Pages

Subscribe:

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Occupy Dallas " It's a new day!" Declaration of the Occupation

"When you're drowning, you don't say 'I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to notice me drowning and come and help me,' you just scream." – John Lennon

November 23, 2011
“It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day…”

Introduction

“What is Occupy Dallas?”

#OccupyDallas is a movement in the city of Dallas, Tx that began when 1200 individuals marched from Pike Park to the Federal Reserve Bank on Oct. 6th, 2011. They stand in solidarity with Occupy Wall St—also known as #OWS—and wish to draw public attention to the social inequality, economic injustice and political corruption affecting the 99%. The saying “99%” refers to citizens of the United States who make less than the top 1% of wage earners. #OccupyDallas is only one of 2,609 cities across the world participating in globally organized demonstrations.

OccupyDallas attends state, national and international conferences regularly. On a state level, conference calls are used to coordinate efforts and create a cohesive message throughout the state of Texas. Information is passed from state to state usually through the use of e-mail lists, social media and by phone. International Assemblies are held throughout the week which are hosted by the Indignados/M15 movement in Spain through the use of a communications program called Mumble.

Current Events: On November 16th at 11:46 at night an e-mail was released by Mary Suhm, a City Manager of Dallas, indicating she had given the police permission to clear out the encampment behind City Hall. Over 150 police officers, 15 horse mounted officers, a police helicopter, an LRAD weapon and 70 Police SUVs were involved in the removal of the OccupyDallas camp. At the heart of the encampment, riot police found 5 women and 12 men holding American flags and reciting the pledge of allegiance.

Police Chief Brown of the Dallas Police Department has defending the action claiming that no extra tax dollars were spent during the raid and that these precautions were necessary to protect the officers.
The Cause
Despite what appears to be a common media gaffe, Occupy Dallas has clearly outlined the reason for their presence several times. OccupyDallas demonstrates for the following reasons:

Social Issues:

Unfair treatment and discrimination against individuals based on Gender, Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, Race, National Origin, Physical Ability or any other factor that minimizes any person’s individual worth
The commoditization of individual privacy
Profit driven news sources with individual agendas
Narrow definitions of what constitutes a family;

Political Issues:

Widespread deregulation that has eliminated common sense regulations that have insured long term prosperity and protection from predatory business practices
A Tax code that is cumbersome and rife with loopholes and language that favors an economic minority at the expense of the majority of wage earners
A Supreme Court decision that has put into place the unprecedented concept of extending first amendment protections to political donations
Jeopardizing the future of social security through investiture and privatization schemes
By reducing funding to our education system our future generations are provided a lesser education that previous generations received because of increased class size and reduced resources
Because of decreasing funding individuals are saddled with higher student loan debt
A political system where even the most perfunctory tasks of government are partisan battles;

Economic Issues:

A general degradation of the employer and employee relationship namely
a. the practice referred to as “dead peasants” insurance policies where by companies profit from the death of individuals.
b. the elimination of traditional pension and retirement arrangements in favor of 401 (k) investment vehicles.
c. outsourcing of jobs
d. eliminating paid sick leave
e. eliminating paid maternity leave
f. relying on part-time workers rather than investing in full time employees
g. scheduling work hours to insure that employees cannot obtain offered benefits
h. failing to provide a livable wage
i. reducing and eliminating employer based health care coverage
Incredible income disparity between management and employees.
Active discouragement and intimidation of unionization of the workforce
Instituting illogical accounting practices
Engaging in unethical business practices that jeopardize the long term financial stability of the country
Viewing financial profit as more important than the individual worth of a people.

In addition, OccupyDallas has strategically targeted a variety of financial institutions throughout the city. OccupyDallas has outlined in various actions, blogs and news articles the following:

Due to the irresponsible and criminal actions of a few giant multinational financial institutions, the late 2000’s will forever be remembered as the age of the Great Global Recession. The United States government gave billions and billions of dollars to these crooked financial institutions claiming they were “too big to fail” and that their demise would crash our economy for sure. A portion of the tax dollars that had been given to these banks landed back in the pockets of the same politicians in the form of campaign contributions. In a similar fashion, the executives of these banks gave themselves exuberant bonuses and used taxpayer dollars to buy private jets, fund luxurious retreats and even to pay for country club memberships.

