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Work 4 Peace,Hold All Life Sacred,Eliminate Violence! I am on my mobile version of the door-to-door, going town-to-town holding readings/gatherings/discussions of my book "But What Can I Do?" This is my often neglected blog mostly about my travels since 9/11 as I engage in dialogue and actions. It is steaming with my opinions, insights, analyses toward that end of holding all life sacred, dismantling the empire and eliminating violence while creating the society we want ALL to thrive in

Tuesday, November 01, 2011

Doing the math - to be continued

1% 99% - some folks are not sure what this means. 1 percent of our population controls over 51% of "our" resources. The rest of us, the 99%, have access to only 49% of our resources.

Of course, that 99% is also further broken down with something like 18% own the next 30%, etc.etc.etc. I wish I would have kept that pyramid break-down someone did at Occupy D.C.

So most OWS folks are saying that 1% should not control over 51% of our resources.

I agree - kind of. I believe that 51% of our resources needs to be taken from that 1% and distributed as reparations among the Indigenous People and African-American People of this nation, as well as the myriad of nations we have bombed, invaded, occupied since the beginning of the formation of the U.S.

The rest of the 49% of our wealth needs to be redistributed equitably among the 100% of our people.

Even with 'just' 49% of our wealth - providing we end all wars - we will still have more than enough for EVERYONE to live comfortably, and pursue a REALLY meaningful life, instead of pursuing the American Nitemare.

Why another occupation?

i also do not see it as the movements inability to "get along" - and that the 1% "get along".

i see it as the movement's inability to honor, include, and value diversity, especially when those differences force us to examine our weaknesses (as the isms we intentionally or not bring w/us).

we have little experience being inclusive - i think i've said all this before - and i have suggested a model that i think will work.

but the bottom line is, before any other model can be introduced, we have to decide as a people that we WANT to value diversity.

and again, i think we need not view a number of occupations as 'division' but as making space for diversity.

because you believe the 1% models "getting along" doesn't really mean it is a model we want or even benefit from replicating, yes?

re:moving to mcpherson, i'm sure you know that there has been anti-codepink voices expressed there from the beginning (as at freedom plaza but more subtle there), which is one reason i hesitate; the other is that i'm not motivated by wall street but by ending war, which again is another slight 'difference' that doesn't mean division, just focus - for me, if (and when we did) have enough money in the beginning few years of war to both fund war and fund wall street, i was still out protesting.

and lastly, and most recently, i was 'attacked' (even called a "b....) by a few pro-war men at mcpherson who told me mcpherson was not all anti-war, that in fact many were pro-war, some people deserved to be killed, the military fights for my right of free speech, and that i was unpatriotic to stand against war, against soldiers who were training to and killing, against the u.s. military for exploiting our youth, etc.etc.etc. i felt like i was facing reapers at best, skin heads at worse.

so that's all i'm writing now! THANKS matt!