The Occupied Dominion Post - Issue 3, 9 November 2011
By the Occupy Wellington Comms Committee
The Occupied Dominion Post - Issue 3, 9 November 2011
PDF Download – 735kb
Earlier Editions:
QUOTE:
“That some who cannot spell, let alone write, think that the world is gagging to know their business is as presumptuous
as tweeters who think everyone is interested in their self-absorbed lives.”
Dominion Post Editorial 13.01.2010
Participatory People’s Parliament on Friday 11/11/11
Friday 11.11.11 is the first sitting of the Participatory Peoples’ Parliament at 5:30pm.
It’s about democracy for the people, by the people. So join the G7 Billion!
Followed by a weekend of:
Saturday
2:30: Global Occupy Rundown
3:30: General Assembly
5:30: Music
Sunday
Real free-trade
11am: Revolution in the Middle East (Tali Williams)
Midday: The Situation in Africa (Yilma Tasere)
1pm: What is the 99% (Joel Cosgrove)
2pm: Occupied Europe (Paco)
3pm: Music
EDITORIAL:
Trans-Occupy Express
By Alastair and Joel
Last week we wrote of the need to make new mistakes, not the same old mistakes. The act of doing something new involves,
in its essence, breaking with the established ways of thinking. We learn through thinking, discussing and acting, and
not always in that order.
Occupy Wellington started three weeks ago and there has been an occupation in Civic Square right through that time.
Isn’t that an outrageous idea? Two months ago, we could not have imagined that this would have happened. That it could
happen. That we’d be putting out a newspaper with thousands of online reads and a current printing run of 1500 copies
per issue. Those of us behind putting this paper out couldn’t believe it ourselves, until we had the first PDF in front
of us.
The occupy movement globally has often been characterised by its break with the established routine of protest and
bearing witness. Our movement poses a set of sharp questions, and our methods have made us impossible to ignore. Who is
capable of imagining something new? Who can’t see beyond what already exists?
We started in Wellington with a protest, something that felt little different from those of the past. There is a rhythm
within the order of things that allows an easy co-option, especially with a clear start and end time. Those in power,
the capitalists and their loyal servants in the police, had struck a deal with the people a long time ago that was never
written down, or spoken out loud, but was no less real for it. You may protest – march, shout, wave placards, hand out
leaflets and so on – and we will not stop you as long as you do so within a certain framework, both legal and in terms
of your own conscious thought. We will not only tolerate you, but so long as you stay within that framework, we will
ignore you, and so will everyone else. Whether we knew it or not, we signed off on this deal. Those in power made us the
agents of our own irrelevancy.
The point at which we put tents down and stayed was the point where we broke with the status quo.
We broke the deal, we tore it up and burned it, and now they are scrambling to figure out how to respond. A quick look
at the confusion in Dunedin, with council and police unable to even figure out the legality of their own eviction
notices, shows how confused the 1% have become.
The process we embarked upon has been difficult, but we are not alone. We are linked around the globe with Occupy Wall
Street, Oakland, Lisbon, London among many others. We’ve joined an international Occupation newswire for sharing and
facilitating content from around the world.
The aspect of coming up with new ideas, this vague idea of “for the 99% by the 99%” has been difficult at times and not
just for us. The growing pains are something being shared around the world. We have been passing on experiences and
receiving experiences from around the world.
Over the past week we’ve had to face some tough questions. Is this occupation helping our outreach to the rest of the
99% or is it holding us back? Into that discussion comes the point we need to address, that this occupation, this
movement, needs to be based on mass participation. We can’t sit on the work of a few as emblematic of a wider mass of
people. This is the ultimate question. How big can this get, how wide can it grow? The reality of that is that it is up
to each of us to stand up and take this responsibility, we can’t just nod our heads and pass the buck. Initially we’ve
seen an endorsement of a collection over the weekend in support of the locked out CMP meatworkers. These are ordinary
working class people. Trade union members trying to defend their livelihood.
People who just want a decent wage, the ability to feed their families, to defend the conditions and rights the previous
generation of working class battlers fought for... and they have been locked out for not agreeing to a 20% paycut. The
bosses are trying to starve them into submission. When class war breaks, the 99% stands 100% behind the workers.
You don’t have to be physically in the camp to take part. There is a lot of work that can be done off site. The
dissemination and discussion of the ideas is essential. We need internet warriors! If you have ten tabs about the occupy
movement open but haven’t come down to Civic Square, don’t feel disheartened or unworthy. We need you. Post on Facebook
and Twitter in support of the movement.
Study, read, share. That’s how this all began and it’s how it will continue. This is not about a tent city – this is
about a movement that ultimately will need to involve a lot more people before our talk of revolution can become
reality.
Occupy Wellington Safer Space Policy
To build a conscious and inclusive movement, we need to be aware of power structures that exist within the 99%. While in
capitalist society the richest 1% hold the bulk of resources and power, there are hierarchies within the global
majority.
We have no illusions that Occupy Wellington is free from all threats. By occupying this space, and participating in
political debate, we take risks including state violence and monitoring.
Though no space can ever be completely safe, we can still work towards creating an environment where people are both
comfortable with challenging, and encouraged to challenge, oppressive behaviour.
This requires a conscious approach. It is difficult to establish and easy to destroy.
• -To oppose all forms of oppression, we cannot tolerate views that openly support oppression. This means members
of hate groups are not part of our movement.
• -Sexual violence and harrassment is not acceptable anywhere, and will not be tolerated here. We must respect
physical and emotional boundaries, gaining active consent when engaging with people.
- Support survivors of abuse, believing them and keeping the space safe for them.
• -People communicate a lot without intending to. Each speaker must take responsibility for messages they
communicate, intended or otherwise.
• -Responsibility to educate on the nature of oppression, and to point out oppressive behaviour, is collective. It
should not be left to queers to challenge all queerphobia, women to challenge all sexism and so on.
• -Facilitators should place priority on speakers from marginalised groups, or those who have not spoken before.
• -Occupy Wellington is an alcohol and drug-free space.
Anyone not respecting these principles may be asked to leave the occupation.
The Occupied Dominion Post - Issue 3, 9 November 2011
PDF Download – 735kb
***ENDS***