Occupy Findlay, Ohio
Title
Occupy Findlay, Ohio
Type
Web Page
Facebook Political Organization
Item Type
Web Page
Abstract Note
Occupy Findlay Ohio (OFO)
Following respectful and good-faith dialogue with members of the local community Occupy Findlay hereby announces the following Good Neighbor Policy:
OFO has zero tolerance for drugs or alcohol anywhere in Dorney Plaza;
Zero tolerance for violence or verbal abuse towards anyone;
Zero tolerance for abuse of personal or public property.
OFO will limit drumming and music on the site until 10pm.
OFO encourages all participants to respect health and sanitary regulations, and will direct all participants to respectfully utilize appropriate off-site sanitary facilities.
OFO will display signage and have community relations and security monitors in Dorney Plaza, in order to ensure awareness of and respect for our guidelines and Good Neighbor Policy.
OFO will at all times have a community relations representative on-site, to monitor and respond to community concerns and complaints.
Occupy Findlay Ohio, October 26,2011.
Note: In conjunction with local community members and their representatives, OFO is also working to establish off-site sanitary facilities such as Marathon Gas Station, and the Public Library. Coffee Amici is not a Public Restroom, please purchase something if using the restroom.
What is Occupy Wall Street?
Occupy Wall Street is an otherwise unaffiliated group of concerned citizens like you and me who’ve come together around one organizing principle: We will not remain passive as formerly democratic institutions become the means of enforcing the will of the 1% of the population who control the magnitude of American wealth. Occupy Wall Street is an exercise in Direct Democracy. Since we can no longer trust our elected representatives to represent us rather than their large donors, we are creating a microcosm of what democracy really looks like. We do this to inspire one another to speak up. It is a reminder to our representatives and the moneyed interests that direct them: We the people still know our power. We feel we can no longer make our voices heard as we watch our votes for change usher in the same old power structure time and time again. This is the simplest, most effective democratic exercise we have left to employ, and we all must participate in order to be heard. Let the powers that be know – by physically joining us and occupying space in Dorney Plaza next to Findlay Courthouse.
What do you want: what are you protesting for/against?
We want what everybody wants: the ability to have a home, to make a livelihood, to have a family or a community, to live free. We all want economic and social justice. Thus, we are protesting for the rights of the 99% – for our most basic rights as citizens, to convene, to express ourselves, and to be heard.
Who is involved? From which communities and organizations do we come?
A diverse group of communities and organizations from a surprisingly wide political spectrum have come together around Occupy Wall Street. We are a group of autonomous individuals with no leader. Many – if not most – of us are unaffiliated with any particular group; we have come together as concerned individuals who want our collective voice heard. However, there is involvement by unions, student groups, and existing social justice organizations. More of them join us every day.
Finally, but crucially: This movement is comprised of thousands of people who have committed themselves to nonviolence. The one thing the powers that be understand and employ incredibly effectively around the world is the power of violence. We aim to offer a different model: a model of nonviolent direct democracy.
How long do people intend to stay at the plaza?
We will stay until change happens! Until broad swaths of the American population realize that it is only we, the 99%, that can reclaim society from the domination of the 1%. Democracy has never been a spectator sport, and Americans have an obligation, particularly if we claim to love our country, to build serious and meaningful change from the bottom up.
How do you work?
We engage in horizontal democracy. This means that we are a leaderless movement, in which every voice is equal and autonomous action is encouraged. This also means we cannot be easily defined by outside observers, nor can we be easily hijacked by outside forces. We try as much as we can to gain consensus because we believe everyone’s experience is equally valid, every voice and opinion should be heard, and none more than any other. In order to ensure that all voices are heard and to facilitate better communication in a non-hierarchical meeting, we commit to engaging in “meeting process”. It is slow, requiring patience, but that makes consensus all the more empowering. Liberty Plaza provides an inspiring space for people to meet one another, discuss, and organize.
Why don’t you have demands yet?
This movement is unique in that, rather than a bunch of organizers deciding on demands a year before the protest date, the premise of this protest is that anyone can show up, say their piece, and add their demands during meetings held wednesday night at 7:00 after the protests. At the meetings (called “Occupy Findlay”), the demands are worked out in a horizontal, transparent, and democratic way, rather than top-down from people behind the scenes.
