Martin Blank
14th January 2012, 10:27
Note: For more information about the reorganization of Occupy Saginaw and the reasons for its existence, click here (http://www.occupysaginaw.com/january-10-2012-occupy-saginaw-re-established-as-independent-group/). -- Cthulhu
A Declaration of Political Independence
Declaration of Occupy Saginaw
Adopted as a Working Draft by the General Assembly, January 9, 2012
We gather at a time when the world in which we live is facing a systemic crisis. More than three years after the Crash of 2008, the world economy continues to get worse for the overwhelming majority of people. Government after government, whether they are considered left, right or in the center, has turned to austerity to keep the wealthy corporate owners and their enablers from going under, while using police repression to keep everyone else from standing up.
The concentration of wealth and power in the hands of the top 1 percent has already meant the erosion of our basic civil and democratic rights, the rollback of our standards of living, and the destruction of our communities. But this concentration is incomplete; every day, this 1 percent — the richest and most powerful owners of the major industries and services, including banks and financial investment firms — seek to maximize their accumulation of wealth and power. They do this not only by attacking the rights and living standards of workers, unionized and non-unionized, but also through transforming the political government and its civil service into an underwriter of their businesses by turning the national treasury into a cash machine for these owners — a corporate welfare state.
Standing guard between this corporate welfare state and the masses of poor and working people are the millions of organized enablers and junior partners of the 1 percent. From the many layers of politicians, bureaucrats and officials at all levels of the political government, to the armed bodies that defend and enforce the 1 percent’s idea of “law and order,” to the multitude of smaller businesses whose fates are tied to the “success” of the 1 percent, to the managers, “professionals” and “specialists” who act as organizers and administrators for the 1 percent, to the full-time (and often self-appointed) “leaders” and officials that advocate “collaboration” and “social peace” with the 1 percent — these enablers may technically be a part of the 99 percent, but act in the interests of the 1 percent and the social system they have created.
The #Occupy movement was born of the need to defend the 99 percent against the unchecked and unchallenged power of the 1 percent. For the first time since the 1930s, those who were called “middle class” by the media and government (professionals, skilled and unionized workers, college graduates, small business owners, managers and “specialists,” etc.) have begun to experience degraded living standards, economic insecurity and erosion of rights that are similar to what the unemployed and low-waged layers of society have lived with for generations. As the #Occupy movement has developed, however, it has run up against the reality of this society — the reality of fundamental differences and divisions (and antagonisms!) within the 99 percent, between the enablers of this social system and its opponents. And the various local #Occupy groups have had to make a choice of which part of the 99 percent to actually support.
We who have gathered to reorganize Occupy Saginaw have made our choice. We fight to defend all those under attack by the 1 percent and its enablers. First and foremost, this means fighting for the rights and livelihoods of poor and working people — the two-thirds majority of the 99 percent. Where the interests of both major social groups in the 99 percent coincide, we will fight to build a democratic and inclusive movement to defend and fight for these interests. Where the interests of the one-third (many of whom are enablers of the 1 percent) come into conflict with the two-thirds, we stand solidly with the majority. At all times, though, we seek to build the broadest possible unity that principle allows.
Occupy Saginaw is an open community of poor and working people, facing all of the different forms of exploitation and oppression that exist within this society, united by common social interests and a shared vision of a new world being built within the shell of the old. We recognize that all of the various forms of exploitation and oppression suffered by one part of us are ultimately felt by all of us, and that it will take a broad principled unity to defeat these attacks. As well, we also recognize that the differences among us are not barriers to working together, but actually enrich our common viewpoint by bringing together a multitude of experiences and ideas.
