My Letter To MoveOn.org

Date: Friday, 16/Dec/11, 1:52 PM | Message # 1

Heads

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Here's a letter I wrote to MoveOn.org:

http://m.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150539504518885&refid=21

Tell me what you guys think. Do you agree? Disagree? What do you think I could have said differently?

erikboyd60@hotmail.com

"True poetry can communicate before it is understood"

-T.S. Eliot

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Treach

Date: Friday, 16/Dec/11, 3:14 PM | Message # 2

OGs

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could you copypaste it here?

"We took pride in intellect and skill
Now you gotta have some sex appeal to get a record deal"
- K-RINO

Date: Friday, 16/Dec/11, 3:25 PM | Message # 3

OGs

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Copy paste please. Don't got facebook. Don't want no blasted government spies tracking my every move.

Date: Friday, 16/Dec/11, 4:11 PM | Message # 4

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You guys do know you can read from Facebook without signing in right? Ah well. Here it is:

To whom it may concern,

As a supporter of the 99% movement worldwide, I would like to regret disassociating myself with a group that I share some common goals with, but I simply can't. Unaware of what MoveOn stood for, I signed up thinking this was a place where I could be notified of OWS/99% protest info. Instead I come to find it is endorsing candidates in the same way the GOP did when they co-opted the Tea Party. OWS is a grass roots movement and will only be effective and work for the people as long as it is the people themselves getting their voices heard directly. As soon as we start trying to get someone elected a mouth piece for us, we become silent.

The beauty of OWS is that it brings together the concerns of so many different individuals, from those of the radical left to the common non-partisan individual who is discontented with the wealthiest 1%. By supporting political campaigns, you eradicate the concerns that these individuals have and replace them with the motives of the candidates you support, which do not always mesh. By supporting candidates you are automatically assuming that giving a voice to the voiceless in America is ineffective.

A long history of labor protests in the U.S. proves otherwise. Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, common laborers have fought back against their wealthy counterparts and won major battles without any political representation. From minimum wage laws to the 8 hour work day, protests without any formal leadership, organized directly democratically, have proven effective and necessary for the progress of a more fair and balanced world for the majority of us who spend much of our lives working simply to survive.

Seeking political representation to help us strive for the same goals is tantamount to taking antibiotics to cure a common cold: it has very little to no effect in making change come quicker and actually weakens the natural process that was effective in uprooting the same problems in the past.

Now with all that being said, it is noted that in the past, when major battles were won for the common man, the movements that were catalysts to these victories had specific goals in mind which is something that cannot be said for the Occupy movement. This is because Occupy is just the first step in unifying common interests around a plethora of goals which we can come together to fight for in the streets rather than the ballot box.

So until the MoveOn organization can understand all of this, I feel it is an obligation of mine to retract my membership. Occupy is not, and should never be, a political party, nor should it's motive be to endorse political candidates.

Sincerely,

Erik Boyd

erikboyd60@hotmail.com

"True poetry can communicate before it is understood"

-T.S. Eliot

battle record:

7-0-0

Date: Friday, 16/Dec/11, 4:56 PM | Message # 5

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You guys do know you can read from Facebook without signing in right?
I KNOW NOTHING! *stubborn face* Link said I had to sign in first...
They wanna make a political party for the Occupy movement? twisted

Treach

Date: Friday, 16/Dec/11, 5:34 PM | Message # 6

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yeah we had to log in to see it.

im not that familiar with MoveOn but i def agree with what you said there and i love the antibiotics for the common cold comparison lol

"We took pride in intellect and skill
Now you gotta have some sex appeal to get a record deal"
- K-RINO

Date: Friday, 16/Dec/11, 6:30 PM | Message # 7

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Really?? I thought you could read it without signing in. Ah well smile

MoveOn is a politically progressive movement that has been using OWS to endorse political candidates such as Elizabeth Warren. They also heavily supported Barack Obama for president back in 2008. They think change is going to occur at the federal level, and anyone with a decent knowledge of history knows that change occurs first in the community. If anything it gets distorted at the federal, and even state level.

erikboyd60@hotmail.com

"True poetry can communicate before it is understood"

-T.S. Eliot

battle record:

7-0-0

Date: Friday, 16/Dec/11, 8:12 PM | Message # 8

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I get that you're saying that a revolution of the system doesn't happen through the system?

