Remembering the start of something...

Remembering the signs that made the sense that led to this:

When I went to the London Stock Exchange on 15th October 2011 - I did so because I'd reached a personal 'enough-is-enough' moment. I'd seen the government bail out the greedy, gambling, irresponsible banking sector again and in the next breath... speak of austerity and cuts for 'we, the people'. They talked of 'trickle down' and that's just ridiculous - why give money to the very sector that created the problem and then HOPE they will trickle it back into society? Then they said... "it's ok, they will probably lend it back to businesses and people" ...grrrrrrrrr! Why wouldn't they build in an INSISTANCE that they at least ensure the money makes its way back out of the vault? They didn't build in a clause or requirement or anything. So... along with my sister Julie Daniels and a tent we went to join Occupy the London Stock Exchange.

It was clear that 'our' government wasn't actually ours at all - that somewhere along the way we had not only let the corporate lobbyists in... but we had grown so used to this, we weren't noticing that something needed to be done about it. Those lobbyists are still there and we didn't get them out - this is clearly evidenced in the fight we are having to ensure dangerous, extreme energy extractiontechniques like FRACKING - are not done in our country. Key lobbyists and those PERSONALLY invested in the industry itself... walk the corridors of our houses of commons and lords: John Browne, Baron Browne of Madingley (Lord Browne), Baroness Hogg, Lord Howell (Chancellor George Osborne's father-in-law), #Balcombe MP Francis Maude and others. They have hijacked democracy.

BUT... the amazing coming together of individuals from all walks of life and all sorts of places, for all sorts of reasons... that became a worldwide Occupy Movement - was a fertile space and time; many of us, freshly informed and empowered - went on to discover symptoms of this 'DISease' of our democracy, this corruption of our government - all over the place. We joined other groups or made our own and became merged with campaigns tackling poverty, disability rights, employment, environmental and community threats, saving the NHS, exposing insane economics and for my sister and I, RAFF - Residents Action on Fylde Fracking.

It's not our UK Occupy anniversary until next month but it was Occupy Wall Street that placed a seed of an idea in me 2 years ago - the idea that I didn't have to accept anything so intolerable as watching communities be put at risk for some investor's profit or the ceaseless hacking away at the quality of our education and health care systems or the vile disregard for the dignity of our elders when they most need and deserve it or the slashing of our rights to object to any of this.

I DON'T accept these things and I am making time... for my outrage as it has a purpose and I owe it to the next generations. I am in the best company, alongside the finest individuals I have the fortune to meet - activists are people who give a damn and that makes them gorgeous.

The 50 Best Signs From #OccupyWallStreet

Preparing for the dance…

Preparing for the dance…

The 20^th of October felt like it was a about the gradual realisation of the need for unity; an acceptance that our grievances are many, our banners are many, our approaches are many and our participants diverse but action by all, is essential.  There was an obvious shared desire to make a statement about the state of our society and that statement, if it was encapsulated into a single sentence, would probably be something like:

“The current system benefits those who need it least...
...crushing the people and planet that need it most”

Amidst the multi-coloured banners representing unions and workers,  groups with a focus on peace, justice, education, welfare and the disabled as well as clusters of anarchists, socialists, communists, environmentalists, anonymous and too many more ‘ists to list – I found others from Occupy the London Stock Exchange woven throughout.

There we were:
-in and alongside wheelchairs blocking crossings, delaying traffic and raising awareness of the plight of those suffering so unjustly under ATOS. I put my foot on the corner of a street banner that was spread out over the crossing, to hold it in place; three more feet of passers-by appeared within a moment to hold the rest of it in place. Strangers smiling at each other because we know that this problem is a society problem and we are all truly (rather than sound-bitingly) in this together.

There we were:
-some of ours wore black; tapping police shoulders to engage in a game of tag and running through the shops most deserving of attention on Oxford and Regent Street. The target stores were easy to find even for those not aware of the vast sums of tax evasion by their owners or the abuse of the work schemes; the places that are criminal had a police guard, which made this educational and slightly amusing. I approached one of the police outside Starbucks and said how strange it was that they were there to protect the criminals but how convenient it was that they were showing us exactly who on the high streets deserved our attention.

There we were:
-standing with megaphones and informing parts of the march about the environmental issues that are too often ignored and down-played in the media. I personally was on the march both as part of Occupy the London Stock Exchange and as a representative of Residents Action on Fylde Fracking (www.stopfyldefracking.org.uk) and set off from the steps of St. Paul’s Cathedral with the Climate groups... although I would have symbolically started there anyway because there is a certain ‘something’ about that place where we camped at the heart of the City of London.

There we were:
-banging drums, blowing whistles, shouting, dancing and chanting with others in Samba bands, big brass bands, a (surreal) Hari Krishna band on wheels and other noise making areas of the march.

The ‘official’ figures are saying something like 150,000 marched but one of the people counting at the gates to Hyde Park had said earlier that she was looking at 300,000+ based on density, depth and length of the crowd that was being counted at various points.

The night before the march I wrote;
“So... what's tomorrow all about? Well, for me it's A kaleidoscopic array proclaiming the sneezes, coughs, wheezes, rashes, tingles, cuts and grazes of society’s weeping ills, gathered in a display of dis-ease on the streets of London; as has been on so many other streets - near and far away on other days.

Symptomatic evidence blitz so loud, so clear, so proud... nothing left to fear the march embarks on an anarchical journey that will twist symptoms, from lines into genome spirals, wound and UN-rivalled into a woven mass of ‘we the people’. A gathering, a blossoming, a holy mother-fck*ing mass of bothering!”

...and it was.

