The Joy of Taking Action

Yesterday was “Guy Fawkes Day,” or as some had declared it, “Bank Transfer Day.” In an effort to build awareness of this day, activists in my community took to the streets and “occupied” their local banks. We staged protests all over town in front of Bank of America, Chase and Wells Fargo branches, handing out information on the unethical business practices of these institutions, as well as contact info for a number of local credit unions.

The response has been nothing short of phenomenal! Nationwide, over 1 million people have closed their accounts at the major banks and moved to local banks and credit unions. All told, this last month has seen $4.5 billion in deposits pulled from the Wall St. banks! And we’re not done yet, as the movement continues to gain momentum with small businesses.

The actions of the last month have had me reconsidering the cynicism I once had for actions like this. All my life I’ve seen people protest against what they thought was wrong or for what they thought was right, and have seen very little in the way of results. Issues like abortion and gay rights which have deeply divided the country and still do continue to draw people, sometimes to engage in dialog and often to scream at each other across picket lines.

This time, however, it’s different. This time the support from the community is amazing and at times almost overwhelming! I used to think that in order to protest, you needed several people. One person with a sign is just a wacko with too much time on his hands. Two people with signs are fodder for ridicule, at best. I used to think that unless you had half a dozen minimum it wasn’t worth even showing up. I think differently now.

Over the past week there have been times when I was the only one standing in front of the bank with a “Close Your Account” sign, handing out flyers. But I was not alone. Over and over again, people driving by would honk their support, giving me thumbs up, walking up to talk to me and ask me for information, or to tell me how they were in the process of closing their accounts. Several times people would pull their cars over and join me! Most meaningful of all was having stranger after stranger walk up and say “Thank you for doing this.” That meant more than my words here can say because it drove home one strong message. We, the 99%, are right! Our message is reaching people and they support what we’re doing by an overwhelming majority!

Even when the occasional person would drive by and flip me off or scream out of their car “Get a life!” it didn’t bother me. I suppose I might feel differently if my position was far more unpopular but the fact is that it isn’t! These trolls are few and all their efforts to rattle us in our protests with their rude hand signals are far outweighed by the dozen or so other drivers who are actively honking their support! As someone once said, don’t try to change the haters. You are not a Jerk Whisperer!

As I look forward to the coming year, I feel empowered. I’m feeling less and less like my voice doesn’t count. The occupation movement is primarily a wake-up call to a nation that has been asleep for far too long, and we are awaking to find that our roar is loud! I have seen now the power of one single person who is willing to stand up and speak his mind. At first, I was a little nervous and self-conscious standing out there by myself as most people would be. Not anymore. Why? Because I know now that I’m not alone!

I urge everyone to get out and work for change. You don’t have to “occupy” anything; you don’t have to camp downtown or even attend GA meetings. You don’t have to have a large number of friends standing by your side. All you need is conviction and a willingness to act. Start in your own neighborhood. Talk to your neighbors and share ideas. Go protest at your local Citibank or BofA. Find out for yourself how powerful an “army of one” can truly be!

With that in mind, here are a couple of pointers I would share with those now activating themselves to get involved. Remember, there are no hard and fast rules and one must always be adaptable to the situation at hand.

1. SMILE! No one likes a protester who scowls and looks overly serious! Have fun and let it be known you are having fun. When you smile at people they will often smile back and this alone makes them more open to your position.
2. When you are standing on the street with a protest sign, WAVE AT PASSING TRAFFIC! This is a great way to illicit honks of support or, at very least, return waves and thumbs up! When people see their fellows supporting you, they are much more willing to show you support themselves!
3. HAVE INFORMATION! This is very important! Often, the media and the movement’s detractors have tried to claim that we don’t know what we are protesting about. Prove them wrong! If I’m going to protest at, say, BofA I do my homework first. It doesn’t take long, do a Google search and you’ll turn up tons of ammo. If you are urging people to move money to credit unions, have a list available to people who ask. People like and respect facts and will take you seriously if you know what you’re talking about!
4. DON’T FEAR THE MEDIA! You yourself may not wish to appear on the nightly news but having someone with you who is – especially with larger protests – is important. A well-spoken informed representative is a very potent weapon against what is often a very biased media.
5. Be non-violent and DON'T BREAK THE LAW! Do not litter or vandalize the business you're protesting. Do not be verbally violent with people who are rude to you. Smile at them, don't cuss them out. Not everyone is ready to be unplugged from the matrix. Let them have their opinion and don't feed the trolls.
6. PROTEST IN THE SUBURBS! Most of the occupations are in city centers and many of them stay there. Get out of downtown! The working class are by and large not going to see you there. Go to them, don’t expect them to come to you!
7. HAVE FUN! Remember, you are one of the good guys and your cause is noble. Most people support you! Wear that as a badge of honor and enjoy yourself!

