Archive for October, 2011

New York City Council’s Lucky 13

Friday, October 28th, 2011

On October 13th word went out that the NYPD would move to evict Occupy Wall Street from Zuccotti Park.

(6:00 AM – friend Laurie with Ann, Jenny & Joan P of the GPB )

Immediately the 99% swung into action, including three stalwart members of the Granny Peace Brigade, mobilizing a round-the-clock vigil to protect the occupiers. Thirteen members of New York’s 51-member City Council added their support, sending a letter to Mayor Bloomberg that clearly and elegantly stated their position:

Dear Mayor Bloomberg,

We are writing to appeal to you not to enforce new rules at Liberty Plaza that would effectively evict the Occupy Wall Street protest. Please respect the deep traditions of free speech and right of assembly that make this a great, free, diverse, and opinionated city and nation. While we do not all necessarily agree with their point-of-view, we support their right to be there, and we feel strongly that it would be a mistake for the City of New York to evict them.

We agree that it makes sense to clean Zucotti Park, and to develop concrete practices to address the serious concerns of the lower Manhattan neighborhood. We were pleased to learn that discussions have taken place between local elected officials, representatives of Manhattan Community Board 1 and Occupy Wall Street toward a good neighbor agreement. We support such an agreement to improve conditions for residents, area schools, and local businesses and we ask that you support and enforce it.

When you announced yesterday that the park would be cleaned, you indicated that protestors would be allowed to return, suggesting to the public and the protestors that the Occupy Wall Street protest would be allowed to continue. The new rules you are enforcing, however – in particular the prohibition on sleeping bags and gear – is an eviction notice and potentially an unconstitutional closing of a forum to silence free speech.

The willingness of the protestors to sleep out overnight, and many of the temporary elements they have established – for example, the communications center and library – are fundamental expressive elements of the Occupy Wall Street protest. By enforcing new rules that eliminate these, you are abridging their rights of assembly and free speech.

These traditions of free speech, public assembly, and public protest are a deep part of our American tradition, honored best of all in the civic spaces of New York City. Whether you agree or disagree with what they are saying – and we are mixed in our opinions – we believe that it would be a harmful disservice to these democratic traditions to evict them.

Please reconsider the enforcement of these new rules, and work with the community board, local elected officials, and the protestors on regulations that address community concerns, but allow the protestors to remain.

Sincerely,
Gale Brewer, Daniel Dromm, Mathieu Eugene, Daniel Garodnick, Letitia James, Brad Lander, Stephen Levin, Melissa Mark-Viverito, Rosie Mendez, Annabel Palma, James Sanders Jr., Jimmy Van Bramer, and Jumaane Williams.

At a time when politics has turned into a cash-fueled partisan side show, we think it’s time to thank those public servants who stood with us and to urge our other City Council members who have remained silent, to step up and take a stand. What better way to support our brothers and sisters at OWS and other ‘occupiers’ around the U.S. than to call on our elected representatives to support the 99%.

If you are in New York City please join us  at our
Lucky 13 Phone-A-Thon
November 4th, 12:00PM-1:30PM
City Hall Park – Broadway & Park Place

- Fran Sears and Eva-Lee Baird
for the Granny Peace Brigade

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A funny thing happened on the 104 bus…

Saturday, October 22nd, 2011

Jenny, Ahmad and I were among the marchers boarding the bus.

Friday night, October 21, a benefit concert by the environmental organization Clearwater was held Symphony Space on Broadway at  94th Street. Among the notable musicians were the legendary Pete Seeger, composer-musician David Amram, and folk singer Arlo Guthrie.

Following the concert shortly after 10:30, up to 1000 people, (according to the Associated Press) many concertgoers along with others who waited outside marched down Broadway in support of Occupy Wall Street. Thirty blocks later, they entered the plaza at the statue of Christopher Columbus on 59th Street singing “This Little Light of Mine”, but substituting “We’re Gonna Occupy.” The songfest is described in this AP article.

After the gathering, several marchers, including two musicians, boarded an almost empty uptown 104 bus. When told about the protest, the driver muttered “Please don’t come to Staten Island.” As the bus moved on, the musicians, The Universal Truth, began to play and sing, with passengers clapping and singing along until getting off at their stops.

