Occupy Minnesota
The Occupy Atlanta demonstration is a part of the Occupy Movement which began on Sept. 17, 2011 with the original Occupy Wall Street demonstration in New York City. The demonstration is located at Woodruff Park - unoffically renamed Troy Davis Park by the demonstrators. Template:TOCnestleft
Support
DSA Involvement
Several members, including Lance Goldsberry of the local Twin Cities Democratic Socialists of America took part in the Occupy Minnesota (Wall Street) event, Sunday October 9th, 2011. Goldsberry reported on the event,[1]
- Americans of all types were at this event- anarchists, socialists, tea-partiers, Ron Paulites, libertarians, and ordinary people, all protesting Corporate power and its alliance with government. It is not shrill to suggest that unchecked corporate power is leading to a nascent fascism. Average Americans are being asked to sacrifice, while the rich and corporations are not being asked to sacrifrice. Corporate profits are privatized, while corporate losses are socialized.
Congressman Keith Ellison (D) of Minnesota, and Antonia from La Asamblea de Derechos Civiles also attended the event.[2]
Minutes of DSA Re-energizing Meeting, 19 February 2012
Membership Meeting, Democratic Socialists of America, Twin Cities Local, 19 February 2012
Location: 2210 E. 40th Street, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
In attendance: Members: Kate Baird,Alan Makinen, David Pera, Deb Ramage (convener). Members joining the meeting in-progress: Dan Frankot, Neal Gosman. Guests: Doug Mann.
A. Occupy Minnesota. Ramage and Baird discuss their participation in Occupy actions and deliberations. Ramage reports that Occupy Minnesota coheres despite ideological tensions between various constituent organizations and tendencies (which have been written about more broadly in The Nation magazine). There has been dispute about the use of consensus or majority rule in decision making processes. Currently a 90 percent majority is required to approve a decision at general assemblies. Anarchist activists seem more concerned about being co-opted by the DFL than by the many Stalinists who are also involved in the movement. Ramage is positive about the Occupy homes (anti-foreclosure) activism. TCDSA members could help here on various tasks like building fences, doing neighborhood canvassing, providing food, supplying child care. Baird asks for thoughts on how to get TCDSA members to show up for Occupy Home actions. Frankot thinks that members are willing to participate. Ramage suggests pointing members to weekly All Committee Meetings that are held at Walker Community Methodist Church, in Minneapolis. Dinner is served at 5 PM; meetings begin at 6 PM. Also, members should sign up for e-mail alerts at the occupyminneapolis.mn website. Baird and Ramage comment that FBI infiltration and surveillance of such meetings is commonly accepted as a given.[3].
Participants
The following have participated in Occupy Minnesota:[4]
- Bobby Hull, Vietnam veteran
- Suzanne Gardinier
- Jeremy Messersmith
- Bob Ostertag, Professor of Technocultural Studies and Music at UC Davis
- Laurie Penny
- Peter Leeman
- Bruce Berry[5]
- Michael Orange[5]
- John Steitz[6]
- Justine Baumgartner, an early participant in the Occupy Minneapolis movement[7]
- Soren Sorensen[8]
- Sarah Martin[9]
- Sam Richards[9]
Speakers
- Ann Bancroft, polar explorer and founder of the Ann Bancroft Foundation led a Winter Survival Workshop for OM residents[10]
- Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer, University of St. Thomas professor[5]
- Bob Carney, Jr., Candidate-Journalist” and Occupy participant[11]
Events
Minneapolis Mass Day of Action
On Nov. 10, 2011, notice was given on the Occupy Minnesota website of a Mass Day of Action scheduled for Nov. 14:[12]
- "Join us as we march with AFSCME Council 5, the Service Employees International Union, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1005, Women Against Military Madness, the Anti-War Committee, Minnesota Arms Spending Alternatives Project, a group led by Rep. Bill Hilty and Professor Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer, Move to Amend, a national organization to amend corporate personhood, and many other unions and student groups to be announced.We are asking the unions to stand in solidarity, to organize and be at The People’s Plaza ready to march."
External Links
References
- ↑ DSA: DSA Members Participate in Occupy Wall Street (accessed on Nov. 2, 2011)
- ↑ Cities DSA at the Occupy Minnesota (Wall Street) Event, Sunday October 9th, 2011, Twin Cities DSA blog, accessed Novembr 2, 2011
- ↑ DSA Twin Cities blog, Monday, February 27, 2012, Minutes of the Re-energizing Meeting
- ↑ Occupy MN Stories (accessed on Dec. 21, 2011)
- ↑ Jump up to: 5.0 5.1 5.2 Occupy MN: Armistice and Veterans Day Vigil, Nov. 9, 2011 (accessed on Dec. 21, 2011)
- ↑ My Fox Twin Cities: Sex at Plaza Steams Up OccupyMN Protest, Nov. 15, 2011 (accessed on Dec. 21, 2011)
- ↑ Occupy MN: Please Contact Minneapolis Police if You Know of Justine Rae Baumgartner’s Whereabouts, Dec. 5, 2011 (accessed on Dec. 21, 2011)
- ↑ Occupy MN: Occupy Minnesota Participants to Help with Monday’s West Coast Port Shutdown, Dec. 11, 2011 (accessed on Dec. 21, 2011)
- ↑ Jump up to: 9.0 9.1 Occupy MN: Gathering To Reclaim The People’s Plaza, Dec. 10, 2011 (accessed on Dec. 21, 2011)
- ↑ Occupy MN: Winter Survival Workshop with Ann Bancroft, Nov. 10, 2011 (accessed on Dec. 21, 2011)
- ↑ Occupy MN: Occupy Minneapolis Holds Citizens’ Campaign Finance and the Minnesota Political Contribution Refund (PCR) Program Teach-In, Dec. 19, 2011 (accessed on Dec. 21, 2011)
- ↑ Occupy MN: Minneapolis Mass Day of Action Called By The People’s Plaza Against Restrictions of Constitutional Rights, Nov. 10, 2011 (accessed on Dec. 21, 2011)