more trainings please

[Mungojelly]

If there's anything we've learned in the short history of Occupy
Burlington, it's that trainings make a big difference. We have just
one WG so far, Facilitation, that has a training process, and even
though the training is still just watching a video that's not even
100% relevant, that process has been totally effective at making
people feel like they belong to Facilitation and that they're
qualified to help with facilitation. We had just one non-violent
direct action training for a few hours, and that alone was enough to
create strong feelings of connection and purpose in our community and
to begin to catalyze us into affinity groups.

I believe that organized safety trainings would greatly increase our
community's feeling of being competent in this strength. We could
begin by just choosing a video to play about conflict resolution and
mediation, and perhaps writing a sheet with bullet points of specific
information about our situation, to guide a discussion that gets us on
the same page about what has to be done to keep City Hall Park safe.

I feel that we should commit eternally to creating and being a Safety
team which takes care of City Hall Park. I mean, even outside of the
tactic of Occupation. With enough violence they can take away our
tents, but they can't take away our spirit. And no matter what the
ongoing political situation, the existence of a safe space in downtown
Burlington will always create more freedom, more diversity, more
political and social opportunities, and more love.

I love you Safety!

<3,
mungojelly