How many arrests have happened? Are people still being held? And where?
As of 10.3.11, over 800 people have been arrested. None have been charged with committing a violent act.
What are the risks of joining the occupation?
Judging by how things have gone so far, it is unlikely that you will get arrested. If you are unwilling to be arrested, or feel you can’t because you are not a U.S. citizen, or are a minor, there are ways to protect yourself from arrest, most importantly by remaining non-violent. Check www.nycga.cc for legal information and advice on these topics.
Are you guys like the Tea Party?
No! Many Tea Party politicians have consciously circumvented the best and most finely hued of safeguards enshrined in our democratic process. The Tea Party hearkens back to the Revolutionary War era, however what they call for is not revolution, but to go back in time. At best, the Tea Party ignores the lessons of history about taxation, workers’ rights, unions, and deregulation. But when they speak of the time of the Founding Fathers, they often mean the time before the end of slavery, before the worker’s rights movement, before the women’s movement, before the civil rights era, and before the environmental movement. So this relates to the question: Why do we seem to have not just one, but many demands? Precisely because we are a movement descended from each and every one of these movements: The abolitionist movement, the workers’ rights movement, the women’s movement, the civil rights movement, the feminist and queer liberation movements, the environmental movement.
Where is Dorney Plaza?
Next to Findlay, Ohio Courthouse. See the map.
When are things happening?
12-12 Everyday.
What can I expect when I get down there?
Something you’ve never experienced before in this way – a real democratic space. Even if you are not sure you are on-board, come check it out.
Who should I talk to if I want to get involved with a committee or subgroup?
First, check out and join the groups online you’re interested in. If you’re at Dorney Plaza, come to the welcome table, run by the members of Occupy Findlay. There you can sign up to join a Working Group or one of its subgroups, or create a new Thematic group. If you can’t come in person, there are many other ways to show support. Answers to questions of current needs and assistance can be found on the websites currently broadcasting from http://www.facebook.com/occupyfindlayohio www.occupywallst.org and www.nycga.cc.
Following respectful and good-faith dialogue with members of the local community Occupy Findlay hereby announces the following Good Neighbor Policy:
OFO has zero tolerance for drugs or alcohol anywhere in Dorney Plaza;
Zero tolerance for violence or verbal abuse towards anyone;
Zero tolerance for abuse of personal or public property.
OFO will limit drumming and music on the site until 10pm.
OFO encourages all participants to respect health and sanitary regulations, and will direct all participants to respectfully utilize appropriate off-site sanitary facilities.
OFO will display signage and have community relations and security monitors in Dorney Plaza, in order to ensure awareness of and respect for our guidelines and Good Neighbor Policy.
OFO will at all times have a community relations representative on-site, to monitor and respond to community concerns and complaints.
Occupy Findlay Ohio, October 26,2011.
Note: In conjunction with local community members and their representatives, OFO is also working to establish off-site sanitary facilities such as Marathon Gas Station, and the Public Library. Coffee Amici is not a Public Restroom, please purchase something if using the restroom.
What is Occupy Wall Street?
Occupy Wall Street is an otherwise unaffiliated group of concerned citizens like you and me who’ve come together around one organizing principle: We will not remain passive as formerly democratic institutions become the means of enforcing the will of the 1% of the population who control the magnitude of American wealth. Occupy Wall Street is an exercise in Direct Democracy. Since we can no longer trust our elected representatives to represent us rather than their large donors, we are creating a microcosm of what democracy really looks like. We do this to inspire one another to speak up. It is a reminder to our representatives and the moneyed interests that direct them: We the people still know our power. We feel we can no longer make our voices heard as we watch our votes for change usher in the same old power structure time and time again. This is the simplest, most effective democratic exercise we have left to employ, and we all must participate in order to be heard. Let the powers that be know – by physically joining us and occupying space in Dorney Plaza next to Findlay Courthouse.
What do you want: what are you protesting for/against?
We want what everybody wants: the ability to have a home, to make a livelihood, to have a family or a community, to live free. We all want economic and social justice. Thus, we are protesting for the rights of the 99% – for our most basic rights as citizens, to convene, to express ourselves, and to be heard.
Who is involved? From which communities and organizations do we come?
