Occupy Oregon! Several Oregon Cities Participating in the Occupy Movement.

Occupy Portland began on October 6. An estimated 7,000 to 10,000 people participated in the march Thursday. Occupations in solidarity with Occupy Wall St are happening all over the country, all over the world, even! "Occupy Together Meetups" planned or happening in 1,168 cities. Occupy Together has confirmed 68 occupations currently happening in the United States and 22 occupations currently happening in international cities. 

I've been involved with Occupy Portland and Occupy Eugene. I've been hearing about several other occupations planned in Oregon, and so I did some research. Here is what I found out!

Portland : The occupation began on October 6, 2011. 7-10,000 marched and hundreds occupied. The occupation site is located at the Plaza Blocks Park between 3rd and 4th Avenues. The Plaza Blocks are separated by SW Main Street, with Lownsdale Square on the north side and Chapman Square to the south. General Assemblies are every day 7am and 7pm. The website is updated daily, they are having infoshare classes, marches, and group meditations. A list of needs is regularly updated on the website. 

Seaside:  The occupation began Friday, October 7th at City Hall. There are 437 people who "liked" the facebook page, but they are in need of support! There is a City Council meeting at 7pm on Monday, they are hoping for a big turnout that night.

Manzanita: The occupation began Saturday, October 8. They met in front of Manzanita Library at 571 Laneda Ave. Not sure if this is still going on, or if it was simply a rally in support of Wall St and other occupations...?

Salem: The occupation begins Monday, October 10, at 12:30pm, at Willson Park (on the West side of the Oregon State Capitol Building). That same day, the ACLU of Oregon will be representing Michele Darr et.al vs. the State of Oregon in a case which will be heard by the Oregon State Court of Appeals (on the East side of the Capitol Building in Salem) after 2 years of struggle to reassert the Peoples Constitutional Right to peaceably assemble 24 hours a day at the seat of government to request Redress of Grievances. The Liberation Commons Collective has been involved in organizing for this.

Eugene : Occupy Eugene is having its 4th General Assembly meeting  on Thursday, October 13, at the West Coast Dog and Cat Rescue, 1274 W. 7th Ave. For those who do not have regular access to the internet, there is a phone line: 541-525-0130. You can call this number if you would like to be updated about meetings by phone. The occupation begins Saturday, October 15.

Ashland: The occupation begins Monday, October 10, 2011, 12:00 PM at Chase Bank.

Corvallis:  The occupation begins Monday, October 10, at 12noon, at the Bank of America on 3rd St. and SW Adams. 324 SW 3rd St.

Cottage Grove: There are currently 23 people discussing this on facebook. This will take place Wednesday, October 12, 5pm, and 1500 Main St. It seems details may still be being worked out, please visit their page for more.
Coos Bay: The proposed beginning time and place for this is Friday, October 14, 9am, at 125 Central Ave.
Roseburg: There are 57 people currently on the facebook page. They are planning on beginning on Saturday, October 15.
Medford: Also beginning Saturday, October 15, at12:00pm. Medford Oregon Alba Park.
Bend: The occupation will begin Saturday, October 15, at 12noon. It is proposed to begin at Drake Park and march to Pioneer Park.
Astoria:  1st Planning Meeting is on Wednesday, October 12, at 4:30pm-6:30pm, at the Astoria Labor Hall. 926 Duane St. 3rd floor.
McMinnville: The date is not yet set. The place is 3rd St, possibly US Bank Plaza.
Rogue Valley: No real information on this one. Is it happening? There is a facebook page, and 93 people "like" it.
Vale: No real information on this one. There is a Meet Up page.
Cave Junction: There is a facebook page, and a proud grandmother, and 20 people "like" it. No real information yet.
Brookings: There is a Meet Up page. No information yet.
Hillsboro:  There is a Meet Up page. No other information.
John Day: There is a Meet Up page. No other information.

If you don't know what the Occupations are all about, please check out Occupy Wall St.'s Official Declaration. These Occupations, though many may release their own declaration or grievances, are in solidarity with Occupy Wall St.

