November 10, 2011
Dear Oakland Occupants:
It was an honor to stand against large corporate injustice and greed and march with you on Wednesday, November 2nd. I would like to thank you for your courage to occupy the Frank Ogawa Plaza and remain firm in your conviction. My husband and I are small business owners of an orthodontic office and almost daily hear the sad stories of our patients who cannot pay their bills because they’ve lost their jobs and/or their homes. In tears they apologize for not being able to pay us and all we can do is ask that they remember us when they get back on their feet. Of course, this does not pay our bills and we’ve fallen behind on our vendor accounts, some which have withheld our supplies, and now we are threatened with bankruptcy and foreclosure on our home. The tragic ripple effect has got to be broken and I support the Occupy Movement’s commitment to force the change.
However, I personally feel that the time of physical occupation of the Frank Ogawa Plaza (or any other venue) has come to an end. This phase has served its purpose and has proven that the people have power and that we will be heard. Now I believe it’s time to move on to a new phase of legislation to change laws that allow the 1% to continue as they have. A good place to start would be changing the laws that allow Congress to receive full pay and benefits for life. They should be required to pay into the system like all of us and should receive the same healthcare as us. This would save our country billions of dollars annually. How about a law limiting the amount of outsourcing? And a law forgiving student debts and foreclosures? Of course there are a multitude of issues that need to be changed, and with the momentum that the Occupy Movement has created nationally, we can seriously get this stuff on the ballots and people will come out in droves to vote on them.
With the tragic injury of Scott Olson, Oakland has been thrust into the limelight of the Occupation Movement. The world is watching us and unfortunately also watching the violence and damage that has been caused by peripheral groups. People who were once on board with the Occupy Movement are starting to turn away, even though they know that the damage is not being caused by Occupy. Regrettably, continuing the physical occupation continues to give a platform to those bent on violence and destruction and that is what our city does not want or need. Small businesses like ours are being damaged and at times shut down, many losing business because people don’t want to come into our “war-torn” area, and the City is spending a fortune on police who are trying to prevent the damage. Again, we all know that this is not the Occupy agenda or desire, yet it has become a side effect of the presence of the Occupation.
So I ask you to please consider leaving the Plaza (making sure it’s left clean) thanking the citizens of Oakland for their support, reassuring them and City Hall that leaving is by no means an indication of business-as-usual and alert them to stay tuned to the next phase of mass petitions and legislation for change. (Perhaps the occupation of foreclosed homes would be a better choice for the winter months?)
Thank you for your consideration and wisdom in making this important decision.
Power to the People!
The proposal that the violent faction put forward the other night was pretty naked as far as their rhetoric. It actually said essentially, “If you don’t want people to be hurt, do not send the police.” They expected us to pass that shit from the General Assembly. They REALLY have big heads. They didn’t lose their perspective like some of my fellow progressives have, they never had any perspective on the reality tunnel most Americans live in, no ability to relate to them or to help expand the movement — in truth they are basically nihilists. And the idea that the establishment is going to be forced to allow perpetual Occupations depends on the idea that innocent and non-violent people are going to continue to put their bodies on the line for some cause they don’t even realize that they’ve signed up for. We will not do that. I only fear that some of us will be driven to do it by our revulsion at police brutality.
sadly I kind of have to agree with you. I’ve tried to support from day one, I’ve given witness on facebook and to everyone I’ve met about the brutality of the police response to our peaceful protest on 10/25. There were very few vandals or violent people on that night, but we were unable to stop them ultimately from creating their own spectacle and since then their whole pathetic “army” has gathered in Oakland to do damage to our city irregardless of the collateral damage to our community. I stand against them — on this board and on the streets and in my own name instead of anonymously because I’m proud to stand for dissent within the framework of the U.S. Constitution.
Victronix, listen to yourself, read your words. You sound like a damn terrorist in your
“the city can choose NOT to attack the protestors and SAVE everyone millions of dollars and allow the camp to evolve and sort through its issues on its own.”
You can also choose to follow the laws of this city and the country. You and all others with your line of thought are the reason you will not succeed because you do not understand what “Peaceful” means and you push past the legal limits. Far more violence is ignited by your’s and other’s weakness and inability to choose right over wrong. This movement now looks so pathetic and more like a mob willing to do anything that suits them. There is no such thing as a society that can survive without laws because people like you are to eager to destroy trust and honor and legitimacy.
ssillysyl, you will better understand the movement as time goes on. If anyone tries to force people to leave that will probably be another dangerous situation for all. We should all decry any efforts to attack the camp again. But ultimately that’s up to the city government — the city can choose NOT to attack the protestors and SAVE everyone millions of dollars and allow the camp to evolve and sort through its issues on its own. It is not the responsibility of Occupy Oakland to determine what the police will do and many have asked for the city to not do that again. As you must be aware, far more violence and destruction occurs with the police then without them.