Starhawk teaching us to love each other at the back door of the VAG
Dear Occupy Vancouver,
Remember the first couple of weeks we were together at the VAG? Those days were beautiful, weren’t they? All of the smiles, love and group hugs made living outside in tents worthwhile- didn’t they?
Six months later, our occupation has turned-out looking like a bad joke. How did we let this happen to us? What happened to our plans to change the world and make it a better place? Why did we let ourselves be overrun by the vicious politics?
It is time for Occupy Vancouver to jump into some deep introspection and re-evaluate our core values…
1. The Movement is About Love- Ostracism is Incompatible With This
If we are trying to build a model for a better world, we failed miserably on Tuesday. If Ben did something worthy of such treatment then someone should have filed a report with the police. If Ben’s actions weren’t worthy of police attention, then they definitely weren’t worthy of a shaming through a public address system…
In particular, I’d like to say to Richard Porteous that I am deeply disappointed with what you did. You are a much better person than who you were when you read-out that aweful statement. Look deep into your heart and realize who you really are. If you can apologize to Ben, I’m sure he can find it in his heart to accept it.
2. The Movement Is About Transparency- Time To Open The Books
If what Ben is accusing the Finance Committee about is real, then we have a serious problem on our hands. Regardless of if he is wrong or if he’s right, until a full set of our accounts are complete, and audited by someone outside of the finance committee (and their cliques), there will always be people who are suspicious about what happened.
So, not only is it time to open the books on finance, but also on our relationships with outside organizations. There was always a lot of misunderstanding of our relationships with the unions and other groups. All future meetings should be attended by more than one person (and more than one clique), and full minutes should be immediately published once the meetings are over.
Transparency is one of our greatest weapons, let’s not waste it….
3. The Movement Is About Non-Violence
All sides totally lost track of this point on Tuesday. The people making the announcement were committing an act of violence against Ben, and the people who were upset with the speech and trying to push their way up the stairs were also being violent. Then there’s the issue of the Black Bloc people using their flagpoles as weapons to block people going up the stairs…
If we can’t act civilly then we most certainly aren’t ‘being the change we want to see.’ Everyone deserves a good slap on the wrists for that. (joking- sorry, I couldn’t resist)
So, what’s it going to be then young Occupy Vancouver? Are you going to try and work things out to make peace, or has the movement finally crashed into a brick wall? Because, from where I stand, it looks like you’re in desperate need of some CPR…
With Love & Solidarity,
-Greg
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