We gather as a movement to occupy public and common spaces, to raise our voices in opposition to the agenda of the 1 percent and its enablers, to give voice to those who have had theirs stolen, suppressed or distorted, and, most importantly, to help our fellow poor and working people to educate and organize themselves into a dynamic and powerful movement for systemic change. In doing this, we declare our solidarity with all the independent #Occupy groups, most notably Occupy Wall Street, which was the spark that lit the flame of occupation across the U.S. and around the world, Occupy Oakland, which has pointed out the importance and power of uniting the poor and working majority of the 99 percent, and Occupy D.C., which has brought this struggle to the gates of power in the United States. Moreover, in declaring our solidarity with these #Occupy groups, we also declare our support for the declarations adopted by the General Assemblies of Occupy Wall Street (adopted Sept. 29, 2011) and Occupy D.C. (adopted Nov. 30, 2011), and recognize as our own their stated grievances and reasons for occupying.
We emphasize the term “independent” because of what has happened in the #Occupy movement since it emerged last September. From the moment the first tent was raised in New York City, there have been numerous attempts by the enablers of the 1 percent to co-opt and compromise the movement. In some places, they have succeeded in transforming the #Occupy movement into a “grassroots” façade for their enabling of the 1 percent, its organizations, politicians and institutions. One of the main reasons why we have gathered to reorganize Occupy Saginaw is because of the co-option that has taken control of the original local #Occupy group. The #Occupy movement must keep itself independent, or it risks complete compromise and transformation into an electoral vehicle or mouthpiece for one of the large political parties (or some of its politicians) that represents the 1 percent and its enablers.
There are certainly more grievances we could raise beyond those outlined by Occupy Wall Street and Occupy D.C. However, we believe it is more important to speak to what we believe in — to present a positive vision and message of the kind of world we want to build. We do not see these as “demands” to be presented to those “representing” the 1 percent, but as goals for the independent #Occupy movement to fulfill. We gather as Occupy Saginaw because:
We believe in systemic change. No single reform or set of reforms can fundamentally alter the fact that the 1 percent dominates our society — politically, economically, culturally and socially — and that they are enabled by their junior partners, armed agents, administrators and professional consultants. The systemic change we seek can only be brought into existence by the poor and working-class majority themselves.
We believe in democracy that works for the poor and working-class majority. In our current society, “democracy” is a commodity, bought by and sold to the highest bidder. Even the “rights” we’re told we have are dependent on how much one is willing to spend to exercise them. Real democracy is revolutionary; it is a democracy that is pushed to its extremes, where the vague “freedoms” become accessible to even the poorest person and “equal opportunity” becomes equality of opportunity. In fact, democracy is expanded and extended so much that the very concept is transformed from a form of rule to a daily practice.
We believe that the economy should not be exempt from the expansion of democracy. Today, the 1 percent, its junior partners and administrators have absolute control over the economy. Even the most “democratic-minded” of these people refuse to accept the expansion of democracy into their business. A genuinely democratic economy would mean those who work at these businesses would have a voice and vote both on the job and in the community.
We believe that an injury to one is an injury to all. The 1 percent and its enablers seek to keep poor and working people divided by gender, race, nationality, sexuality, age and ability, as well as making us resent and be ashamed of ourselves and one another for being poor and working people. It is one of most powerful tools they have to preserve and protect their wealth and power. The victory of the #Occupy movement is only possible by fighting these attempts to divide us and building a strong unity across all of these socially-constructed “dividing lines.”
We believe in building a society of generalized freedom, peace and sustainability. As long as the 1 percent and its enablers are in control of society, the overwhelming majority of society will continue to see its rights and freedoms stripped away, live under the threat of war and repression, and try to survive on a planet where everything from the water to the air to the food we eat is laced with harmful toxins and chemicals. Only when the poor and working-class majority of the 99 percent, and any allies it can win to its side along the way, is able to defeat and sweep out of power the 1 percent and its enablers, will the door open to the building of a new world.
Brothers and sisters! We, Occupy Saginaw, gathered together in General Assembly, urge you to stand up, step forward and assert your power. Exercise your civil and democratic rights, occupy public and common spaces, speak out on the reality of your conditions and experiences, create democratic and non-hierarchical structures that allow you to address the problems you face, and discuss and debate solutions that bring us closer to a new world. To all communities and existing #Occupy groups that take action to build themselves as an independent voice and movement, we encourage greater collaboration, and sharing of both resources and experiences. We offer our support, documentation and resources at our disposal.
