THE answer to unify the 99%-Occupy-movt.-PLEASE PERUSE

[aedrianna]

Unite the Occupy-99% Movement.
Know your rights!

Who doesn’t want?...

1. FREE health care for every citizen of the world
(no hidden costs).

2. Full solar and wind turbine electricity,
supplied for free by the government,
to each home FOR FREE, forever.
ie-no electricity costs again.

3. Electric Cars-THE SELF CHARGING VARIETY, free, to Every Citizen of the World, and as each child reaches the age of 16 or 18, one free electric car, from their elders, for their birthday.

4. Free education for each citizen of the world,
at all levels.

Please campaign to change the hearts and minds of everyone to
positive action, to achieve these goals. Please send this message
to all that you partition, to UNITE our cause. Governments, the
media, friends, family, celebrities, artisans, wise elders, humanitarians; people you believe should have a say in how our money should be spent, anyone, -to let them see why we are united.
4 requests only, for now.
Committee For Elders To Guide Our Planet.

Please feel free to use any of this information,
and campaign and vote for a sane future.
sistergalaxia1@gmail.com


Imagine a world
Where all your needs were met

Where you never had to pay
for power, heating, medicine,
health care, education or transport
again, ever.

How relaxed and stress-free
would your life be?
These are your rights!

WHAT YOU CAN DO
Continue your protestations via letters, emails – demand the 4 rights.
Form Political Parties, in your country, demanding the 4 rights.
Write letters and emails to members of the public that YOU; (it can be anyone), consider fit to guide our future.
Form committees of wise persons to lobby for the 4 rights.



Committee For Elders to Guide Our Planet.
sistergalaxia1@gmail.com

[Chris]

In order for any of these ideas to be even given a chance of happening we need to regain our voice in our democracy. EVERYTHING else stems from that. We must all focus on getting the corporate money out of politics. Once we do that, then the interests of the people can be addressed. Whether it's wonderful ideas like these or even ideas from conservatives.

Without getting our "foot in the door", by eliminating the 1%'s control of our democracy, you are putting the "horse before the cart" if you focus on all the things we want changed, instead of focusing on HOW to change them.

A simple unified message can be spread easier, and will invite moderates to join in. Because explaining the 1%'s control of our legislative process can be understood by many, and people on all political sides already knows that is how politics works against the 99%.

Every single issue raised by everyone at every occupy movement can be addressed once we regain our political voice. We do that be demanding that the 1% can no longer pay off politicians.

[base9system]

It would be more compelling-and sell better-if you specified how all that would be paid for.

Otherwise, a wish-list of 'gimme's' only works to make us look out of touch with what's possible.

[Chris]

I agree. Like I said, you are putting the cart before the horse by listing demands that won't ever be acknowledged by a government run by only the richest people/corporations in the country.

Occupy Chicago, like the other movements, needs to focus on a unifying goal:
MONEY OUT OF POLITICS and OUT OF CAMPAIGNS.

This is the root of almost every problem facing 99% of Americans. Occupy Chicago needs to get back to basics and make our message accessible to everyone in the 99%

Once we regain out political power and voice, then we can start addressing specific grievances. Until then, you are just making the Occupy Chicago movement about special interests and narrowing the potential supporters and contributors to Occupy Chicago.

There is a reason why Occupy Chicago is lagging behind other occupy movements. We desperately need to identify those reasons.

[nikkiforshort]

I totally agree that there needs to be a real focus on the main issues. I think that there should also be a focus on educating people on how these things are what are behind so many of the issues people list as concerns in their neighborhoods, that is how people will come together. Tracing the roots of what people face in their day-to-day lives back to the same place as what others face, showing how it is all connected, is the way to connect people.

I also think that focusing on how division is used a a tool is important in Chicago. There is such a history of throwing crumbs and then getting people to argue about who is getting what, if all people start to question it all, that is the way to make the elected officials of Chicago start to take notice. They depend on division.

Just my perspective, there is room for so much change, there is room for so many ideas, but the important thing is finding common things that all groups can support each other in without losing their own focus. There can be many groups and many ideas under the umbrella, but that doesn't mean that they all have to try to adopt all of what others consider the most important. And sometimes taking a stand on things that people don't readily connect to an overall message can detract getting the main message out, part of that is that it gives the media talking points to use in an attempt to try to turn people away or suggest to certain groups that this is not something that concerns them or is concerned with them.

I think all of the ideas posted are great, but it is important to remember that talking about electric cars to people who barely have car fare is not so constructive, it doesn't send the message that anyone is really aware of the things so many face today.

