Occupy Tucson

Occupy Tucson

Tucson: It’s Time to Stop Ignoring the Homeless & Help Them (video)

by
Occupy Tucson
Public Lands protest on the sidewalk in downtown Tucson during Occupy Tucson. (There is a person in that pile.)

For decades, Tucson has waffled between ignoring the homeless living on our streets and under bridges to over-policing them.

When I moved here in 1981, the politically correct term for Tucson’s homeless was “transient”.

The attitude was: They’re not ‘homeless’, and they’re not ‘bums’. They’re just passing through… transient. Ignore them, and they’ll go away.

Transients were seen by the populace and the local government as another inconvenient byproduct of warm winter weather. They’re like snowbirds and college students but without money, but our capitalistic society has no use for people without money.

By labeling the homeless “transients”, Tucson was able to turn a blind eye toward them. Over the years, Tucson tried to make itself more inhospitable by passing laws prohibiting aggressive panhandling and ending street corner sales of newspapers. Really… we just wanted them to go away, so we wouldn’t have to feel guilty about inaction. With the rise of Safe Park homeless encampment downtown, I fear another round of over-policing is coming, since the city is appealing a court order protecting Safe Park as a free speech protest. For the back story and ideas for the future, keep reading.

Read more

On Occupy’s 2nd Anniversary: The World Says ‘End Austerity Now!’ (video)

by

Camping144-sig-sm72by Pamela Powers Hannley

What began on Sept 17, 2011 as an extended sit-in in a park in Manhattan– the bastion of US capitalism– the Occupy Movement grew into a worldwide movement with a simple message, "We are the 99%."

And we are oppressed by the 1% who own the world's wealth.

Occupy's we're-all-in-this-together– regardless of age, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, ability, or location on the globe– message presented an ah-ha moment and raised the class consciousness of millions of people.

Despite being ignored by the mainstream media, within weeks, Occupy encampments sprung up across the US, around the world, and here in Tucson.

Although small-scale compared to big-city encampments, Occupy Tucson was one of the longest running, ongoing encampments and one of the most harassed by local police and one of the most ignored by the local media. Hundreds of tickets for violating park curfews were issued to Tucson Occupiers in nightly park sweeps. At one point in 2011, more Occupy tickets had been issued in Tucson than in any other US city– except for New York City.

Today, Occupy Tucson lives on– not in the parks– but in a small office in the Alliance for Global Justice headquarters, where several activist groups share space. Well-known local Occupiers and their allies regularly speak out or organize actions related to ending corporate personhood, stopping Citizens United, building a sustainable community, ending drone warfare, stopping genetically modified foods, and other issues of the day.  [Video links and the impact of Occupy after the jump.]

Poor People’s Party: Occupy Tucson, PDA, and NNU Celebrate Occupy’s 2nd Anniversary

by

by Pamela Powers Hannley Two years ago, the Occupy Movement– with its simple “We Are the 99%!” message– united the world by enlightening us to the workings of the corporate oligarchy and the governments they run (including our own) and how this system is designed to keep us down. Worldwide, Occupy encampments sprang up in … Read more

‘Ray Theon, where are you?’: Tucson bride seeks corporate master for domination

by

Tucson bride051by Pamela Powers Hannley

In tough times, even the most independent woman may find herself turning to traditional feminine tactics to secure her financial future– like marrying a sugar daddy.

And what better sugar daddy could a woman find than a corporate person? As reported earlier by this blogger, seven New York City brides married and pledged allegiance to seven corporate masters… er… grooms on the steps of the New York Stock Exchange on Friday, January 19, the third anniversary of the Citizens United decision by the US Supreme Court.

Occupy Tucson activist and former mayoral candidate Mary DeCamp had hoped to find her corporate master– Ray Theon— at the federal building in downtown Tucson on Friday, but alas the lovely bride and her "father" (pictured here) were disappointed when the groom didn't show. (Did "Ray" think he was not worthy of Mary when he saw her "father" holding the "Corporations are not people" sign?)

According to DeCamp, she searched around the federal building and the Bank of America building for "Ray" but couldn't find him. 

"Excuse me sir, you look very corporate, are you a corporation?  I hear corporations are 'persons' now, and they have free speech," DeCamp asked passersby.  "I want to find one, hopefully Ray Theon, who will marry me and make me a rich bride. Yoo Hoo, Raaaay!  Ray Theon!  Come out, come out, wherever you are!  I want to get married now." 

Approximately 24 activists from Move to Amend, Womens International League for Peace and Freedom (WILF), Occupy All Streets, Code Pink, Raging Grannies, and the Unitarian Universalist Church of Tucson were on hand to help DeCamp find a corporate person to own and dominate her for the rest of her life. More photos after the jump.

Tucson Black Friday Wal-Mart protest draws 50 activists, no strikers (video)

by

J-m-p-s-157-sm72by Pamela Powers Hannley

Approximately 50 Tucson activists protested Wal-Mart's labor practices at a southside store on Black Friday.

The usual left-wing groups were represented– Jobs with Justice, Occupy Tucson, Progressive Democrats of America (PDA), and college students. Who was absent? Wal-Mart workers and representatives of the United Food and Commercial Workers–the union that played an integral role in organizing the national day of protest. 

Although Wal-Mart is infamous for paying low wages, intimidating workers who want to unionize, discriminating against women in promotion practices, and avoiding offering health care insurance by manipulating employees' hours, the tipping point for yesterday's protest was requiring workers to start Black Friday work schedules on Thanksgiving at 8 p.m.

Video of the Tucson protest and other details after the jump.