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Occupy or just some guy? Occupy Philly opposes July 4 "occupy" convention
Occupy Philly and Occupy Wall Street do not support the "99% Declaration" convention scheduled for this July 4 in Philadelphia.
Occupy or just some guy? Occupy Philly opposes July 4 “occupy” convention
"We do not support the 99% Declaration, its group, its website, its National GA and anything else associated with it,” Occupy Philly voted in December.
Recent articles in the Associated Press and NPR nonetheless falsely stated that the Declaration is “affiliated” with Occupy Wall Street. OWS says “the 99% Declaration and its call for a national general assembly in Philadelphia in July is not affiliated with or endorsed by Occupy Wall Street, and the organizers’ plans blatantly contradict OWS’ stated principles.”
The origins of the 99% Declaration, which will “elect” two delegates from all US states and territories to draft a “petition for a redress of grievances” and then run candidates against politicians who don't support it, are strange ones: the lawyer who is organizing this conference, Michael Pollok, represented two dozen liberal arts students arrested during an Occupy march across the Brooklyn Bridge. He then made note of their political opinions and turned them into a “Declaration.”
Occupy Wall Street and Occupy Philly general assemblies never recognized the legitimacy of his work, or suggested that he in any way represented the movement. And Occupy Philly pointed to a number of troubling details about the convention, which look a lot less like Occupy and a lot more like the system Occupy opposes:
-Delegates will be “elected” through an online voting system—which doesn't sound secure, accountable, or democratic. And it certainly doesn't jibe with Occupy's consensus model.
-The requirement that one man and one woman be elected from each district would seemingly exclude transgendered people.
And it gets worse...
-Each delegate would be required to undergo a criminal background check, and people convicted of violent offenses within the last 10 years would not be eligible. This would disproportionately disenfranchise poor people of color.
-And it excludes noncitizens.
The organization, which purports to represent a movement of thousands, has just three board members—all lawyers. This isn't so much a debate over whether or how Occupy should engage the government. After all, Occupy Philly activist Nathan Kleinman is running for a seat in Congress. The issue is whether this guy has the right—and we're talking ethically, not legally—to decide the next big step for the movement.
Pollok is, in other words, just some guy. But a number of “Declaration” candidates are already registered on his website. There will probably be a July 4 convention in Philly unless Occupy can out-organize Pollok—and fast.
Does PNI employ- or publish, or even recognize- a blogger affiliated with the Tea Party Movement?— Darth Bacon
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