Occupy Exeter

Open Letter to Martin Shaw

2012-02-26T08:04:00.007-08:00

Yesterday, I came across a very reasonable and well-thought out Facebook post by Martin Shaw, a (correct me if I'm wrong) Bishop for the Scottish Episcopal Church. I thought I'd make a response, not on behalf of or representing Occupy Exeter as a whole, but merely as an individual supporter and activist within the movement. It would be great if other occupiers could write opinion pieces for our Blogger as well in the future. Anyway, I'll copy and paste the post below, and follow it with my personal response. :)

"Some days ago, you posted through letter-boxes a paper on some of the issues related to 'Occupy'. Although I am deeply anxious along with many about the financial climate and culture adopted by financial services in the UK, I wonder whether you had read what you wrote before you distributed the sheets.

The negative attitude towards the clergy of whom you write raises the question whether you have listened to any of them with any depth of empathy, let alone get your facts even approximately right. Your statement "Jesus occupies your rotten hearts"....such language is not only deeply sad, but certainly does not attract many to do anything other than be sucked into such destructive language themselves or, like me, be alienated by it.

Please try a different attitude and you may draw more not only to understand your sometimes courageous stance but also to thinking through and acting in a way that shows the commercial world an alternative and creative style of life.

If you had really listened and got alongside the clergy of whom you speak, you would moved forward with many more voices and lives, including mine, empathetic towards you and supportive of you.

I remain challenged by 'Occupy' generally and ask you to have a view of your actions and words that seem to me to do you little or no service.

In the Love of God,

Martin"

Dear Martin Shaw,

I hope you don't mind the format I've chosen to write to you, but I believe it's an ideal opportunity to discuss the issues you've raised in a way that is entirely open, transparent, and can include people in and outside of Exeter regardless of their faith and feelings towards the Occupy movement.

I should emphasise that the leaflet that was distributed that included 'Jesus occupies your rotten heart' was not published by Occupy Exeter. One of the first things we agreed as a movement was that all our publications needed to be approved by the group as a whole (through our general assemblies) before it would be regarded as Occupy Exeter literature. The leaflet was not approved by the general assembly, and was made and distributed by an individual supporter who had the best of intentions of trying to do what he could to contribute to the movement and spent several hundred pounds of his own money on printing costs. However, once he realised that the content of the leaflet was alienating to many people he quickly stopped posting the leaflets at our request.

Occupy Exeter and the Cathedral did have a very strained relationship, especially towards the end of our presence on Cathedral Green. I believe that there is a lot that members of both Occupy and the Cathedral could have done better. For example, Occupy Exeter struggled to ensure that anti-social behaviour on the Green was minimal, but at the same time I personally believe that the Cathedral could have done more to support the Occupation in that capacity rather than leaving us to deal with those issues with very few resources or the social support skills to handle anti-social behaviour. Communication between both groups was poor at times, but there was a joint effort to solve that by Occupy having a Cathedral liaison group and various clergymen visiting the site itself. The issue of our presence on the Green and then the eviction process served as a major distraction and hindrance to having constructive dialogues on the bigger social, economic and political issues which both the Cathedral and Occupy share common ground on. Now that we have left Cathedral Green there is a window of opportunity to build, or rather rebuild bridges and get the focus back on making the world a fairer, more equitable place.

And indeed, we've been reaching out to various religious groups including the United Reformed Church in Southernhay and a number of us attended a talk at Exeter University by Bishop Michael Langrish last week.

There's no denying that individuals within Occupy consider established religion as being part of the 1%, but there are also devout Christians, Muslims, Jews, people from a whole variety of faiths within the movement. Despite these differences within the Occupy movement, we don't let that be a source of division or tribalism. We celebrate the diversity of opinion and faith that's integral to the community that's sprung out of the Occupy movement, and I don't believe there's any reason the same can't be true between Occupy and religious institutions.

So I invite you to join us at one of our general assemblies or working group meetings, and we can get back to the big issues and developing ideas for how to address them. Times and locations can be found here (link)

I hope this has cleared things up and reconciled these issues to a degree. Maybe see you at one of our meetings in the near future!

