source:http://kasamaproject.org/2011/10/04/occupy-boston-takes-a-clear-stand/
Posted by kasama on October 4, 2011
from Occupied Wall Street Journal #1: "Stand by each other"
For obvious reasons this is an important statement that deserves circulation and study. It was made public by Occupy Boston. In various places there have been attempts by white supremacists bigots and rightwingers of various kinds to infiltrate the occupations.
This was also the case in European Movements of the Squares — where ultra-nationalists and antis-emites insisted they too were “against the banks.” It is important that a discussion has started for making distinctions and demarcations.
Internal Solidarity Statement
This is a living document. As Occupy Boston community we have the right and responsibility to edit this document on 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 that is racist, sexist, classist, homophobic, and ridden with various other forms of oppression.
As the Occupy Boston community we will consciously and urgently work on dismantling these systems of oppression in our movement. We are working on creating a community where everyone’s rights are respected, protected, and treated equally.
We all have different levels of privilege, so we strive to acknowledge, educate ourselves about it, 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 be settled through democratic discussion or debate if possible, or with the help of the Conflict Resolution and/or Support team if necessary.
We do not welcome in our community:
- white supremacy (Racism against people of all colors)
- patriarchy (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
- Cultural intolerance
- Discrimination based on immigration status
- Discrimination based on experiences with the justice system
- Disregard for indigenous rights
- Weight-based discrimination
