Reverend Billy Looks Forward to Spring
Posted 12 years ago on Dec. 28, 2011, 2:02 p.m. EST by OccupyWallSt
More heat and more light. Amen, Revolujah!
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I've never heard of this guy, but he amuses me. It's like Benny Hinn and William Shatner occupying the same mind.
He's the Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping, a performance artist with a performance choir, who's been 'preaching' to folks shopping since the 90's. Check him out. He's a true spirit, tirelessly out on the streets all over the world relaying our hopes for the human species on this biosphere Earth in a humorously provocative, pseudo-religious way. He's one of the 'fathers' of this movement. Documentary film about him: "What would Jesus Buy?" http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1056487665981560376
I already googled him. I found his website. I was rather disappointed at first, but then when his website said that they're just performers, I actually chuckled a bit.
"From time immemorial the Winter Solstice holidays have had many names. For instance, in the North where there is snow they were called "White Holidays." Then they became the "Roman Holidays," and now they are better known as "Christmas" holidays. Because the days have a short sun, and the nights are longer in the Northern Hemisphere, it is easy to get depressed and eat too much food. For the sake of our own selves it is important that we join together in this holiday time to discipline and keep ourselves in a mood of festivity, prayer, love and affection. Let's come together to meditate, purify our souls and elevate our consciousness this Winter Solstice." - Yogi Bhajan, for Occupy Wellness at OWS. (https://www.nycga.net/groups/wellness/)
It's also a good time to take vitamin D supplements, and to plan for the spring.
it's a good time to smoke a lot of weed and plan to smoke more in the spring
I wish that a post would be made here informing everyone that the Occupy the Rose Parade is a hoax by a local con artist here in Los Angeles. Occupy Pasadena has stated that they feel that The Rose Parade (as offensive as it is) is no place for a protest. if this 'protest' happens it will be a smear on OWS.
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e do need a poor turn-out for this sham. Occupy Pasadena has stated that marching in the Rose Parade is inappropriate.
Barak Obama - Pacification of invaded black lands since 2001-2011. Elected, being a minority nothing like this has ever happened in the history of the world. America and Americans are in debt up to their necks. Borrower slave to the lender? Its obvious they can do what they want. Taking control and steering things the way they want. People are slightly astonished. They don't get to the core of the matter. There is good reason for that. People feel ignored I noticed. 9/11 left out again. Invasion of three countries and the Federal Reserve that prints virtrually all they want with no one stop them.
Whats wrong OCCUPY? Clever students and professors. Trying to make a better day for themselves? Truly serious people will find your little student teacher game out and go for what is the real truth. Where are the real protestors? Hidden amoung you. The 9/11 people? Where are they? The Iraqi people? The anti-invasion protestors? Seems to me you should just step aside and let EVERYONE else in thats fed up. Truth is never trust those student/professor friends. They want to acheive personal goals. Protest when you want where you want. Without coordination. All Universty orgainization is BAD. Use some common sense. The real truth is everything is blowing apart at the seams. They understand that. There was a delay in anything of any DISSENSION being publicly known. In fact everyone wondered where it was. The dissension in other countries was not made public. Which has been happening right along. Bombings in Iraq every week all of this going on in many places. INCLUDING EGYPT. Held off. Until they could make their way into the disgruntled people of the United States to hold things off here also. Although it was very out there and not given any attention by the debt merchant owned news. They are there to take it back in the old direction. They were really clever back in the Vietnam war days.
Nothing they can do about anything unless you are smart enough to understand what they want.. They are very clever organizers coordinated with the debt merchants through their Universities. Deal is this time its not going to come together for them again. Just understand who they are why they are doing it and what for. Mostly themseleves.
Truth is you have not seen one 9/11 sign on the Occupy news or much protest of the invasion of 3 nations in the past 11 years. That ought to tell you something right there. Youv'e seen the rest of the world coming apart true in many places. Pacification, Obama never mentioned. U.S. Invasions never brought up. To any small degree. To Inflammatory for them to bring up. Truth is they have come out to put Humpty Dumpty back together again. It obviously ain't workin.
Who did you vote for ask your friends? The incredible Obama puppet of the debt merchants. Similar to the puppets of the conqueored peoples of Afganistan and Iraq. However a puppet for debt ridden Americans and America who owe the debt merchants. Could not happen here think again.
Two appointed black national one govenor the other senator. Minorities never win where there is another majority. Not in Africa. Not in the Middle east or Europe. Not on the face of things anyway. Just dosen't make sense to think otherwise.
