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 force...s 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.