Dispelling the Myths of Capitalism – Change=Socialism

Common to the arguments against the current Occupation Uprisings going on across the United States and around the world is the claim that the protesters “hate business,” that by demanding a change in our economic policies and in capitalism itself, they are advocating socialism.

This linear thinking is common to the western mind. Whether it be the good/evil dichotomy, conservative/liberal or capitalist/socialist, this either/or way of thinking is what prevents us from accomplishing true change in our world. No one is ever “all good” or “all bad.” There are always varying shades of grey in between that blur any sort of lines that we might attempt to draw. Indeed, it is the very act of drawing these lines that keeps us separated and opposed to one another, rather than working together to overcome our obstacles. While we always have differences from those around us, we have far more in common than the petty differences that separate us.

To claim that the Occupy Movement “hates business,” for example, is simply ridiculous. It is not business that the occupiers are out to stop, it is greed and irresponsibility. To say that the protesters hate business is to say that businesses cannot make money without using immoral and corrupt practices. It is to say that all business people are thieves and crooks. While one might expect to hear this claim from the farthest fringes of the left, one does not expect to hear it from the supposedly “pro-business” lobby in the center and on the right. It is yet another example of the empty arguments offered by the apologists of greed. It is also an insinuation that capitalism invented business and commerce, an statement which is patently absurd.

Businesses have existed from at least as long as civilization itself, while capitalism is relatively new on the world scene. While the word capitale emerges in the 12^th or 13^th century, capitalism itself is not mentioned until around the 18^th century. As capitalist philosophy and economics became more prevalent in the 19^th and 20^th centuries, it gave birth to its bastard offspring corporatism. While capitalism is defined as “an economic system in which investment in and ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange of wealth is made and maintained chiefly by private individuals or corporations,” corporatism is “the organization of a society into industrial and professional corporations serving as organs of political representation and exercising control over persons and activities within their jurisdiction.” While our economic system is based on capitalist ideas, it was not until the 1886 Supreme Court decision in the case of Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad that corporate business entities were given the same rights as natural persons under the 14^th Amendment. Since that decision, corporate entities have continued to gain power and influence in our society until they have reached a point of achieving what can only be called corporatism, especially in view of the recent Supreme Court blunder in the ruling of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.

By claiming that the Occupation Movement’s opposition to the continuation of this level of corporate control over our society is tantamount to socialism, the wealthiest few percent can use fear to motivate a portion of the population to advocate against their own best interests. The word socialism brings to mind the godless communism scare of the 1950s and early 1960s. Never mind that communism has all but failed worldwide and the last remaining outpost of old world communism – China – is now every bit as capitalist as the US. The scary “S” word is even brought up to invoke images of Hitler and the Third Reich, with frequent use of the term “National Socialism.”

By making the either/or argument here, by saying that our economic system is either run by laissez faire capitalism in which corporations are deregulated to the point of lawlessness or the Federal Government owns everything and private ownership is prohibited is preposterous. It is also not what most of those protesting are asking for. Sure, you can walk through the crowd at Occupy Wall Street and find a socialist or two. By then making the “guilt by association” argument, opponents of the movement claim everyone is a socialist, and that is just as dishonest as the left making the claim that everyone at a Tea Party rally is a right wing racist just because a couple of wackos show up!