At one stop the driver told a departing passenger that he was enjoying the music.

Come gather round people wherever you roam
And admit that the waters around you have grown
And accept it that soon you’ll be drenched to the bone
If your time to you is worth saving
Then you’d better start swimming or you’ll sink like a stone
For the times, they are a changing

Come writers and critics who prophesize with your pens
And keep your eyes open, the chance won’t come again
And don’t speak too soon, the wheel’s still in spin
And there’s no telling who that it’s naming
Oh the loser will be later to win
For the times, they are a changing

Come senators, congressmen, please head the call
Don’t stand in the doorway, don’t block up the hall
For he that gets hurt will be her that has stalled
The battle outside raging will soon shake your windows
And rattle your hall
For the times, they are a changing

Come mothers and fathers all over this land
And don’t criticize what you can’t understand
Your sons and your daughters are beyond your command
Your old role is rapidly aging
Please get out of the new one if you can’t lend a hand
For the times they are a changing

The line, it is drawn, the curse, it is cast
The slow one will later be fast
And the present now will soon be the past
The order is rapidly fading
The first one now will later be last
For the times, they are a changing

- Bob Dylan

- Ann Shirazi
for the Granny Peace Brigade

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Spokes Council Proposal for Occupy Wall Street

Thursday, October 20th, 2011

The atrium at 60 Wall Street is a meeting place for a number of Occupy Wall Street working groups. Yesterday evening intending to go to a facilitators training I blundered into a meeting which included members of the Structure Working Group discussing a Spokes Council Proposal.

A lucky blunder! I got a glimpse of a process that will become history. The gloriously successful OWS has outgrown its original structure. Most decisions are now being made in the General Assembly but with uncounted people in 54 groups doing a heroic amount of work on a dizzying array of tasks the GA is bursting at the seams.

General Assembly October 19, 2011

What’s next?
How to keep the direct democracy, non-hierarchy, transparency, accountability, diversity, anti-oppression, autonomy, cooperation, participation, inclusion, flexibility and mutual respect of  OWS and keep on unleashing the revolutionary imagination?

The Structure Working Group has a plan.

“In order to maintain the non-hierarchical and directly democratic nature of OWS, while encouraging more functional, accountable, and transparent processes, we propose that we institute a Spokes Council comprised of all Working Groups and Caucuses…. it is called a spokes council because it is structured like the spokes of a wheel.”

The Structure Working Group plans to introduce the Spokes Council Proposal to the General Assembly tonight.

Just gotta be there. To be continued….

- Eva-Lee Baird
for the Granny Peace Brigade

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Occupy Wall Street Wins A Big Round

Friday, October 14th, 2011

Friday, October 14 at 5:50AM, Broadway and Park Place. The streets are quiet, damp and dark. Workers in a deli are setting up for the day. Light from the windows glitters on the street. A few short blocks away people have been working cleaning Zuccotti Park.

(Click on photos for larger images.)

And on Broadway walking south past Barclay Street, past Vesey, past Fulton to Liberty are groups of young people – some carrying brooms. On each block approaching Zuccotti Park there are more young people – and brooms.

It’s going to be okay.

By 6:05 the crowd in Zuccotti Park is so dense it’s hard to see, hard to move. Where are the other grannies? With cell phone help I find Ann, Jenny and Joan P with Laurie. They have been in the park since midnight and are looking surprisingly good.

We hear the news. Occupy Wall Street has triumphed and will stay in Zuccotti Park for now.

The celebration begins. There is some speechifying and music but people are restless and want action. Two or three spontaneous marches begin.

The march I am on is small, noisy and lacks the considerate mindfulness of so many other Occupy Wall Street marches. The vibe is raucous. A handful of Wall Street Occupiers work to direct the march and manage the tone. They are smart, they are thoughtful, they must be exhausted, they are beautiful.

It’s going to be okay.

- Eva-Lee Baird
for the Granny Peace Brigade

(more photos on Facebook)

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Save the Date! Tuesday, Oct 18th, 7:00 P.M.