Yours Sincerely,

Anarcho-Cynicism

This week!

2012-02-26T04:58:00.000-08:00

We have our general assemblies for the next wee while at the usual times and places. In about an hour's time at John Gandy's, Tuesday 6pm at the NBI, Friday 6pm at Friend's Meeting House, and John Gandy's 2pm on the following Sunday.

Our newly-formed newsletter working group will be meeting straight after GA on Tuesday. Come along to contribute to our first issue!

Our direct action working group is meeting 6pm at the Imperial (pub on New North Road) on Monday, and the 'public eye' meeting is on Wednesday, 4pm at the NBI.

Rescheduling

2012-02-21T14:44:00.000-08:00

The NHS event for the 25th has had the date changed to the 7th to coincide with similar events in London and across the nation as a whole in protest against the semi-privatisation of the NHS, and to give us time to prepare for it better!

In other news, it's been a fantastic few days for Occupy Exeter! First of all, the Bishop of Exeter gave a talk at the university which was attended by a number of Occupiers. They grilled the bishop on the Church of England's response to the Occupy movement, and on the capitalist economic system.

This evening we had a general assembly which had an excellent turnout, and we had some great discussions about how the Plymouth movement is doing, on the idea of a regional Occupy conference, and on the NHS event.

Speaking of which, our very own Jake Céileachair chaired an event at the central library tonight which was about keeping the NHS public and had speakers from Occupy Exeter, Unison, Anti-Cuts Alliance, and KONP. Occupy Exeter's speaker, Stephen Bench, summed it up quite nicely by saying the speaking event was a great opportunity to talk about what each of our movements have in common, how we stand in solidarity with each other, and how we can support each other in the ongoing struggle against the cuts and the underlying economic system that caused the crisis.

There's still plenty going on later this week! On Wednesday at 1pm, the Student Action Committee is meeting at the Imperial to discuss the upcoming National Union of Students walkout. At 4pm later that day in the NBI, there's the ever-popular Outreach working group meeting. Thursday boasts an NBI meeting at 7pm about acquiring a site for Occupy Exeter legally. On Friday, our general assembly is (as usual) at Friend's Meeting House at 6pm - followed by a film screening of the Matrix.

We've also got an 'Extraordinary GA' to discuss the future of Occupy Exeter on Saturday at 2pm. Watch this space for final confirmation of the location.

Upcoming Events!

2012-02-19T14:34:00.001-08:00

We have lots in store this upcoming week!

Monday 20th - our local bishop is giving a talk on the ethics of capitalism and wealth creation at the university. Plan is for Occupy to meet at the Imperial at 6pm to head to it as a group. Great opportunity to grill a senior clergyman who's been outspoken against Occupy Exeter in the past.

Tuesday 21st February - General Assembly at the North Bridge Inn (which I thoroughly recommend as a chilled, relaxed and affordable place to drink that does wonderful mulled cider) at 6pm.

At 7, there'll be an event at Exeter central library about the cuts - particularly the ~~reorganising~~ gutting and flogging-off of the NHS by the government. We'll also be discussing what to do for the event on Saturday (details below!).

On Wednesday 22nd, we have the meeting of the outreach working group. Again, it'll be at the North Bridge Inn at 4pm. Lots of fun, mulled cider, and discussion for how to engage with the public.

Saturday 25th, there'll be a protest happening at the Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital starting at 10am. Here's what the Facebook event says about it:

We will be outside RDE to raise awareness of the alternatives to the public sector cuts, whilst at the same time telling the public what OUR governments plans for NHS reform are. Together the 99% can keep the NHS public, IT IS NOT FOR SALE!

****THIS IS PEACEFUL ACTIVISM AND IS DESIGNED TO RAISE AWARENESS OF THE ISSUES AND TO SUPPORT THE WORKERS. IT WILL NOT RESTRICT ACCESS TO THE HOSPITAL FOR ANYBODY. IT WILL NOT AFFECT THE ABILITY OF THE WORKERS TO GET TO, OR COMPLETE THEIR, WORK *****
THIS WILL HAPPEN IN EXETER --I ENCOURAGE OCCUPATIONS ACROSS THE UK TO SUPPORT THEIR LOCAL HOSPITAL
Full details will be released in the weeks running up to the action. but here is a basic outline
Arrive at the hospital at 10am. We will be in a visual but (as much as possible) a non intrusive location at RDE. Throughout the day there will be leaflets and information distributedThere will also be special visits during the day from dressed up campers with a great message. All public sector workers will get a free hug on there way into or out of work as a thank you for the hard work they put in.Other things will take place throughout the day, but this is not a shouty protest...more like the best info stand you have ever seen.

