Image via Twitter user @OccupiersFilm
Dear Mayor Slay and Chief Isom,
My name is Natalie and I’m a member of Occupy Chicago. Please know that I only speak for myself and am not claiming to represent the opinions of Occupy Chicago or any other Occupations. I am, however, a sister in the global revolution of citizens united to restore power to the people and remove corporate influence over the state, among other initiatives.
On Thursday, March 15, 2012, I watched a livestream feed of Occupy the Midwest and saw my Occupy family smashed with cold police batons as they attempted to comply with illogical regulations regarding public land, space specifically bought and maintained with taxpayer dollars. Simply, I watched footage of senseless violence wrought against activists as they crossed the street, attempting to obey police orders to disperse from Compton Hill Reservoir Park. I watched my Occupy family brutalized, lead away in handcuffs with blood oozing down their faces.
According to an article by Brandie Piper of KDTV, “Police said the protesters yelled and cursed at police as officers asked them to leave. The protesters walked into the intersection, which police said blocked traffic on Grand.”
By the logic of your actions that night, free speech became a rationalization for pummeling fellow human beings. The actions of your riotous police squad have revealed your fear. If 120 dedicated students, workers, parents, brothers, and sisters are such a threat to your grasp of power, your grip must be sliding out of your hands quicker than we Occupiers realized. It is easy to react in violence and only demonstrates your lack of control and unwillingness to cooperate with us to broker a peace where we can achieve our goals.
When you dress in your suit or uniform, maybe you think those clothes create an insulation between yourself and common decency. When you deny us our rights to freely assemble and then crush our bones, you are unwittingly chipping away at your own power structure. By making and treating us as your enemy, you only ensure that our struggle is righteous and just. You only prove that this world needs Occupy to improve it so conversation can freely occur, so transgressions like this never happen again.
We will continue to fight you, and anyone like you, with the idea of creating a world where state sanctioned violence is impossible.
We will continue to fight you in the streets. We will continue to analyze your supporting actions toward Monsanto, a company which causes global poverty and discord. We will continue to oppose your complacency towards the face of capitalist monstrosity Bank of America, which helped create a false housing bubble and then evicted your constituents and the citizens you swore to serve and protect from their homes.
We will fight you in the courts, because your actions of assault and violence are criminal, and any attempts to silence our voices are unconstitutional.
We will fight you until we win.
The choice is up to you. You can choose to work with us and allow for compromise on all sides. You can accept the compromises when created, as we did when we chose to peacefully leave Compton Hill Reservoir Park and crossed the street.
Or you can continue to attack us.
The decision is yours. Either way, we will continue to fight.
With all the dedicated peace and nonviolence that is the backbone of my family,
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
-StL
Thank you; a beautiful and clear letter.We must move through these obstructions of violence with determination, a clear mind, and steady spirit. I am not moving.
Way to go. Keep up the good fight!
A St. Louisan
[...] Natalie W writes at Diatribe Media: [...]
I am a citizen of St. Louis, have brought my 10 year old child to the Occupy St. Louis camp, and am generally in favor of progressive movements and causes. I, however, watched the live streams that night and saw something different. I saw via the Occupy live streams that night:
-A crowd gathered in a park no where near any of the corporate influences over power cited above, instead it’s a park between hospitals and homes.
-A crowd refusing to move to another park and screaming constant obscenities loudly after 10pm – a time when my family is attempting to sleep.
-A city official attempting to reason with the crowd, and acknowledging that the city would be bound by any judgements against it for its actions.
-A man speaking for Occupy trying to claim that camping in a public park is their free right, despite the movement’s general tone that public assets cannot be co-opted by any private citizens or entities.
-A city official and police giving a clear directive and timeframe for complying with the very reasonable request of moving the protest to a place more suitable and less disruptive to the un-involved residents of a neighborhood un-related (as far as I could tell) to the Occupy cause.
-The refusal to honor the deadline, except to move into Grand Blvd with the express intent of blocking traffic once the police moved in to enforce the deadline.
I said I’m a fan of the movement above, but I was very troubled. I saw misplaced anger that just inflames people with no goal. I saw a lack of respect for other citizens. I saw an insistence on First Amendment rights without reciprocating respect of any other laws. And sadly, I saw a cheap co-opting of the courage and discipline of the Civil Rights Movement, the Anti-War Movement, and Mohatma Gandhi’s independence movement.
If you want to be taken seriously as a movement, consider this:
-Be clear about what you want to happen, don’t just make noise. Work toward change – no one likes a complainer without a solution.
-Direct your protest at someone who’s either the opposing side or can do something about your goal.
-Show the same respect for the values of the people around you as you expect them to demonstrate for yours.
In general, have a point and be clear about it — and be willing to visibly contribute to the greater good. Otherwise you continue to come across as people that demand the right to do whatever you want for whatever reason you want, without any regard for others.
No one is under any obligation to agree with you, so if you want to effect change, figure out how to make friends instead of enemies.
Peace,
Dan
Dan, I don’t think you could have said it any better in plain English. I agree with you 100% and I hope that someone from the Occupy Movement listens to you.
Dan is 1000% spot on. I live in St Louis and am generally tolerant of the occupy movement. In this instance your credibility here dropped to near zero. Especially after the vandalism in our beautiful parks. I don’t give a damn whether the vandals were officially part of the occupy movement or not. The best thing Occupy can do is get a clear agenda and control of the fringe idiots that make all of you look bad. Good luck….you’re gonna need it.