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Occupy Nashville Chat / Re: A problem with cultural appropriation at ON
« on: November 08, 2011, 08:12:42 am »
Shire, very thoughtful and well written and I agree with your concerns 100%. I think a member of Rainbow already created quite a stir on ON's streaming video a couple of days ago. I won't repeat the situation here, but it was not something that ON would approve. Hopefully you can make your issues known to the majority there and a simple vote will block this. And, if not a majority, I'm sure you can get plenty of block votes.
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Occupy Nashville Chat / Thought provoking videos : Einstein and Gandhi
« on: November 03, 2011, 10:31:10 am »4
Occupy Nashville Chat / Re: A conservative, Republicans' righteous take on Occupy Nashville
« on: November 02, 2011, 07:22:04 pm »
Here, here.......
Occupy is not about political parties. All Americans that can be open minded and look beyond the obvious propaganda that has been created to divide us, can see that our political system is not only broken but corrupt. Let's get the political discourse back into the realm of the citizens and the corporations out of politicians pockets so we can address the real issues facing most Americans. Citizens need to be educated to the issues and truly stop falling prey to the slick propaganda that persuades people to vote against their own self interests.
Occupy is not about political parties. All Americans that can be open minded and look beyond the obvious propaganda that has been created to divide us, can see that our political system is not only broken but corrupt. Let's get the political discourse back into the realm of the citizens and the corporations out of politicians pockets so we can address the real issues facing most Americans. Citizens need to be educated to the issues and truly stop falling prey to the slick propaganda that persuades people to vote against their own self interests.
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Public Media / Photo / Great Article
« on: November 02, 2011, 04:59:50 pm »
http://inthesetimes.com/uprising/entry/12215/police_media_struggle_to_understand_occupy/
Police, Media Struggle To Understand Occupy
BY ALLISON KILKENNY
Oakland mayor Jean Quan is surrounded by members of the media as she attempts to leave a press conference regarding upgrades to the Bay Bridge on October 28. (Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Groundbreaking civil disobedience movements have never been welcomed by the establishment with open arms and Occupy Wall Street is no exception. However, never before have we been able to see society's institutions experience their DABDA-like stages of grief in real-time, neatly documented online for posterity.
First came the mocking and indifference, then the violent confrontation, followed by utter confusion, and now we've entered the dismissal phase. Really, everything is running right on schedule.
There's no better archetype for the "mocking and indifference" phase than the New York Times. Between Ginia Bellafante's woeful opening salvo (talk about "faulty aim,") and Andrew Ross Sorkin's confession that he only attended OWS at the behest of his buddy, who works as a chief executive of a major bank, The Grey Lady surely has the market cornered for how not to cover a social uprising of this magnitude.
Police covered the "violent confrontation" stage by pepper spraying innocent young women, stampeding horses into crowd, performing mass arrests, and mowing down protesters with tear gas, flash bang grenades, and rubber bullets.
Now, OWS appears to be confusing the establishment. The movement hasn't gone away, and yet it hasn't been absorbed by traditional government institutions. OWS seems hellbent on existing outside the system entirely, and this simply isn't a reality the country's institutions can process.
The Oakland Police Officers' Association released a brief open letter to the citizens of Oakland yesterday that used some version of the word "confused" four different times. The officers expressed confusion as to why Mayor Quan ordered them to clear out the Occupy Oakland encampments only to allow the occupiers back in the next day. They then wondered why city workers are being encouraged to take off from work to participate in a "Stop Work" strike when they themselves are part of "the establishment" being protested.
The message of the letter appears to be: We're part of the 99 percent. Why do you hate us?
It's almost sweet, and also fascinating, to watch the police struggle publicly with their identity like this. Clearly, they detest being made into the villains of this narrative, and a large part of the blame is being directed at Quan who has been giving mixed messages during this entire affair.
Quan also seems confused by her role in all of this. Is she part of "the establishment," as the police put it, or is she a public servant fighting for more resources for the 99 percent?
Once again, OWS has managed to hold up a magnifying class to society, forcing citizens to confront these questions: Are police a tool of the upper one percent, used to squash popular uprisings? Or are they protecters of the people? Likewise, does the mayor represent the people, or is he/she charged with violently suppressing protest?
The confusion extends to some in the media who are precariously close to collectively yawning. Marketwatch's Jon Friedman declares "Occupy Wall Street is 99% dead," adding on behalf of the entire establishment that though the media was "once curious," they "have moved on."
Friedman also writes that the media is "impatient and bored by what outwardly seems like a marked lack of progress." To be fair, Friedman will probably only ever understand OWS if they start selling ad space, incorporate, and then start trading on the stock exchange.
Friedman declared Occupy dead on the same day Oakland hunkers down for the general strike protests, which were largely organized with the help of Occupy Oakland. But his poor timing isn't just the mark of bad journalism. It's also an indicator of a man who just doesn't get that the Occupy movement isn't isolated within the barriers of Liberty Park.
