The Massachusetts Nurses Association—part of National Nurses United—has come to show their solidarity and march with Occupy Boston through the Financial District. They came in five separate, full-sized buses! It’s a great day!

Boston Globe Coverage

Update (10/7): This document represents the views and opinions of just some members of Occupy Boston. This living document was crafted to express that all are welcome and intolerance is not a value we will condone. 

This is a living document. As the Occupy Boston community, we have the right and responsibility to edit this document on an ongoing basis. We welcome feedback and new ideas.

We are the 99%, and our task is to unify the 99%. Unfortunately, we live in a society that is racist, sexist, classist, homophobic, and ridden with various other forms of oppression.

As the Occupy Boston community, we will consciously and urgently work on dismantling these systems of oppression in our movement. We are working on creating a community where everyone’s rights are respected, protected, and treated equally. We all have different levels of privilege that we strive to acknowledge and educate ourselves about in order to ensure that these privileges are not used to oppress others. We want to have an inclusive atmosphere of ideas in which we do not police each other’s thoughts, but we have absolutely no tolerance for oppressive or intimidating words or actions. If a conflict arises it should, if possible, be settled through democratic discussion or debate; otherwise, it should be settled with the help of the Conflict Resolution Team, the Support Team, or both, if necessary.

We do not welcome any of the following in our community:

• White supremacy (racism against people of all colors)
• Patriarchy (sexism)
• Ageism
• Discrimination based on ability
• Homophobia or heteronormativity
• Transphobia
• Anti-Arab sentiment
• Anti-Jewish sentiment
• Religious intolerance or intolerance of nonreligious people
• Islamaphobia
• Class oppression (classism)
• Cultural intolerance
• Discrimination based on immigration status
• Discrimination based on experiences with the justice system
• Disregard for indigenous rights
• Weight-based discrimination

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, October 3, 2011 [Updated October 4 at 3:25 pm]

Contacts: OccupyBostonMedia@gmail.com
@occupyBOS_media
(857) 2468-BOS

OCCUPY BOSTON ENTRENCHES AFTER STRONG WEEKEND

Three days of mud and weather haven’t deterred approximately 100 demonstrators camped in Dewey Square from staying put indefinitely. Occupy Boston, which started on Friday evening, September 30, is part of a national occupation movement to that is sweeping the country’s major cities (including New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles), attempting to bring attention to the fact that 99% of American citizens do not feel their views are being represented by their government.

The occupation began Friday evening when over 1,000 people rallied at Dewey Square and marched in a peaceful protest on the Boston Federal Reserve Building. Saturday and Sunday continued peacefully as the number of occupiers grew following marches on CollegeFest at the Hynes Convention Center and on the HONK! Festival. Evening General Assembly meetings have drawn representatives from local business and labor unions—including representatives from both the Taxi Drivers Union and the Greater Boston Labor Council, which addressed the assembly, expressing full solidarity and support to our cause—as well as concerned participants opting to join the ongoing encampment.

On Sunday the Boston Herald referred to the Occupy movement, saying, “Something’s happening here and across the country, despite repeated dismissals of these protesters.”

On Monday, October 3 Occupy Boston delivered a simple, symbolic letter to the Massachusetts Statehouse and Bank of America:

To: The 1%
Wall St.
All Cities, USA

Get out of our government. We want our country back.

Sincerely,
The 99%

Because there have been conflicting accounts in the press, we’d like to clarify our reason for occupying downtown Boston. There is no one single issue or demand that summarizes Occupy Boston or the Occupy movement. Occupiers facilitate conversation, discussion, and debate around the issue of corporate influence on politics in an attempt to overcome the cynicism and corruption running rampant in this country.

We invite everyone—left, right, and center—to join us and join the conversation. Inside Dewey Square is real democracy. It’s a horizontal, leaderless operation that empowers all individuals to participate equally in decision-making, as opposed to the circus of special-interest lobbyists or legislators with big-business ties in Washington and State Houses across the nation. Come see what democracy looks like and take part in Occupy Boston.

[This release was updated to reflect changes made by members of Occupy Boston. We are a horizontal democracy. Every voice matters. Every voice is heard.]

Day 4 of the occupation was a success: a huge march to the statehouse and back, intense attention from the media—both alternative and mainstream, across print, radio, TV, and the web—and a chance to interact with100,000+ Dewey Square passers-by on this gray, somewhat rainy Monday.

Here’s the schedule for October 4 (Day 5):

• 10:30 am – Morning General Assembly
• 3:00 pm – Hot meal
• 5:00 pm – Facilitator/AG meeting
• 5:50 pm – Working group check-in
• 7:00 pm – Evening General assembly

We’re in need of the following things:

• Tables
• Blankets
• Tarps
• Small padlocks 
• Sleeping bags (it’s getting pretty cold out here!)
• Plywood (for the walkways)
• Medical or surgical masks (for sick folks)

That’s all for now. Come down if you haven’t; come back if you have. Sleep well, Boston.