A diverse group of communities and organizations from a surprisingly wide political spectrum have come together around Occupy Wall Street. We are a group of autonomous individuals with no leader. Many – if not most – of us are unaffiliated with any particular group; we have come together as concerned individuals who want our collective voice heard. However, there is involvement by unions, student groups, and existing social justice organizations. More of them join us every day.
Finally, but crucially: This movement is comprised of thousands of people who have committed themselves to nonviolence. The one thing the powers that be understand and employ incredibly effectively around the world is the power of violence. We aim to offer a different model: a model of nonviolent direct democracy.
How long do people intend to stay at the plaza?
We will stay until change happens! Until broad swaths of the American population realize that it is only we, the 99%, that can reclaim society from the domination of the 1%. Democracy has never been a spectator sport, and Americans have an obligation, particularly if we claim to love our country, to build serious and meaningful change from the bottom up.
How do you work?
We engage in horizontal democracy. This means that we are a leaderless movement, in which every voice is equal and autonomous action is encouraged. This also means we cannot be easily defined by outside observers, nor can we be easily hijacked by outside forces. We try as much as we can to gain consensus because we believe everyone’s experience is equally valid, every voice and opinion should be heard, and none more than any other. In order to ensure that all voices are heard and to facilitate better communication in a non-hierarchical meeting, we commit to engaging in “meeting process”. It is slow, requiring patience, but that makes consensus all the more empowering. Liberty Plaza provides an inspiring space for people to meet one another, discuss, and organize.
Why don’t you have demands yet?
This movement is unique in that, rather than a bunch of organizers deciding on demands a year before the protest date, the premise of this protest is that anyone can show up, say their piece, and add their demands during meetings held wednesday night at 7:00 after the protests. At the meetings (called “Occupy Findlay”), the demands are worked out in a horizontal, transparent, and democratic way, rather than top-down from people behind the scenes.
How many arrests have happened? Are people still being held? And where?
As of 10.3.11, over 800 people have been arrested. None have been charged with committing a violent act.
What are the risks of joining the occupation?
Judging by how things have gone so far, it is unlikely that you will get arrested. If you are unwilling to be arrested, or feel you can’t because you are not a U.S. citizen, or are a minor, there are ways to protect yourself from arrest, most importantly by remaining non-violent. Check www.nycga.cc for legal information and advice on these topics.
Are you guys like the Tea Party?
No! Many Tea Party politicians have consciously circumvented the best and most finely hued of safeguards enshrined in our democratic process. The Tea Party hearkens back to the Revolutionary War era, however what they call for is not revolution, but to go back in time. At best, the Tea Party ignores the lessons of history about taxation, workers’ rights, unions, and deregulation. But when they speak of the time of the Founding Fathers, they often mean the time before the end of slavery, before the worker’s rights movement, before the women’s movement, before the civil rights era, and before the environmental movement. So this relates to the question: Why do we seem to have not just one, but many demands? Precisely because we are a movement descended from each and every one of these movements: The abolitionist movement, the workers’ rights movement, the women’s movement, the civil rights movement, the feminist and queer liberation movements, the environmental movement.
Where is Dorney Plaza?
Next to Findlay, Ohio Courthouse. See the map.
When are things happening?
12-12 Everyday.
What can I expect when I get down there?
Something you’ve never experienced before in this way – a real democratic space. Even if you are not sure you are on-board, come check it out.
Who should I talk to if I want to get involved with a committee or subgroup?
First, check out and join the groups online you’re interested in. If you’re at Dorney Plaza, come to the welcome table, run by the members of Occupy Findlay. There you can sign up to join a Working Group or one of its subgroups, or create a new Thematic group. If you can’t come in person, there are many other ways to show support. Answers to questions of current needs and assistance can be found on the websites currently broadcasting from http://www.facebook.com/occupyfindlayohio www.occupywallst.org and www.nycga.cc.
Access Date
2011-11-17 16:25:03
Title
Occupy Findlay, Ohio
URL
http://www.facebook.com/OccupyFindlayOhio
Website Type
Facebook Political Organization
Attachment Title
Occupy Findlay, Ohio
Attachment URL
http://www.facebook.com/OccupyFindlayOhio
Files
Collection
Citation
“Occupy Findlay, Ohio,” Occupy Archive, accessed May 4, 2024, https://occupyarchive.org/items/show/2088.