Michael Moore: The Winter of Our Occupation
by:
Michael Moore, MichaelMoore.com
| Op-Ed
And now it is winter. Wall Street rejoices, hoping that the change of
seasons will mean a change in our spirit, our commitment to stop them.
They couldn't be more wrong. Have they not
heard of Washington and the troops at Valley Forge? The Great Flint
Sit-Down Strike in the winter of 1936-37? The Michigan Wolverines
crushing Ohio State in the 1950 Blizzard Bowl? When it comes to winter,
it is the time historically when the people persevere and the forces of
evil make their retreat!
We are not even 12 weeks old, yet
Occupy Wall Street has grown so fast, so big, none of us can keep up
with the hundreds of towns who have joined the movement, or the
thousands of actions -- some of them just simple ones in neighborhoods,
schools and organizations -- that have happened. The national conversation has been irreversibly changed.
Now everyone is talking about how the 1% are getting away with all the
money while the 99% struggle to make ends meet. People are no longer
paralyzed by despair or apathy. Most know that now is the time to
reclaim our country from the bankers, the lobbyists -- and their gofers:
the members of the United States Congress and the 50 state
legislatures.
And they're crazy if they think that a little
climate chaos (otherwise known as winter in the 21st century) that
they've helped to bring about is going to stop us.
I would like to propose to my Occupying
sisters and brothers that there are many ways to keep Occupy Wall Street
going through the winter months. There is perhaps no better time to
move the movement indoors for a few months -- and watch it grow even
bigger! (For those who have the stamina to maintain the outdoor
occupations, by all means, keep it up -- and the rest of us will do our
best to help you and keep you warm!)
The winter gives us an amazing
opportunity to expand our actions against the captains of capitalism who
have occupied our homes with their fraudulent mortgage system which has
tossed millions of families out onto the curb; a cruel health care
system that has told 50 million Americans "if you can't afford a doctor,
go F yourself"; a student loan system that sends 22-year-olds into an
immediate "debtors' prison" of working lousy jobs for which they didn't
go to school but now have to take because they're in hock for tens of
thousands of dollars for the next two decades; and a jobs market that
keeps 25 million Americans un- or under-employed -- and much of the rest
of the workers forced to accept wage cuts, health care reductions and
zero job security.
But we in the Occupy Movement reject this
version of the "American Dream." Instead, I suggest we shift our focus
for this winter to the following actions:
OCCUPY THE WINTER
A proposal to the General Assembly of Occupy Wall Street from Michael Moore
A proposal to the General Assembly of Occupy Wall Street from Michael Moore
1. Occupy Our Homes. Sorry, banks, a roof over one's head is a human right, and you will no longer occupy our homes through foreclosure and eviction because well, you see, they are our homes, not yours. You may hold the mortgage; you don't
hold the right to throw us or our neighbors out into the cold. With
almost one in three home mortgages currently in foreclosure, nearing
foreclosure or "underwater," the Occupy Movement must form local "Occupy
Strike Forces" to create human shields when the banks come to throw
people out of their homes. If the foreclosure has already happened, then
we must help families move back into their foreclosed homes --
literally (see this clip from my last film to watch how a home re-occupation is accomplished). Beginning today, Take Back the Land, plus many other citizens' organizations nationwide, are kicking off Occupy Our Homes. Numerous actions throughout the day today have already resulted
in many families physically taking back their homes. This will continue
every day until the banks are forced to stop their fraudulent
practices, until homeowners are allowed to change their mortgage so that
it reflects the true value of their homes, and until those who can no
longer afford a mortgage are allowed to stay in their homes and pay
rent. I beseech the news media to cover these actions -- they are
happening everywhere. Evictions, though rarely covered (you need a
Kardashian in your home as you're being evicted to qualify for news
coverage) are not a new story (see this scene
I filmed in 1988). Also, please remember the words of Congresswoman
Marcy Kaptur of Toledo (in 'Capitalism: A Love Story'): Do not leave
your homes if the bank forecloses on you! Let them take you to court and
then YOU ask the judge to make them produce a copy of your mortgage.
They can't. It was chopped up a hundred different ways, bundled with a
hundred other mortgages, and sold off to the Chinese. If they can't
produce the mortgage, they can't evict you.
2. Occupy Your College. In
nearly every other democracy on the planet, students go to college for
free or almost free. Why do those countries do that? Because they know
that for their society to advance, they must have an
educated population. Without that, productivity, innovation and an
informed electorate is stunted and everyone suffers as a result. Here's
how we do it in the U.S.A.: make education one of our lowest priorities,
graduate students who know little about the world or their own
government or the economy, and then force them into crushing debt before
they even have their first job. That way has really worked well for us,
hasn't it? It's made us the world leader in … in … well, ok, we're like
27th or 34th in everything now (except war). This has to end.