In short if you see anything of any organization. Especially something like a Unversity, students that get funding for education. Not to mention the University itself. Get suspicious. They are playing for their future. Not out of any sense of right or wrong. Especially the organizers. Not all may be hip. However the organizers are good at what they do. Jumping themselves into a very upset populace that is sick and tired of being swindled and very tired of the invasions of this country on others. This is serious business. We don't have time making the personal future of some University people that could care less about anything but themselves and their futures. In short it is an infiltration of what was already taking place to begin with. Trying to steer things away from a country and a world sick of U.S. invasion. Mortgage swindels and the like. Not to mention the fact its turned really damn nasty in many other countries and has been that way for a since 2007. They don't want it happening here.
Another thing they never bring up in their films is the exhorbitant interest people pay on a house that take only a few month to build and 30 years to pay off. Not to mention the fact they really are not homeowners. If they were they could not be thrown out of their homes. To put it another way they understand who butters their bread. All you get is some bs about banks got bailed out. Fact is people are HIGHLY upset about the Federal Reserve being a privately owned corp. They don't make much out of that either. Its a loud chours they get going leaving a very relevant fact behind. Or gracefully changing the subject. I see a lot of that going on.
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Two things:
reddit.com/r/occupymayday
Hello. I get it. From the first time I saw you Billy, in Zuccotti Park; you have directly communicated with the heart of the people who occupied and continue to occupy. This is a time when we need ALL the people to join together, not under a religion but together as a people with faith in the chance for change. We are the ones who will make this happen. Thanks for mirroring this, strengthening this message, and especially, giving it voice this holiday. Blessings to you. Much appreciated. Laurie
From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverend_Billy_and_the_Church_of_Life_After_Shopping
(might be obvious who he is, but for what it is worth, see below) Origin of Reverend Billy
Bill Talen (born May 25, 1950) is a Dutch-American Calvinist Minnesota-born actor who moved to New York City from San Francisco in the late 1990s, where he had originally created a character that was a hybrid of street preacher, arguably Elvis, and televangelist called Reverend Billy. This character was performed in various San Francisco alternative theater venues, where Talen had earned a considerable reputation as both a performer and a producer (Life On The Water theater, the Solo Mio Festival, Writers Who Act, etc.) In New York, Talen began appearing as Reverend Billy on street corners in Times Square, near the recently opened Disney Store. Times Square had recently begun its transformation from a seedy but lively center of small-time and sometimes illicit commerce—and also of New York theatre—to a more gentrified and tourist-friendly venue for large companies like Disney and big-budget stage productions like The Lion King. Whereas other street preachers chose Times Square because of its reputation for sin, Reverend Billy's sermons focused on the evils of consumerism and advertising—represented especially by Disney and Mickey Mouse—and on what Talen saw as the loss of neighborhood spirit and cultural authenticity in Rudolph Giuliani's New York. Talen's chief collaborator in developing the Reverend Billy character was the Reverend Sidney Lanier. A cousin of Tennessee Williams with an interest in avant-garde theater, Lanier was then the vicar of St. Clement[disambiguation needed ]'s, an Episcopal church in Hell's Kitchen that doubled as a theatrical space, where Talen was working as house manager. Lanier encouraged Talen, who was suspicious of religious figures after rejecting the conservative Protestantism of his youth, to study radical theologians and performers; of these, Talen credits Elaine Pagels and Lenny Bruce as particularly strong influences. Though Talen does not call himself a Christian, he says that Reverend Billy is not a parody of a preacher, but a real preacher; he describes his church's spiritual message as "put the Odd back in God." Each year, Reverend Billy and his choir attend and perform at the Burning Man festival in Nevada. The Church of Stop Shopping is a non-profit organization that includes Talen, theatrical director Savitri Durkee (who is married to Talen), a 34-member choir, and an 8-piece band.
Reading some of the comments below, I am not sure humorless people are any good for OWS. Rather, they very much remind me of the 1%.
definitely no MLK-like moment here
That's one hell of a standard.
If you want to lose my support keep up this silliness I want a completely secular movement Global in scope and dedicated to no Personality Cults. I don't need any Reverend, Priest,Rabbi,Pope telling me what to do. The Constitution guarantees my freedom from Religion as well as freedom of Religion. And don't you ever forget it !!!
This is humor. It has no real connection with religion. Lighten up.
Do you realize that in your rigidity you are being just as DOGMATIC as those "religious" folks that you complain about? It's not enough to be an atheist or an agnostic to be FREE OF RELIGIOUS-LIKE DOGMATISM.
And if I wanted to make fun of you, I would conclude with a resounding: "And don't you ever forget it !!!" But I won't. I'd rather leave you with a big smile... :o)
Amen
don't forget about persistence. winter cold always overcome heat by the february. But Yes, ... animal revolution. May Day! May Day!
