Here is a brief recap of last night’s General Assembly
We opened with a presentation from a member of the legal team. She stressed that we all make use of our 5th amendment right to remain silent if/or when detained by the police. She explained the relationship between Occupy Boston and the National Lawyers Guild. If you are detained, call 617-227-7335, the National Lawyers Guild protester hotline. They have volunteered several pro-bono attorneys who will help us out if we get detained. There will also be trained legal observers (who will be wearing green hats) to observe the proceedings and take notes as neutral observers. They will remain neutral, but if you see illegal things happening (i.e. police brutality), look for a green hat and call them over. She stressed that we must remain calm if taunted and to be as respectful as possible to everyone involved. The police are part of the 99% too.
We then had a presentation from the health/preparation team. The main points of their presentation were as follows, and can also be seen here, on the medical page.
- Don’t wear contact lenses – they can trap pepper spray in your eye, causing permanent damage
- If you take prescription drugs, bring your medication in its original pill bottle (with the prescription written on the bottle) and bring enough to last you 2-3 days (in case you are detained for a longer period of time)
- Asthmatics: bring inhalers
- If you see a group of people being pepper sprayed, the people who are screaming are going to be fine – people who are silent after being pepper sprayed are most likely having an asthmatic reaction and need to receive immediate medical attention.
- If you are not asthmatic and you are pepper sprayed, don’t freak out! Call for a medic and you’ll feel better in a few minutes.
- There will also be a fully staffed clinic that will run continuously during the occupation – please look on the website to find a list of things they need and try to help them out in any way you can. (Coming soon)
We then split into smaller groups to discuss what the “message” should be when handing out flyers and speaking with interested people. Each group sent a representative to share what their group had come up with to the entire GA. Speakers were held to a two-minute time. All the proposed ideas for message were written on the white board and most of them were fairly similar. The concensus seems to be: to keep it vague, focus on economics and the voice of the people in democracy, anti-corporate, emphasizing the unity of the 99%. Most people want our manifesto message to be a fluid, living document that changes throughout the movement.
We discussed the route the protest tomorrow night would take, stressing the need to respect Take Back the City and not interfere with their protest and message with Occupy Boston flyers and media.
Occupy Boston will begin at 6 p.m. (but get there earlier) with a march from Bank of America to Dewey Sq, where construction of the site will begin.
We also talked about whether or not to talk to police as a group.
Points made were that individuals have the right to talk to who they
want as long as they are not talking on the group’s behalf and
although we can vote and not allow the group to talk to police, we
cannot stop individuals from doing so. People who have had different
experiences with authorities had opinions that ranged from both sides
of the spectrum. In the end, we voted to “table” the decision and the
vote until our General Assembly on Friday, September 30.
We heard from the logistics team and they told us about items to
bring to the occupation. First and foremost, we need to stay warm and
dry. Bring layers, scarves, gloves, mittens, hats, and extra items of
clothing for those around you if possible. Also bring a few days worth of food,
hand sanitizer, and sleeping bags that do not contain goose feathers
as stuffing (when it gets wet, it stays wet).
Bivy sacks were made by various members of different groups to help
keep our sleeping bags dry.
We also talked about having designated smoking areas and common
courtesy from smokers to non-smokers.
We briefly spoke about getting a generator for the media tent to
power our live stream, laptops, cell phones, and other electronics.
After talking about the issue of tents being allowed or not, we
decided we would bring tents at our own risk. Meaning, we
know the authorities or the property owners may make us take them down
at any time. Yet, we believe it is very important for the media team and the medical unit to
have tents in case of weather.
6 Responses to “General Assembly Recap 9/29”
Good. That’s the direction it needs to go.
I’ve been pushing around “Dollars should not vote” ideas over at G+, Facebook and Twitter.
I think it’s important not to get distracted by details and not to attack weak areas. For example, I’ve heard people say “ban lobbying”. That’s a bad idea (see my G+ post https://plus.google.com/113844487094333569134/posts/EP2APAmHeW4 ).
Keep the message simple and strong: the influence of money in politics is wrong. We can’t ever eliminate it entirely, but every bit we can hack away returns more power to us.
Get the power back first and then work on everything else.
Are we aiming to keep money out of politics or keep politics out of money? Because those are two different things.
Is there a place to get more detail on this? All the proposed ideas for message were written on the white board and most of them were fairly similar. The concensus seems to be: to keep it vague, focus on economics and the voice of the people in democracy, anti-corporate, emphasizing the unity of the 99%. Most people want our manifesto message to be a fluid, living document that changes throughout the movement.
I actually think it’s important to come out with some BIG far reaching demands as soon as possible, demands that answer the question “how” to end the wealth disparity. Like ending citizenship for corporations, and crowd sourcing a new tax code, etc.
I don’t think OccupyBoston will interfere at all with Take Back the City. We’re all on the same page. Here’s their event:
March on Bank of America, Friday, Sept. 30
Gather 2 pm at Boston Common bandstand
Program at Common – 3-3:30 pm
March starts at 3:30 pm
Arrive Bank of America 4 pm
March ends 5:30 pm
WE ARE LEGION
One more for the health & safety list: Everyone bring a buddy who knows your medication/health, legal, and emotional needs, who can advocate on your behalf, and who can be a friend keeping tabs that you are still around. <3
More on dealing with pepper spray: http://medic.wikia.com/wiki/Injury_aftercare#Chemical_weapons_exposure
Note the above quotes me as saying you'll feel fine in a few minutes– that's not really true. You're gonna feel like burning for awhile (maybe 20-30 min), you might cry, scream, or puke, and it's gonna be uncomfortable until you can rinse thoroughly with cold water and change your clothes. You might get some respiratory problems in the slightly longer-term– chest colds and the like. Get medical help if it doesn't go away, and take detox herbal teas like dandelion and mullein (available at Harvest co-op). The take home message though is that YES, it hurts & sucks! but we have the tools and resources to get through it.
Come to an eyeflush training and learn to eyeflush yourself and your friends!
-Tinea, a medic who's been thru it a couple times
on March 7th, 2012 at 12:53 pm #
[…] with my aloofness-politik for a little over a month before that night. Occupy Boston’s first General Assembly in September was also the first of many nights that I would break plans in order to involve myself further with […]