Occupy Wall Street - Michaelmas Declaration

December 01, 2011

Category: Current Events, Society-Threefolding

The first declaration of the "Occupy" movement, adopted September 29 in NYC.

This first declaration of the Occupy Wall Street movement was reprinted in the North Carolina newsletter The Sophia Sun with the comment:

We could not end this issue without a mention of the growing Occupy Wall Street Movement. Waldorf Today printed what may be called the Mission Statement (see below: Declaration of the Occupation of New York City), which was adopted on Michaelmas Day, 2011 (the first demonstration took place on Sept. 17, but it actually became a movement on Michaelmas Day.) How fitting that this cosmopolitan movement, which is cropping up all over the world, (and actually began with the Arab Spring movement) that speaks of freedom, awakening consciousness and conscience, equality and brotherhood, was begun on that special day! ... And if you get discouraged by the deaf ears of the government and the brutality of the police, keep in mind these facts about all Social movements in history: First they ignore you; then they laugh at you; then they persecute you; then you win.

This was unanimously voted on by all members of Occupy Wall Street last night, around 8pm, Sept 29. It is our first official document for release. We have three more underway, that will likely be released in the upcoming days: 1) A declaration of demands. 2) Principles of Solidarity 3) Documentation on how to form your own Direct Democracy Occupation Group.

This is a living document. you can receive an official press copy of the latest version by emailing c2anycga@gmail.com.

Declaration of the Occupation of New York City

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 nonhuman 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 supposed to be 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 in order to protect investments that have already turned a substantive 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.

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Also here is the Working list of goals: https://occupywallst.org/forum/proposed-list-of-demands-please-help-editadd-so-th/

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Comments

MamaSota MamaSota, May 4, 2012 4:53 am:

Bill,I don't think it's a coincidence that you never saw Tea Party prsetoters bound and dragged at their gatherings, despite the fact that they were armed and held signs referring to our president as a Nazi or indicating the Tree of Liberty might need to be refreshed. This is because nobody in the establishment found them to be a threat. In fact, they are an asset. It should be telling that when people gather for a true cause, the suppression of coverage, of information and of the ability to gather itself begins. Sadly, it is spun as an angry mob or a bunch of disenfranchised hippies trying to get their 15 minutes of fame. The same dismissive tone that brushes off the needs of the people for the sake of the needs of the almighty corporations, who we would be unable to live without.Thanks, as always, for reading, for responding, and for fighting the good fight.

Precious Precious, May 3, 2012 8:13 pm:

Occupy and Mediation: Two Movements That Offer One Another Massive Opportunityby James MelamedNovember 2011-Print-Email-Comment-Subscribea0a0(free) Without seeking or wnating to take a political position on whether the Occupy Movement has positively moved critical national discussions forward, or whether it is just a bunch of young folks in need of showers and jobs, one thing is perhaps clear: mediation is emerging as the preferred Occupy dispute resolution process of choice. How could it be otherwise?To begin with, any person who has ever facilitated a group must be impressed by Occupy general assemblies and both their ability to “self-amplify” with their human mic to make sure that everyone can hear, and also by their consensual “fingering” of their level of support for a proposition. This is truly a level of self-facilitation rarely evidenced. In fact, I am not sure that I have seen a better large group general consensus identifying process.Next, when there have been conflicts within the Occupy group, it is clear that they have selected to utilize mediation to resolve the disputes. This is valuable both in the assembly being able to efficiently refer the most difficult matters for dedicated discussion amongst all interest groups and also to ensure that all who want to be heard are heard. See these articles about the Occupy Movement’s use of mediation: Occupy Wall Street vs. The Drum Circle and Occupy Wall Street: Drumming, Mediation and the Occupation.Of particular interest to the author is how the Occupy Movement, including in its dispute resolution efforts and consensus building, has also extensively relied upon the Internet for dialogue and decision-making. And so, while the Occupy Movement is at one level very “brick and mortar” (really rip-stop nylon and duct tape), at another level the movement is very cyber, and it is clear that online communication capacities are the lifeblood of the movement and complimenting all aspects of their operations, including online discussions being an important part of the Occupy Movement's dispute resolution and mediation efforts.It does seem that there is a certain congruence between mediation and the Occupy Movement. To the extent that the movement is a new expression of “pure democracy,” it is clear that there is high value placed on allowing participants to be heard, there is also support for dissenting views, and a primacy of seeking effective and voluntary agreed-upon solutions. I particularly note that, in pursuing dispute resolution options, we do not exactly see the Occupy movement relying on the courthouse for “justice,” or do we?As it turns out, the Occupy movement will eclectically utilize the full range of dispute resolution options, including the courts. See for example these two recent articles: Occupy Boston will attend mediation with City, BPD, and Rose Kennedy Greenway and Court: OccupyBoston can stay, but has to appoint mediators and abide by final ruling.And so we see that, even when matters make their way into the courts, when it comes to the Occupy Movement, the answer is mediation! What other flexible and durable answer could there be?And so, to get to my bottom-line, I would like to issue a challenge to the Occupy Movement. I ask the movement to recognize mediation as the movement’s preferred dispute resolution process. Some progressive states, like my home state of Oregon, have done exactly this. If you review Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) 36.100, you will find the following language:“It is the policy and purpose of [the State of Oregon] that, when two or more persons cannot settle a dispute directly between themselves, it is preferable that the disputants be encouraged and assisted to resolve their dispute with the assistance of a trusted and competent third party mediator, whenever possible, rather than the dispute remaining unresolved or resulting in litigation.”And so I issue this challenge to the Occupy Movement: Identify mediation as the Occupy Movement’s preferred dispute resolution process. If you will do this, we can not only change the conversations that takes place in our society, but how those conversations take place. Enough polarized stalemates already!It is time for us to be inclusive and to be smart. It is time for us to do things in better ways . . . to do things in best ways. All of us at Mediate.com hope that the Occupy Movement recognizes the actual and symbolic value of adopting a powerful policy of mediation as a preferred dispute resolution process. Together, we can shine this guiding light for the world.