In Solidarity with Occupy Wall Street and the greater Occupy Movement. Stay informed. Think globally. Act locally. Local focus on Occupy Sarasota, Occupy Tampa.
On Saturday, police estimated that about 100,000 Spaniards turned out for street protests. On May 15 of last year hundreds of thousands of people angered by a grim economy and the political handling of the international financial crisis came out to demonstrate. They called themselves Los Indignados (The Indignant Movement). Such demonstrations spread across Spain and Europe as anti-austerity sentiment grew. A year ago, Los Indignados put up tents and occupied city centers across Spain for several weeks. Police eventually moved in and evicted them. Many credit Los Indignados as the model from which Occupy Wall Street grew.
On Saturday, tens of thousands protested in Madrid. In Barcelona, about 20,000 demonstrated in the street. My adventurous friend, Jill, from Sarasota captured some of the spirit of the anniversary protest in her Barcelona photos.
Occupy Sarasota has attracted many folks who subscribe to what most people would call conspiracy theories - the Illuminati, 911 was an inside job, chemtrails, etc. I did not realize just how popular these theories were, but I see there are Barcelonans who also believe in the chemtrails conspiracy.
A wonderful sentiment: You can cut all the flowers, but you will not stop the arrival of Spring.
The austerity agenda was rejected in Germany yesterday. When voters in Greece and France had the chance, they voted against the parties backing austerity measures. There's a referendum scheduled for May 31 in Ireland that will let the entire country vote directly on the European Union's austerity plan. And two days ago, tens of thousands of demonstrators flooded into plazas across Spain. The Associated Press quotes Javier Colilla, a 27-year old university student protester in Spain, who stated that the government austerity cuts targeting health and education, but rescuing banks are wrong. He feels they need to find other places to cut. I suppose we in the United States might take some comfort from the fact that our own bailed-out bankers and their supporters in Washington are not the only out-of-touch world leaders. But I don't really feel any better.
Many times, large corporate interests are at odds with the public interest. Nowhere is this more apparent than when it comes to environmental issues. Since the beginning of manufacturing, it has always been cheaper to dump waste than to treat it properly. Clear-cutting of forests to harvest timber, mountain-top removal to mine coal, and massive toxic chemical application to grow food all speak to this. Recent industrial accidents have highlighted some of the finest devastation to our planet - the Fukushima nuclear disaster, the BP oil spill, the giant toxic coal ash spill in Tenessee, and the list goes on.
Even as many governmental and non-governmental organizations have pushed for measures to prevent such environmental destruction, it comes as no surprise that Big Industry has funded public relations efforts to downplay environmental hazards. Climate change denial is leading the pack. Many organizations have been formed to downplay or completely dismiss the near-universal scientific consensus on the theory and extent of climate change. These groups are typically funded by the same Big Oil and free market think tanks. Although there are now no credible scientists challenging the theory that human activity is a primary component of climate change, political debate continues. Over the last couple of years, the voice of science has been overshadowed by a very small group that has had a very real impact. Popular concern about climate change has waned during these years, even as the window of opportunity to mount an effective response has narrowed.
Floods, drought, warming, cooling, acidifcation, salination, and sea-level rise put our food and water supply at risk, threatening basic human needs. Unfortunately, these disruptions are becoming more and more common across around the world. Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature (1988), a book that brought global warming awareness to the public's attention, claims that rising counts in greenhouse gas emissions are threatening our world. To preserve our planet, scientists indicate that we must reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere from its current level of 392 parts per million (ppm) to below 350 ppm. McKibben cofounded the group, 350.org, that spearheaded yesterday's Climate Impact Day.
A merry group assembled to Connect The Dots on Climate Change in Sarasota at St. Armand's Circle. They wore bathing suits and life vests to underline the potential for sea level rise in this location. They were confronted by a host of Corvette enthusiasts, who were (unsurprisingly) unconcerned about climate change. Sarasota had denied Becca Holmes a permit for the protest, since the Corvette fans had obtained one first. No matter; she would not be deterred. The protesters let shoppers, tourists, and Corvette fans know that this spot might very well be under water in twenty years, if we continue business-as-usual. One protester, Cady Gonzalez, was shocked to find out that one passer-by had never heard of global warming. Before marching once around the Circle, they had a minor discussion as to whether they would chant any slogans. Some felt this would be perceived as hostile, while others felt they would receive more attention, if they were vocal. All things considered, this was a determined, yet considerate, band of protesters. Articulate, too!
#whilewewatch is a documentary about Occupy Wall Street with it's use and creation of media in this digital age. Watch it online, until the November election.
From the director, Kevin Breslin -
The people in this film are genuinely decent.
They all are immensely bright.
They are kind, tough and loaded with the belief, this is what being an American citizen is about.