Four people were killed and two others injured last night out by Altgeld, that is what is on alot of people's minds. Can fixing money in government and elections end up addressing violence in our communities, yes, it can. How do we get to the core issues to start to create real change? How do people begin to not blame their neighbors or the people across way, how do they begin to see that is what the goverment and powers that be want, that they are afraid of the power of people if they come to recognize a common enemy/oppressor? It is not simple. but it can happen.

One of the first things might be to start to simply really let people know that there is an awareness of the things people all over Chicago face is and let it be known that all of it is part of what OC is talking about, what this movement is trying to change, that there is a voice that will speak for all.

Every single thing in government, for so long, and especially in this city, has promoted the idea of issues that are defined as relating to certain segments of the population, funding is labled that way, housing is talked about in that way, crime and policing is addressed in that way, educational needs, the list is endless. We are urged to blame each other, to measure things against each other, to make things comparative, the suggestion being that we should demand what others in the 99%, not the 1%, have, and then the response is people believing that what they again promote, that in order for some to have, something will have to be taken from others in the 99%, not the 1% and that may mean them. Of course, this is what they spend so much money on, the propaganda is designed to make people focus on all that, not on the fact that it is class against class, not on the fact that the 1% are taking and taking and the 99% are being told that there is little for them, and that they should fight each other, not the 1%.

The truth, that fighting for the rights of those with whom you do not agree, for those you do not like or just don't know, for those you think you have nothing in common with, or those you see as your enemy, is the best way to ensure that you keep your rights, is what the powerful would like us to ignore or reject, so that in the end, there is nobody left to stand for anyone. Helping people to understand that's what the 1% want, for us to argue about who has it worse and not demand that we all have it better, just my opinion, is one important way we start to come together. Money, influence, health care, jobs, real representaion, real security...who has them and who doesn't, how they got it all, what they do with it all, the things those that who do have do to deny everyone else, things people talk about every day, in every place in this city, it's just a matter of making the picture bigger. People are starting to listen.

[Chris]

Yes, that is the key. Unite people by educating them about how the 1% has driven this country into the ground. Show them how the 1% has shaped almost all legislation for the pas 30 plus years. Show them that once the 99% takes back their democratic voice, we can start addressing the REAL problems that face Americans.

But starting talk of electric cars, pollution, GMO's, etc... isn't going to bring the mainstream into this movement. The 99% occupy movement is not about radical ideas. It's about a very simple idea that all Americans can get behind. We lost our democracy and as a result, we lost our economy. Almost every other grievance stems from those 2 basic, fundamental, issues.

Occupychicago needs to hit the reset button here before it's too late. WE must check our ego's at the door, be willing to compromise, be willing to sacrifice for the great good of this movement and for the entire country. Nit-picking on EVERYTHING that is wrong with the country will not bring in new occupiers. Having a GA system that is confusing, argumentative, or convoluted, will not bring in more occupiers. Having breakdowns or inconsistency in what is shown on the different social media sights/this site will not bring in more occupiers.

I am sure there are some people who have their hearts in the right place here, but you have to accept the fact that OccupyChicago is not succeeding on a level that it should be. Please PM if you have any suggestions to help improve Occupy Chicago or if you are frustrated with the way OccupyChicago has faltered compared to other, much smaller cities.

[nikkiforshort]

Hey Chris

I am just wondering, it seems like you really want to make some good suggestions and add to the forward movement of OC, but I am just not sure how asking people who are in agreement with some of what you are saying to email you is really productive...it seems like you are sort of setting yourself up as a collector of complaints or like you are creating a movement inside a movement.

I post here so that the people, all the people involved, can hear the opinions of someone who can't always make it to a GA. I am offering suggestions and observations that I hope might be helpful.

I have visited other Occupy locations myself. I see many differences. I have friends from Chi in Oakland and other cities who I talk to about the challenges in other places and the challenges here. I think that the reality is that Chicago is a really hard city. We are the most segregated, and the tools of division have been pounded on this city over and over, there is alot to do and alot to overcome. But there have been past moments when it has happened, and it can happen again, this time hopefully as a lasting thing.

Some things are things that people aren't even aware of, many things are unintentional, simple things like saying "We think," or "We stand for," or saying that "We are an inclusive movemen," rather than, for instance, "the 99%" or "Occupy Chicago" or "This is movement is about everyone." People who are not used to thinking about what is and is not actually inclusive lanuage, or thinking about how others really hear things, they need a minute to get it, to realize that if there is a "we," that is as much exlcusive as inclusive, and until everybody is in, it might make them feel like they are out.

Just as the temptation to supoort other causes, to see the immediate and be passionate is not a bad thing, it is just not a strategic thing at times. Realizing that having a strategy is not playing a game or propagandizing or being equal to a political canpaign but rather just looking ahead and seeing the good as well as the ramifications of actions, again, it will take a minute.