Over 2,000 cities house Occupy Together chapters. And you can be sure if OWS is having a slow day, Oakland is preparing for a large protest with union support, or nine people were just pepper sprayed in Tulsa, or Occupy London readies for its own stand-off with authorities, or Occupy Nashville celebrates victory over its city's thoroughly un-Constitutional curfew.
The stories are there if journalists are prepared to accept that this movement is global, and the "end goal" isn't going to look like anything we've been conditioned to accept as a victory. The movement is in itself a victory.
The solidarity between peoples of different countries is in itself a victory. As a peaceful movement, Occupy won't traditionally battle with the police, but when Tunisians wage a surprise spam attack on President Obama's Facebook page in response to police brutality against OWS, make no mistake that this is the act of a support army running to the aid of its comrades.
Every day sleeping in a park, every moment of resistance, is a victory.
Admittedly, this is more cerebral than I think many beat reporters are willing to get. They'll want clearcut demands from OWS, but thus far the movement has wisely resisted performing for the sake of the media. There's no point in catering to hack reporters who wouldn't know where to begin covering OWS unless some hot, young blonde girl disappeared at Liberty Park.
In the meantime, expect to see the odd reporter lash out in confusion, yawn, spit, cry, whine that things aren't exciting enough - that this is new, and different, and weird. And the police will scratch their heads and wonder how they've become the bad guys in all of this. That's good. They should be asking these questions.
Police, Media Struggle To Understand Occupy
BY ALLISON KILKENNY
Oakland mayor Jean Quan is surrounded by members of the media as she attempts to leave a press conference regarding upgrades to the Bay Bridge on October 28. (Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Groundbreaking civil disobedience movements have never been welcomed by the establishment with open arms and Occupy Wall Street is no exception. However, never before have we been able to see society's institutions experience their DABDA-like stages of grief in real-time, neatly documented online for posterity.
First came the mocking and indifference, then the violent confrontation, followed by utter confusion, and now we've entered the dismissal phase. Really, everything is running right on schedule.
There's no better archetype for the "mocking and indifference" phase than the New York Times. Between Ginia Bellafante's woeful opening salvo (talk about "faulty aim,") and Andrew Ross Sorkin's confession that he only attended OWS at the behest of his buddy, who works as a chief executive of a major bank, The Grey Lady surely has the market cornered for how not to cover a social uprising of this magnitude.
Police covered the "violent confrontation" stage by pepper spraying innocent young women, stampeding horses into crowd, performing mass arrests, and mowing down protesters with tear gas, flash bang grenades, and rubber bullets.
Now, OWS appears to be confusing the establishment. The movement hasn't gone away, and yet it hasn't been absorbed by traditional government institutions. OWS seems hellbent on existing outside the system entirely, and this simply isn't a reality the country's institutions can process.
The Oakland Police Officers' Association released a brief open letter to the citizens of Oakland yesterday that used some version of the word "confused" four different times. The officers expressed confusion as to why Mayor Quan ordered them to clear out the Occupy Oakland encampments only to allow the occupiers back in the next day. They then wondered why city workers are being encouraged to take off from work to participate in a "Stop Work" strike when they themselves are part of "the establishment" being protested.
The message of the letter appears to be: We're part of the 99 percent. Why do you hate us?
It's almost sweet, and also fascinating, to watch the police struggle publicly with their identity like this. Clearly, they detest being made into the villains of this narrative, and a large part of the blame is being directed at Quan who has been giving mixed messages during this entire affair.
Quan also seems confused by her role in all of this. Is she part of "the establishment," as the police put it, or is she a public servant fighting for more resources for the 99 percent?
Once again, OWS has managed to hold up a magnifying class to society, forcing citizens to confront these questions: Are police a tool of the upper one percent, used to squash popular uprisings? Or are they protecters of the people? Likewise, does the mayor represent the people, or is he/she charged with violently suppressing protest?
The confusion extends to some in the media who are precariously close to collectively yawning. Marketwatch's Jon Friedman declares "Occupy Wall Street is 99% dead," adding on behalf of the entire establishment that though the media was "once curious," they "have moved on."
Friedman also writes that the media is "impatient and bored by what outwardly seems like a marked lack of progress." To be fair, Friedman will probably only ever understand OWS if they start selling ad space, incorporate, and then start trading on the stock exchange.
Friedman declared Occupy dead on the same day Oakland hunkers down for the general strike protests, which were largely organized with the help of Occupy Oakland. But his poor timing isn't just the mark of bad journalism. It's also an indicator of a man who just doesn't get that the Occupy movement isn't isolated within the barriers of Liberty Park.
Over 2,000 cities house Occupy Together chapters. And you can be sure if OWS is having a slow day, Oakland is preparing for a large protest with union support, or nine people were just pepper sprayed in Tulsa, or Occupy London readies for its own stand-off with authorities, or Occupy Nashville celebrates victory over its city's thoroughly un-Constitutional curfew.
