I've come back to Key West after having spent the 10th anniversary of 9/11 in NYC, with friends and strangers and a lot of folks taking a break from the smarmy cynicism that poisons too much conversation. There is such beauty in mourning and we mustn't ever let anyone tell us to "move on." Yes, being dysfunctional is not good but as long as one is still participating in the real world, who is to say what is dysfunctional? I love New York. I will always be a New Yorker and completely understand when people are proud of their hometowns. Nowadays, there seems to be more to be proud about, since communities all over America, Canada, Europe and many places without media to cover them, even the Tundra are participating in Occupy Together on October 15!Living in Paradise has a surprising set of difficulties unique to organizing an event in this place. Very few people have one job, and many jobs are for the tourists, meaning the ability to have a demonstration might be easier if this was a factory town or a college town. But we're a tourist town and holidays and weekends are prime time to make money.
In spite of that, this Saturday, October 22 a group of leaderless people will hold an Occupy Key West event at Mallory Square, beginning with an open mike and ending with a march, location yet to be determined.
We, the 99% want the Occupation of OUR OWN institutions, built and paid for by We, the People!
We want jobs that have nothing to do with patronage.
We want to stop the outright scandalous behavior that becomes acceptable once you have achieved a certain status. When you look at the patronage and interconnecting favors and debts which weave a very complicated pattern between certain tribes in the Paradise known as Key West, well, it could, rather should give you pause. Perhaps it's more useful to let the more ambitious ones slug it out and just pick up the pieces of what's left. Sounds like a wrecker way of doing things! Then you can put some time into assessing which tribe to join. The facts are that this island has always been occupied!
When you finally get your mind set on a particular set of strategies to accomplish the goal you have already decided on, the next step is get it together.
I will present myself to tout le monde on Duval Street astride my faithful, never complaining tricycle, Jezebel, who will be all tricked out with signs which will let people know that Saturday night at 5:00 something very special is going to happen on Mallory Square.
We, the 99% will reclaim our public square, our public streets and the lovely little parks which appear like out of a dream. We will pass around a megaphone or mike or use the human megaphone to proclaim the right to gather to peacefully petition our government for a redress of grievances, to be determined by the General Assembly which will beheld just prior to the march. We will inform our neighbors, new friends and old friends that our lives are facing irreversible changes not because of our poor choices or lifestyles but because the ones who hold all the power are capable of doing whatever they want or serves their purpose which is ultimate power. FACE IT. We don't matter any more to them with their electronic heartbeats and bunkers where you can ride horseback.
The time has come for all of us to know where we stand. Howard Zinn said you can't stand still on a moving bus. We must acknowledge change is inevitable and adapt. Hopefully, the ruling class will recognize this as well. I'm heartened by the growth of the web site by those in the 1% who side with we, the 99%. You can see their posters here: http://westandwiththe99percent.tumblr.com/For more on Occupy Together and to find events near you, go to:
http://www.occupytogether.org/
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