The occupiers ask that soulless business entities not be given human rights and that they be held accountable for their actions; not that all private business be taken over by the Federal Government. They seek regulation, which are nothing more than laws that are applied to businesses. Corporatists and their lobbyists have long fought the battle for deregulation, claiming that regulation hinders business. That is the same as making the argument that laws that make it illegal for me to break into your house and steal your stuff inhibit my happiness and success, or that traffic laws inhibit my ability to drive from point A to point B. Laws and regulations are necessary for an orderly society. The deregulation of business is exactly what has gotten us into the economic predicament we are in and more deregulation will not fix the problem but will only make it worse.

The Occupation Movement, on the whole, is not against business and not against capitalism. We are against the practices on Wall Street that have caused the collapse of our system. We are against the privatization of public resources and of our government. We are against the unfettered involvement of business in our electoral process. We ask that corporate entities pay their fair share of the tax burden and give back to the communities that have given them so much. We ask that certain social structures not be operated for the profit of a few private individuals, areas like education, health care, prisons and natural resources. This is not socialism, it is common sense. It is not anti-business, it is pro-society. It is patriotic, for to advocate a continuation of existing practices will destroy our great nation and nothing could be more un-American than that.

This is What a Hero Looks Like!

"United States Marine Corps. Sgt. Shamar Thomas from Roosevelt, NY went toe to toe with the New York Police Department. An activist in the Occupy Wall Street movement, Thomas voiced his opinions of the NYPD police brutality that had and has been plaguing the #OWS movement. Thomas is a 24-year-old Marine Veteran (2 tours in Iraq), he currently plays amateur football and is in college. Thomas comes from a long line of people who sacrifice for their country: Mother, Army Veteran (Iraq), Step father, Army, active duty (Afghanistan), Grand father, Air Force veteran (Vietnam), Great Grand Father Navy veteran (World War II)."

October 15th Global Day Of Action

Posted Oct. 12, 2011, 3:57 p.m. EST by OccupyWallSt

 

Hi, we write you from the International Commission of Sol, in Madrid (Spain). We know that you have a lot to do in the USA, as we have here in Spain, but the 15O is coming and we need you to make a milestone in history out of it. It's the great chance we expected to start a real global revolution! This is what we are doing, and could be wonderful if you join us:

Please spread the web page of the call http://15october.net/, the graphic material http://15october.net/spread-it/ and the videos http://15october.net/category/video/. And please send us your videos, banners, posters to contact.takethesquare@gmail.com so that we can compile them and put them in common. Send all of this through your mailing lists, to all your contacts, but also to all your friends.

Explain to everybody that this is not just one mobilization. It's more of "we are reinventing ourselves". Tell the occupiers how the movement is popping all over the world that extend from the streets of the Middle East to Wall Street. Also tell the occupiers that over 650 cities have already confirmed they will do an event on October 15th . You can check in http://map.15october.net/ and if a city plans to do an event invite; tell them to add it to the map. http://map.15october.net/reports/submit Explain to them that 15O is the moment to wake up all of us together and especially tell them that it is in their hands to make it a success. It's not any more about parties, organizations or unions. The call should come from all of the organizations and from the people of the world like you. There is a text that could be very useful to send this last message: "who are you?" http://map.15october.net/page/index/1
It would be great to tell your friends abroad to spread it through their countries. We need one revolution in each single city of the world.

For a further explanation about the mobilization and a more specific plan there is a document written by the international network takethesquare. http://takethesquare.net/2011/09/24/15th-october-whats-the-plan-15oct/
In order to promote and discuss the activities for October 15th, everyone is encouraged to participate and to organize local meetings to plan the details and discuss the preparation of the events for the 15th. There will also be a chat http://webchat.freenode.net/?randomnick=1&channels=15october&prompt=1 , an audio-chat (mumble: Download in http://mumble.sourceforge.net/ Host:tomalaplaza.net Port:64738, see the tutorial in http://takethesquare.net/2011/10/04/mumble-setup-walkthrough/) and a collaborative document pad http://titanpad.com/15october open to everybody, so during the 48 hours people from all the world will be able of talking about the ideas and activities decided in their squares with every other occupation in the world! All the channels will be open for everybody...just participate!

I Am Not Moving - a film by Corey Ogilvie

We will no longer give in to oppression!

We will no longer be silent!