April 26 Panel Discussion with the Film's Movers & Shakers
One angry woman backed by thousands of angry women. That's what it took to make a massive stand against the huge amount of legislation aimed at women this past year. Karen Teegarden, that one angry woman, wrote about her experience starting just two months ago -
I must begin this post by thanking Desiree Jordan. During a venting session on the phone late last Saturday night, we both could not believe that someone hadn’t organized a march for our voices to be heard. The legislation and rhetoric against women’s rights was multiplying at such a fast rate and we were angry. Saying goodbye, Desi said we should just do it. Of course, how many times have we said things like that only to go on with our daily tasks?
Something changed in me that night. I hung up the phone and for the first time ever, created a Facebook group. Organizing Against The War On Women was intended to share with my friends in hopes that we might be able to get some kind of event going.
One week later, we have over 10,000 passionate members, some with amazing experience and some complete novices, united in a common cause to regain our voices and fight the forces trying to take us back decades.
I now realize we have tapped into something much larger than our events on April 28th.
As if preparing ammunition for these rallies, Florida Governor Rick Scott used a line-item veto to cut funds for Florida's rape crisis centers. Not only did his veto occur during Sexual Assault Awareness Month, but it came just a week and a half prior to the rallies.
The power of social media cannot be overstated. From the seed of a Facebook group sprouted a protest march in every state capitol in the nation (except Delaware ??). Some states had more than one, so that women wouldn't have to travel so far. I found a rally in St. Petersburg, Florida put on by Awake Pinellas. Women and men came with signs supporting the Equal Rights Amendment, decrying attacks on reproductive health, the ever-resilient Pink Slip Rick, and more. Some here said the War-on-Women is a distraction to move the media discourse away from economic issues, away from Wall Street, away from the wars we are fighting overseas. Another felt that corporate America opposes the Equal Rights Amendment, because paying employees more would hurt their bottom line. And most couldn't believe that anyone would try to reopen the settled issues of women's rights. Everyone had something to say - some with more colorful language than others!
There are more people living in slavery now than at any time in human history. I learned this breathtaking statistic, while preparing for a Passover Seder about five years ago. For me, the release of Jews from their bondage in ancient Egypt is at the heart of Passover. Passover is, for me, a celebration of freedom. When I reported to my fellow Seder attendees that there are more slaves here in Florida than anywhere else in the country, I was met with utter disbelief.
The Museum of Modern-Day Slavery came to the Unitarian Universalist Church in Sarasota to increase awareness about the working conditions of farm workers in Florida. The Museum is a replica of a produce truck in which farm workers were kept locked. Inside, newspaper clippings tell the story of six federally prosecuted slavery cases involving over 1,000 Florida agricultural workers. Over the years, I remember reading about court victories over citrus grove owners who "hired" hundreds of workers and threatened them with death if they tried to leave. I read about those forced into sex work and farm labor. I did not have a sense of whether these instances were merely the tip of the iceberg or whether the authorities had stopped the bulk of the atrocities. More recently, I read about the Evans family, who recruited homeless citizens from shelters in the United States, assuring them jobs and housing. Instead, they were brought to labor camps, where exorbitant charges for food, rent, alcohol, and basic expenses outstripped what they earned, thus plunging them into perpetual debt. This last case earned a conviction in 2007.
What struck me as I toured the Museum was that agricultural slavery never ended in Florida. I made a mental timeline. Chattel slavery was legal until 1865. After the Civil War, the courts engaged in a convict-lease system, in which primarily African American men were arrested on vagrancy charges in order to lease them out to farms and mines under horrendous working conditions. In Sarasota and many areas of Florida, there was a turpentine industry until around 1950, which was only possible due to the almost-free labor provided by debt bondage. With the advent of the railroad and refrigeration in the 1920s, Florida growers expanded citrus, sugarcane, and winter vegetable production in Florida. These large-scale operations required a migrant workforce at labor-intensive harvest time. The growers relied on the poorest of the poor and kept them working via debt bondage. I was educated to believe that we had outlawed slavery in the United States in 1865. Then I learned that forms of forced labor continued in the South, until World War II. But, I believe that in Florida, slavery has persisted for nigh on 400 years.
So that's the bad news. But there is good news. Jordan Buckley, from the Interfaith Action Center of Southwest Florida, informed me of the impressive progress made by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. As a result of its fifteen year fight against terrible working conditions, the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange, which accounts for 90 percent of the state's tomato farms, adopted a new Code of Conduct in 2010. This Code ensures that workers will be treated fairly. In addition to paying workers an extra penny-per-pound, farm employers must use time clocks, provide shade, and resolve worker complaints.
To put this in perspective, a group of very poor and disenfranchised Immokalee farm workers have brought about concessions from large multi-million dollar corporations! These include McDonalds, Whole Foods Market, Trader Joe's, Burger King, and Taco Bell. Jordan Buckley describes this situation in more detail below.