Make sure to bring a banner or two!

Sheffield National Conference

2012-01-30T06:27:00.001-08:00

Sheffield National Conference

On arrival

The camp was located outside Sheffield Cathedral. The occupiers barricaded themselves into the sites with the back of their tents, pallets, railings, other building materials, etc. Signs and posters were put up on the outside of the white marquee so passers-by could read them. Pallet beds and tents within tents helped prepare the camp for winter. They also had a fire in the central open area with a kitchen tent and the communal white marquee on the sides. Being fortified helped them deal with difficult behaviour and turn away visibly drunk people before they had a chance to enter the site.

The Citadel of Hope was being tidied up when we arrived. We helped carry dirt and debris out of the site to be binned. The building had toilets, a large downstairs meeting hall & kitchen, and upstairs was a theatre!

The first evening was spent deciding the agenda for Saturday, lots of familiar faces from the Edinburgh conference.

Quite a lot of tech imported from Occupy LSX – rooted android phone working a bit like an internet router,

HD spy toy helicopter, and 3D printers (think replicators from Star Trek).

“Big Occupy”

Saturday started with going around each of the sites to get an update on what’s happening in the world of Occupy. Delegates attended from occupations in Exeter, Sheffield, London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Sydney, Geneva, Norwich, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Lancaster, Worthing, Brighton, York, Nottingham, Leeds, the Netherlands, Darlington, Stratford-upon-Avon and Bristol. A huge increase from the 9 camps represented at the Edinburgh conference.

Chinese village of Wukan overthrew the Communist Party back in September. First time anything like that’s happened. Occupy World of Warcraft & Occupy Second Life have happened. ‘Hopupy’ which travels between occupations to boost morale happening.

4^th February is meant to be a big celebration day for the Occupy movement, which is also International library day.

Lots of camps are facing evictions, and relatively speaking Exeter Cathedral have been very tolerant of us. Strategy of ‘unadulterated, non-violent, non-cooperation’ suggested. St. Paul’s case can be a template for other Occupy court cases. Legally speaking, the right to protest exists to the extent where it causes minimal inconvenience. Proving the location isn’t a nuisance is essential to not being evicted.

Occupy 1.0 – internal camp issues, evictions

Occupy 2.0 – eviction cannot stop us!

Thefutureofoccupy.org – site about where Occupy can go from here. Use the Occupywiki!

Sunny times ahead! Just make sure we come out of our evictions well.

Occupy wants to be involved with International Women’s Day, May Day, and International Workers’ Day.

Some camps sending people into schools, organising kids so they hold their own junior GA.

Moderated live streams of national and international conferences are the future.

International conference happening 9-11 March in Brussels. Meetings also happening in Rome, Madrid and Athens. March from Madrid to Athens taking place, in Rome now and due to arrive in Athens in time for the conference.

Protests now de-facto illegal in Chile

Online TV channel – Occupy Mexico

Bolivia – war now unconstitutional & natural environment has rights thanks to mass movements with general assemblies, consensus politics, etc

Occupy Wall Street working well with local unions, working towards Occupy Congress, Occupy New Hampshire primaries,

Occupy Johannesburg taken a squat

OWS Making Worlds Conference 16-18 February

Occupy had fun with a flash Occupy the Vatican, GA then held in Rome

Plan for Earth Day?

NATO & G8 summits later this year, Occupy Chicago up to something =)

Wikipedia blackout – maybe Occupy can adopt similar tactics to protest against SOPA (oh yeah, congress changed their mind so the bill wasn’t passed. We won!)

