by Adam Rothstein As a member of the media, as a contributor to the linguistic and philosophical discourse emerging from the Occupations, and as point-of-contact for The Occupier, I’m constantly confronted with one of my main frustrations throughout the two months I’ve been involved in this Occupation: I can’t stand writers who write about the…
Tag: ideas
Which Side of History Do You Want to Be On?
by John O. Andersen Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted…
The Real ‘Black Bloc Question’ We Must Ask
This article is one of two companion pieces on The Occupier, discussing the larger strategic questions of the Occupation movement. The entirety of Occupation strategy is not reducible to these two points of view, but we hope these will start a discussion in two different, non-symmetric veins about “big picture” issues. by Adam Rothstein “Whatever…
Reform vs. Revolution Within Occupy
This article is one of two companion pieces on The Occupier, discussing the larger strategic questions of the Occupation movement. The entirety of Occupation strategy is not reducible to these two points of view, but we hope these will start a discussion in two different, non-symmetric veins about “big picture” issues. By Shamus Cooke Many…
Occupy Portland Outsmarts Police, Creating Blueprint for Other Occupations
by Lester Macgurdy The Portland Occupation stumbled upon a tactical innovation regarding occupying public spaces. This evolution in tactics was spontaneous, and went unreported in the media. On December 3rd, we took a park and were driven out of it by riot police; that much made the news. What the media didn’t report is that…
Ten Things I Love about Occupy Portland
By Deborah Rodney THE INCLUSIVENESS. In our mix there are a lot of differences– from the driven middle class professional to the self-medicated person numbing the effects of their homelessness through addiction. There are extreme liberals and a few tea partiers. There are differences in political priorities ranging from the desire to fix the system…
Question Time: How Important is the Occupation Camp?
In our “Question Time” series, we ask “persons on the street” questions to various people at the Portland Occupation. As always, feel free to chime in the comments and add your own voice to the dialogue. Is the camp important to the occupation? Why or why not? The camp is not necessarily important, but we…
Occupiers Respond: Open Letters to Sam Adams
On Monday, November 7th, Mayor Sam Adams wrote an open letter to Occupy Portland, highlighting his concerns about the current unsustainability of the camp. Three Occupiers responded to him with their own open letters. We publish the Mayor’s letter, and these three responses to show that within the diversity of opinion here among the Occupiers,…
American Occupy Movement and the Way Futureward, Part I
Here’s a confession: I am one of those annoying people who discusses politics in mixed company, often with strangers I’ve just met. When I tell people I’m involved with Occupy Portland, the first response I often get is a string of questions—sometimes motivated by honest curiosity, sometimes issued in mocking challenge—that come down to “What’s…
The Brush of History
Detractors have tried to paint the Occupy movement with a narrow brush. The bristles in that brush consisting of dirty, unemployed drugged-out hippies of the modern age. Disaffected youth looking for a handout. Too lazy to work for a living. In truth, the Occupy movement is painted with a brush much more substantial than that.…