Join with us and raise your voice in solidarity and unity to build a new world!
A Declaration of Political Independence
Declaration of Occupy Saginaw
Adopted as a Working Draft by the General Assembly, January 9, 2012
We gather at a time when the world in which we live is facing a systemic crisis. More than three years after the Crash of 2008, the world economy continues to get worse for the overwhelming majority of people. Government after government, whether they are considered left, right or in the center, has turned to austerity to keep the wealthy corporate owners and their enablers from going under, while using police repression to keep everyone else from standing up.
The concentration of wealth and power in the hands of the top 1 percent has already meant the erosion of our basic civil and democratic rights, the rollback of our standards of living, and the destruction of our communities. But this concentration is incomplete; every day, this 1 percent — the richest and most powerful owners of the major industries and services, including banks and financial investment firms — seek to maximize their accumulation of wealth and power. They do this not only by attacking the rights and living standards of workers, unionized and non-unionized, but also through transforming the political government and its civil service into an underwriter of their businesses by turning the national treasury into a cash machine for these owners — a corporate welfare state.
Standing guard between this corporate welfare state and the masses of poor and working people are the millions of organized enablers and junior partners of the 1 percent. From the many layers of politicians, bureaucrats and officials at all levels of the political government, to the armed bodies that defend and enforce the 1 percent’s idea of “law and order,” to the multitude of smaller businesses whose fates are tied to the “success” of the 1 percent, to the managers, “professionals” and “specialists” who act as organizers and administrators for the 1 percent, to the full-time (and often self-appointed) “leaders” and officials that advocate “collaboration” and “social peace” with the 1 percent — these enablers may technically be a part of the 99 percent, but act in the interests of the 1 percent and the social system they have created.
The #Occupy movement was born of the need to defend the 99 percent against the unchecked and unchallenged power of the 1 percent. For the first time since the 1930s, those who were called “middle class” by the media and government (professionals, skilled and unionized workers, college graduates, small business owners, managers and “specialists,” etc.) have begun to experience degraded living standards, economic insecurity and erosion of rights that are similar to what the unemployed and low-waged layers of society have lived with for generations. As the #Occupy movement has developed, however, it has run up against the reality of this society — the reality of fundamental differences and divisions (and antagonisms!) within the 99 percent, between the enablers of this social system and its opponents. And the various local #Occupy groups have had to make a choice of which part of the 99 percent to actually support.
We who have gathered to reorganize Occupy Saginaw have made our choice. We fight to defend all those under attack by the 1 percent and its enablers. First and foremost, this means fighting for the rights and livelihoods of poor and working people — the two-thirds majority of the 99 percent. Where the interests of both major social groups in the 99 percent coincide, we will fight to build a democratic and inclusive movement to defend and fight for these interests. Where the interests of the one-third (many of whom are enablers of the 1 percent) come into conflict with the two-thirds, we stand solidly with the majority. At all times, though, we seek to build the broadest possible unity that principle allows.
Occupy Saginaw is an open community of poor and working people, facing all of the different forms of exploitation and oppression that exist within this society, united by common social interests and a shared vision of a new world being built within the shell of the old. We recognize that all of the various forms of exploitation and oppression suffered by one part of us are ultimately felt by all of us, and that it will take a broad principled unity to defeat these attacks. As well, we also recognize that the differences among us are not barriers to working together, but actually enrich our common viewpoint by bringing together a multitude of experiences and ideas.
We gather as a movement to occupy public and common spaces, to raise our voices in opposition to the agenda of the 1 percent and its enablers, to give voice to those who have had theirs stolen, suppressed or distorted, and, most importantly, to help our fellow poor and working people to educate and organize themselves into a dynamic and powerful movement for systemic change. In doing this, we declare our solidarity with all the independent #Occupy groups, most notably Occupy Wall Street, which was the spark that lit the flame of occupation across the U.S. and around the world, Occupy Oakland, which has pointed out the importance and power of uniting the poor and working majority of the 99 percent, and Occupy D.C., which has brought this struggle to the gates of power in the United States. Moreover, in declaring our solidarity with these #Occupy groups, we also declare our support for the declarations adopted by the General Assemblies of Occupy Wall Street (adopted Sept. 29, 2011) and Occupy D.C. (adopted Nov. 30, 2011), and recognize as our own their stated grievances and reasons for occupying.