Let me start by saying the capitalist society is a model of natural order of life. Life is not fair in nature. Greed is a trait built in to EVERY single species on the face of the earth. Nature doesnt get things wrong. For us to second guess Nature is to say we are Gods. Nature was designed/evolved using one principal: Survival of the fittest. In order to further our species we need not protect the weakest least capable of our species. Instead let them perish via there own consequencial genetic make up i.e laziness, poverty, homelessness, addictive tendancies. In all other species the weakest animals are the targets of predators and nature allows that animal to be killed so that only the strongest survive and populate. Why are we going to such great lengths to protect those who are too weak to protect themselves? Looking at that question with a COMPLETELY open mind you realize by doing that we are slowly but surely creating a weaker, more sickly, lazy society. By allowing those of us who wake up every morning and bust ass from dusk till dawn to do whatever it takes to make sure his/her family is taken care to prosper as nature designed it we are securing our future as a species to be a very good one. I live a pretty simple life. I have a wife and two small children. I live in a home that I rent. I go to work every day. I pay taxes. I guess you could lable me as greedy because I take advantage of every opportunity to make my life better even if that means that some one else does without. Again life is not fair and survival of the fittest rules. If someone is not smart enough or bold enough or talented enough to take what they need and at the same time protect the environment around them than how would it be beneficial having those people populate the world? I hope youve read this with an open mind because its frank and true if you really think about it. zsthompson1@aol.com
Is that video suppose to be inspiring? Surely OWS can do better.
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Dear Occupy Wall Street NYC,
I’m a daily occupier since the beginning of the movement; there are drastic changes that we have to look at. Many supporters of the movement feel the same way as I do, which is why the issue is brung up. It’s not well on how some things are going. I spoken to a lot facilitators of the OWS movement, and most of you aren’t able to deliver me valid information. This isn’t in anyway to bash or exploit the movement but rather constructive criticism to think about.
For instance, when there were tents in Zuccotti Park, we had much more weight of energy and momentum, even drummers were making noise. Now that’s gone because we only allowed it to happen. We’re not fighting hard enough. There were many facilitators and people in the park that were pro-active and were able to deliver updated information about the movement, aside from the panhandlers. Now there is little to none.
Different individuals come from all over the world to Zuccotti Park for inspiration. A place for different individuals to interact and spread ideas on how we can make a change for the future. Now keep in mind, if it weren’t for us. There wouldn’t be any occupation worldwide.
I had heard many people say that this movement touched them deeply from the bottom of their hearts.
Even when the park got raided, there were still massive amount of people holding down the symbolic area of the movement. This only showed true dedication.
Remember when over 10,000 people showed up at the General Assembly after the park got raided? This was the same time the barricades were set up around the park. The police put the barricades there because the Government felt the movement was growing too rapidly, that showed an instant sign of fear.
They even put yellow tapes inside the park, against the walls where the benches are, made bogus conceptions about how it was to protect the plants. Bloomberg sent in NYPD and the Sanitation to trash and destroy books.
Ask yourself why?
In order to make a real difference we have to continue and maintain this energy, keep sending these vial energies. To not only show we are a serious movement but to show we’re fighting for what we believe in.
Millions of dollars are put into the NYPD force. Guess who’s paying for it? All of the police at Zuccotti park are being paid to stand around and do absolutely nothing and go home with big bonuses. We mind as well give them a reason for them to stand around.
Every-time a peaceful protester gets arrested and beaten down, it only makes the movement stronger. Keep in mind that we also have to play smarter, work in a fashionable matter without having to get arrested and working towards the goal.
A lot of different rallies are planned and thousands of brave souls are out there participating and risking their freedoms. But do they all have a reasonable-purpose and is it getting closer to obtaining the primary goal?
Also all these planned rallies is one thing but are the facilitators out there with the participants? Only a very few.
Back to the space.
It’s not the space that matters, but the fact that thousands of different faces come to Zuccotti park every single day. The whole world is watching and questioning. Even one supporter can make a major difference.
They need our presence, we’re all in this together.
When people come and try to look for information, interact, share ideas and not a soul is to be found. How do you think that looks reflecting upon the movement? People that pass by daily are being sent off to “60 Wall Street”. When they arrive at “60 Wall Street” in regards of finding information, they’re told to go on NYCGA.NET. We need a valid information structure to point people in the right direction.
It’s unbelievable to have people come from across all over the country / states to be told that they should visit a website for information. The individual may not be computer literate and would much rather prefer to interact physically, besides the website has all type of things going on at the same time.
Now from my understanding there’s 2 spaces “60 Wall Street” And an office at “52 Broadway”.
What I would think is that a lot of individuals are starting to get way too comfortable and off-task. A lot of excuses are being made.
Just take as minute to look and open your eyes on what’s going. Look at the other movements throughout the world where, people are dying, getting shot, getting killed for fighting what they believe in.
Do they receive the same luxury as we do? definitely not.
