 if not all 7 issues.  Will let our actions and outreach, in addition to our think-tanking to develop the rest.  However, we still would like to pick one issue as the main pro-active campaign issue for the rest of the year and others as educational and outreach issues that we will be more in a support role to other OWS groups and allies.  

I'm also sharing couple of other extensive write ups from Dianne/Stuart and Ian here that was not shared before the meeting.  SOLUTE TO DIANNE & IAN for their participation in Occupy DOJ on Tue in Washington DC that led to their arrests along with 40 others.  We were fortunately to have the mind share today of our newly released heroes. 

Diane/Stuart

Living wage/minimum wage

Pros:  A basic social issue that can have mass appeal.

Cons:  May not resonate with the middle class.

          Some middle class might think raising the minimum wage will negatively affect them.


Get Money out of Politics/End Corporate Personhood

Pros:  It reached on consensus with OWS.

If we get corporate control out of the government the government will function for the people  

then it should follow that we will get Living Wage, Universal Healthcare, Regs on Banks, etc.

We can research what is going on with other orgs that have been working on this issue for years    

and partner with the appropriate orgs.

Great issue for a general election year.

Cons:  Might seem like an undoable task.

          Huge issue, not easily explained.


Universal Healthcare

Pros:   It affects everyone.

          Many great groups to team up with, lots of research already out there to grab.

Cons:  It affects everyone, but some people are oblivious to that, need to educate the public more.  

          Gets linked with communism and socialism, this can negatively affect mass appeal.

          Lots of propaganda on the other side to battle.


Break up big banks

Pros:   Works well as an OWS issue, on point with OWS massaging.

Cons:  Complicated issue, needs a lot of public education and awareness first.


Occupy Student Loans/Affordable Higher Education

Pros:  The 99% are struggling to put their children through college, this should resonate with many.

Cons:  Those lucky folks without student loan debt will not care.

          I personally have no idea what the solution is. Don’t know if this issue has enough allies who have
          already begun campaigns as is the case with other some of the other issues.
        


Occupy Our Homes

Pros:  Should have broad appeal.

         Public responded well to direct actions related to this issue, Occupy BOA.

         On point with OWS messaging, Banks got bail out, we got sold out.

Cons:  May not have enough broad appeal, if you didn’t have a subprime or ARM mortgage you might  
          not care enough.

Multi-party system (fusion system)

Pros:  Would work well with Money Out of Politics. It is about fairness.  

Cons:  Public needs to be educated on this issue, has not been in the spotlight so public awareness may
          be low.

Ian Williams

(will add more to this later)

I tend to want to lean towards anything that has to do with debt. There are a few reasons for this:

1) Austerity is the political climate of neoliberalization (I use this term specifically, as opposed to neoliberalism, for some rather academic reasons - See Simon Springer’s excellent article “Neoliberalism and Geography: Expansions, Variegations, Formations.” - http://otago.academia.edu/SpringerSimon/Papers/319133/Neoliberalism_and_geography_expansions_variegations_formations). That is in part driven by long-term accumulation of debt, through policies and practices that deregulate economies, roll-back Keynsian welfare state infrastructure, and the simultaneous centralization of power (through the rise of security state apparatuses) and decentralization of wealth (through its increased dispersal into various virtual, global networks) for the ruling classes of contemporary society.

2) Debt is pretty much universal. The global economy runs on it, but it can also be felt on extremely local and individual levels.

3) If we’re going to fight neoliberalization, or rather, neoliberal capitalism, we should fight something systemic and structural, then stagger campaigns around it. Without sliding into the reform versus revolution dichotomy (which arguably is a false binary to begin with), I would strongly argue for a political position that not only seeks to “fix” the current order, but to abolish the very structures, institutions, and practices that contribute to its reproduction, nanosecond by nanosecond, in everyday life. And that means fighting capitalism itself.

4) Taking on debt means, as well, taking on the very power of ownership in contemporary society. The shadow of debt leans long on all sorts of actors - nations, municipalities, civil society institutions, politicians, individuals, oppressed communities - and therefore it affects fields of possibility on all levels. Nations can’t govern themselves because of debt - look at IMF and World Bank regulations, for instance. Politicians can’t do their jobs - to win they have to get into debt, more or less, with campaign financers. Student’s can’t really learn, or make use of an education - because they’re so in debt the artificially high cost forces them into some sort of depressing choice between pessimistically pragmatic courses of study, or hopelessly idealistic ones that they’ll never be able to afford. Homeowners take on debt to get a piece of land in an escalating housing market. I could go on, but I think my point is made.

