What Do We Want?

After seeing some of the comments I would like to remind our readers that this is just a BRAINSTORM OF IDEAS FROM DOZENS OF DIFFERENT PEOPLE.

Before we demand anything, we have to know what we want. This brainstorm is an EXERCISE, not a manifesto. When we do a brainstorm like this it’s very important NOT to reject any ideas. This is for us to get a sense of what this group cares about. Our occupation has many voices with many different perspectives and opinions. So please, relax. This is just a brainstorm. The fact that we have so many different ideas is a strength, not a weakness.

Politics:

A system that is responsive to the wills and passions of people, not to the size of their bank accounts.

Transparent and honest government.

Equality for all before the law.

Liberty and justice for all.

Protecting and practicing our liberties.

A level political playing field.

Expand voting rights.

Give power to local communities.

Better representation locally, state-wide, and nationally.

End the two-party system.

More third parties in politics.

End corporate personhood.

Separation of corporations and the state.

Corporate money is not the same as people’s free speech.

Abolish professional lobbying in the U.S.

A congress that is not full of lawyers.

No more career politicians.

Human beings can make their own decisions.

All power to the people.

Restructure democracy.

Experiment with democracy.

Dismantle broken institutions.

Revolution.

Anarchy.

Economics:

Trustworthy corporations. (An oxymoron?)

Consequences for corporate failures.

End corporate personhood.

End the World Bank and the IMF

End neo-liberalism and neo-colonialism.

End corporatism.

Abolish private land ownership.

Redistribution of wealth.

Reparations for the global south.

Forgive the debt of third world countries.

End capitalism.

Abolish property.

Scare the shit out of the 1%.

Education:

Student debt forgiveness.

“Pass or don’t pass” system in college instead of grades and standardized tests.

Free online textbooks.

Free school for life.

Free quality education.

College that’s about learning and not job training.

Enable communities to educate themselves.

Reteaching ourselves the democratic process.

Communal not institutional education.

Educate people because change comes from them.

Police and Prisons:

Legalize marijuana.

Legalize all drugs.

End the war on drugs.

End permanent records.

End the death penalty.

End the prison-industrial complex.

Rehabilitation not incarceration.

Stop criminalizing the poor.

Abolish the “criminal justice” system.

Create “people’s courts.”

But remember, cops are part of the 99% too.

War and Peace:

End all wars.

Bring the troops home.

Stop cutting veteran benefits.

Money for jobs and education not for war and occupation.

Stop sending poor people to fight rich people’s wars.

End the military-industrial complex.

Bring Obama and Bush to trial for war crimes.

Bring all war criminals to trial.

Abolish the U.N. Security Council and try them for war crimes.

Worker’s Rights:

A livable wage.

Flexible work schedule.

Jobs and good pay for teachers.

Reduce the workday to four hours.

End unemployment discrimination.

Open borders.

Infrastructure:

Moratorium on urban development.

Better public transportation system.

Build parallel alternative systems.

Make Denton a 100% bike-friendly zone.

Health:

Free universal healthcare.

Preventative healthcare coverage.

Holistic healing.

Fuck drug companies.

The Environment:

A sustainable environment.

We want a livable planet.

Don’t waste the earth, preserve it.

Focus on the environment.

Be good to your environment.

Combat climate change.

End Denton fracking.

End all hydraulic fracking.

Stop the Keystone XL pipeline.

End subsidies on nuclear, coal, and natural gas.

Shut down nuclear, coal, and natural gas.

Renewable energy now.

No patents on living things or seeds.

Go back to local farming and local food.

Community organic gardens.

Reforest everything.

Water as a right, not a commodity.

Stop bottled water companies.

Stop ownership of mineral and water rights.

Stop environmental racism.

Normalize vegetarianism.

Equal rights for all species.

Animals are people too.

End animal testing and torture.

End factory farms.

Stop destroying trees.

Stop subsidies to not grow crops.

Stop manufacturing cars.

Media and Culture:

Fuck the corporate media.

Support independent and local media.

Create a more compassionate culture.

Reclaim the “American Dream.”

Reclaim our communities.

Be an example community.

Lift the curfew on “the square.”

Bring down the racist confederate statue on “the square.”

Learn to cooperate and not incorporate.

Use our talents to help each other.

Build up social capital.

End discrimination.

Unity and diversity.

Support of all types of families.

End sexism, racism, and compulsory heterosexuality.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender liberation.

Abolish gender binaries.

We want a future for the homies, by the homies.

Be good to yourself, be good to others, and go in peace.

Charity begins at home.

“Namaste,” a Hindu expression: “reverential salutation or adoration.”

Evolve.