At 1 am the New York City Police Department removed the assembled, largely sleeping, body of the Occupiers (which by rights should be referred to as the General Assembly. Wherever the people meet to reach agreement in an open forum in our many cities' occupations, this is the General Assembly).
I thought I might offer some words of encouragement, including words which encourage lucidity and open dialogue between all participants.
Occupy Birmingham is a small group, even if you include the larger network of good friends and fellow "99%'s" who are unable to pull up lightweight anchors. We owe and feel such gratitude to this largely unnamed demographic; they keep our bellies warm and our spirits high.
“The civil rights movement, owes Bull Connor as much as it owes Abraham Lincoln”
John Fitzgerald Kennedy
This is important
By kennethlipp at 2011-10-04
To the Birmingham Police Department: We are on a course where I believe we will eventually meet. The timing and conditions of that intersection might eventually be (or at least feel) out of our hands. Thus far on the very large part police officers have been ever polite if not outright supportive. Thank you for engaging us as people. A point of process for both parties might be the necessity of such respect for one another as whole and independent men and women; we have roles and rules and fables which will continue to insinuate themselves in our relations with our fellows, and we ought to be honest about, rather than protective of, our limitations.
I took part in an extemporaneous "dox" of certain organizations which constitute umbilical interests of fiduciary agents with questionable merit (some with highly evident conflicts of interest. The details are a matter of at least expository if not judicially "public" record. Search twitter.
I will not be returning to wall street any time soon. Joanne and I have, with surprising ease, realized that our place in this cooperative purge is here.
We trust and love our friends here at Occupy Birmingham, and wish only the honor of being a part commensurate with the common influence.
Each person's perspective gets heard, that's the idea, the process has to be applied, has to be ALLOWED TO HAPPEN. We called it a GA tonight when we met to discuss a simple personal misunderstanding. I left having learned more, again, in a few minutes with a few amazing people struggling to Be than I ever have from a book or a theory.
Treat the next person with kindness, and then the next. That's the revolution. Forget protecting the sacred words and attacking nefarious caricatures of discrete enemies.
If we cannot forgo the parable, we should understand that between the oppressed and marauded and the Philistines the favor is irrevocably seized when David (or Davids) finally see that they can slay a Giant with a stone.
By kennethlipp at 2011-10-04
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