People's School, Ithaca Commons,
May Day, 2012
Discussions included:
Histories of Anarchism Discussion:
Hakim Bey, Murray Boskchin, and David Graeber
Psychiatric Justice
Encouraging the Free Spirit and
Abandoning the Corporate Manufactured Identity
Protect our Health, not their
Wealth
Cooperative Neighborhood Gardens
and other solidarity building neighborhood projects
Silent City Distro Infoshop
Perspectives on Police Violence
and How to Stay Safe in the Streets
Shawn Greenwood Street Theater +
Discussion
Justice in the Family
Fracking, Big Oil, Large Industry
Open Meditation
LGBT Rights/Discrimination
Sociology of Global Change
(Tsing's Friction)
Building a Peer-to-Peer Economy
DREAM Act: supporting undocumented
people
The Truth about the US Economy
Corporate Rights vs. Worker's
Rights
Why is a Living Wage important to
Occupy?
Sustainable Ways to Move into the
Future
Revolutionary Medicine: Rethinking
healing in a late capitalist world
Encouraging the Independent Media
Public Education: the great equalizer?
Public Education: the great equalizer?
Open Sing-a-long circle: Songs of
Resistance
Greenstar Grocery in Collegetown?
Topic: Single Payer Healthcare
Convener:
Rebecca Elgie and Barbara Harrison
Workshop:
Introduction
to single payer healthcare
Definition
of single payer
Model
of Medicare for implementation
Access
and Benefits
Financing
of single payer
Administrative
savings
Different
Perspectives on the Benefits of Single Payer:
Patients,
Doctors, Hospitals, Insurance Industry, Business, Congress
We
can continue down the road of rising health care costs, leaving more and more
people uninsured and underinsured. OR, we can move to a single payer system in
which everyone is in and no one is left out. This will lead to a healthier and
more productive society.
Actions
planned:
·
gather people’s stories
·
LAC school/whole school meetings – do presentations
·
Work on State Health Plan petition campaign
·
Reach out to diverse groups – get young people involved
Topic: Songs of Resistance
Convener: Forest
I
helped facilitate the session called songs of resistance. Mostly we sang, with
people passing by joining in or stopping to listen for a few minutes. We also
had a discussion about the power of songs of resistance to help bring
solidarity to movements, to bring people together and keep spirits high during
marches. Singing in the Commons was great and we also picked up some additional
interested people who may join with us for future singing.
The
whole May Day event was great, the people's school is a powerful idea and I
hope there will be others. It was wonderful to pass by groups engaged in
important discussions. We know change is going to have to come from the people
and I think fostering discussion with a people's school is a good start. Thanks
for the day!
Topic: Why is a
Living Wage as the Minimum Wage an important issue for Occupy?
Convener: Pete of
the Workers' Center
Occupy is
anti-multinational-corporations, e.g., Wal-Mart, who capitalize on the backs of
the 99% globally, profiting from slave labor as well as wage-slave labor. Some
occupiers may have trouble prioritizing the wages of Wal-Mart employees in the
U.S. over the international human rights abuses. Child labor seems like a
bigger problem that should have us all out protesting in the streets.
Global capitalism
is a huge problem, and we try to make progress where we can. The Tompkins
County Workers’ Center campaigns for a Living Wage because everyone should have
a decent standard of living, and a minimum wage should provide that. This
campaign aims to ensure that the poorest workers, the most vulnerable people in
our society, are not abused by the capitalist system. In the process of
campaigning for living wage legislation, they hope to spread awareness to
people outside of the already actively involved community.
Reaching out to
employees at big companies like Wal-Mart is difficult in the same way as
campaigns that try to get people to stop buying Wal-Mart products: there is a
gap in consciousness or acceptance of the status quo. Some employees hold on to
the American dream and think that if they just work hard enough, someday they
will be middle class too, unaware that that will NEVER be a reality for them if
they continue to work for less than a living wage at Wal-Mart. As for the
minimum wage workers who are aware of that reality, many believe that a living
wage is an impossibly radical goal and have accepted their situations. To make
matters worse, these are insecure jobs and Wal-Mart has policies in place
specifically to prohibit unionizing. You can’t just stand out in front of
Wal-Mart and yell about the evils of Wal-Mart because that doesn’t connect with
people. It’s not the same as when you have a one-on-one conversation. It’s
almost like the campaign HAS to be grassroots, on the individual level. In order for
people to get involved, they need to be inspired and to believe that tangible
change is actually possible. They also need to be empowered to take action
themselves and not feel like this is just another
thing-someone-else-is-making-me-do-that-I-don’t-really-understand-or-want-to-do.