Finding our unity is going to be a bit like getting the choreography right; we start with steps alongside each other before we can get to the bit where we embrace. We ARE many and each has been under the influence of their chosen media, their education, upbringing, race, religion and status in society – trying to fix the things that matter to ALL of us was never going to be a smooth ride with a clear route-map and destination.

Within the mass of people who are ‘Occupy the London Stock Exchange’ we have extremes and differences just like all the other groups and society itself and in those early weeks (I always consider the first 3-5 weeks as golden) we struggled, debated, argued and assembled in order to find the stuff we could agree on. Each time we hit a stumbling-block, a subject too hard to agree, we stepped back, paused, sorted a working group, engaged the different opinions and slowly edged forward from small points of agreement.

It isn’t fast, it isn’t easy and it isn’t even pretty yet – but one day we will have taken enough steps alongside each other to be dancing.

 

Occupy AT (after tent)

Noam Chomsky said:
“You can't achieve significant initiatives without a large, active, popular base. It's necessary to get out into the country and help people understand what the Occupy movement is about -- what they themselves can do, and what the consequences are of not doing anything.

Organizing such a base involves education and activism. Education doesn't mean telling people what to believe -- it means learning from them and with them.”

I have been giving a lot of thought to what we do next as a movement; how do we progress and grow what we have started? How do we include others of the 99% who have only witnessed a (likely negative) media representation of Occupy? A lot of other people are also considering the same thing and trying to find our next steps, as is Noam Chomsky in the quote above.

Here at Occupy London, we have had our court case and await our fate after 11th January 2012.

When asked the other day to write one side of a debate for The Occupied Times of London, I had to give the matter even more attention; the subject requiring a response was to choose whether I believe our OccupyLSX camp should stay or go.

Sadly (and surprisingly for me) I chose the ‘to go’ side of the debate. Not completely, I believe what we have done is important and historic and needs to remain in some form ie: an information point and teaching area (a la Tent City University) that are staffed by rotating Occupiers (not twirly-people …but ones who support Occupy and come for a while, to be later replaced by others).

So many people have sent words and donations of support to Occupy but been unable to attend and stay in a camp for a whole host of very good reasons: health, job, family, finance etc. Staying in a tent is just not a practical way for the vast majority of the 99% to demonstrate and seek solutions to society’s problems.

My thoughts on what could be a part of what happens next include this idea for Occupy Outreach:

OCCUPY Presentations

AIM:
-To enrich people’s understanding of what the OCCUPY movement is, how it functions and what sort of problems it is confronting in society.

-To enrich the OCCUPY movement with fresh insights and contributions by more people.

METHOD:
An interactive presentation about the movement that can be delivered by anyone with knowledge of OCCUPY. The presentation would be effective if given from - or accompanied by - a tent : )

TOOLS:
A tent, an OCCUPIER and a *presentation pack.

*PRESENTATION PACK:

The Presentation Pack would be designed to show how Occupy functions ie: hand signals, workgroups, General Assemblies etc. and include time for questions and answers. The presentation would lead to a proposal that those participating would come up with by posing an appropriate question or topic that will get the participants working in groups, facilitating, presenting their conclusions, proposing and finding consensus.

PLANNING:
There could be two types of opportunity for OCCUPY Presentations – PLANNED OCCUPIES where we have scheduled in advance with the host (school, workplace, group etc) and FLASH OCCUPIES where we simply appear somewhere (shopping mall, street, park, civic building etc.) and get a crowd.

POSSIBLE ACTIONS

Planned/Staged Occupies:

OCCUPY ASSEMBLY - for schools/colleges etc. either in assemblies for the whole school or a select year, class etc.

OCCUPY GROUPS – for youth groups, drug user groups, volunteer groups etc.

OCCUPY STAFF MEETINGS – for nurses, hotel staff, shop workers etc. as part of their scheduled staff meetings

Flash Occupies:

OCCUPY Shopping Malls

OCCUPY Town Hall entrances

OCCUPY the street (any street)

OCCUPY alongside an event like a fair, market etc.

Where has the time gone?

Wow... it has been 30 days since we started our OccupyLSX action and I haven't even thought about putting something on my blog. I guess that's because my time is so stretched as I camp for 4-5 days then come home for 2-3 days (to cram work and family love). My income is down to a fifth of its original size once you factor insane £74 train fares, life is looking just a tad wobbly at the moment!

So why? Why on earth am I doing this; every time I give up my warm bed and comfort of indoor plumbing I wonder. As I arrive at St Paul's (looks as much like home as home these days... maybe strangely moreso?) I am genuinely scared and then I leap anyway and freefall into a different world.

In this world every conversation counts; most are warm, enlightening and wise and the few that aren't are at least challenging or lesson learning as enforced patience-practice. No one is trivial.

In this world I have no idea whether my fellow campers are married, employed, wealthy or poor... I don't generally know their religions (except for Sister Ruth - but that is a whole other blog post that I just wouldn't know how to start!!) and I don't know where they came from and I don't care because I already 'know' them. I know they are willing to endure cold, hard-ground conditions because they share my determination to ask questions of the 1% and those who work for them.

Each of us knows when we look at each other - even in challenging situations - that we share an experience and strength of commitment. We can spend up to 6 hours making simple decisions at our General Assemblies (1pm & 7pm where decions are made... eventually) but it is the act of getting all sides heard and ensuring even one objection means a decision doesn't pass. We are so damned democratic I could kick us lol! But hey, it works and not only that... it is quite beautiful.

I am too tired and eager for the softness of my marshmallow bed to go on but I will top this blog up with Occupy tales when I can because I should; this feels like something special.

In the meantime, I have been in a few videos so will post them next to ensure all is in one place.

CNBC -

BBC -

GUARDIAN -