By The Beachwood Occupation Affairs Desk
This is what democracy looks like.
1. I am a Chicago middle-school teacher and I am part of the 99%.
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2. “In the end, the 30-minute nighttime conversation taught me that these folks have many of the same grievances as the tea party: They don’t like the out-of-control debt, they don’t like the out-of-control spending, they don’t like the insider dealmaking and crony capitalism, and they don’t like it that they feel like they are left holding the bag while the insiders with access to power get away with everything,” John Tillman, the CEO of the Illinois Policy Institute, a “free-market think tank,” wrote in the Tribune on Thursday.
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3. The “enemy’s” encounter with a protesting rabbi.
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4. Jack Higgins thinks you’re all just a bunch of smelly hippies.
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5. “I have degrees in economics and political science, I worked in an international bank international bank, I’ve worked in a state legislature. I’ve also studied business and philosophy and now I’m a graduate student at the University of Chicago and, honestly, the more I learn the angrier I get.”
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6. “You’ve got to make sure to keep this movement pure,” former mayoral candidate Miguel del Valle told Chicago magazine. “You don’t want this movement tainted by politicians. You don’t want this movement co-opted by political parties, Democrats or Republicans. You don’t allow union bureaucrats to come in and co-opt the movement. They can be partners in the process, but it should be kept as pure as possible, because they are what we’ve been waiting for: a grassroots movement . . .
“I would have allowed them to camp out – with controls, of course. This is a nonviolent movement, and we have to allow for this expression to occur. My background is in community organizing. We need to become a force. If Occupy Wall Street has taught us anything, it’s that when people decide to move and move quickly and together, that things happen, good things can happen.
“Now some people might argue nothing happened yet, but the movement has gotten attention and that can set the stage and help create the climate that hopefully will lead to change.
“Maybe that change is getting more progressive types elected to office. Maybe it means doing something similar to what the Tea Party did when in the last election they practically took over the House of Representatives.
“But it shouldn’t only revolve around electoral politics. There has to be grassroots organizing at the neighborhood level around issues that affect people on a day-to-day basis.”
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7. Talkin’ ’bout my generation.
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8. Occupy Naperville Holding Protest Saturday.
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9. Joshua from Rock Island: “We can do better.”
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10. Occupy Chicago tweet 12 hours ago:
there is a single protester out at Occupy Arlington Heights. if you’re in the area . . . show some love and stand in solidarity 🙂
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11. “Interfaith Worker Justice published a Prayer Service designed to help people reflect on a moral economy within the context of their religious tradition,” IWJ announced on Wednesday.
“Written for clergy and religious leaders, the prayer service is aimed for those Occupying Wall Street and other cities, and for congregational use.
“Many people of faith are seeking to understand how their tradition calls them to respond to the movement.
“Joe Hopkins, a young adult missionary of the United Methodist Church, working with IWJ’s Workers’ Center Network, was one of 175 arrested on Saturday in an act of non-violent civil disobedience at an Occupy Chicago site in Grant Park. The crowd chanted together, ‘We are unstoppable; another world is possible.’
“Hopkins said, ‘Imagine that world: families live together in their houses, the sick and elderly receive care, workers receive payment before the sun sets. I invite you to take a moment of silence to reflect on the voices so often ignored. Then when you’ve listened to those voices, break the silence. Join us in that possible world. We are building that world together right now, and you can build it with us.’
“Kim Bobo, executive director of Interfaith Worker Justice, told the National Catholic Register, ‘The core issues here are the growing inequality in the nation, the lack of responsiveness to that and the job crisis.
“‘There is a growing frustration with what people have witnessed in Congress, which almost had a total meltdown this summer and couldn’t get anything done at all. People are just like, What are our options right now? We’ve got to get attention from our policymakers on these issues.’
“The Interfaith Prayer Service is available as a free download here or at iwj.org.
“On Nov. 17-20, Interfaith Worker Justice and faith and labor communities across the nation are preparing for action aimed to develop an economic system oriented around Just Jobs.”
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Previously:
* Occupy Chicago. Occupy The Nation.
* The Week in Occupy Chicago
* Occupy America
* We’ve Got The Guillotine!
* Occupying The Hyatt; Trashing Bank Of America
* Why No One Believes The Banks
* Occupy CNN
* RT’s Superior Cable News Coverage Continues With Its ‘Occupy Wall Street’ Reportage
* The Weekend in Occupy Chicago (October 17, 2011)
* Just How Much Can the State Restrict Peaceful Protest
* Blue Ribbon Glee Club Joins The Occupation
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Comments welcome.
Posted on October 21, 2011