These vulnerable workers can not just give up their jobs without another
option. So, how do we begin to tackle this problem?
In the past, the
Workers’ Center has had much greater success getting local companies to agree
to become Living Wage employers than in targeting big companies like Wal-Mart.
So, they are always looking to certify more local businesses as living wage
employers.
Some people
express concerns that small businesses can not afford sudden, huge increases in
the minimum wage, but many local businesses are doing quite well. Historically,
everyone benefits when the poorest community members have more spending power,
including those same small businesses. Further, the burden of profitability
should not be placed on low-wage workers, as it is a symptom of the larger
failing economic system. If there were more tax breaks for small businesses
instead of huge corporations, it would be easier to pay a living wage.
One big local
employer that should become Living Wage Certified is Cornell. The UAW workers
start out with living wages, but they only work 9 months of the year and cannot
collect unemployment, and since the wage/hiring freeze, they [Cornell]---not
the union!--have been employing temps who are paid much less.
One goal of the
members of Occupy Cornell in proposing this People’s School to the members of
Occupy Ithaca was to find ways that Cornell could contribute more to the
community, so there may be some interest in working together on such a
campaign. Raising the standard of living of Cornell’s employees would have a
concrete impact on the community because they are one of the biggest employers
in the region, and some of the members of OCU are already working on labor
justice issues. This seems like a natural partnership and campaign for TCWC and
Occupy that could be very effective.
Topic: Encouraging the Free
Spirit and Abandoning the Corporate Manufactured Identity
Convener:
Mike
Participants
were: Ben Purdy, Ari, Cory, Victor, Michael and Mike Manfredo.
Issues:
The American Dream, truth, beauty standards, gender roles, etc. as conveyed in
corporate propaganda (ads, media, music, visual media) pushing conformity to
their standards.
In
music, field is more level as radicals record and sell music as much as the
corporate "tools" (sell-outs) but access is preferred by corporate
media for the latter.
The
issues are perpetuated by mad men (Madison Ave. marketers), actors and
actresses, corporate psychologists putting profit before anything else and
participants (viewers like us) in this image and culture making. We are both
victims and willing participants.
Escape
from this cultural and political determination includes establishing an
alternative lifestyle, escaping society as a whole (hermits, communes, etc),
killing your television, avoiding young adult fiction, reclaiming the airwaves.
Possibly focusing on the Internet for free and open media.
Politics
are presented in corporate media as a sport and the debates are generally crap
with a focus on the errors (like scoring points). We need debates and
discussion rooted in ideas, not teams, not personalities.
News
crawls should convey whether something being discussed is news or opinion
(commentary) as it's often blurred and unclear.
The
idea of narrow casting was brought up, the idea that news is presented these
days from a narrow perspective whether from the right, left or center. Possible
solutions include having high school students be assigned to watch a particular
news story on different channels and then presenting an understanding of that
news story the next day with discussion about the different understanding about
the "truth" and the different slants on the news story.
Anti-advertising, websites, radio and television stations offering various
sources of information (broadcasting) was discussed to present the range of
perspectives for every story and for every commentary, debate and discussion.
This could be offered as an I-phone app as well. Also, many stations should use
many sources of information. Corporate consolidation should be addressed and
opposed.
Preferred
indifference of many Americans was discussed. Issue: how to get to open-minded
people. What's the purpose of marketing, and how is it used? Ethical use would
be to inform, unethical use is to manipulate and corporate gain. Use
advertising to counter advertising (non-profit sources, seeking donations, etc.
A dissenting voice was raised that advertising for the website, radio and/or TV
stations that broad cast is still propaganda.
Topic: Psychiatric Justice
Convener:
Chris
We
had many people, around 20, join in this discussion at various points. We
talked about the way mental illness is perceived in our society- as a stigma,
as shameful, as scary, as the person's fault. It is simultaneously viewed as a
character defect and as a diagnosable medical problem solved through
medication. Yet we questioned at what point it should be treated like a
disease; maybe some of what is seen as illness is simply someone's mental
activity and personality. Sometimes there can be benefits from a manic episode.
"A psychotic is drowning in what a mystic is swimming in."
The
mental health system is clearly flawed. Medication is not the complete answer.