Outraged yet? The Poor, the Homeless, and the Hungry

In the United States, there are currently about 18,400,000 vacant homes. That's 11% of the houses in Amerika (this is the most recent # I found, from February 2011). There are about 671,859 homeless people in Amerika (according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness). That means that there are 17,728,141 more vacant homes than there are homeless people. How does that make sense?!

 Unemployment, we all know, is at record highs.

According to the food security report (as a result of an annual survey conducted by the US Department of Agriculture), 15% of US households experienced a food shortage at some point in 2009. That doesn't count our homeless brothers and sisters. US authorities say that figure is the highest they have seen since they began collecting data in the 90s. Those suffering the most (not taking into account the homeless) are single mothers. About 3.5 million said they were at times unable to put sufficient food on the table. Latinos and African Americans also suffer disproportionately. Welcome to Amerika.

Hunger statistics from 2009:

• In 2009, 43.6 million people (14.3 percent) were in poverty.
• In 2009, 8.8 (11.1% percent) million families were in poverty.
• In 2009, 24.7 million (12.9 percent) of people aged 18-64 were in poverty.
• In 2009, 15.5 million (20.7 percent) children under the age of 18 were in poverty.
• In 2009, 3.4 million (8.9 percent) seniors 65 and older were in poverty.
• According to the USDA, over 17 million children lived in food insecure (low food security and very low food security) households in 2009

This past January, CommonDreams.org published an article titled "People Die From Hunger While Banks Make a Killing on Food". This past spring, Oxfam warned that prices of staple foods will more than double over the next two decades unless urgent action is taken to change the rules of world agriculture.

In Boston, doctors have reported seeing more dangerously hungry and thin children coming into the ER. In 2007, 12% of children 3 and under in the ER were significantly underweight. By 2010, that became18%.

Recently there was an article in the New York Times about Urban Foraging. This practice has become necessary for many. Concrete Jungle in Atlanta has created a database of locations of fruit trees on abandoned property and foreclosed homes, and donates the food they collect to the homeless. Technically, this is illegal, as the banks own that property. The bank isn't going to eat that food, but the police might stop real people from eating what will otherwise go bad, on the banks behalf. Who is it the police serve and protect? What a joke. Today my nine-year-old daughter learned that putting coins in other people's parking meters is illegal. She was baffled. Rightfully so. We had a brief and sad discussion about how sometimes the government makes laws so that people cannot help each other.

Another example of the law preventing people from helping each other is Food Not Bombs. Earlier this year in Orlando, a federal appeals kourt ruled that city officials can enforce an ordinance restricting weekly feeding of the homeless in downtown parks. The Orland Food Not Bombs chapter is currently meeting at City Hall while still fighting against this unjust decision by the kourt. 29 people were arrested for participating in Food Not Bombs in Orlando this past June. That is, 29 people were arrested for feeding the hungry. On their website, they state:
We Act...

Because Food is a Right not a privilege!
Because there is enough Food for Everyone!
Because Scarcity is a Lie!
Because Food grows on Trees!
Because Poverty is Violence – unnecessary and unnatural!
Because Capitalism makes food a source of Profit not a source of nutrition!
Because we need Community not Control!
Because we need Gardens not Lawns!
Because we need Homes not Jails!
Because we need...

Food Not Bombs!!

This website shows the history of police arresting Food Not Bombs volunteers, attempting to silence and break up Food Not Bombs.

 This is nothing new in Amerika. In January 1969, the Black Panthers began their Free Breakfast for School Children in Oakland, CA. In the next year, the Black Panthers had set up kitchens in cities across the U.S., feeding over 10,000 children every day before school. A few months later, J. Edgar Hoover declared that the Black Panthers were the "greatest threat to the internal security of the country."