The stories are there if journalists are prepared to accept that this movement is global, and the "end goal" isn't going to look like anything we've been conditioned to accept as a victory. The movement is in itself a victory.
The solidarity between peoples of different countries is in itself a victory. As a peaceful movement, Occupy won't traditionally battle with the police, but when Tunisians wage a surprise spam attack on President Obama's Facebook page in response to police brutality against OWS, make no mistake that this is the act of a support army running to the aid of its comrades.
Every day sleeping in a park, every moment of resistance, is a victory.
Admittedly, this is more cerebral than I think many beat reporters are willing to get. They'll want clearcut demands from OWS, but thus far the movement has wisely resisted performing for the sake of the media. There's no point in catering to hack reporters who wouldn't know where to begin covering OWS unless some hot, young blonde girl disappeared at Liberty Park.
In the meantime, expect to see the odd reporter lash out in confusion, yawn, spit, cry, whine that things aren't exciting enough - that this is new, and different, and weird. And the police will scratch their heads and wonder how they've become the bad guys in all of this. That's good. They should be asking these questions.
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Occupy Nashville Chat / Thank You
« on: November 02, 2011, 09:37:42 am »
Just want to say a big Thank You to Johanne for the work you've put in on this. Whatever the final document ends up being will always be subject to possible disagreement or room for improvement, but the emphasis on getting something out there and in a timely manner can not be overstated. I appreciate your efforts greatly. Thank you!
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Occupy Nashville Chat / Re: FAQs
« on: November 01, 2011, 04:56:20 pm »
I don't have but a second to weigh in here on this, so please excuse the hurried nature and unedited thoughts. Just wanted to weigh in on a few things to think about.
Why don't you get a job.
Add, A few of us are even the 1% and realize that over the past few decades have been politically commandeered to take from the poor and give to the rich. Irregardless of material possessions, one can still have a conscious for social justice. Google Warren Buffet and Tax and read his concepts.
Are you paid for by......
Are you non profit.......
possibly delete all together,,,or keep statement broad and simple.
Do you know we live in a republic, not a democracy
somehow state that we recognize a republic as our country's form of government and have no desire to change that. but, our republic was formed as a REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY. the purpose of our movement is to take back our government in order to be representative of THE PEOPLE AND NOT CORPORATIONS.
Why don't you get a job.
Add, A few of us are even the 1% and realize that over the past few decades have been politically commandeered to take from the poor and give to the rich. Irregardless of material possessions, one can still have a conscious for social justice. Google Warren Buffet and Tax and read his concepts.
Are you paid for by......
Are you non profit.......
possibly delete all together,,,or keep statement broad and simple.
Do you know we live in a republic, not a democracy
somehow state that we recognize a republic as our country's form of government and have no desire to change that. but, our republic was formed as a REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY. the purpose of our movement is to take back our government in order to be representative of THE PEOPLE AND NOT CORPORATIONS.
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Occupy Nashville Chat / Point of Clarification
« on: November 01, 2011, 12:52:23 pm »
My first post was made without knowing where to even find the document. If you are not logged in, the link to the document does not show up at all. Perhaps there could be a note in the FAQ post indicating that one must register and log in to see that there is a link to a document. On the other hand, if you want non registered viewers to see the document, either post in the body or make link viewable to non registered participants.
Thank you.
Thank you.
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Occupy Nashville Chat / Re: FAQs
« on: November 01, 2011, 10:36:08 am »
I so totally agree on the confusion aspect. I've even been down there a few times and I am still confused!! :-)
Not only is it hard to know what is trying to be achieved, it is hard to know how to become involved. Need some structure and scheduling to move forward.
How are the other Occupy movements addressing this? What is the organizational and scheduling methods at wall street? Are the offering any templates for other Occupy movements?
Now that the threat of arrest has been put on hold, the real focus needs to come back. The good will and sentiment is at an all time high, but until there are some concrete actions that can be taken, it will fade away soon, especially without the local headlines.
May be OUR PLAZA,,,,but now it needs to be our MESSAGE.
This movement has to take some focus to bring people to it and to get involved. That will take ACTION ITEMS......
I don't know how much coordination is taking place nationwide, but i feel that now is the moment that the movement needs to take it up a level. I don't even know how to get involved to help in that action.
Not only is it hard to know what is trying to be achieved, it is hard to know how to become involved. Need some structure and scheduling to move forward.
How are the other Occupy movements addressing this? What is the organizational and scheduling methods at wall street? Are the offering any templates for other Occupy movements?
Now that the threat of arrest has been put on hold, the real focus needs to come back. The good will and sentiment is at an all time high, but until there are some concrete actions that can be taken, it will fade away soon, especially without the local headlines.
May be OUR PLAZA,,,,but now it needs to be our MESSAGE.
This movement has to take some focus to bring people to it and to get involved. That will take ACTION ITEMS......
I don't know how much coordination is taking place nationwide, but i feel that now is the moment that the movement needs to take it up a level. I don't even know how to get involved to help in that action.
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