People who've never been on psychiatric meds don't understand the effects, so
it's too facile just to insist that family members take their pills! People
questioned the justice in Kendra's Law, which allows the authorities to put
someone in psychiatric care involuntarily for two weeks, if they judge the
person to be a danger to self or others. It seemed there was no due process- in
fact, to some people it seemed that the criminal justice system was more fair
and straightforward than the mental health care system. Yet sometimes people ARE
causing damage and simply can't recognize that. Figuring out the balance
between individual rights and communal well-being is extremely challenging.
We
need a personal support structure outside the mental health system, one that
addresses the issue at a deeper, soul-level. (Freud's terminology is translated
as "psyche" but it would be more accurate to translate it
"soul".) Religion plays this role of community support for some, but
for others we need to build a system where people minister to one another. Now
that we pay people to "minister" to patients
(psychologists/psychiatrists/counselors) perhaps money influences the process
and we are only going for the quick fix, wherein we come up with names for
disruptive behavior, but not real healing.
One
suggestion was peer groups for those who have been in the mental health system.
Project Icarus is an online support system with discussion groups and helpful
information. Michael Holt, one of the discussion participants, offered to help
develop such a group locally. He can be reached at HOLTmi2@gmail.com.
Topic: DREAM Act and other ways to support undocumented
people
Convener:
Laurie
Participants:
Brit, Kyle, Amy, Kenny, Shana, Laurie
We
talked about the federal DREAM Act , which is directed at undocumented people
who were brought to the US from other countries before they were 18, and who
are currently between 18 and 35 years old. The bill would grant them a path to
citizenship and access to student aid if they enroll in college. Advocates are
wary of the aspect of the bill that also grants a path to citizenship for this
population if they join the military-- as it could be used as a major
recruitment tool. In any case, the bill was introduced several years ago but
has never passed- most recently failed in December 2010.
In
response young undocumented people in New York State have built a movement and
gotten a bill introduced in our state- the NYS Dream Act. New York can't grant
citizenship but this bill would give this population of students access to
state college aid and establish private sources of college aid as well.
Amazingly, Texas passed similar legislation years ago. Why can't we?
In
terms of supporting private sources of funding for students, we spoke about
connecting with development staff/Alumni Associations at CUNY/SUNY/private
universities so that fundraising is done for that purpose.
We
spoke about the limits of legislative advocacy and even voting as methods for
social change- but also recognized that asserting the right to give up and opt
out of those methods is itself privilege; the people most affected don't
have the option as they don't have the right to vote and don't usually get
heard by elected officials. We felt this effort was legitimate in that there
was an authentically grassroots group of people directly affected who were
leading it.
We
also spoke of the frustration of dealing with intolerance and bigotry of people
who don't recognize their privilege and who truly don't have the opportunity-
and those who don't avail themselves of the opportunity- to stretch their
horizons and experience other cultures. We have to keep giving people the
opportunity to hear their own unconscious thoughts said out loud so they can
reflect on them. We can't change anyone's mind but we can connect and share
stories in the attempt to get them to change their own minds.
Topic: Police Violence & Staying Safe in the Streets
PARTICIPANTS:
+/- 10 people
We
began by discussing origins of May Day -- celebrating the struggle for worker
self-determination and the eight hour workday, and remembering police
repression toward demonstrators and the Haymarket Massacre.
We
talked about what it means to protest and how privilege plays into that. Making
situations as consensual as possible helps to stay safe. We discussed risks
involved in protesting / demonstrating. Some ideas that were mentioned are
violence from police, violence from other protesters, and the possibility of
losing one's job.
Some
ideas about risks at street demonstrations:
COPS:
*
when cops attack people, it's no one's fault but the cops'
*
in these situations, police act as / are used as weapons, not people
*
they use dogs, bikes, horses, cars, drones
*
touching any of these can be considered "assault" on the police
YOURSELF:
*
be clear about your personal boundaries, fears
*
ways you can be self-defeating (adhering to norms -- age, class, societal
expectations)
*
before going to a demonstration, did you eat well? did you get enough sleep?
*
major risk: being unprepared
ENVIRONMENT:
*
weather, traffic, are children present
*
always go with a buddy / affinity group
*
have a meet-up spot / contingency plan
*
know the area
*
know risks (e.g. race, gender, sexual orientation, immigration status) of your
comrades
*
watch police: are they putting on masks? what is the wind direction and how
will it affect chemical weapons deployment by police?