We emphasize the term “independent” because of what has happened in the #Occupy movement since it emerged last September. From the moment the first tent was raised in New York City, there have been numerous attempts by the enablers of the 1 percent to co-opt and compromise the movement. In some places, they have succeeded in transforming the #Occupy movement into a “grassroots” façade for their enabling of the 1 percent, its organizations, politicians and institutions. One of the main reasons why we have gathered to reorganize Occupy Saginaw is because of the co-option that has taken control of the original local #Occupy group. The #Occupy movement must keep itself independent, or it risks complete compromise and transformation into an electoral vehicle or mouthpiece for one of the large political parties (or some of its politicians) that represents the 1 percent and its enablers.
There are certainly more grievances we could raise beyond those outlined by Occupy Wall Street and Occupy D.C. However, we believe it is more important to speak to what we believe in — to present a positive vision and message of the kind of world we want to build. We do not see these as “demands” to be presented to those “representing” the 1 percent, but as goals for the independent #Occupy movement to fulfill. We gather as Occupy Saginaw because:
We believe in systemic change. No single reform or set of reforms can fundamentally alter the fact that the 1 percent dominates our society — politically, economically, culturally and socially — and that they are enabled by their junior partners, armed agents, administrators and professional consultants. The systemic change we seek can only be brought into existence by the poor and working-class majority themselves.
We believe in democracy that works for the poor and working-class majority. In our current society, “democracy” is a commodity, bought by and sold to the highest bidder. Even the “rights” we’re told we have are dependent on how much one is willing to spend to exercise them. Real democracy is revolutionary; it is a democracy that is pushed to its extremes, where the vague “freedoms” become accessible to even the poorest person and “equal opportunity” becomes equality of opportunity. In fact, democracy is expanded and extended so much that the very concept is transformed from a form of rule to a daily practice.
We believe that the economy should not be exempt from the expansion of democracy. Today, the 1 percent, its junior partners and administrators have absolute control over the economy. Even the most “democratic-minded” of these people refuse to accept the expansion of democracy into their business. A genuinely democratic economy would mean those who work at these businesses would have a voice and vote both on the job and in the community.
We believe that an injury to one is an injury to all. The 1 percent and its enablers seek to keep poor and working people divided by gender, race, nationality, sexuality, age and ability, as well as making us resent and be ashamed of ourselves and one another for being poor and working people. It is one of most powerful tools they have to preserve and protect their wealth and power. The victory of the #Occupy movement is only possible by fighting these attempts to divide us and building a strong unity across all of these socially-constructed “dividing lines.”
We believe in building a society of generalized freedom, peace and sustainability. As long as the 1 percent and its enablers are in control of society, the overwhelming majority of society will continue to see its rights and freedoms stripped away, live under the threat of war and repression, and try to survive on a planet where everything from the water to the air to the food we eat is laced with harmful toxins and chemicals. Only when the poor and working-class majority of the 99 percent, and any allies it can win to its side along the way, is able to defeat and sweep out of power the 1 percent and its enablers, will the door open to the building of a new world.
Brothers and sisters! We, Occupy Saginaw, gathered together in General Assembly, urge you to stand up, step forward and assert your power. Exercise your civil and democratic rights, occupy public and common spaces, speak out on the reality of your conditions and experiences, create democratic and non-hierarchical structures that allow you to address the problems you face, and discuss and debate solutions that bring us closer to a new world. To all communities and existing #Occupy groups that take action to build themselves as an independent voice and movement, we encourage greater collaboration, and sharing of both resources and experiences. We offer our support, documentation and resources at our disposal.
Join with us and raise your voice in solidarity and unity to build a new world!