This Sunday afternoon in the park, we discussed: foreclosures, the social atmosphere of the Occudome, canvassaing downtown, the future of OSC, conducting surveys, and more. We also consensed to adopt a localized version of the Statement of Autonomy from the NYC GA.
Inspirational Minute: In the newsletter of the Unitarian Fellowship there is s nice story about how the Christmas service will include supportive explanation of how the #OWS Movement is supporting peace.
News:
* Monday night 6-8 Unitarian Fellowship Church will hold a potluck and Progressive meeting.
* Tonight the City of L.A. is to shut down Occupy LA. Call the Mayor of LA to show your support for the Occupiers – (213) 978-0600
* On Monday Occupy Philadelphia is also to besieged by the police.
* Out of All the Occupy Camps, let’s make this one the last!
* A Representative of http://firedoglake.com/ is here and would like to us to know that there is news of a Coordinated effort by Government to shut down the Occupy movement. Mass call of 18 Cities reported.
* Be aware/ beware of the PERF site, where police agencies “connect” and “share” their “info” http://www.policeforum.org/ 
Announcements:
Foreclosure working group would like for tomorrow to have agenda for Letter to the County Supervisors to request that they issue a moratorium on foreclosures in Santa Cruz County. We are looking for an up or down vote.
*point of Info: The County B. of Supervisors have no authority to stop foreclosures. Letter should ask that they (Supes) ask the State Legislature to do so.
Just like to say Thank You to everyone. You don’t realize how much support there is here until you leave here. My homelessness is due to the economic situation. Quote from John Lennon’s Only People: “Well a million heads are better than one.”
Working Groups:
Inreach: No attendance at the meeting yesterday. Security is watching out for camp now. The Kitchen is being used and is in need of help etc. Talk to Lance from firedoglake.com for the list of sizes and needs / to give them. There has also been a large tent put up for the specific use of women and queer folk.
Tactics: No
Process: Meeting yesterday. Everyone please note that the Saturday General Assembly has been moved to 2 PM to increase attendance and visibility.
Infrastructure: There is a renewed interest in getting power Streetside for the General Assembly. Small generator needed?
Sanitation: Working better when campers help. Needs = More trash cans, gloves, masks, and trash pick-up-sticks.
Media: Working on having surveys on the website as well as personal questioners on the street. An example of a survey question to be asked = What specific problems are you having with your bank?
Outreach: 6 people met to make a list of #OWS/ OSC supportive Unions, groups and Churches. We would like to send some support to the UCSC rally in support of UCDavis. There will be shuttles going up to campus from Occupy Santa Cruz. Meeting after today’s G.A.
Legal: New Phone and phone # : (831) 466- 6078
Also talking to location people for alternate locations in case of emergency. Reminder of the Jan. 3rd date of the City’s motion to bring the case back from the Federal level. Discussion on the signs at Occupy Santa Cruz (and LA) stating new times of park closure / bringing up possibility of trespassing charges against Occupiers.
Medical: There was a training for the care of drug addict(s) being helped by the people of Occupy Santa Cruz by the Needle Exchange Program. OD happened and no one knew what to do. Teams needed for training and to staff medical tent.
Speakers: High schoolers will form a group to talk to younger children about the Occupy Wall Street (#OWS) Movement.
Art/Music: Great Time on Friday but no news.
Intercommunications: No
Food: Need donated food and hot meals. Help of money or food is great. Mon/ Tues/ Wed 6 pm hot meal seems to be covered.
City / County Liaison Group: Monday meeting – 4 PM Pre-meeting/ 4:30 Meeting. Tuesday 2 PM
Agenda Items:
Dome Atmosphere:
Negative energy and fights taking over dome, would like it to be a positive working community space. Open to discuss how that can happen?
Stack
1) People are sleeping in the dome and yelling at others to shut up when they attempt to discuss anything in the dome. People should sleep somewhere else unless it is raining. I don’t want to see someone get in a fight over it.
2) How do you plan on enforcing that? Are there sleeping rules?
A: Signs and general guidelines to be applied evenly.
3) On Friday a guy got naked and played with the books. We handled it together and got through it.
4) There was an incident involving propane and matches. This lame behavior lowers the standards.
5) The dome is multipurpose. I know how cold it gets out here, and it seems compassionate to let people sleep there. This is a dynamic group and sometimes sparks fly.
A: Well I am just asking that they not do it in the dome.
6) I am from Occupy Oakland and we had the same issue. What happened is that we got 2-4 people to take responsibility for the communal space’s “energy.” Signs are useful but not everyone cares to take heed of them. If you step into already heated situations it can be risky.
7) This is a great start even if it is not the only solution. I think it would help.
8 ) I had to move the medical supplies that were in the dome because of thievery.
9) Dome needs coffee, propane and water.