Date: Friday, 16/Dec/11, 9:56 PM | Message # 9

Heads

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Kind of. It's not necessarily as radical as that though. Just take the Haymarket Affair for example. The events of the Haymarket Affair led to the establishment of the 8 hour work day. This wasn't a revolution, but it was a monumental victory won on behalf of the working class that was almost entirely grass roots.

erikboyd60@hotmail.com

"True poetry can communicate before it is understood"

-T.S. Eliot

battle record:

7-0-0

Date: Friday, 16/Dec/11, 10:55 PM | Message # 10

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No, not as radical, but I mean that's the basic argument structure, right? Going through said system would be an automatic defeat since you're giving under it?

I'm not full aware of what OWS is about tho. The majority of the people is being screwed by the few rich, don't know more than that... Is it against corruption, against capitalism, against government...? I mean, what's the main objective?

Date: Saturday, 17/Dec/11, 1:12 AM | Message # 11

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There aren't one or two truly unifying points that OWS is standing for. It's basically a melting pot of people who are fed up with the wealthiest 1% in this nation/world for various reasons and are coming together with others who have relatively similar concerns. There are a few unifying themes however, such as getting money out of politics and pushing for better labor conditions. Some of the activists have more clearly defined goals, such as groups like the PSL who wants to create a vanguard party (fuck that shit!), and the anarchists who want to use OWS as an experiment in democracy as well as to push for more democracy in the workplace. In general, OWS is giving a voice to the common man and woman who is otherwise voiceless when it comes to politics and business. It is the first step to unifying people around common grass roots goals such as those listed above, and, I believe, eventually fighting for some landmark victories as the trade unions did in the past. Some key victories the unions won in the past, just to give you an idea of the potential I see with OWS, include the end of child labor, the establishment of a minimum wage, workers' benefits, protection for workers who protest poor working conditions, the 8 hour work day, equal pay for women and minorities, etc. One glaring potential goal I can see is a salary cap for high ranking financial officials in publicly traded firms. But that's the next step. We still need to establish the movement a bit more solidly first.

erikboyd60@hotmail.com

"True poetry can communicate before it is understood"

-T.S. Eliot

battle record:

7-0-0

Date: Monday, 19/Dec/11, 4:07 AM | Message # 12

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Well, shit, it hasn't come to this country yet, but it's damn sure soon to come. It's incredible how corrupt this country is for its size. And they just rearranged the tax system (we used to have the highest max tax in the world) to something radically capitalistic, giving the multimillionaires a full months pay extra per year and leaving the working man with shit. There was a big strike going on as it is because of that, and with the incredibly inefficient national economy and gross corruption in the only income (over 95% is from fish) we have, and recent exposures of it, and with the personal quota the country is giving out that is being sold to russians, it's bound to come here pretty damn soon.
The country is given a quota for resources (that is fish), owners of commercial fishing boats get their quota from the country (as a personal property), and they can do with it whatever they want. They can sell it to foreigners, so that they get money for no work and some other country is fishing for this country's quota.

I'm fed up too! Let's break something!

Menace

Date: Sunday, 25/Dec/11, 9:19 PM | Message # 13

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The graveyards of all social movements are found in either "progressive" or "social democratic" parties and organizations; like this organization, which is clearly an arm of the Democratic Party. Opportunists plague every social movement. In the 1900's, these people were called the "Bolsheviks", now we call them "progressives". And yeah, the letter is short and to the point, no need to rant. Also, was kinda a dumb move to subscribe to these people rather than subscribing to the official OWS newsletter. It was obvious, Erik you lovely bastard.

Date: Monday, 26/Dec/11, 2:13 AM | Message # 14

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lol i was being lazy and didn't know how to find the OWS newsletter on a quick google search tongue

Move On was, unfortunately, the first thing that popped up for me and so i just assumed. i didn't even look at what website i was on. i'll be more careful next time biggrin