POLICE
USE FEAR AS A TACTIC & AS A WEAPON
DISPERSAL:
*
don't run in panic -- you become target for arrest
*
weapons used for dispersal include: tear gas, pepper spray, pepper balls, bean
bags, batons, horses, flash bangs, LRADs, motorcycles and scooters, sirens,
lights horns
*
these all are intended to create sense of panic and fear
*
be aware that tear gas canisters are very hot and will cause third degree burns
(only pick up with welding gloves)
*
bandanas and face masks can help against some chemical weapons
*
after pepper spray, drink water followed by liquid anti-acid, change clothes,
very cold shower
CONFINEMENT:
*
leads to mass arrests
*
stay aware / be on lookout for any exits
*
kettling -- police surround area and tighten circle around protesters
*
netting -- police use construction area type netting to surround group of
protesters for detainment or arrest or worse
*
dispersal by confinement -- police allow people to march for a very long time
but in increasingly limited spaces / streets, and people drop off, get tired,
are unable to present a resistance
IMPORTANT:
*
be calm
*
prepare logistically and emotionally
*
be aware: believe only from people you trust and only share fact-based
information
*
example: instead of saying "the police are going to tear gas us",
observe: "the police are putting on their face masks"
The
legal observer who joined our discussion added:
*
if you see police brutality, film it, find a green-capped legal observer and
give them your email
*
what a legal observer needs: name, contact person, arresting officer, film
(best), photos, contact info, description of what happened, time, location --
as much of this as possible
Topic: Public Education: the great equalizer?
Convener:
Tom
The
dominant narrative: The American economy is meritocracy, i.e. the most
hard-working, entrepreneurial people in the workforce rise to the top. If
someone is rich, they earned that, and if someone is poor, they earned that
too. This is the ideology that justifies massive wealth inequality.
The
dominant narrative only makes sense if we assume that everyone starts off on a
level playing field. That's supposedly what public education, the “great
equalizer,” does: give everyone the same tools with which to compete in the
economy. BUT...
Funding:
We
fund our schools primarily through local property taxes, so obviously rich kids
go to better schools than poor kids. The wealthiest 10% of schools spend about
ten times more than the poorest 10%. Some students are given iPads, while other
scramble to find pencils. We make a big deal over federal funding acts, like No
Child Left Behind, Race to the Top, etc.,
but that whole debate is a sham. Federal funding only accounts for about
7% of the average school budget. Inequality is built into the decentralized way
we fund our schools. Important distinction made between equal funding and
equitable funding: equal funding means every student gets the same number of
funding dollars, while equitable funding means every student receives funding
according to his/her need, in order to raise everyone to the same level. In
order for the dominant narrative of the meritocratic capitalist economy to make
sense, we need equitable funding, not just equal funding.
With
local funding of schools, the quality of a school becomes dependent on the
willingness of local families to raise property taxes, which means that a
stubborn bunch of Republicans can dismantle the local schools to make a stand
on lowering taxes. There have been efforts to equalize funding across
districts, but suburbs usually vote them down.
Racial
Segregation:
Our schools have gotten
more segregated, not less, since the 80s. In 1980, 63% of black students went
to predominantly minority schools. In 2000, 72%. Massive gap in achievement and
graduation rates between minority students and white students. 2002, average
black or Latino 12th grader was at the same reading and math level as a white
8th grader. Graduation rates: Black students, 54%, Latino, 56%, Native
American, 51%, White, 77%. What's going on here? District lines are redrawn
along economic lines, massive white flight to the suburbs post-WWII, GI Bill
gave many access to home mortgages, but explicitly red-lined minority
neighborhoods. Racism of prison system closely tied to racism of education
system: hard for father in jail to be engaged in son's education. Some feel
that the problems confronting inner-city students are cultural, i.e. crime,
drug use, and parents that don't care. Others find that idea super-duper
racist. Some of us went to very affluent schools with lots of drug use and
parents that don't care.
Social
coercion:
Some
feel schools are meant to reproduce class, to teach us to comply, to train us
for the jobs our parents held. Others argue that public education is both a
giver of opportunity and an enforcer of conformity, and that to deny either
function is absurd. Our schools are meant both to address our grievances with
society and to literally raise children. How far do we want to democratize
education? Does education lose its potency when it becomes too democratic? Some
feel that our education system leaves us skill-less, and that social mobility
should be about being able to pursue an alternative lifestyle (i.e. farming)
rather than just climbing the ladder.
