Occupy Denver

We decided to Occupy against a system of oppression and corruption that does not hold the interests of the People as its priority. It only knows power and greed and could care less about 'human'. Reminder of why we are here is The Declaration: http://www.nycga.net/resources/declaration/

Though we may have differing opinions about which branch of corruption is the worst and how to deal with it, we agree to come together in order to gain the power to fight back. As the 99% - together. After no longer having any other process through which to do so.

If we could just vote, or sign a petition, or take another action to stop this madness we would not be Occupying. Those avenues have failed us. So we Occupy, and we do so together, in accordance with the agenda and approach that Occupy is employing. If you want to use a different approach, that's fine. But that is not an Occupy. It is MoveOn.org, or the Sons of the Liberty, or whatever. But it is not Occupy if you are not unified and in agreement with the Occupy mission and method.

Which brings me to priorities. While we are fighting among ourselves, deciding which personal interpretation of an obvious word we are going to adopt, we are no longer in the unity that is required to gather power at the level we need it in order to effect real change. It is not necessary for every occupy to re-invent the wheel in terms of process or organization. We know things that work.

Boston is fully occupying and making waves. NYC is as well. Oakland has just begun to do so. The NYC and Oakland camps received special media attention because they were violently attacked by PD's. Power is only gained by action that encourages sympathetic agreement from the 99% who are not yet part of the movement. Most of them don't take kindly to watching one of their own get beaten for no reason. We stay true to Occupy in approach, embodying the 99% desire for peace and liberty. We do not alienate the 99%! We don't antagonize or provoke individual police officers, or in any other way encourage violence. NYC had the benefit of many experienced organizers and activists to help it gain power. And a huge Anons rally behind them. Oakland gained the same support once violence occurred. Boston has never experienced a comparable level of sustained violence but is huge anyway. Provoking police violence is not the means by which to gather power for your Occupy. Violence is the tool those who oppress us use to reveal how ruthless they are in their desire to squash our rights. We use the exposure of their ruthlessness against them.

It works to our benefit that those who abuse power - in order to punish the people for speaking out and demanding their rights - reveal their willingness to commit violence. It exposes them to public and legal scrutiny. But we've been here before as a nation. The 60's is one example, though not the biggest, of how a protest movement can experience violence and not gain popular support. It was not at all popular with the 99% when it was happening! We gained some laws to protect Civil Rights after that movement was squashed. And are now seeing laws enacted that would allow nobody - regardless of race, religion, etc - access to basic Human rights. So we Occupy. Not Protest. Protest is what we did in the 60's with limited effect. It is a strategy that works when applied to one single, concrete problem. Violence has not gained us the power we need either. War is what we did in the 1700's, with arguably limited effect. It brought us a system of law that benefits the 1%, not the 99%. And killed/perpetrated horror on a large number of the 99%. Protest and War are limited in their ability to advance power to the people. Occupy was designed to avoid the pitfalls of both using modern social mechanisms, and to avoid perpetrating additional horror on the 99%.

Once the People have gained the power they need to effect real change, Occupys originally stated mission is over. We are not there yet, though progress is being made. We don't have a majority backing of the 99%. We are still gathering power and figuring out how to work with one another despite our differences. The 99% are achieving tiny victories as a result of Occupy, like one bank switching tactics on debit card fees, and polits talking a good game about finally doing something useful regarding mortgage fraud. Insignificant gains when compared to the mountainous system of corruption we all are shackled to.

So Occupy. Join that movement. Or join a different movement. Occupy is non-violent. Hate is violence. No hate directed toward one another, and that includes individual police officers. They are the 99%. We invite them to join us, but ruthlessly expose those who are corrupt. This goes for all of those who have power over the 99%. Regardless of the 'work' they do - Politician, Police, Media, CEO, etc. We are coming for you. We do not forgive. We do not forget. Expect us. But no vandalizing your neighbor's property. He is the 99%, and causing him personal property damage is violence. No looting and pillaging of their businesses. That is also violence. Move Your Money. Deface the BofA! Not your neighborhood. Fight the powerful, not each other. That is how we win. Peace. Compassion. Unity. Without it we are castrated. And just plain wrong.