Comment

Comment by Drew Schaefer, JD on November 1, 2011 at 3:11am

yo peeps, call me 'the Ferret'... in a good sense!

in 29 days, the National Association of (state) Attorney Generals meets within miles of Occupy San Antonio.

This is a GREAT focal point to bring up three issues I care about (and two of those we share, all Occupy-people everwhere). Those three issues?

1) State AGs to uphold the First Amendment and litigate against municipal gags on Freedom of Speech, and Freedom to Petition (for Redress of Grievances);

2) AGs to estop Law Enforcement violations (brought by false advice by Legal Officers to Governors and Mayors in 'hostile territories') against people acting under their First Amendment Rights;

3) AGs to begin a national investigation following on the NJ AG's Steroids Working Group report, showing vast networks of dirty cops and doctors, illegally prescribing anabolic ('cop rage'!) medications, on taxpayer-funded Health plans (over 400 in NJ alone!!), and the municipal Liability for victims of abuse (!).

THE TIME is now... to plan for a huge San Antonio GREETING to (perhaps some sympathetic?) State Attorneys General.  

Comment by occupynonviolence on October 31, 2011 at 3:30pm

I am the point person for Occupy Ukiah CA's networking working group, charged with communicating with other occupations.  I think this site is an excellent tool.  I am wondering why there aren't more members.  So my question to the group is what tools have you discovered for communicating en mass with other occupations and how can we use those tools to spread the word about occupy cafe?

Comment by Joanne Sunshower on October 31, 2011 at 11:18am

RE: Finding spaces ref Paul Bernstein   Amherst MA  used CDBG $$, community contributions of $ & work to retrofit local church basement to be certified as shelter where homeless could sleep overnight, w eve & morn meals. Ongoing shelter for large groups requires interaction w  local fire & public health regulations.

Outreach to entities that already have accomodations and certification, e.g. YM/WCA, hotels, hostels, B&B, individuals w spare roooms. Devise specific fund for donations, campaign for business in-kind or $ contributions, cost compensations to modest homes?

Any means, methods, or allies discovered in development of food distribution that could be transferred to housing?  There is every reason to understand and act on these challenges as the next phase of creating alternative community, economy, infrasctructure. Opening paths to shift from operating under imposed corporate based structures. Many entitites, schools, churches, local businesses, ccaould more easily adapt.

 

Comment by Rob Wheeler on October 29, 2011 at 11:12am

Paul,

Thanks for raising this. I am including below a note I wrote about this a couple of weeks ago. I think that involving schools and using campus' is a great idea; and the more discussion about how we could do this the better. Some of us were involved in shutting down and taking over campuses during the student strikes during the Vietnam War. Today there are a lot of climate change activities going on on campuses. Either way there are models and resources that we can use and borrow or learn from.

-----

Yes, the time to start planning for extreme weather is now. Each of the Occupy centers ought to be puttin out the word that they need places to sleep, store and change their clothes, and shower nearby and especially when the weather gets cold. If we all work together on this we ought to be able to keep people on the streets all through the winter and then come next spring and summer we will really come out in mass. 

 

There are probably people friendly stores and businesses that could also provide a place for serious protestors to come in and get warm etc when the weather turns and even places for indoor meetings and public displays and presentations, etc. During the student strikes during the Vietnam war we moved much of the campus, classes, and strike activities into downtown businesses and public facilities. There is no reason we can't do the same now if we are smart. 

 

We need to keep this movement "people centered" and somewhat free form; but at the same time make it easy for mainstream America to support and get behind it. Let's truly become the 99% or at least the 65% who truly want what's best for all the people and our planet and haven't yet been brainwashed by the 1%. 

 

It used to be common to have community ride boards (perhaps still is) so that people could arrange ride sharing for special trips. We could do something similar to provide temporary housing and boarding services for occupiers, for when the weather gets bad or people are forced out of the park, etc. In other words people could list both rooms and facilities they have available to support occupiers; and occupiers could list the things that they need: a shower every few days, an internet connection, a place to store some of their things where they'll be safe, a place to dry out and cook a meal every few days when it is extremely cold, etc. 

 

Churches and private or alternative schools (or social service organizations and homeless shelters) might be able to provide much of this on an ongoing basis. 

 

What we need is to be able to keep an ongoing visible presence during the cold months and where new people can join in, a public place where all of the occupiers and their supporters can meet regularly to plan activities, ongoing publicly visible activities, and more solidarity around what we are trying to accomplish and how. If we can keep these things together through the winter then there will be no stopping the movement in the spring. In the meantime we can continue to raise a ruckus during the coming months while making plans to organize an on-going and ever more effective presence and movement. 

 

Thanks everyone for your commitment.

 Rob

Comment by Paul Bernstein, Ph.D. on October 29, 2011 at 10:02am

I'd like us in this Organizing Zone to help the on-the-ground occupiers by brainstorming about solutions to the impending difficulty of staying outdoors in the WINTER.  And, secondly, having places to go once cities no longer allow un-permitted massing on their parks.   Two options that immediately come to mind are:

1. Negotiating now for possibly moving onto selected college campus grounds.
2. Beginning to discuss indoor sites with churches and other spiritual/charitable/public-good organizations who could lend space at least for indoor office-type activities.

Suggestions?

Comment by Jim Barton on October 20, 2011 at 12:38pm

Keeping an occupation going AND living your life is quite a load.