We will no longer listen to the hypocritical lies!

We will take a stand against tyranny!

We will speak out against greed!

We will stand up to the abuse of power!

We will fearlessly face down the police state!

We will overthrow the corporate oligarchy!

We are the free peoples of the world!

We cannot be stopped!

WE SHALL RISE!

Taking a Tip from ANONYMOUS

America has been occupied by a hostile force. Thousands of angry, fed-up citizens have taken to the streets, not just to protest and go home, but to stay and demand that their voices be heard. Even as temperatures drop and the weather begins to turn nasty, the occupations continue. In the face of police resistance, arrest and assault, the occupiers stay the course.

It is heartening to see the protests grow, city by city, throughout the United States and around the world. People are pissed off on a scale that hasn't been witnessed since the Vietnam War. Citizens, young and old, blue collar, white collar and retired, black, white and hispanic are taking over their cities to make their voices heard. Day by day the movement grows! What started off as a simple protest on Wall Street by a few hundred people has now empowered tens of thousands. In spite of all this, I must ask one question:

Are the occupations effective? Are they doing any good?

Some say yes while others have their doubts. On the positive side, the occupations are bringing attention to an issue that Americans have willfully ignored for far too long, the ever increasing wealth gap and the rapidly vanishing Middle Class. As more people are forced to discuss this issue, whether they are for the occupations or against them, they are participating in a dialog that is long overdue. The occupation of Wall Street and its supporting occupations in over 100 other locations has increased the volume on a story the mainstream media would prefer not to discuss, primarily because they have played such a large role in the creation of this problem. Much of the blood is on their hands and they know they will be held accountable if this movement continues. They will continue to call the protesters criminals and low-lifes, trustafarians and hippies, and use every method at their disposal to discredit the occupiers and their cause.

As long as the occupiers only occupy, the media will win. In some cities, too much time is being spent arguing in General Assembly meetings and trying to reach consensus on every point and issue and not enough time is actually being spent taking specific action. Members are quick to point out that the movement is leaderless and have been known to publicly challenge those who appear to be taking any sort of leadership role. In my own city I have seen a great deal of this pointless bickering and it has disheartened quite a few. To continue down this path will surely mean the death of the movement and victory for the 1%!

I am reminded of another "movement" when I think of this, one that is not a movement or a group or an organization in any way. Something that is really more of a meme than anything, and an often incoherent meme at that! I refer of course to Anonymous. Called "hacktivists" by some, including many in its own ranks, Anonymous began on the online site 4chan.org, a site where everyone is anonymous. From there it began attacking the Church of Scientology, something that is always best done anonymously due to that organization's zealously litigious nature and its tendency to pursue its detractors with a rather psychotic tenacity.

Anonymous has grown to be far bigger than this now however (much to the chagrin of many "old fags," as early members like to call themselves). In late 2010 and early 2011, when "Arab Spring" began and people in Egypt and other middle eastern countries took to their streets demanding justice, freedom and democracy, many of those aligned with Anonymous began staging DDoS attacks against various corporate and government entities. It was then that people began to wake up. Common citizens, even those without the expertise to fully understand computer hacking, could download an LOIC program and join in these attacks. The effect was empowering, as regular people who had always felt so powerless against the system suddenly began to realize that they weren't as powerless as they had thought. They began to realize that they could have a hand in taking down corporate giants like Visa, Paypal and others, even if only temporarily. They looked overseas at the inspirational stories unfolding as regular people just like them stood up to their governments and made change happen. They began to look for a way to make it happen here.

And then came Wall Street.

Perhaps one of the biggest strengths of Anonymous is, like the occupation movement currently spreading around the world, it is leaderless. Go arrest 5 or 15 or 50 members and they are instantly replaced by more. There is no head to cut off. There is no single plan of action. With Anonymous, you never know where they will strike. It might be here, it might be there, it might be in several places at once. The attacks are not necessarily coordinated either. Just individuals taking individual actions, with others joining in on the actions of their choice. Like the saying goes, "We are Legion. Expect us." That's about all you can do, just hold your breath and wait. That is precisely what makes the power brokers so damn nervous!