Unfortunately, Publix, the largest private employer in Florida, has refused to pledge to purchase produce only from growers who are committed to the Fair Food Code of Conduct. In the afternoon, a large crowd marched from one Sarasota Publix to another. Many local religious leaders participated.
The state of North Dakota owns a bank, and it is doing very well. The state derives revenue from the bank. They use their bank to help drive growth for small businesses. The state lends to local governments at reduced rates in order to support infrastructure projects. According to a study by the Center for State Innovation, over a 15-year period the Bank of North Dakota has contributed more to the state budget than oil taxes have.
So, why haven't other states gotten in on this action?
In fact, according to the Public Banking Institute, seventeen states are taking introductory steps toward the creation of public banks. They have introduced legislation for publicly owned banks or derivations, or for studies or task forces to determine how a publicly owned bank would operate in their jurisdiction. Three of these states have bills that were submitted in 2012, and eleven states had bills submitted in 2011.
Although Florida doesn't have any pending legislation, I came to know about public banks during the last gubernatorial campaign. Fred Khavari ran on a platform that hinged on the creation of a Florida State Bank. As candidate Khavari, an economist, pointed out, When the house is on fire, you don’t call in the plumber, you call the firefighter. When the economy is tanking, you don’t call in a politician, you call in an economist. I might beg to differ on that point, but this economist did sway me with his platform. Unfortunately for the State of Florida, he did not win election. However, the economic ideas he espoused have found another outlet in the Public Banking Institute. This Institute formed in order to further the understanding, explore the possibilities, and facilitate the implementation of public banking at all levels -- local, regional, state, and national.
I was in Washington DC for NOW DC's Social Forum and heard Marc Anderson, the Executive Director of the Public Banking Institute. I also met Ruth Caplan and Steve Seuser, some very articulate folks working on the formation of a Washington DC Partnership Bank. These are well thought out responses to public demand for banking reform. Marc and Ruth explain some of the benfits/issues surrounding public banks in the following video.
On the final day of the Social Forum, there was a two hour Great Public Banking Debate between representatives of the Public Banking Institute and the CATO Institute. Of interest was that both sides oppose Wall Street's role in the banking industry. Watch here ...
Currently, the profits that private banks earn are funnelled to corporate executives and shareholders. This seemed a workable model, until 2009, when taxpayers found themselves bailing out the big banks. Privatized profits and socialized losses did not sit well with many folks. The Move Your Money Movement concentrates on individuals moving their savings and their loans into community banks and credit unions. Public Banks are an additional avenue for reform.
Florida's Governor Rick Scott came into office in 2011 with the wave of Tea Party politicians. He spent $73 million of his own money to get elected. At the time, even with that amount of personal campaign cash, I was amazed that he got elected. Back in 1997, he had been forced out of his own company, Columbia/HCA, by his own board of directors during a huge health care fraud scandal, a scandal that resulted in a $1.7 billion settlement. He ran on an austerity platform - large budget cuts, government workforce reductions, and corporate tax cuts. Within several months of being elected, afer doing just what he said he would, his approval rating took a dizzying plunge downward.
Again, this leaves me puzzled. For example, did people really believe that huge cuts in the state's non-profit workforce would lead to more jobs? Given this backdrop, I am just as amazed about the public outcry in opposition to the Governor. Florida Watch Action has taken it upon themselves to confront Governor Scott, wherever he goes. They launched the "Pink Slip Rick" campaign that took off around the state. Today, their message resonated with Sarasotans, who came out to the Bayfront to protest Governor Scott's fundraising dinner. Amy Ritter speaks on behalf of Florida Watch Action with a spirited response.
Awake Sarasota supporters came with signs speaking out against Governor Scott's assault on Florida's middle class. Sarasota teachers, who are feeling their jobs and pay on the chopping block, came out in force. Occupy Sarasota participants made a strong showing. And you know you are making a splash when there are counter-protesters. A group of Scott supporters were waving signs down by the Unconditional Surrender Statue. I approached the counter-protesters to see if any of them would like to share their opinions. I had been surprised a couple of weeks ago, when a counter-protester shared her analysis of the foreclosure crisis - and it wasn't so different from my own. But today, none of the counter-protesters consented to an interview. After seven rejections, I headed over to the main action, where plenty of folks had something to say!
Is the Occupy Movement at risk of being co-opted by MoveOn, the unions, the Democratic Party, name-your-villain? About a month ago, MoveOn sent me an email requesting that I sign up to host a Sarasota training for the 99% Spring. This wasn't a personal message, mind you; I'm sure it was sent out to thousands of people in Sarasota.
... millions of jobs have been destroyed, millions of homes foreclosed on, and an unconscionable number of children live in poverty. We have to do more to fix America, and we all know it. That's why people from across the 99% movement are preparing to take action this spring in bigger numbers than ever before to fight for change.
