Statement on Nonviolence

Something has gone horribly wrong in this country.  We are four years into an economic slump that was started by an avoidable crisis on Wall Street, and our government has been too paralyzed by partisan politics to do anything effective to help the millions of people who are out of work.

On November 17, 2011, thousands of Occupy Wall Street protestors put their welfare on the line for the rest of us—the 99%–to carry the protest directly to the source of the problem:  Wall Street.  For the real disease paralyzing our government is the money in the political system.  The 1% have the best government that their money can buy.  But it largely ignores the needs of the 99%, people who are equally citizens, who are suffering in many ways, who often foot the lion’s share of the bill for public services, and who are angry.

In spite of the people’s anger, frustration, and fear—produced by a prolonged recession with 9% unemployment—the OWS movement has assembled in peace and calmness.  In fact, in the midst of the November 17 Mass Non-Violent Day of Direct Action protests in New York and the violent police response to it, the OWS twitter feed broadcast, “general assembly urging continued peaceful civil disobedience: Stay Strong, Stay Calm, Stay Non-Violent.”  This peaceful and nonviolent direct action continued in spite of increased violence from the New York police staff between 1:30 and 2:15 PM.

Reports say that police invaded Liberty Square and indiscriminately shoved people and hit them with batons. There are reports and video of police striking protestors with barricades (which are made of metal).  In one reported incident, police tackled a bloodied man from behind.  The video footage and multiple verbal reports of similar events establish that the police violence is fact.

At this time, it isn’t clear why the police responded with violence and brutality.  We’ve been there and done that; we have no need to repeat the events of May 4, 1970, at Kent State in Ohio.  In the intervening years, crowd and riot control training have become part of the curriculum at our law enforcement training institutions.  As a consequence, we call for objective and unbiased investigations of incidents of police violence in response to OWS protests across the country.

As policy, the Occupation Party stands in solidarity with the 60 year old woman whose handcuffs were too tight.  We stand in solidarity with former Philadelphia police captain, Ray Lewis, who was arrested the morning of November 17, 2011.  We stand in solidarity with the hundreds of people who were arrested while police tried to censor the media.  We stand in solidarity with the thousands of protestors who chanted the truth that Liberty Square is our square.  We stand in solidarity with 84-year-old Seattle activist Dorli Rainey, who was pepper sprayed by police on November 16, 2011.

To the extent that the violence represents human police officers succumbing to their own over-heated emotions and fear, we stand in solidarity with them too.  If, however, investigation reveals that police violence resulted from local government policies, we protest.

The Occupation Party position on protest and direct action advocates non-violence.  We will raise our voices, exercise our rights to assembly and free speech, and bring change to our political process and government through nonviolent means.

Our Constitution is clear:  The purpose of our government is to represent all of us and promote the general welfare.  It is not to represent and promote the welfare of the few.  We stand in solidarity with OWS and are committed to restoring our government to its original purpose as outlined in the Constitution. In fact, we have a most wonderful Constitution that provides for open discussion and change in government practices so that we do not need to resort to violence.

Yes, something is horribly wrong with our political, financial, and economic systems.  They need to be fixed so that they work for all of us, not just 1% of us.  We will practice nonviolence, and we will work through the system for change.  We won’t take corporate money, and we won’t succumb to the rot that money is causing in our system of government.  We will practice nonviolent direct action within the political system.  And we won’t go away.

The Occupation Party