Students should spend this winter doing what they are already doing on
dozens of campuses -- holding sit-ins, occupying the student loan
office, nonviolently disrupting the university regents meetings, and
pitching their tents on the administration's lawn. Young people -- we,
the '60s generation, promised to create a better world for you. We got
halfway there -- now you have to complete the job. Do not stop until
these wars are ended, the Pentagon budget is cut in half, and the rich
are forced to pay their taxes. And demand that that money go to your
education. We'll be there with you on all of this! And when we get this
fixed and you graduate, instead of being $40,000 in debt, go see the
friggin' world, or tinker around in your garage a la the two Steves, or
start a band. Enjoy life, discover, explore, experiment, find your way.
Anything but the assistant manager at Taco Bell.
3. Occupy Your Job. Let's
spend the winter organizing workplaces into unions. OR, if you already
have a union, demand that your leaders get off their ass and get
aggressive like our grandparents did. For chrissakes, surely you know we
would not have a middle class if it weren't for the strikes of the
1930s-1950s?! In three weeks we will celebrate the 75th anniversary of
the workers in my hometown of Flint, Michigan taking over and occupying
the General Motors factories for 44 days in the dead of winter. Their
actions ignited a labor movement that lifted tens of millions out of
poverty and into the middle class. It's time to do it again. (According
to the Census Bureau and the New York Times, 100 million Americans
either live in or near poverty. Disgraceful. Greed has
destroyed the core fabric of our communities. Enough!) Here are two good
unions to get your fellow workers to sign up and join: UE and SEIU. The CWA are also good. Here's how to get a quick primer
in organizing your place of employment (don't forget to be careful
while you do this!). If your company is threatening to close down and
move the jobs elsewhere, then it's time to occupy the workplace (again,
you can get a lesson in how to successfully occupy your factory from my movie).
4. Occupy Your Bank. This is an easy one. Just leave them. Move your checking and your credit card to a nonprofit credit union.
It's safe and the decisions made there aren't based on greed. And if a
bank tries to evict your neighbor, Occupy the local branch with 20 other
people and call the press. Post it on the internet.
5. Occupy the Insurance Man.
It's time to not only stand up for the 50 million without health
insurance but to also issue a single, simple demand: The elimination of
for-profit, privately-controlled health insurance companies. It is
nothing short of barbaric to allow businesses to make a profit
off people when they get sick. We don't allow anyone to make a profit
when we need the fire department or the police. Until recently we would
never allow a company to make a profit by operating in a public school.
The same should be true for when you need to see a doctor or stay in the
hospital. So I say it's long overdue for us to go and Occupy Humana,
United Health, Cigna and even the supposed "nonprofit" Blue Crosses. An
action on their lawns, in their lobbies, or at the for-profit hospitals
-- this is what is needed.
So -- there are my ideas for the five places
we can Occupy this winter. Help the foreclosed-upon to Occupy their
homes. Occupy your college campus, especially the student loan office
and the regents meetings. Occupy your job by getting everyone to sign a
union card -- or by refusing to let the CEO ship your job overseas.
Occupy your Chase or Citi or Bank of America branch by closing your
account and moving it to a credit union. And Occupy the insurance
company offices, the pharmaceutical companies' headquarters and the
for-profit hospitals until the White House and Congress pass the true
single-payer universal health care bill they failed to pass in 2010.
My friends, the rich are running scared right now. You need no further proof of this than to read this story from last week.
The Republicans' top strategist met privately with them and told them
that they had better change their tune or they were going to be crushed
by the Occupy Wall Street movement. They didn't have to change their
greedy actions, he assured them -- just the way they talk and PR the
situation. He told them never to use the word "capitalism" -- it has now
been made a dirty word by the Occupy movement, he said. Only say
"economic freedom" from now on, he cautioned. And don't criticize the
movement -- because the majority of Americans either agree with it or
are feeling the same way. Just tell the Occupiers and the distressed
Americans: "I get it." Seriously.
Yes, in just 12 short weeks we have killed
their most sacred word -- Capitalism -- and we have them on the run, on
the defensive. They should be. Millions are coming after them and our
only goal is to remove them from power and replace them with a fair
system that is controlled by the 99%. The 1% have been able to get both
political parties to do their bidding. Why should only 1% of the
population get to have two parties -- and the rest of us have none?
That, too, is going to change. In my next letter, I will suggest what we
can do to Occupy the Electoral Process. But first we must start with
those who pull the strings of the puppets in the Congress. That's why
it's called Occupy Wall Street. Always better to deal with man in
charge, don't you think?
Let's Occupy the Winter! An #OWS Winter will certainly lead to a very hopeful American Spring.
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