Friendly Amendment: During the daytime it is a community space not for sleeping or fighting.
Vote: Consensus! (Passed)
Downtown OSC Table:
To facilitate contact, I am going to sit at a table downtown with purpose of exposure/ interaction and information giving. Materials to give to public. Need people willing to sit at table during shifts.
Next Phase of Occupy Santa Cruz:
We should have a full package of plans and actions for the future of our movement to ensure the continuance of it. We should plan on continuing General Assembly if the camp is forcibly removed.
Stack
1) Do more outreach to supportive organizations. Keep the movement going.
2) Are you suggesting this be in leiu of occupying another area?
A: No
3) We can continue to Occupy foreclosed / foreclosure properties. Use the working groups to keep the actions going.
4) The foreclosures team from Occupy Atlanta helped a policeman save his home in foreclosure after a request for help from his wife.
Surveys:
Online and in person – thoughts and question ideas? Such as 1) Why do you support the OWS movement?
Stack
1) Surveys are impersonal. Talk to campers personally.
2) Love the idea but also check the ideas and opinions (survey) the Occupiers as well.
3) Ask what information we can aid people with and try to incorporate inclusive ways of surveys- not just online because many do not have access.
4) Unbiased surveys – Asking why you support OWS assumes they do, does not allow real choices.
5) Anyone who has experience in poll taking / surveys can help.
6) Who is our sample? The people at Occupy or the people “on the street?” We should also gain some demographic information to include.
7) Michael Moore has done bullets points for Occupy. We need to come up with a National plan of Action.
8 ) I would like to see one for the different groups at Occupy.
9) There is to be an Occupy Telephone Conference that I heard of.
Occupy Wall Street Statement of Autonomy:
This is the people’s movement and is autonomous of outside forces and representation. See http://www.nycga.net/resources/statement-of-autonomy/ to Read the OWS version. Letter Read.
Vote: Consensus! (Passed)
(Now it moves to Media working group to modify for OSC use)
Announcements:
1) No smoking during G.A.
2) I heard on a progressive radio show this morning that they love the OWS movemet.
3) Wed. action 2 PM Capitola Mall
4) Surf City Sounds Plus needs help on internet radio station.
5) The People’s Radio 6-8 PM Sundays on www.freakradio.org
Phone Numbers: (831) 427-3772 and (831) 469- 3119
6) Personal manifesto on #OWS passed out
7) Santa Cruz Peace Chorale sings for us today!
8 ) Locale and legal working groups meet now.
9) Solar panel on the dome, just needs a Battery!
10) Occupy Supply is meeting now in donation tent.
11) Does one have to be an Occupier to get help?
10 Responses to “General Assembly, November 27, 2011”
I would like it known that many many folks suffer, really suffer, from 12 Step Coercion, i.e. AA/NA. In the 1980′s AA/NAers “took over” the treatment industry, forcing their beliefs on us all. AA has a 95% failure rate. They use the courts and corporations to create the illusion of a successful treatment model, but the truth is that at most any AA/NA meeting it seems like a lot of folks are there and thus it is a “popular” thing, but the reality is that most of those people are “coerced”, “forced” to be there by the courts and corporations. WHY? They preach POWERLESSNESS, AND WHAT BETTER IDEOLOGY COULD THERE BE TO SUPPORT CAPITALIST ENSLAVEMENT!!!??? Here are a few quotes from the text “The Orange Papers”:
“It totally ignores all social issues. A.A. says that the answer to all social problems is the Twelve Steps, and that all of your problems are of your own making. Like the Oxford Group before it, Alcoholics Anonymous believes that all social problems are caused by sin, and only by sin. A.A. will not look at any of the social causes of alcoholism, like poverty, racism, child abuse, lack of education, lack of opportunities, or injustice.
A.A. uses fear, guilt, and lies to manipulate people. This is not a positive, life-affirming program. It is very negative to keep telling people that they will relapse and die unless they do everything right. And there is a lot to do right: not just the Twelve Steps with all of the self-criticism and guilt induction, but also attending lots of meetings, and complying with all of the accumulated “wisdom” like “you can’t have any resentments”, “stuff your feelings”, and “do what your sponsor says.” People become neurotic and depressed, they become mentally ill, if they spend too much of their time in states of fear and guilt. And A.A. tells a lot of lies, myths, untruths, and fairy tales, to keep people trapped in fear and guilt.
It’s a Big Lie. A.A. repeats the same lies over and over, using the same propaganda technique as Adolf Hitler with his Big Lie about the evil nature of the Jews.
The single most important issue about Alcoholics Anonymous is the question of how well it works to save people from alcoholism, and A.A. habitually, routinely, lies about its success rate, and always has.
