National Occupy Gathering Kicks Off in Philadelphia
Source: The Nation
National Occupy Gathering Kicks Off in Philadelphia
Allison Kilkenny on July 2, 2012 - 9:05 AM ET
Occupy participants from around the country have converged on Philadelphia for the National Gathering June 30 through July 4. Organizers estimate the event will draw around 1,500 protesters and has been independently endorsed by more than 100 Occupy groups across the country.
From its very beginning, the convention was less about occupation and more about building communities.
Tents more than likely wont be necessary, a statement on the groups website reads.
Instead, the group plans to develop a list of grievances to take to legislators, presidential candidates, and Supreme Court justices in Washington, and the event will culminate with a planned march to Independence Halls on July 4.
For me, this is a chance to finally meet face-to-face with people who are doing work in other cities and build real relationships, said Jeff Rae, an Occupy activist who had his Twitter records subpoenaed by the New York District Attorney in March. In a much broader scope, I hope that at the National Gathering, we can have some real dialogue about whats next for Occupy. New tactics and strategies.
Rae said he believes the Occupy movement is alive and well. The conditions that created Occupy in the first place have not gone away, and if anything things have gotten worse, he said, citing the 7,308 Occupy arrests since the movements inception, and I think you have a lot of people dealing with that, along with working on other projects like eviction defense, stop-and-frisk, and banking issues.
Read more: http://www.thenation.com/blog/168691/national-occupy-gathering-kicks-philadelphia
malthaussen
(17,175 posts)Why am I not surprised?
-- Mal
RoccoR5955
(12,471 posts)I hope that this gathering, and the redressing of grievances gains some traction in the News Media. It would be very good if this went public, and both major party candidates were asked to address the concerns of Occupiers.
Huey P. Long
(1,932 posts)This is why they focus on dividing us, marginalize, and ridicule. And by 'they', I think we all know the 'they'.
'They' are here too.
Huey P. Long
(1,932 posts)GregOrr
(4 posts)It is crucial that the 99% clarify public policy goals for the 2012 election. I built http://the99vote.com to help. Propose and vote on policy ideas. Let me know if you have any questions. Thanks