WG/Strategies/Direct Action/Occupy Thanksgiving

Occupy Boston will not disappear by November 24, 2011. The Dewey Square tent city will still be there, and while many people will be indoors watching football and eating turkey, Anonymous will still be out there in the streets.

We are looking to provide Occupy Boston with a good hot meal on Thanksgiving day. It's as simple as that.

Location

To be determined. Dewey Square does not allow any open flames at all, including charcoal cooking. Therefore, it will be necessary to choose a location elsewhere -- a place that will allow people to set up a grill, dutch oven coal table, or other cooking apparatus. This will be done in the manner of a tailgate party, with little to no permanent setups. The location needs to be relatively close to Dewey Square. Suggestions on an appropriate location to cook are encouraged. Please offer suggestions on the talk page. This is intended as a one-time plan, and we do not intend to permanently occupy this location. (If the location can be used repeatedly afterwards, then you can make your own plan to do so.)

Basic Plan

1) Show up.

2) Bring food to be cooked. Thanksgiving-themed food (turkey, vegetables, stuffing, etc.) is fine and probably preferred, but any available food will be appreciated. This should be different from the usual food donations being provided to the Dewey Square location -- food donations of that sort should be taken directly to Dewey Square and donated to the food tent.

3) Bring transportation. Once the food is cooked, it will need to be transported from the cooking location to Dewey Square.

4) Bring cooking equipment. Obviously not everyone can provide a grill, but we need at least a few. Portable equipment is preferred, so that you can break down your setup when you're finished.

5) Cook the food. Volunteers are needed to cook! If you want to do it all yourself -- bring food and cooking gear, cook your food, and bring your cooked food to Dewey Square -- then please do so. Otherwise, please contribute to one of the other steps listed above (bring food, bring a car/truck, bring cooking equipment, cook the food).

6) When the food is cooked, bring it to Dewey Square. This is why it all needs to be portable, and this is why transportation is needed. Cooked food will need to be transported from the cooking site to Dewey Square, where it will then be donated to the food tent.

7) Eat the food. This is the good part.  :)

If you plan to cook food at home and bring it to Occupy Boston, take your cooked food directly to Dewey Square and donate it to the food tent. You don't have to bring it to the cooking location first.

Media

To be determined. Add your suggestions here.

Politics

This page is not intended to conflict or compete with those who are planning the Thanksgiving day memorial gathering for Native Americans (Indigenous Solidarity and Outreach). The purpose of Occupy Thanksgiving is simply to provide Occupy Boston with a hot Thanksgiving day meal.

Especially in the wake of the Boston Herald's article accusing Occupy Boston of leeching off homeless services [1], Occupy Thanksgiving will show that Occupy Boston does not intend to depend on food banks or other charities who will be working to provide Thanksgiving meals to the poor and homeless.