A.A. tells everyone who will listen that it has the only treatment program for alcoholism — that it is the only “time-tested”, “proven”, method of recovery — but their Twelve-Step program does not work. Rather than even concede that the program might have some problems, the A.A. true believers just shove the program on every victim they can find, using therapists, counselors, judges, and parole officers as their enforcers, while simultaneously avoiding any and all scientific testing of the effectiveness of the Twelve-Step program. When some testing does occur, like in Project MATCH, and gives results that they don’t like, they just deny and ignore the results of the test.”
The fellow whose ‘running’ the medical tent pled the other day for some clean ‘syringes and needles’. Last night (Nov. 28) he was asking for donations… To supply his habit no doubt. He’s a well known long term local speed freak who appears to be ‘dry’… Last night anyway.
FURTHER, I WATCHED ONE OF THE GREETERS THUG SOMEONE who he was ostensibly ‘escorting’ LAST NIGHT IN PLAIN SIGHT OF THE GA and NOT ONE FUCKING PERSON SAID WTF.
The inmates are running your asylum now.
It’s almost over.
What utter bullshit.
Got it in one.
i did not see who knocked him down. i did say WTF and
was told to be quiet. maybe someone else wanted to say WTF,
but couldn’t get on stack.
as i was leaving in disgust, i observed him on the ground, with two people telling the guy he could not return to the steps.
i pointed out it was public property and he could go
where he pleased. they replied they have to do this every day.
i also hear there is a new sign censor group that didn’t like
patrick’s sign.
freedom of speech for some but not others i guess..
welcome to the revolution.
OSC: thank you for your work!!
I’d be glad to help with the survey(s).
Consider: (1) cost (opportunity costs, personnel/energy costs & $$’s); (2) information yield (what do you need to learn about?); (3) prior uncertainty (given whoever is surveyed, are you just confirming what everybody already knows?); and (4) political leverage (what can we use it for?).
#4 would be my first question : who is the intended audience for the results?
#’s 1-3 go more towards specific survey construction & execution.
I’ve done a lot of surveys.
I’m making it to OSC about twice a week – usually early afternoon. The GAs are incredible, beautiful. I’ve only made a few of them. I was in an open commune (self-selected participation) in the 70′s. I can only begin to appreciate what OSC is dealing with. And at the same time carrying forward an activist discussion and agenda. It is heroic! OSC is incredibly inspiring!
Thank you for being there!
Ok. Tonight (Dec 1) the GA was a bad.
It is not a one woman show for the most emotionally distraught person there. This same woman did this at a pervious GA and then said it was sexism to shut her up. I am a woman and I asked for her to step down from the fac team – but she just keep going like the crazy energizer bunny. For the many of us that have other things to do- that are taking our valued time- to participate, donate etc., this is a big slap in the face to see the group disrespected like that. I left in disgust, wondering if I should come back. So in the future I feel people getting to that State should be asked to take a time out and reflect why They are here. I know I don’t want to reflect on it – I have Better things to do – like trying to change the world w/ da peeps.
Also, I do see the Bank group as part of OSC, they have a giant OSC sign in the Bank! I was in there when the riot police where repelled – that felt like some real action. Not watching people yell about process. TY Joe knows a thing or two about that! We did not vote to do this but I support them and even if they have another name, it is still an OSC action in my mind and in the mind of the most people.
“A house divided against itself cannot stand.” -Honest Abe (lol)
Well, this seems a good a place as any to put in my .02 cents.
A: I stopped going to the Dome because of idiots like “Commander X”.
B: Too many kooks and tweakers were hanging out around there.
C: I don’t sleep at the “camp”. It’s a total disgrace.
D: I suggested to the media group we need office space to work at.
E: Now I see the bank bldg. broken into w/squatters trespassing there.
F: The GA is controlled by the same group every night with no changes.
The REAL power is going to come in November 2012, and Washington can hear a distant rumble. It is a sleeping giant that has awaken.
We can start to sign people up to vote. That carries protections far above 1st amendment protections. That will allow us to table outside stores, in the malls, outside in public spaces, and will scare the shit out of DC. I think we could take donations as well, but the real purpose is to change the national debate for the upcoming elections. This is our only chance to change anything. Occupy a park does little but dray attention to the issues. Now we need some troops to take the fight right to Washington. Peace out.
Another bizarre irony is that the Chairman of the Board at BCRE, the company that arrested a Democratic activist involved in voter registration, is none other than Richard C. Blum, husband of California’s Democratic U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein. (It is not known whether Chairman Blum knew or approved of the citizens’ arrest of Lutz).
http://eastcountymagazine.org/node/8018
X is a wonderful part of OSC. We <3 Him! The group of people that have come together need to remember that we are here in solidarity with OWS & eachother.
Who do you consider "we?" A lot of people in the Bank are OSC as well and I support and stand with them too. 2012? What Sleeping Giant- President Obama? Ha. Fool me once…
