Declaration of the Occupation of New York City
This document was accepted by the NYC General Assembly on September 29,
2011 (Deb notes: See minutes attached to this link)
As we gather together in solidarity to express a feeling of mass injustice, we
must not lose sight of what brought us together. We write so that all people
who feel wronged by the corporate forces of the world can know that we are your
allies.
As one people, united, we acknowledge the reality: that the future of the human
race requires the cooperation of its members; that our system must protect our
rights, and upon corruption of that system, it is up to the individuals to
protect their own rights, and those of their neighbors; that a democratic
government derives its just power from the people, but corporations do not seek
consent to extract wealth from the people and the Earth; and that no true
democracy is attainable when the process is determined by economic power. We
come to you at a time when corporations, which place profit over people,
self-interest over justice, and oppression over equality, run our governments.
We have peaceably assembled here, as is our right, to let these facts be known.
They have taken our houses through an illegal foreclosure process, despite not
having the original mortgage.
They have taken bailouts from taxpayers with impunity, and continue to give
Executives exorbitant bonuses.
They have perpetuated inequality and discrimination in the workplace based on
age, the color of one’s skin, sex, gender identity and sexual orientation.
They have poisoned the food supply through negligence, and undermined the
farming system through monopolization.
They have profited off of the torture, confinement, and cruel treatment of
countless animals, and actively hide these practices.
They have continuously sought to strip employees of the right to negotiate for
better pay and safer working conditions.
They have held students hostage with tens of thousands of dollars of debt on
education, which is itself a human right.
They have consistently outsourced labor and used that outsourcing as leverage
to cut workers’ healthcare and pay.
They have influenced the courts to achieve the same rights as people, with none
of the culpability or responsibility.
They have spent millions of dollars on legal teams that look for ways to get
them out of contracts in regards to health insurance.
They have sold our privacy as a commodity.
They have used the military and police force to prevent freedom of the press.
They have deliberately declined to recall faulty products endangering lives in
pursuit of profit.
They determine economic policy, despite the catastrophic failures their
policies have produced and continue to produce.
They have donated large sums of money to politicians, who are responsible for
regulating them.
They continue to block alternate forms of energy to keep us dependent on oil.
They continue to block generic forms of medicine that could save people’s lives
or provide relief in order to protect investments that have already turned a
substantial profit.
They have purposely covered up oil spills, accidents, faulty bookkeeping, and
inactive ingredients in pursuit of profit.
They purposefully keep people misinformed and fearful through their control of
the media.
They have accepted private contracts to murder prisoners even when presented
with serious doubts about their guilt.
They have perpetuated colonialism at home and abroad. They have participated in
the torture and murder of innocent civilians overseas.
They continue to create weapons of mass destruction in order to receive government
contracts. *
To the people of the world,
We, the New York City General Assembly occupying Wall Street in Liberty Square, urge you to assert your
power.
Exercise your right to peaceably assemble; occupy public space; create a process to
address the problems we face, and generate solutions accessible to everyone.
To all communities that take action and form groups in the spirit of direct
democracy, we offer support, documentation, and all of the resources at our
disposal.
Join us and make your voices heard!
*These
grievances are not all-inclusive.
This post was in response to a request from Occupy Boston’s external media group to share this Declaration as the vote at Occupy Boston was taken to adopt this Declaration and join in this list of grievances.
…of the Declaration of Independence.
Here is the story from Daily Kos