WG/Strategies/Statement of Solidarity
Update (10/7): This document represents the views and opinions of just some members of Occupy Boston. This living document was crafted to express that all are welcome and we do not condone intolerance.
This is a living document. As the Occupy Boston community, we have the right and responsibility to edit this document on an ongoing basis. We welcome feedback and new ideas.
We are the 99%, and our task is to unify the 99%. Unfortunately, we live in a society where racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, and various other forms of oppression pose significant challenges to unification.
As the Occupy Boston community, we consciously and urgently work toward dismantling any systems of oppression present in our movement. We aspire for a community where everyone’s rights are respected, protected, and treated equally. We all have different levels of privilege that we strive to acknowledge and educate ourselves about in order to ensure that these privileges are not used to oppress others. We want to have an inclusive atmosphere of ideas in which we do not police each other’s thoughts, but we have absolutely no tolerance for oppressive or intimidating words or actions. If a conflict arises it should, if possible, be settled through democratic discussion or debate; otherwise, it should be settled with the help of the Conflict Resolution Team, the Support Team, or both, if necessary.
Throughout history ruling elite have used a "divide and conquer" method which keeps subjects from forming a coherent class consciousness. The tools of this strategy are generally prejudices against people who do not look, smell, act, sound, or talk like oneself: ageism, sexism, racism, religious intolerance, etc. The list is endless, but they all have one thing in common, they feed on and also encourage a mindset which says basically "I don't get along well with people who are different from me in X, Y, and Z ways". As individuals and as a culture we all consciously distance ourselves from these forms of prejudice, but unconsciously they creep in.
The math is simple. Our strength is our numbers. The more often and the more actively we can challenge ourselves to feel the human heart in those we normally don't associate with, to look into their eyes and see ourselves looking back, the stronger we become, the more energy we harness, and the more beneficial we become to this movement. Break the ice.
We do not welcome any of the following in our community:
- White supremacy (racism against people of all colors)
- Patriarchy (sexism) / Matriarchy (also sexism)
- Ageism
- Discrimination based on ability
- Homophobia or heteronormativity
- Transphobia
- Anti-Arab sentiment
- Anti-Jewish sentiment
- Religious intolerance or intolerance of nonreligious people
- Islamaphobia
- Class oppression (classism)
- Cultural intolerance
- Discrimination based on immigration status
- Discrimination based on experiences with the justice system
- Disregard for indigenous rights
- Weight-based discrimination
- Unwillingness to listen
Based on: Statement of Solidarity at wikispaces