Declaration
of the Occupy Wall Street General Assembly
Official
Statement from Occupy Wall Street - this statement was voted on and approved by
the general assembly of protesters at Liberty Square on Sept 29th:
Declaration
of the Occupation of New York City
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 oneÕs 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
nonhuman 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
workersÕ 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 supposed to be 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 peopleÕs lives in
order to protect investments that have already turned a substantive 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!