The most effective thing the occupation movement can do at this point is to emulate this characteristic as much as it can. So you've occupied your town? Great. That's a start. But this is no party, this is no camping trip. This is Revolution! It is imperative that attacks are planned and performed every single day! Hold your GA meetings if you absolutely must but get out there and do something! Surround headquarters and corporate offices of major banks and hand out information on credit unions. Protest the media by showing up at their studios - especially those who like to show the crowd in the street behind them - with signs listing their crimes of complacency and misinformation. Stage sit-ins at the State Capitol. You cannot be afraid to be arrested, this is going to be necessary. Don't be violent, don't vandalize. Be peaceful and law abiding but be out there every day!

You don't have to all agree on where to strike. You don't need 1000 people to protest. A handful of people handing out flyers in front of a bank can thoroughly get the point across! Plan several actions every day, get a few people for each one and do it! When you are suddenly appearing in 5 places at once, you will have a much greater impact. Sure, it's a kick when 5-10,000 people show up to march through the streets on a Saturday afternoon but the rest of the week needs to be just as effective as well. For that, you don't need numbers. You only need direction, will and courage.

Take a tip from the kids in the masks. When you are effective, the movement will continue to grow. The movement will have power. The numbers will increase and the true Revolution will begin. It will be then that we will see things begin to truly change.

Dispelling the Myths of Capitalism - Shareholder Profits

It is no secret that the primary goal of any corporation is to earn a profit for its shareholders. All publicly traded corporations are, in fact, bound by law to do this first and foremost over all other priorities. For example, a corporation that offers health insurance is primarily driven, not to provide health insurance, but rather to make a profit. Even if said profit costs the very lives of those individuals who are insured through the company! This has been the main cause of the health care crisis in this country.

Another example would be financial companies. Their primary focus is not the financial well-being of their clients, but rather the financial well-being of the shareholders. This is why Goldman-Sachs and others had no qualms about causing the economic catastrophe that has nearly destroyed this and other countries. By offering investments they knew to be toxic, they earned a return for their shareholders while simultaneously stealing wealth from those whose investments they had contracted to protect.

So who are these mysterious shareholders? Why, it's you and I! At least, that's the party line from Wall Street. "If you have a 401(k) that invests in mutual funds," they say, "your money is likely invested in many of these firms. We do this for you! We do this so you can profit!" This, however, is pure Wall Street BULL!

According to Professor G. William Domhoff from the Sociology Department at the University of California in Santa Cruz, the true numbers tell a much different tale. When it comes to financial securities, the top 10% own whopping 98% of the investment wealth in America! They also own 93% of the business equity and 81% of total stocks and mutual funds! All this while the bottom 90% holds 73% of the total debt in the country! (These figures, by the way, are from 2007 - BEFORE the financial crisis! They are no doubt much worse now!)

Board members and top executives are routinely paid "stock options" in addition to salaries. This is often used to hide the true wealth of the ruling class. Frequently we will hear a CEO brag that he has lowered his salary when in fact he is still being paid in stock. Securities and Exchange Commission regulations require that any large trade by an officer of a company be disclosed publicly. This is designed to prevent insider trading. Corporate executives often own millions of shares of stock in their companies.

When corporations say "We did it for the shareholder!" who are they talking about? It sure isn't you and I! When companies cheat, swindle, pollute and wreck communities and the environment, we the people do not profit - we lose! It is only the directors, chief officers and major shareholders who profit. When Exxon or BP dumps oil in our waters and refuses to spend the money to clean it up, the top executives profit. When insurance companies refuse to pay on claims they are contractually obligated to pay on and the patient dies, the top executives profit. When the banks take your home and throw you out on the street, the top executives profit.

Capitalism can only continue if the many are convinced that the system is working for them. The perpetuation of corporate myth and propaganda is vital to its continuation. Slowly, however, the populace is awakening to the cold, stark reality of capitalism and plutocracy. As citizens around the country take to the streets, it becomes more and more obvious that this system is no longer working, that capitalism is simply not sustainable. The scales have been tipped so far in the favor of the 1% that the privileged few can no longer conceal the lie. We the people are awakening.

It is time to sacrifice the sacred bull.