There is so much more. Mother Jones published an article in their March/April 2011 showing the Income Inequality in the United States. "It's the Inequality, Stupid." It has wonderful (terrible) and educational charts, one of which I will post here:

 

 The bottom 80 percent of American households have lost ground in share of income since 1979. The top one percent, meanwhile, has seen its slice of the pie increase more than 120 percent. The top 10 percent of Americans earn nearly three-quarters of all income in the country, leaving the poor with whatever is left.

These statistics are disgusting! What can you do? Feed people. Ignore any and all laws that prevent people from helping each other. Participate in or organize Food Not Bombs in your nieghborhood or city. Volunteer for community kitchens. Cook a big stew and bring it out to your neighbors under the bridge. And then get involved in Action to make change! Organize for and/or participate in the Global Day of Action on October 15, 2011. Go to Washington DC on October 6, 2011 and be a part of the Revolution! Get involved with other organizations and movements to fight the system so that we the people can help each other, so that social services are available to everyone, so that food is available to everyone, so that the government is run by and for the people, not by and for the corporations and the top 1%.

Take a look at Tom Stone's photography project on the Homeless In America.

 

  

 

Why shouldn't these people have shelter?

Why shouldn't these people eat?

Don't Give in to the Machine!

I've been talking a lot about the upcoming Revolution here in amerika. I have to tell you, I'm stoked about it! Some people I've spoken to jump right on board, are ready to go, but most...well, not so much. So many people point out that we are such a large and spread out country compared to Tunisia, Egypt, Spain, Greece, etcetera. I agree that has made large protests harder to organize, but look at the numbers we've racked up at the kapitol for other causes (go on, look! I posted a bunch here!). Many good people I have spoken to sigh and admit that they have little faith that enough people will show up. To them I say, if you don't show up, then maybe you're right! But why surrender and be a part of the problem? I understand how one gets to be burnt out and pessimistic. It can be exhausting going to anti-war protest after anti-war protest (for example) and seeing nothing change. You know they want us to give up, and if we do, than they win. The Machine wins. Don't let the Machine win! The Machine has so many tools they use to keep us down! Even the "liberal" media constantly reminds us that we should not have faith in our fellow americans, that americans are stupid and lazy and don't care about anything but themselves. Look around at the people you actually know--this is not true! The Machine thrives on this pessimism, this hopelessness. It thrives on drug addiction, poverty crime, and so many of the problems they pretend to be fighting. It thrives on fear, filling up the jails with all our revolutionaries. The mainstream media is a tool used against us--filling us with fear, self-doubt, self-hate, despair, misinformation, and distracting us with bullshit capitalist desires...most everybody gets stuck in this trap sometimes. But to sit at home and go about your daily routine because you don't have faith our fellow humans, well, that is giving in to the Machine. This is why YOU need to show up on October 6, 2011 and protest with the rest of us at Freedom Plaza in D.C.! This is why we need to spread the word and be very persuasive, enthusiastic, Optimistic. Give those burnt out and pessimistic potential activists the push they need to join in the Revolution! All of us can be leaders. All of us can be Revolutionaries.
In Solidarity,
Coco Pan.

As Mario Savio said in 1964:
 

  ...Those words have an even greater urgency today. We face ongoing wars and massive socio-economic and environmental destruction perpetrated by a corporate empire which is oppressing, occupying and exploiting the world. We are on a fast track to making the planet unlivable while the middle class and poor people of our country are undergoing the most wrenching and profound economic crisis in 80 years.

"Stop the Machine! • Create a New World!" is a clarion call for all who are deeply concerned with injustice, militarism and environmental destruction to join in ending concentrated corporate power and taking direct control of a real participatory democracy. We will encourage a culture of resistance—using music, art, theater and direct nonviolent action—to take control of our country and our lives. It is about courageously resisting and stopping the corporate state from destroying not only our inherent rights and freedoms, but also our children’s chance to live, breathe clean air, drink pure water, grow edible natural food and live in peace. --from October2011.org's call to action.

