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We are the 99 percent

Articles tagged election


Seize the Discourse: #OccupyTheDebates

Posted 12 years ago on Oct. 11, 2012, 4:46 p.m. EST by OccupyWallSt
Tags: election, occupy the debates

Occupy the Debates

In 2008, many people throughout the world backed Obama. Some international polling reported over 85% of people across the globe backed his promises of “Change.”

Of course, the only “Change” to unfold was the continued expansion of the military industrial complex, privatization, deportation of migrants, austerity, resource depletion, and imperialist agendas. This lethal cocktail resulted in the further consolidation of vast wealth at the top of society. While Obama and Romney blatantly lie to the world in debates over the meaningless differences in their nearly-identical policies, the rich are getting richer and the poor getting poorer, and the methods of exterminating the poor are becoming ever more sophisticated and now, automated. Big banks continue to get bigger as they rig the system (see: LIBOR) while foreclosing on homes and earning vast profits at the expense of the rest of us. The disparity in wealth has proceeded at an even faster rate under Obama than ever before. His signature health care law is merely a handout to corporate interests that fails to protect the most vulnerable. With nearly 1,000 U.S. Military bases encircling the globe, it is not only those inside the 50 states weighing the potential ramifications of the outcome. Average people across the planet are stakeholders who will suffer its effects.

Thus, the highly topical #OccupyTheDebates online encampment of mainstream debate hashtags is a revolutionary social media action. It enables the international community to participate in the four-yearly spectacle first hand. No longer are we passively absorbing speeches on issues with pre-approved parameters; we are free to air our legitimate concerns and fears in the public domain. We are not constrained by pomp and circumstance, or blacked out by the conventional media who find themselves having to compete for the attention of what was once a captive audience.

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Occupy the Debates!

Posted 12 years ago on Sept. 20, 2012, 11:43 a.m. EST by OccupyWallSt
Tags: new orleans, denver, debates, election

Occupy the Debates 2012

The Commission on Presidential Debates, a private corporation, restricts the ‘debates’ to the two corporate parties and the issues that they approve. The concerns of the people such as ending corporate influence over politics, ending militarization, and creating real jobs and access to health care and education will be discussed superficially or not at all.

How will you Occupy the Debates? You can do this in many ways and if you need them, we are here to provide resources to you.

Here are ways to get involved:

  1. Take the online survey at OccupytheDebates.org.
  2. Read about the issues.
  3. Organize an event in your community.
  4. Spread the word!

Occupy Denver has taken the lead on this and is organizing a variety of events around the first presidential debate to be held there October 3rd. Events include a People’s Forum with live entertainment and opportunities to share stories and a People’s Dialogue to discuss the top issues that are chosen in the survey. And Occupy NOLA is holding a People’s Convention on Octcober 27.

The results of the Occupy the Debates survey and events will be collected nationally and shared with presidential candidates for response and posted on the OccupytheDebates.org prior to Election Day.

Please join the call if you are planning or are interested in holding an Occupy the Debate event and changing the debate to the issues that we the people care about, not the corporations! You can also contact us at info@occupythedebates.org.

We recognize that within the current political structure, which is dominated by corporate power and concentrated wealth, lawmakers will not adequately address the many crises faced by the nation and the planet. Thus, we will continue to protest, to educate and organize and to build alternative systems that place human needs over corporate greed.

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