So my post in response to yours was to echo the idea that getting back to basics is a good thing, regrouping and seeing what has happened, how things are going, applying all that has been learned in this very short time, will only serve to make everyone stronger. But I don't see how getting together people who are discontent with things will serve do anything but be divisive in the short and long term. If I am missing something here, please, let me know.

[Chris]

No, you are correct. My intention was not to divide the group, but to find out why it has stalled. It's frustrating to here about donations being lost, bureaucracy, and low numbers at HQ.

Judging by the posts here, I am not the only one with concerns about how occupychicago is being operated.

Who runs this site? Who runs the Social Networks? If there isn't transparency, then there is not accountability.

I was only suggesting the PM in order to catch me up to speed with what is happening, since there is very little work done to welcome new members, educate new members, and to incorporate new members in whatever process, if any, is occurring within ocupychicago.

[nikkiforshort]

Oh, well, that is understandable. I am not an "insider" at all, I have been down there quite a few times, but I really don't know about how anything works.

But in the spirit of transparency, I will give you some impressions here and not in a message, they may be way off, but impressions are what people rely on, so that is important.

It seems to me alot of time and focus were both diverted around arrests, that happens. But along with that was a sort of feeling that those who had been arrested somehow had more "ownership." the feeling seemed to change alot. There also was an underlying suggestion that they were more "dedicated" to the whole thing.

Then there has been alot of talk about "inclusion." But by talking about it, it makes is seem, again, like there is a core group who want others to join them, rather than wanting to get the message out about how people already belong, about how it is the 1% who are excluding all others. Just my thought, once you have to start talking about "inclusion," it makes people start to wonder what you want from them. There have been alot of posts and a couple of things in the media about how this can't be successful without certain groups joining, but that is how it sounds, not like it is about all people seeing something better, and I don't think many people know what the group that is talking means by them "being successful." or why anybody should care if that happens.

I have never had anyone welcome me at occupychicago. I see alot of the same people huddled and discussing things, but not much interaction with the rest of the people there. It seems like a very individual thing, alot of people are there for their own reasons. One day I brought a bag with gloves and scarves and hats and asked a couple people who I could give it to, but I ended up taking it home because I didn't have alot of time and nobody seemed to be able to tell me who to give it to.

It seems like it lost alot of momentum in terms of people getting out and interested, for alot of reasons, after the arrests. I think there are many possible reasons, but unlike other cities where it served to unify people, the whole thing, to me, pretty much worked against them. I would guess maybe the whole thing about praising the police, or maybe the impression was that they wanted to get arrested at first. And then when they complained about the treatment the second time, it was sort of too late. And some people don't go there because they think they are now risking getting arrested. So part of what it seems like happened was that it grew in terms of having teach-ins and events, but the foundation of people being involved got lost. Sort of like building something with the expectation that there will be enough people to fill it up, but not getting the people first.

I don't know, I might be wrong about all this, but that is kind of some things I see. I know that someone I know was talking the other day about what the donations are for and who gets them and looked all over and counldn't figure it out. Maybe that makes people nervous.

[Chris]

Thank you very much, that is exactly what I am looking for! I want to know what people are experiencing with occupychicago. We should praise the positive aspects and come up with solutions to correct or improve the negative aspects.

I only suggested PM's in case people were afraid or uncomfortable with complaining about someone they are currently working with.

I don't mind speaking up for those that feel occupychicago could be running more efficiently, because I will do anything I can to see this movement become successful here in Chicago.

I had a VERY similar situation occur when I donated supplies, I am sure they were never used by the group or maybe even stolen by someone not with occupychicago.

Just a few things that I think should be addressed:

-There should be a transparent and systematic process of accepting donations/supplies and keeping an active and organized inventory.

-The message of the 99% should be the focus, then every other message should branch off from that.

-A major focus for welcoming and informing new participants in Occupychicago, both in person and online. (Twitter, Facebook, this site, etc.)

-Occupychicago should be the hashtag on Twitter, not Occupychi, we are splitting information, attention, resources, news, etc. People outside of Chicago and even a decent amount of people that live in Illinois do not call Chicago "Chi"

-Twitter, facebook, and this site, should always have the same information/details about upcoming events.

-Cut down on the Bureaucracy at our GA's/Committees. Make the process simple and most importantly INVITING to new occupiers. If people don't feel involved, they won't stay involved, and they won't get others involved.

-Using the Human Mic has many benefits, and some think it was a critical reason for the success at Occupy Wall Street.

-We need to teach everyone of the hand signals used at the occupy GA's across the country.

Most of my ideas deal with improving communication. And most of these ideas are already being implemented in other, much more successful Occupations.

A renewed focus on Communication, Transparency, and Simplicity.