Another World is Possible: We are the 99%
Statement of Support: The Occupy Movement
The SouthWest Organizing Project supports and affirms the vision and action of the 'Occupy' movement, which began as a center of struggle on Wall Street in New York City and has now spread to cities and towns throughout the country. Including here in New Mexico--Albuquerque,Santa Fe, Las Cruces, Taos, Farmington. The list grows daily.
While some mainstream media say the demands of this movement are unclear, we KNOW exactly what the protesters mean when they say, we are the 99%.
And we suggest that the vast majority of New Mexicans know exactly what they mean as well, especially the high number who struggle daily for food, shelter, education, and jobs that pay a living wage.
New Mexicans know that being the 99% also means dealing with the historical legacy of occupation by foreign powers in pursuit of profit; being targeted today by polluting industries; and watching our elected officials let corporations and the wealthiest sector of our society not pay their fair share of taxes while young people are forced to decide between prison and the military because college is too expensive. Stark? Yes, but very true, particularly for the disproportionate number of young people of color for whom these are concrete, daily realities.
The demands of this movement are the longstanding demands of all of us who organize for social justice, for the rights of children, for working families, for people of color, for immigrants, for the elderly, for indigenous nations who know all too well what occupation really means. As the 99%, in fact, we do not seek to occupy, we seek to liberate all living beings from the occupiers, the 1%.
We know the 1% as well—or at least, we know them from a distance.
They are the special 1% of our economic system that gobbles up a fifth of the income and a much larger percentage of the wealth, that doesn’t have to pay its fair share of taxes, that never struggles with joblessness, criminalization, poor education, or a broken health care system.
They are the special class that gets bailed out when their financial ship begins to sink, and then rails against any effort to care for the hand that feeds them. Instead, they thumb their noses at the thought of paying their fair share of taxes, or making a few fixes to protect our families from the mad swings of unchecked capitalism, all the while their protectors in government threaten to slash our social safety nets and squeeze the programs that foster our local economies.
We affirm that we are the 99%, who cannot afford to turn a blind eye to a financial and economic system completely out of whack.
We urge participation and support for the Occupy movement.
This Sunday, October 9th, we urge folks to attend the general assembly that will be held on UNM campus, at noon, organized and hosted by the group of protestors occupying the campus. Or, look into where the general assembly in your town is being held.
We urge our communities to participate in the International Day of Action called for Saturday October 15. Sign up for our emails, or stay abreast of plans via Facebook.
We urge our allies to issue statements of support or calls to action, push back on attempts to marginalize this important moment in resisting the assault on working families.
Another World is Possible.
¡En la lucha!
The SouthWest Organizing Project
October 2011