‘Black March’ – some people not buying anything copyrighted that month

Occupytalk.org – weekly roundtable meetings Thursday 7.30

Occupy Moscow – holding negotiations with Occupy Wall Street for a program of nuclear disarmament

Haiti supports Occupy! Lawyer in Haiti taking the UN to court over the mess they made with the cholera epidemic in Haiti

May to have a Fortnight of Action (1^st – Int. Workers Day, 7^th – May Day, 12-15^th birthday of Spanish Indignados). Exeter can organise own events for most of that, protest every day, send a delegation to London for the 15^th

Climate Caravan – film screenings, panels, discussions, touring occupations in May. Details and dates need to be worked out.

“Little Occupy”

How can Exeter better reach out to the people of Exeter?

Focusing on specific local issues, making sure there are people “front of house” on the path. Be careful not to give too much or too little info. Regular events an essential.

Organisations like churches, Greenpeace and the Woodcraft Folk natural allies

Even Daily Mail readers are in the 99%. Talk to people on the Right as well as the Left, focus on commonalities.

Having celebrities on-board *can* be useful, but only if they genuinely take part in the democratic process rather than as a gimmicky PR stunt

Training people on how to talk to the public a great idea

Be careful not to give the wrong impression, the “We are the 99%” slogan can be misinterpreted as saying we claim to directly represent everyone which can come across as presumptuous to people who don’t understand the economics in the slogan.

People like to be listened to when they talk to Occupiers, not lectured.

Sending people to other camps as “ambassadors” means we can mooch ideas and they can mooch us back.

Visuals and keeping written info up-to-date important

“Stop looking inward, start looking outward” – Occupy 2.0. Diverse outreach groups. Opportunity to be a hub for sympathetic and supportive groups.

Our message, because it’s so broad, is flexible so we have a unique opportunity to bring people from across the political spectrum on board.

“Inner Occupy”

You’d think larger camps would tend to have more issues with metatalking, internal communications, etc. but it’s equally a problem for smaller camps. When these issues boil over you can lose members of the occupation which even on a small scale is disastrous in smaller camps

Keep to time on agenda items, train facilitators by cofacilitating experienced and inexperienced members.

Occupy 2.0 an opportunity to keep the protest moving without getting bogged down with camp issues that come with an entirely open site. There needs to be a safe workspace for WGs, workshops, the free university, people who are burned out etc.

Indymedia worth looking into. Using things like Piratepad to communicate within the camp a handy tool.

On communication, making sure that decisions made by the GA are carried out is so, so Important. Asking someone who’s assigned a job how it’s going is a great step. Regular reports to the GA from WGs also good. We have the potential to be a fantastic occupation but each component part needs to be moving in the same direction for that to happen. Lose the ego, jealousy, hatred, tribalism and cliques that we’re constantly in danger of sinking into. Each camp needs to be built on trust, honesty, respect, peace, love, freedom, and other buzzwords like that.

We need to ask ourselves what makes a good GA, and what makes a good facilitator

So in conclusion…

Communication needs to be worked on massively and we don’t want to get bogged down with site issues and evictions. These challenges are an opportunity in disguise, and evictions can be carried out in a way that works for us provided we’re organised, sincere and committed to making it so.

Message of solidarity to Sheffield central library for letting us use their computers for free and sending vital information in time for Saturday’s GA.

Time for some poetry!

2012-01-17T06:35:00.000-08:00

(No prizes for guessing where this is from)

First they came for the Iraq War protesters,
And I didn't speak out because I wasn't a protester.

Then they came for the anti-capitalists,
And I didn't speak out because I wasn't an anti-capitalist.

Then they came for the environmentalists,
And I didn't speak out because I supported the extra runway at Heathrow,

Then they came for Occupy,
And I didn't speak out because I wasn't an Occupier,

Then they came for me,
And there was no one left to speak out for me.

Month so far

2012-01-15T09:32:00.000-08:00

What an active blog this is. ;)
Anyway, wind hit us quite hard (as per bloody usual) taking out our kitchen tent and the big army surplus tent, but spirits stayed high and the camp sorted things out, converting the huge white tent from a storage into a lovely communal area (which I spent a few nights in on Tranquility - it's not too cold if you bring a half-decent sleeping bag!).

