The Facilitators working group is calling for an emergency General Assembly meeting tonight at 7pm in Dewey Square, rain or shine. We URGE all Occupy Boston working groups and the broader public to attend.
Given the nation-wide sweep, particularly the crackdown in NYC on Tuesday (11/14), we need to be ready to defend against a crackdown on Dewey Square.
NYPD clearing Liberty Plaza. Are we going to let this happen to Dewey Square? (Muncy/Village Voice)
Objectives:
1) Participants will develop an awareness of the national picture regarding police repression (From NYC to Oakland) and what it means for Occupy Boston.
2) Participants from each working group will develop a specific tasks or set of tasks that can be executed in unison in the event of a crackdown on Dewey Square.
3) Occupy Boston will get a general plan in place for the event of a crackdown
Please join us! The more eyes, ears, and minds we can get on this challenge, the better!
12 Responses to “Emergency GA TONIGHT to Discuss OWS Crackdown and RESPONSE PLAN for Occupy Boston”
Would it be possible to post with enough notice next time- esp If you’re expecting most people to arrive for a March at 5pm? Biked home from the march only to find out I had to ride back out… Huh?
on November 15th, 2011 at 10:25 pm #
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It was such a great idea to publicize our back-up plan. It would never make it through a GA to create a secret plan that only certain folks posses and text out…because that would be anti-horizontal democracy. Genius! Oh wait, I just got the text that it was simply a MacGuffin. HAHA! BPD will never stop us getting to that REAL back-up location. Brilliant stuff.
I wish that we put some effort into preventing a crackdown, instead of thinking that it is inevitable. Improving public relations and relations with the authorities would go a long way toward preventing a crackdown and give us the opportunity to last through the Winter, time to mature and develop our analysis, messages, and alternatives. We as a movement need to be much, much more aware of how we present ourselves. We need to consider the perceptions of what we do, from the perspective of the hearts and minds of others. For example, in a march with 25 people, do not block all lanes of traffic. That is an option reserved only for times when there are hundreds or thousands of people, where the massiveness really does justify blocking traffic. Another example, do not yell at police for no good reason, or tell them to leave the camp, since they are surely allowed to be there, if they’re acting reasonable and peaceful. When police walk over to check out a commotion in a very low-key and normal way, do not start yelling “Legal! Legal!” at the top of our lungs. That comes across as a crybaby, to be blunt. Legal observers are useful when they are warranted, but calling for them when they’re not is just annoying. So many ways that we can be much more chill, mature, and on the whole much more likely to be welcome to stay the Winter. There are people who see the beauty and importance of what we’re doing, in the public, and even in the government. They see the need for this open space for civil discourse, and the need to claim such a space by civil disobedience, given the drastic state of affairs that we’ve come to as a country and as a world. But let’s grow the f– up and chill out, and project that outward.
From the Herald story today:
“I’m not ready to break up the encampment right now,” Menino told reporters yesterday. “Every city is different, how we deal with this issue.”
Menino spokeswoman Dot Joyce later added, “We are not New York. We continue to monitor the situation in Dewey Square daily. Our biggest priority has always been public safety and the health and well-being of everyone.”
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To me, this is hopeful, and it means that our clear ways of remaining in Dewey Square to continue building our movement and our seeds of a new society, without having to nonviolently hold against the police, are:
1. Continue to resolve community conflicts with de-escalation and mediation, as we have been doing. When people have issues, work with them, listen to them, resolve them.
2. DON’T GET INTOXICATED ON CAMP! You affect us all, you affect your judgment, you affect your ability to deal with people who come at you … just bad idea, and we have agreed as a community that alcohol and other drugs on camp are not acceptable to the community.
3. Keep discussing and implementing our community agreement, about the general expectations of behavior and participation in the well-being of the whole community. Everyone needs to play their part in sanitation, health, and general upliftment of the community,
4. Keep the place *** clean *** … that is the easiest thing to do, it shows that we care about ourselves, it feels good, and it prevents the easiest excuse they have to try to shut us down.
5. Act with maturity and dignity toward each other, and toward visitors and passers-by.
6. Be as self-reliant as possible. Do NOT expect outside agencies to service us, only when and where we ask them to.
7. We have many homeless people among our population. They are us … we are them … we all are in the same boat. Do NOT blame problems on homeless people. If someone’s being drunk and belligerent, they could be homeless or not … the problem is being drunk and belligerent. Do NOT make group assertions about homeless people, many of whom are dpoing amazing work at Occupy Boston. (And many non-homeless people are being lazy and causing trouble…)
8. Chill out … relax … laugh … make music …
some good advice Sage.
Can everyone please sign my petition in solidarity with OWS and to keep the momentum going. thanks.
http://wh.gov/jgJ
I need at least 150 signatures for this to become visible to the public.
Sage advice, Sage… another positive would be to staunch to stench of urine at the corner closest to South Station… Of all the Occupies that I’ve been following Boston seems to be the most viable in terms of cooperation from the Mayor and the Police. Yes, there were the arrests but it was brought upon Occupy by their own actions. On the whole, the Mayor and the Police have been as cooperative as can be expected, and they deserve such acknowledgment.
One more thing … affirm again that we are a nonviolent movement, and do some clarification on what that means.
Arnie said: “another positive would be to staunch to stench of urine at the corner closest to South Station… ”
funny, i passed by that area, i didn’t notice what you claim, unless it was you doing the pissing on that corner. please, don’t do it here on this website.
It may be worthwhile to reflect on how critical physical occupation is to this movement. Like millions of non-occupiers, I support the main goals of this movement (as I understand them) and understand that it is important not to lose momentum. But there may be ways to do this that don’t require continuing occupation of Dewey Square and similar places in other cities. For example, rotating short-term occupations (Boston, New York, Dc, etc., etc.) and marches or demonstrations. An active web-based national ‘newspaper’ would help keep supporters connected. I don’t have answers, but I hope folks are thinking about this. Ending the occupation doesn’t have to mean ending the movement.
We did win the injunction against eviction for two weeks, based on the argument that the continual presence is part of the speech of the movement, and that the location is also part of the speech. I do agree. I think that is truly the case, and is not some sort of legal excuse.
I see Occupy Boston’s presence, with a tent “shantytown” in the financial district, as a clear iconic image that represents the fact that the economy created by the influence of the 1% controlling most of the political decision is one of huge inequality. The presence of tents, some of which are marked with signs and symbols, along with the continued long-term presence of people satisfying their own needs by mutual aid, within the symbolic heart of the consumerist and speculation-based economy, is a powerful image and statement.
Another aspect is the importance of holding a space that serves a powerful function as a forum, in the old sense of the word, a place where dialogue can be held among differing parties that cuts to the chase of the major issues of our times. This is all truly what the movement is about.
I support a continuance of the occupation until the early Spring, at which time Occupy Boston can re-seed the grass of Dewey Square, or else give the Dewey Square restoration fund to the Greenway to do the same, and move on to the next phase of the movement, which we will have figured out by then.
I’m with Andy. Sooner or later it will become difficult to keep the numbers in the encampment, especially as we deepen into winter. And at some point the Movement will have to mature and decide what’s next. To keep the momentum and to keep interest and support, it seems almost inevitable that there should be a natural progression, not just keeping the Movement’s status quo.
A victory has been won with today’s ruling – why not seize the moment and choose to metamorph as a choice, on a high note? Bring it indoors to keep it alive.