By Shawn Fleek This article is written in response to the Cynthia Alvarez piece, “Progressives Must Move Beyond Occupy”. It has been a year since the first cries of “We are the 99%” rang out in Portland, followed by much commotion, ropes strung between trees, pepper spray, large assemblies, a kitchen full of food and…
Category: Shawn Fleek
In Which I Describe the Non-Voter
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By Shawn Fleek Excerpted from Shawn Fleek’s “Certain About Everything, Except What To Do” The person I’m referring to would spend ten minutes describing rampant government corruption, the lack of participation, societal apathy, the cesspool of campaign finance, corporate power, and more. But they will not register to vote and participate in the official rule-making…
Committee to End Homelessness and Portland’s Ten-Year Plan
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by Shawn Fleek Occupy Portland’s Committee to End Homelessness is holding a meeting at the First United Methodist Church, 1838 SW Jefferson St, on March 21st from 3 to 5 pm. The meeting is open to the public, who are invited to bring ideas about how to solve Portland’s homelessness problem. The city is currently…
Multnomah County to Chill ICE
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The Portland Mercury is reporting that Multnomah County is working to regain independence from the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agency in federal efforts to deport undocumented immigrants. According to their story, the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners on March 1st “unanimously approved a first-in-Oregon resolution that calls for negotiations with the feds and lays…
Defensive Black Bloc Tactics
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by Shawn Fleek ‘De-arrest‘ – Street tactic used by marchers and protesters who directly engage with police to assist in the escape of individuals who are in the process of being arrested. When a participant is apprehended by authorities, one or more people will rush the officer an attempt to either confuse them or pull…
Chicago Workers Occupy Factory, Win Concessions
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By Shawn Fleek A threatened closure of a window factory in Chicago has been delayed 90 days, after workers there occupied their factory for three days. The factory may still close, or a similar occupation may again take place, if the union or management can not find a new owner. The factory closure threatened 50…
Shut Down The Corporations, February 29th
by Shawn Fleek and Adam Rothstein Feb 29th: Shut Down ALEC from Kontra on Vimeo. On February 29th, Shut Down The Corporations plans a nationwide day of action to draw attention to the American Legislative Exchange Council, (ALEC) a group which uses the money of large corporations to pass favorable legislation in all 50 states.…
Right 2 Dream Too – Rally at City Hall
By Shawn Fleek The evening of January 31st, 2012 saw a rally on the steps of City Hall intended to draw attention (and eventually overturn) to the city-wide “camping ban,” a city ordinance which makes it illegal to pitch a tent in a public park. The rally was organized independently of Occupy Portland’s official GA…
Sleep Is A Human Right
by Shawn Fleek On the evening of January 31st, an overnight sleep-in is scheduled outside of City Hall in Portland, to raise awareness of the city’s camping ban and to attempt to overturn the ban. The following morning at 8:30 AM, a rally will be held on the same topic. Though these actions are not…
Poor People Taking Care of Poor People
By: Sean Fleek, Portland Comedian, rabble-rouser, Socialist, writer and figurative publicist. Catch more Sean over at his blog: What They’re Feeding Me Right-wing mouthpieces have been telling us poor folk for years, “pick yourselves up by your bootstraps.”So we found a public space, and we started collecting contributions, and taking care of our fellow poor people, and…