Category: Essays & Letters

Why I Occupy – Diane Emerson

Every person has a story to tell about what is important to them. A story about decisions they have made and the motivating factors for those decisions, whether it be family, friends, economics, ethics, or some other reason. Every person has a story to tell about an event that changed their life. A turning point…

Two Deaths In Florida, One Outcome Remains Unknown

by John Wood [Editor’s Note: George Zimmerman was arrested and charged with 2nd degree murder on April 11.] I was saddened by the deaths of two young people in Florida earlier this year, both killed by strangers while walking home. One was the death of my granddaughter, struck and killed by a hit and run…

Love and Revolution on the Brooklyn Bridge

This story is from the Occupied News Wire. It was originally published on Occupied Stories. by John Dennehy NEW YORK, NY – A few hours before I was arrested on the Brooklyn Bridge, I met Nicole in Zuccotti Park. She wore dark blue jeans that stretched across her legs, a grey sweater and a blue…

A Reflection on F29

By Peter and Paul and other members of affinity group Hella503 The Portland Action Lab’s Feb 29th call to “Shut Down the Corporations!” (F29) was picked up by over 70 cities, making waves across the country. Here in Portland, roughly 1,000 people responded, showing up in the middle of the day, in the middle of…

Fertile Winter Yields Pay Dirt for Occupy Portland

By Barbara G. Ellis Portland, Oregon, is a city so packed with progressive activists that the two Bush presidents angrily dubbed it “Little Beirut”, because whenever they dared to drop in they were targeted by hundreds of vociferous protesters from many organizations. Issues that drew dissident ire included: the Iraq war, single-payer health insurance, impeaching…

A Heartbeat for the Movement

by Adam Sherburne in conversation with K. Kendall Originally from the bay area, Adam Sherburne is a musician who fought the music industry and most things American for over 20 years with his projects “Consolidated” and Free Music! Stop America! “I call myself a trans-jester, because we’ve had countless jesters, like we’ve had countless activists,…

Occupy South Korea: A Ghost Encampment

by Lauriel Schuman On my first day in South Korea while wandering around Seoul looking for any sign of activism (which tends to be what I do when I travel!) I came across what I can only assume is Occupy South Korea. I couldn’t be sure as there was no one around to ask but…

Why Occupy?

by John Wood At a recent Portland General Assembly, some of us had concerns about how a proposed action might be perceived by the general public. One person countered with (paraphrased) “If we don’t act on something because we’re afraid of how the public will view it, we’re going against everything we believe in.” If…

Why I Occupy – William Haas

Every person has a story to tell about what is important to them. A story about decisions they have made and the motivating factors for those decisions, whether it be family, friends, economics, ethics, or some other reason. Every person has a story to tell about an event that changed their life. A turning point…

A Tale of Two Ships

  by Lauren Paulson Two Occupy Portland ships didn’t meet in the night, recently, though they steered an impressively close course. One ship is the Oregon Area Jewish Committee (OAJC) who put on a meaningful update of the Occupy movement during an august group luncheon March 28th, at the tiny digs of the Miller Nash…