Looks like we're through the worst of the winter; it's even starting to get a bit lighter earlier in the morning.

As for tonight, we have an 'interdimensional wizard' visiting the camp at 7. Come see him work his magic!

And our man Emcee Supernova is taking part in the Bard of Exeter Competition. Come down and lend your support! http://www.facebook.com/events/271966196200286/

What a week!

2011-12-26T08:38:00.000-08:00

Occupy Exeter has been keeping itself warm and busy by doing a huge amount of events and direct action: subversive carol singing, a human Christmas decoration, the introduction of OE's own superhero General Assembly, and a well-earned Christmas dinner.

We even celebrated the winter solstice on the 21st, which sparked one hell of a Facebook argument! On a brighter note, word on the street is we now have an image projector (the best present an occupation could ever ask for, thanks whoever brought it!) and we can now show the Occupy Bat Signal!

Further afield, we have the third Occupy national conference taking place in Sheffield in late January and an international conference in Brussels (with simultaneous ones happening in Athens, Madrid and a few other cities) in March. The 1% better worry; things are getting organised! Out of the recent conference in Edinburgh, a plethora of ideas and experiences were shared and a few documents drafted as potential joint-statements.

National working groups with the purpose of keeping communications between occupations open permanently with a constant sharing of ideas and experiences have formed.

What a year this has been for Occupy and its related movements. Let's see what 2012 holds for us.

Don't take it from us!

2011-12-21T16:45:00.000-08:00

I reckon Bob Marley would be out there camping with Occupy!

Edinburgh National Conference - Official Statement

2011-12-19T15:38:00.000-08:00

OCCUPY UK: SECOND NATIONAL CONFERENCE STATEMENT

Members of Occupy camps from around the UK met in Edinburgh from Fri 16th to Sun 18th December 2011 for the second national conference of UK occupiers. All comers were welcome. In attendance were members of Occupy camps already established in Birmingham, Edinburgh, Exeter, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, London (St Paul’s and Bank of Ideas), Newcastle, Norwich and Sheffield. The conference:

1. Was pleased to note the growing support for Occupy around the UK and beyond;

2. Resolved to share resources, skills and enthusiasm to help fellow occupiers negotiate the upcoming distracting period of court cases and bad weather as we move towards Spring;

3. The foundations of Occupy in the UK had now been laid and the movement was now ready to forge ahead in 2012, with resources in place to enable new members and occupations no matter where they are in the UK;

4. Expressed solidarity with Occupiers around the world especially those experiencing oppression this weekend in NYC;

5. Unanimously dubbed the event “inspiring” and “a total success”.

Sessions were held on logistics, safer spaces, political campaigning, transparency and reliability in dealing with donations, media, social networking policy and winterisation, together with other ways to assist fellow members of the Occupy Movement. Among other decisions made were the agreement of a new safer spaces policy, a new autonomy statement for discussion by individual general assemblies, the compilation of an Occupiers’ Handbook, the foundation of a new cross-site women’s group and the design of a new national website to co-ordinate the dissemination of information.

The conference confirmed its commitment to campaign for a world that is no longer designed for the benefit of the 1%. We seek a more egalitarian and fair society, an open and peaceful environment for discussion, and inclusiveness for people of all backgrounds. We seek a twenty first century Enlightenment.

Conference looked forward to the third national conference which will be held 21-23 January 2012 in Sheffield.

Wet & Cold

2011-12-12T06:07:00.000-08:00

We're freezing and wet on-site, but for some bizarre reason this has had little impact on OE's morale. It's amazing what hot soup, guitars and a christmas tree can do to keep people smiling.

University terms are going to finish this week and numbers on-site are likely to drop until they return. Measures are being taken to ready the camp for the winter, but we need volunteers and donations of paraffin for lighting and propane for heating. (Anything else you have to donate like blankets, food, and cash are of course much appreciated! Everyone is welcome to come down to the site and make use of them themselves)

We're also planning to send up a delegation to Edinburgh's Occupy Movement National Conference. Should be fun!

Billy Bragg

2011-12-09T08:10:00.000-08:00

The one and only Billy Bragg is paying us a visit! He's coming on the 17th December (so not next Saturday but the one after).

