Open Letter from Gina Ronning | Portland Occupier

The Portland Police have been seeking to harass and continually move our homeless brothers and sisters from somewhere to nowhere since the recent Occupation eviction. We request that you immediately cease all harassment and violence towards our most vulnerable. You have been raiding small out-of-sight encampments claiming, and I quote, “The Occupation is over.” I think the time has come to remind you that this City and the Portland Police are currently committing serious Human Rights Abuses. Having a safe place to sleep with shelter over one’s head is a fundamental human right. Many have nowhere to go, and the so-called “resources” of this town are beyond their capacity.

Your laws and ordinances which prevent people from achieving these fundamental human rights, even at the smallest level, are gravely unjust.  You have been in violation of these rights for an extensive period of time, and you should know that the desire to correct these injustices is going away NO time soon.  The more you move and harass people, the more we will gather. The more you attempt to suppress the vulnerable and feeble, the more we will summon people to rise in order to call attention to these injustices.

The issue of poverty in this town will no longer be ignored or shoved under the rug. You–and we–have a moral duty and obligation to not only seek solutions for this crisis, but to also find an immediate safe and accessible space for those who need it. Until everyone has a home, we will come to the forefront and stand, sit, and sleep openly for all to see everywhere until you not only hear this message, but acknowledge it by actually doing something to help people immediately.

You may attempt to move us, shuffle us and even arrest us, BUT you cannot kill a consciousness, nor will you destroy our hope for a better future. In our culture it would seem that poverty is deemed a personal failure, rather than a collective social issue. It a collective social issue that reaches out far beyond the shelters, and faith communities.

Many of you have questioned both the intentions of this movement and its goals. There are many messages and goals, and the issue of poverty and greed are at the top of my list.  Attached you will find The Bill of Economic Rights & Sustainability. This is an expanded version of FDR’s Bill of Economic Rights. In my opinion, your first order of business is finding immediate shelter and space for our displaced and needy citizens (outside that of simply calling upon an already depleted resource). This space must also be local and accessible to all.