Demands Of The Occupy Movement

As the Occupy Movement continues to spread across the nation, there has been a lack of cohesion within the movement.  Sure, people are angry, but what do they want?  In the union business, this is known as a remedy.  When you have a grievance, you always present a remedy to the problem.  So far, the Occupy Movement has failed to display a clear vision outside of We're mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore. While this is good, it would seem that the time has come to begin constructing a remedy for the culture of corporate greed, and political corruption that supports it.

I'd been tossing the idea around for a few weeks, and a couple of nights ago, I jotted down the following:


Nearly two hundred-fifty years ago, women and men in the not quite united states of America started a movement against a government which had become detached from the realities that made up their daily lives.  It was a government rife with corruption that protected only the interested of the wealthy elite, while ignoring the well-being of the vast majority of its citizens.  Our forefathers took it upon themselves to rid themselves of this tyranny not through violence, but by social action and mobilization of the oppressed.  It was the oppressive government who first resorted to violence, but in the end, the people were victorious.


Now, in our present times, we find ourselves living under similar circumstances.  Aided by a corrupt government, a small plutocracy oppresses the remaining 99% of the population.  The time has come for all people who are endeared to freedom and equality, who truly believe in the pursuit of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, to mobilize in a movement for the people's democracy.  

Some among us have already engaged this struggle in the form of peaceful occupation of the monuments of oppression and corruption.  Now that the struggle has begun, it is time for us to state our demands who have sought to control us for far too long:
 
1. UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE FOR ALL.

2. IMMEDIATE FORGIVENESS OF ALL FEDERAL STUDENT DEBT.

3. UNIVERSAL PUBLIC EDUCATION THROUGH COLLEGE.

4. INTRODUCTION OF THE STANDARD 35 HOUR WORK WEEK.

5. THE COMPLETE END OF DISCRIMINATION FOR GENDER, RACE, AGE, RELIGION, AND SEXUAL ORIENTATION.

6. INSTITUTION OF A BAN ON ALL CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS.  ALL ELECTIONS WILL BE PUBLICLY FINANCED. 

7. IMPLEMENTATION OF CONGRESSIONAL TERM LIMITS - 3 TERMS IN THE HOUSE, 2 TERMS IN THE SENATE.

8. AUTOMATIC COST OF LIVING ADJUSTMENT(COLA) FOR SOCIAL SECURITY TO KEEP UP WITH INFLATION.

9. ENFORCE THE RIGHT OF ALL WORKERS TO JOIN A UNION IF THEY CHOOSE TO DO SO.  ALL NLRB ELECTIONS MUST BE HELD WITHIN 5 DAYS OF PETITION.

10. GUARANTEED HOUSING FOR ALL CITIZENS.


As was the case with our forefathers, the government has resorted to violence in response to our peaceful protests - but just as they were victorious, so shall we, the 99% prevail in this struggle.

In Solidarity,

Joseph

What Is Scab?

This is Jack London's definition, and I find it to be the most accurate description I've ever seen:


After God had finished the rattlesnake, the toad, and the vampire, He had some awful substance left with which He made a scab. A scab is a two-legged animal with a corkscrew soul, a waterlogged brain, and a combination backbone made of jelly and glue. Where others have hearts, he carries a tumor of rotten principles.

When a scab comes down the street, men turn their backs and angels weep in heaven, and the devil shuts the gates of hell to keep him out. No man has a right to scab as long as there is a pool of water deep enough to drown his body in, or a rope long enough to hang his carcass with. Judas Iscariot was a gentleman compared with a scab. For betraying his Master, he had character enough to hang himself. A scab hasn't.

Esau sold his birthright for a mess of pottage. Judas Iscariot sold his savior for thirty pieces of silver. Benedict Arnold sold his country for a promise of a commission in the British Army. The modern strikebreaker sells his birthright, his country, his wife, his children, and his fellow men for an unfulfilled promise from his employer, trust, or corporation.



The bottom line is that when you cross a picket line, you are taking money from another man's pocket, and food from his children.

In Solidarity,

Joseph