Protesters will gather the morning of October 6 on Freedom Plaza, located at the corner of 14th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW. The plaza is named in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr., who worked on his "I Have a Dream" speech in the nearby Willard Hotel. Demands of the protesters will include ending the illegal war in Afghanistan, ending corporate control over people and government, human rights, health care for all, economic justice, and the environment. Many believe that this will be the most massive protest in U.S. history to date.

Call to Action! OCTOBER 2011 America's Tahrir Square

I have been following the news of the uprisings in the Middle East very closely. I have also followed some of the news on Greece, and now especially Spain. All this has me feeling excited and engaged, but also wondering...where is America's "Tahrir Square"? I often have wondered whether americans will ever rise up...and I have often felt helpless, attending small rallies in small towns, wondering if we will ever be heard, or if anything would come of being heard. We are such an enormous country, and so spread out. Large protests can go by largely unnoticed. But they haven't always gone unnoticed, have they? I'd like to think that (although the racial oppression in this country is far from resolved) the March on Washington in 1963 meant something, even accomplished something. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech has inspired so many. I am hoping for more radical change than what came about after the 1963 march. So are many others. Which brings me to America's "Tahrir Square." An event is being planned. A concert, rally and protest will kick off a powerful and sustained nonviolent resistance to the corporate criminals that dominate our government.

Here is an excerpt of the call to action from October2011.org:
October 2011 is the 10th anniversary of the invasion of Afghanistan and the beginning of the 2012 federal austerity budget. It is time to light the spark that sets off a true democratic, nonviolent transition to a world in which people are freed to create just and sustainable solutions.
We call on people of conscience and courage—all who seek peace, economic justice, human rights and a healthy environment—to join together in Washington, D.C., beginning on Oct. 6, 2011, in nonviolent resistance similar to the Arab Spring and the Midwest awakening...
..."Stop the Machine! • Create a New World!" is a clarion call for all who are deeply concerned with injustice, militarism and environmental destruction to join in ending concentrated corporate power and taking direct control of a real participatory democracy. We will encourage a culture of resistance—using music, art, theater and direct nonviolent action—to take control of our country and our lives. It is about courageously resisting and stopping the corporate state from destroying not only our inherent rights and freedoms, but also our children’s chance to live, breathe clean air, drink pure water, grow edible natural food and live in peace.

So rise up!  Be a part of the movement! Gandhi said it, "Be the change you wish to see in the world."

Worried nobody will show up? Take in these numbers.
The first March on Washington was in 1894 by a group called Coxey's Army. A group of unemployed workers. They hopped trains and rode in wagons to D.C. to protest unemployment which was a result of the Panic of 1893. There were 6,000 people in Coxey's Army. There's a bit of fun history for you. More famously, 250,000 marched for on Washington for civil rights in 1963. 600,000 demonstrated against the war in Vietnam on Nov. 15, 1969. 260,000 protested the Reagan administration with a Solidarity March in 1981. In 1987, 500,000 people joined the Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights.1989: March for Women's Lives drew 500,000. An estimated 1,000,000 people participated in the March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation in 1993. In 2003, 200,000 protested the war in Iraq. 200,000 in the Equality March in 2009. 2010: Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, held by talk show hosts Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert had 215,000 participants rallying for political change. So many more protests and marches I did not mention, or did not have numbers for. The point is, if a million people joined together to rally for LGBT Equal Rights, I think we can find AT LEAST that many people willing to rally for Peace and political change. The terrible economy, the political corruption, massive pollution, loved ones lost to wars we don't support, unemployment, lack of health care, homelessness, and our general slavery to a machine that is built to benefit only the extremely rich and powerful, well, that affects us all. I believe an uprising can work for the united states. Especially if people are willing to camp out, and stay in Freedom Square until we see a change happening. Just like in Egypt, Tunisia, Spain, Greece, etcetera.

I know many supporters of Barak Obama. My question to them is this: If Obama stands for what you seem to think he stands for, if he can indeed be compared to Lincoln and MLK, then don't you think he would want us to have a People's Revolution?