The provisional time is for 1pm, an hour before our General Assembly. He'll be coming down for a chat and a few songs (probably a cup of tea to boot).

We even have a Facebook event set up. It'll be lots of fun alongside our other events that usually take place on Saturdays, and an excellent send-off for the students who are going home to see their families over the winter (at least for the ones, like me, who'll probably have to go before then :( )

Day 27 (8th December)

2011-12-09T04:46:00.000-08:00

The camp on Exeter Cathedral Green now comprises of 32 tents, a large kitchen & meeting area and a *well occupied* "Thunderbox" composting toilet, constructed by the occupiers over the past few days...

High winds and heavy rain over the past week have not disheartened the activists of Occupy Exeter, their resolve is still as strong as at the beginning of the occupation on the 12th November. Their optimism to continue is buoyed by the camp growing in number, public support and donations and their interconnection to the global occupy movement.

For more pictures see Clive Chilvers' excellent Demotix page:
http://www.demotix.com/news/959765/occupy-exeter-camp-exeter-cathedral

Rowan Williams

2011-12-08T12:06:00.000-08:00

According to the ever-reliable Daily Mail, AoC Rowan Williams is on our side!

OE were quite enthusiastic to hear about this a few days ago, especially as it's led to our neighbours inside the Cathedral taking a more conciliatory stance towards us. When your boss tells you that the centrepoint of your faith would be out camping, sharing risks and asking awkward questions (i.e. in the spirit of the whole occupy movement), that changes a fair bit as far as Occupy Exeter's negotiations with the cathedral are concerned. Spirits were high when we heard the report back from the most recent negotiations and we're more determined than ever to move forward and push for radical overhaul of our socio-economic and political system.

Well Archbishop, you and any clergyman, woman and everyone in between are welcome to take part in Occupation to any degree from more statements of support to camping out with us.

After a long hiatus...

2011-12-08T05:39:00.000-08:00

OE's blog is back!

In the last month we've had political detractors, anti-socal behaviour on-site, lighting shortages and severe gazebo damage by the wind.

But despite those difficulties the camp is still surviving! Plenty of food to go around (culminating in a generous donation of several boxes of apple pies, several bags of pasties, and a lovely vegetable curry), morale's staying high and we're enjoying the warmth of a large army tent that's recently been set up at the camp. Not to mention our new composting portoloo with a very apt 'Occupied' sign on the front.

We carried out our very first Direct Action, took part in the N30 strike in solidarity with the unions and those suffering under the ongoing draconian Osbornian cuts. We've had a variety of academics from the university come in to give talks (and plenty more in the woodwork!) and lots of workshops and fun events for the public.

With the offer of free food, refreshingly outside-the-box thinkers to debate with, and fun weekend events, what are you waiting for? Come down and visit!

Day Twelve (23 Nov)

2011-11-23T14:11:00.000-08:00

Today Ben Stevens posted his film - with words by Liz - on Facebook. It's inspiring...

This is a transcript of the words...
I really think we're coming to the end of what I term an old paradigm. And it's a paradigm that's been built on deep seated materialism, and cause and effect. the idea that everything is determined - as it were - and there was very little room for the play of free will. I think that paradigm is dying, I believe it is in its death throes. It's coming to an end, and it underlines a feeling in people that's something's got to give.

Our quality of life, and the values we've held - for far too long - which are about materialism, about profit and about structures which are based on the reverence of material things, instead of the human spirit which is precisely what put those material things in position. And that we have been put into secondary place in our own society. We're now serving the structure. It seems to me to be insane. We're now serving ancient long running structures which do not serve our evolutionary growth at all.

And I think that what is happening now is that people are beginning to feel that deeply inside themselves. It's not just about being robbed by the banks - that's just the episurface of it. But it's about this idea that in my life, this isn't, I'm sure, what I'm meant to be here for. I'm not expressing my true potential.

We need to start creating the structures, which I think are structures in the mind dimension, which entail our own consciousness. These are the things that need to be built, not the cathedrals of the past, but the cathedrals of our thought. The new cathedrals of the great elsewhere.