Where do we go from here?

By consensus of the General Assembly of Dallas, OccupyDallas has decided to continue with a 24/7 protest. We feel the forced removal of our camp violated the agreement with City Hall. The raid did however give our organizers enough time to contemplate a better alternative to staying put out of sight. The following is a description of how our occupation will continue:

A single city block has been selected at the heart of downtown Dallas. It has been strategically chosen due to it’s relevance to our cause. This city block has four intersections and each intersection has four corners. The 16 corners of this block will now be occupied.

This occupation will be unlike others. We will not sleep. There will no longer be a distinction between an occupier and a supporter. All supporters that join us on a daily basis will be occupiers. Utilizing crosswalks and sidewalks our occupiers will not be subject to selective enforcement of sidewalk codes by the Dallas Police Department. This more visible public display will help highlight Mayor Rawlings and City Manager Mary Suhm’s wasteful use of DPD resources.

We will have mobile power units that can be used to charge cell phones, laptops and power 24/hr live streaming broadcasts. Occupiers will come and go as they are able; some will rotate in designated shifts. All protesters will carry signage relevant to our cause. We will hold teach-ins at parks located in the heart of downtown to educate the people about corporate greed and political corruption among other things. We will continue to collect donations for our cause from citizens of the city to feed our occupiers and winterize our movement.

Where our occupation behind city hall was concealed and motionless, our occupation in the heart of Dallas will be jubilant and animated. Before, where we were unknown, we will now be outstanding and recognizable. Our message will be clear and concise. Our ranks will swell and our voices will be heard.

To those that wish to hide the atrocities committed by our government and our global financial institutions, let it be known: We will out you. We will expose you as the enemy of JUSTICE and EQUALITY.

We will not go home!

The location for our Occupation of Downtown Dallas will be announced on Wednesday, Nov. 23rd.

Thank you.

###

If you would like to donate towards food or winter gear, you can do so online here: https://www.wepay.com/donate/131845?ref=widget&utm_medium=widget&utm_campaign=donation

If you would like more information regarding the Occupation of Downtown Dallas, e-mail us here: OccupyOps@gmail.com

Press Release: OccupyDallas to host Thanksgiving lunch

OccupyDallas to host Thanksgiving lunch

Dallas, TX, November 21, 2011 — One week after the police raid on their camp, members of OccupyDallas will be hosting a Thanksgiving Day lunch at Pioneer Plaza. The meal is being coordinated with supporters and will be served at 11:30 a.m. Thursday.
Since city manager Mary Suhm rescinded her agreement with protesters and ordered the police raid which saw 18 arrested for a ‘missing curfew’
charge last Thursday, the OccupyDallas movement has continued moving forward. The group has continued to hold their General Assembly meetings in downtown parks and marched Saturday to support other movements who were also raided by police last week. During Monday’s assembly the protesters reached consensus on a proposal to begin occupying at a new location downtown. They have not announced the location or when they will begin this new occupation.
Thanksgiving Day will mark the beginning of the eighth week since protests began and will involve a community meal at 11:30 a.m. followed by a group discussion on the future of the movement.
For more information, contact Michael Prestonise at 214-293-0548 or news@occupydallas.org. More information, including additional multimedia content, can also be found at www.occupydallas.org.

The OccupyDallas movement began Thursday, Oct 6 with a march from Pike Park to the Federal Reserve building. Over 1,000 people gathered to protest corporate greed and money influencing the government. The movement included more than 100 members occupying City Hall Park in downtown, with hundreds more joining in for marches to various corporations and banks throughout the city. On Thursday, Nov 17, Dallas police raided the camp and arrested protesters. The group has since gone mobile and continues to protest downtown. OccupyDallas stands in solidarity with similar Occupy movements happening across the nation and the world, including the original Occupy Wall Street protest that featured tens of thousands of marchers and continues to grow.