5) Debt, because it’s increasingly so universal, can lead to all sorts of alliances and solidarities that we can’t even conceptualize right now. It could foster OWS’s role in a global movement, which it is a part of. And build towards something truly unprecedented - like a global debt strike, or global collective bargaining against the ruling class, and ruling corporate institutions. They are quite effective at manipulating and effectively bypassing national politics to get what they want. Perhaps we should be as well.

-- 
In Solidarity

Shen Tong

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[Stephan Said]

Hi all, this is good news, I am sorry I couldn't make the meeting and have been quiet of late, a lot of travel and shows. I also agree with the suggestion on inequality, and the fairness framing is in the right direction. But fairness lacks a demonstrable demand. Regarding a proactive cause: It will help us to distinguish between a movement's moral vision and numerous issues in this discussion. If there is a single 'proactive demand,' it is not an issue, but that moral vision of a more equitable society and equal rights for all that we are for, the moral vision at the foundation of all major, sustained social movements from the women's suffrage movement, Indian Independence, Civil Rights to today. If we're able to define and elevate that moral vision above all else, then each of the myriad subordinate issues, from income inequality to campaign finance, housing, health care, education, internet freedom, right to self governance, will be contextualized and empowered. Most importantly, that moral vision is the foundation of satyagraha, that force quite different from simplistic non-violence, a force filled with the inherent dignity of the claim to an undeniable right. With the moral vision of equality in place, our non-violent actions for income inequality or housing can gain the stature of the salt march.

Shen, as we discussed when we met last, my work with organizers across the globe since J15 toward a mass united global action around the International Day of Peace bringing Occupy(s), Indignados, civil society, international development and interfaith organizations together around a moral vision has gained a lot of momentum, which I am happy to discuss with the group. There will be a document to share with you all within the next couple days. I think it will help to add needed perspective and context in choosing individual campaigns and refining messaging.

Great conversation, Stephan

--
Stephan Said
Musician, Founder, difrent.org
email: ste...@difrent.org
cell: 646.361.8835
twitter: @stephansaid
www.stephansaid.com
www.difrent.org

[Grace...@qc.cuny.edu]

Dear all,

Sorry for the mass email.  

I'm setting up a conversation between a few people in Occupy and a few people in organizations that have been working for some time on the issue of money in politics, especially but not only in NY state. The meeting is scheduled for 5/12.  If anyone would like to make suggestions about people to invite, please let me know. 

This meeting is not an attempt to start a new group or to decide about any one strategy, but to allow people to meet one another, to share information, and to open up new lines of communication. 

Also, on 5/13 at Judson Church at 5 pm there will be a follow up to the Spring Awakening in Central Park--the first "Movement Assembly" that will include small breakout groups. That should be another good time to talk about possible collaborations.

Messaging and public awareness are both important here.  Please feel free to share your suggestions.

Thanks,   

Grace

Grace Davie
Department of History
Queens College-CUNY
Powdermaker Hall, Room 352WW
65-30 Kissena Blvd.
Flushing, NY 11367
tel: 718-997-5350 ext. 5381

-----non-vio...@googlegroups.com wrote: -----

To: "99% Solidarity" <99soli...@googlegroups.com>, 99-chicago...@googlegroups.com, OWS Messaging Cluster <ows-messag...@googlegroups.com>, non-vio...@googlegroups.com
From: Shentongnewyork
Sent by: non-vio...@googlegroups.com
Date: 04/26/2012 05:54AM
Subject: 4/25 Meeting notes. Re: chosen a working version of general framing of our campaigns - FAIRNESS

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[Shentongnewyork]

Great to hear from you Stephen.  I trust the travels are fruitful.

Look forward to hearing more about the global actions that you are working on.

As to the framing, your points are well taken.  We are making headway, but far from completing a coherent strategy, now should that strategy be fixed completely in this early stage through only thinktanking, the intitial thoughts should be filtered and refined by our actions, outreach, public listening/ education, and our partners.  Since the Messaging Cluster meeting, further off line discussion have point out:

* "Justice Campaign" may sound more inspiring than "Fairness campaign".  Justice, fairness using in combination could easily move pass this issue

* Demands around student loan, and demand of living wage seem to continue to rise slightly above other 5 issues as the ones 99% Solidarity

ST