Story and photos by Pete Shaw I felt a bit like a broken record in last year’s “Giving Thanks” when my lede was almost exactly the one from 2023. This time it’s the same record, but a slightly different tune. While Covid remains, I gained the confidence of my better 99% that I would take…
Story by Pete Shaw A month ago I attended the 10th anniversary memorial for Keaton Otis, the young Black man executed by the Portland police near the corner of Northeast 6th and Halsey. That corner has become hallowed ground. For an all too short spell, Otis’s father Fred Bryant held a monthly vigil at the…
Story by Pete Shaw Judging from Facebook on the morning after the recent elections, it seems there are two very important things that need taking. One is that the proposed wisdom that we were watching the destruction of the Republican Party turned out to be false. Instead, it is the Democrats who have imploded, or…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw “They think we’re stupid and we’re just going to accept community court and stop struggling.” Don’t Shoot Portland organizer Teressa Raiford uttered these words a few minutes after pleading not guilty to two misdemeanor charges stemming from her August 9 arrest after a rally marking one year since Michael…
Story by Pete Shaw “I’m here, and I’m tired, and I’m speaking out with all the strength that I have. We need 15 now.” Those words, spoken by Janice Niag, a First Student bus driver, demanding changes to the City’s Fair Wage Policy summed up the feeling at SEIU Local 49 Hall on October 20.…
by Lauren Paulson The dining room of St. Francis was not filled to capacity on May 9, 2012. It should have been. A true legend spoke to a mixed group of about 60 Occupiers on a hopeful Spring evening. He is S. Brian Willson. His audience comfortably circled around him as he perched on a…
David “Däv” O’Bryant “The notion of “policy” presumes a state or governing apparatus which imposes its will on others. ‘Policy’ is the negation of politics; policy is by definition something concocted by some form of elite, which presumes it knows better than others how their affairs are to be conducted. By participating in policy debates,…
By Michael Schultz The first leg of activism is knowledge. It is important to look squarely at the issues of the day without illusion. As a good friend of mine is fond of saying, the core of activism is “between your ears”. Critical analysis of the world is the first step toward understanding what is…
by Blake The trial of five Occupy Seattle participants, known locally as the Chase 5, will begin on March 13th in Seattle Municipal Court. The date coincides with a National Day of Action against Chase Bank with planned protests taking place in cities across the country. The CEO of JPMorgan CHASE, Jamie Dimon, will be…
Here’s what The Occupier thinks you should be reading: The 1 Percent Paint a More Nuanced Portrait of the Rich – NYTimes.com Bank of America ATM — Social Design Notes Article: An Oral History of Occupy Wall Street | Politics | Vanity Fair