I think it’s time for major improvements to take in place. The Occupation isn’t at 60 Wall Street. Change isn’t going to happen overnight, but we can start by taking little steps such as going to Zuccotti Park, going to different communities. Interacting with different individuals, sharing information updates, and simply give them a reason why they should be part of the movement.
Even if it’s only one or two hours a day.
Seems like a majority of the Spokes council meeting nothing ever gets done, from the fact that some working groups have tension towards each other. There are over 80+ working groups, which is unnecessary. We have way more things to be worrying about then just argue about who takes control of what, and who has the power to do such.
The website Occupywallst.org needs major improvements as well. It’s a source of network connecting worldwide. It’s affecting a lot of viewers negatively. There’s a lot of bogus content. As if there were nothing real and important to post about. Just random videos and content talking about how well the movement is doing maybe we shouldn’t credit ourselves just yet.
I’d advise you to start posting more serious information, like the new bill that’s being passed NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act) and SOPA.
Let our people who don’t already know how it can affect this movement, our rights and freedom. The reason for a lot of the downfall in this country is that we wait to get things done at the last second or when it’s too late. This movement is still at its early baby stage. On top of that the NDAA bill passed on $663 billion dollars. Most of us that are aware of this are just watching it fly right by us, allowing it to happen as if it was nothing.
There was a chance for Congress to vote on a millionaire’s tax last week - a tax most people support - and if OWS had organized against it something could have actually been done. Instead - people picked a fight with a generally supportive Church and sat in an atrium drinking coffee, eating, argued about how to celebrate the holidays (People didn’t donate money for this). People argued about bureaucratic points, deciding which politicians to shout down. We protest against the banks instead of the politicians who write the tax laws that allow the banks to get away with paying no US Federal Income Tax ; they protest the banks that give campaign donations instead of the politicians who accept them; we protest verbally against the lobbying done by big business but don’t protest the Congress that the lobbyists are influencing. We are squatting in places that are private property instead of marching on the White House which set the Loan Modification program in motion that was supposed to help 7 - 9 million people keep their homes. Instead of protesting the “feel good but do nothing” modification program - they seek to block access to the banks. This all comes back to the people we elected to represent us in DC and locally - yet we are protesting those who are only following the rules laid down by those election persons.
We need a real tax reform
Why are local marches ignored in favor of supporting a union only based on its early support of OWS?
Yes we have supporters, but nearly not enough. People are still debating If the movement is on the right track. Half of the people don’t even know what’s going on.
We have to continue to keep up the vigorous energy. Keep in mind again, this movement is still at it’s early stage and there’s so much more to progress in. We cannot afford to lose the energy and slack off.
I’ve been bringing this topic daily to OWS, and speaking of the behalf of many others and feel our voices been neglected and ignored.
Part of this movement is that everybody needs be welcomed and that everybody needs to work together.
The real change has to start within yourself.
There are a lot that needs to be done before we can say there was actual change. We have to find a realistic demand and specific goal we’re aiming at. In order to do so we can start by taking steps such as working with other occupations, etc.
We need serious planning, direction, discipline, focus, coordination among all the Occupy camps, coordinated local strategies, Start local in our communities showing that we care, etc. I know that’s going on to an extent, but it needs to be more organized and purposeful.
Remember, everyone is entitled to have a voice and say.
Sincerely,
The 99% that wants economic and social reform
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Then OccupyWallSt.ORG needs to stop posting bullshit.
Like your postings? Agreed. So stop posting more BS
I'm sure at least one person reads it, if you read it already good for you, I'm sure many other's haven't.
OWS movement is being manipulated and now it's hijacked.
We never talk about changing any real issues, nor do I see action anymore.
Too bad people give him the time of day. The green party backing him helped Bloomberg to barely win the mayoral election, Every vote counted. Too bad you don’t see this guy for the brand he “wants to be”.
great, two more reason im losing support for the occupiers: religious connections and protesters at a ron paul rally. somebody please unf@$k this mess, the same people who started OWS are not the same people who are planning things now. Whatever happened to ending the FED? sounds like infiltration by propaganda machine to move anger away from the FED. We fell for it again America
well when i first found out about OWs on Sep 21, End ing the fed was on half the signs and was a HUGE part of the agenda. So I marched locally with occupy kc back in october, we setup camp right across form the fed reserve and was a main focus of most marchers. During that time I waited to see how Alex Jones would react cause I thought he would support it. Well he didn't, in fact he kept bashing OWS saying how if the Fed wouldnt be the main focus then nothing would change since the FED is THE money supplier to wall street. I was pissed that he said that and regreted listening to him. Turns out the douche was actually right. And I just dont like religion and maiking religous ties is a dealbreaker for me(just my opinion).Last Im not a troll, just pissed I supported this 200% and put in time and effort to spread the word and participate to watch it fall apart into and ineffective civil rights movement