To prepare for the 99% Spring, groups from every corner of our movement are joining forces to do something that's never been tried before. During the week of April 9-15, across America, we will bring 100,000 people together for an unprecedented national movement-wide training on what happened to our economy, on the history of peaceful direct action, and how—following in the footsteps of Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.—we can take direct action this spring to challenge corporate power, end tax giveaways to the 1%, fight the influence of money in politics, and more ...
MoveOn and the 99% Spring is using the exact rhetoric of the Occupy Movement. And yet, I don't feel co-opted at all. I see no evidence of trying to influence elections or telling people what actions to engage in. MoveOn with its massive mailing lists and its ability to help people find each other locally and take action together is trying to give more people more education and tools to do direct action in exactly the same vein as the Occupy Movement. In other words, they are being helpful. Massively helpful in fact. Their goal is to train 100,000 people during the week of April 9-15.
The last segment of the training is to move into action on campaigns to win change. As far as I can tell, no single campaign is being promoted. Is this effort linked to the Democratic party? I don't have any inside information and cannot answer this question with authority. Certainly, since Occupy has now inspired imitators, things are more complicated. But take a look at the organizations that have signed on. Since the 99% Spring derives from a cross-section of organizations, this is a wonderful opportunity for coalition building. I would encourage Occupiers to take part in these trainings. And to network there. Where will you find more like-minded folks who are ready and willing to volunteer their time and energy for the same causes? Many Occupations have experienced a dwindling of active participants who show up at their actions. Many feel stretched thin, up against the backdrop of an insurmountable system. In many locations, there is a core of dedicated activists still hard at work, imagining, organizing, and publicizing. But, the more, the merrier - and the more powerful.
We were asked to come wearing a hoodie. We were looking for justice for Trayvon Martin. Occupy Sarasota had called for a march through downtown, to let residents have an opportunity to come together and vent about the injustices of this case. In Sanford, Florida, George Zimmerman, had taken it upon himself to determine that Trayvon Martin, a young African American, was "suspicious." He then disregarded the instructions of a 911 dispatcher and shot Trayvon Martin in the chest. Shockingly, despite his own problematic past and witness accounts that dispute his version of events, Zimmerman has yet to be arrested or charged because he claimed that he shot this unarmed young man in self-defense.
We all bring our past experiences, our current level of knowledge, and our reasoning abilities to bear, when making judgements. I came to this march, because I thought it was a travesty that Zimmerman, who admitted to the shooting, had not been arrested. But others had a more personal response. Some were filled with outrage that ANY young black man in a hoodie could be the victim of such a killing. It could have been their son or their nephew. Evidence suggests a major reason Zimmerman thought he needed to use deadly force against the unarmed Martin is because the teen was black. And, regardless of race, most parents hold protective instincts toward their children and they can identify with the pain and suffering felt by Trayvon's parents. Others were incensed that the police chief put himself on temporary leave rather than being fired. Listen to Sarasota citizens as they speak up on these issues.
As the small group marched through crowded downtown Sarasota, they were treated to thumbs up, smiles, and even applause. The sea of white faces streaming out of the Farmers Market and attending the crafts fair were visibly appreciative of these marchers. The group grew, as onlookers were moved to join in the march. Upon returning to Five Points Park, the group had swelled in size by perhaps 50%. This was so very refreshing!
Some folks were incensed about Florida's stand-your-ground law, which they prefer to call Florida's shoot-first law. This law gives legal protection to anyone, anywhere, to use deadly force when one is attacked and fears for their life. Some feel that the law goes beyond self defense and encourages vigilante justice - the exact type of justice meted out by George Zimmerman. Florida was the first state to pass such a law in 2005, but now somewhere in the range of 16 to 23 states have passed similar laws (sources differ on the exact number). This smacks of legislation authored by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). According to the Center for Media and Democracy's PR Watch,
Florida Senator Durell Peadon, an ALEC member, introduced the law in his state and it passed in early 2005; the NRA was behind the bill and its lobbyist Marion Hammer reportedly "stared down legislators as they voted." After Governor Jeb Bush signed it into law, Hammer presented the bill to ALEC's Criminal Justice Task Force (now known as the Public Safety and Elections Task Force) months later.
SourceWatch has a good description of the relationship between ALEC and the National Rifle Association (NRA). For example, an NRA representative was the co-chair of ALEC's Public Safety and Elections Task Force for a number of years.
Thousands of people attended a rally in Sanford, Florida last Thursday. Brando from Occupy Sarasota was able to attend and provided this report. Although George Zimmerman has yet to be arrested, there is some movement on the case. The Sanford, Florida police chief has temporarily stepped aside. Governor Rick Scott is convening a task force to study the matter. And, the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice is looking into the case.