Tuesday, October 11th, 2011

Six years ago, 18 women attempted to enlist in the U.S. Military at the Recruitment Center in Times Square. Not only were we not welcomed, we were arrested…and the Granny Peace Brigade was born. Since then, we Grannies have stood our ground in the struggle for peace and social and economic justice — and for our precious First Amendment right to freedom of speech and peaceful assembly.

We will be observing our anniversary on Tuesday, October 18th, at 7:00PM by the fountain at Lincoln Center (Broadway & West 66th Street).

In a silent vigil timed to coincide with showtime, we grannies will once again stand our ground…

  • against invasions, wars, occupations
  • against U.S. military bases abroad
  • against militarization of youth
  • against the human cost of war—domestic and international
  • against the economic cost of war.

We will stand our ground FOR freedom of speech; for the right to peaceably assemble as our First Amendment guarantees.

We invite you to join with us in this silent mini-occupation as we reflect on the issues that have galvanized us for the past six years.


We stand our ground.

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Comments: Memorial 10th Anniversary of the War in Afghanistan

Sunday, October 9th, 2011

October 7, 2011, Times Square

John Lennon and Yoko Ono said – War is over if you want it. Imagine Peace.

As endless wars continue, the military industrial complex seeks new young bodies to fill the ranks of our forces preparing them to wage war.  The Department of Defense is fat on money – no supplemental funding to support war has been denied by Congress.  The Pentagon spends $5 billion per year on recruiting. No nook or cranny, no high school, playground, sporting event, or school career fair is overlooked for the opportunity to speak with students, to embellish the benefits of service and entice youth into enlisting in the military.  Movies, violent video games, advertising and clothing design all incorporate the war story and the myths and misleading precepts surrounding military service and patriotism. Turning war into a video game, becoming the hero – the good guy/gal, saving the world, the country, your honor.  Kill – maim – destroy, then press the reset button.  You’re safe in your room and you’ve destroyed the “other – the alien – the foreigner – the terrorist.”  It’s fun, it’s strong; it’s immoral, it’s wrong.  In real life, there is no reset button.

How can a child, a teen, an adult understand the true meaning of war, who dies, who kills, and why?  We are all diminished by the lack of compassion and understanding of the great human loss in war no matter the country or culture.  Imagine Peace.

Our tax dollars go to support the military to the tune of 48c of every dollar collected. Bring our troops home now, bring our war dollars home now, renew hope and opportunities for our youth.  Provide care for those who have served and now suffer from innumerable physical and mental illnesses. This is the time – we are the people.  Bring Our War $$s Home – domestic needs to be served, social and economic justice for all.  If not now – when?

Peace is not just the absence of war. It is a world with justice and equality.  It’s a world where the basic needs of the majority of the people are met.  The future is with our youth. We come together today for our children and grandchildren. Continue the action – we have a worthy cause.  We must continue to seek peaceful solutions to domestic and global conflicts.

Imagine peace.

- Barbara Harris
for the Granny Peace Brigade

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Is the Core of U.S. Ethos Militarism?

Wednesday, October 5th, 2011

We know that many  young people believe after talking with recruiters that military service might be a very good avenue for expressing patriotism, gaining  useful work experience, securing funds for college or  for other further education. There are other avenues (see “Options for Life after High School,” compiled by: CodePink NYC & the Granny Peace Brigade).  A few months ago a young recruiter with whom I was talking said to me, recruitment leaflets in his hand, “I’m just walking up and down here avoiding people.”  At that point, realizing that some recruiters may have reservations about their assignment and being aware of what effects such reservations may have on them, I said something like “take care” and I no longer strike up conversations with recruiters.  My heart went out to that young man.

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Pictures of the Future

Monday, October 3rd, 2011

“If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face — forever.” George Orwell

Over the last decade, it has become impossible to escape  the increasing surveillance-cameras everywhere in recording our every move “in the interest of security”, and  television screens mounted in banks and department stores blaring false “news” reports. But not since the 2004 Republican National Convention has the Orwell quote rung so terrifyingly true and present. And for once, the cameras that have invaded our lives have also served to expose the viciousness of the very entity whose salaries we pay. Aren’t they supposed to protect us?

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