GROUP #1

Re: Point 1:

• Critique of consensus process:
• [Preference for] direct majoritarian method, [don’t allow 10-11% to determine the process]
• Better develop the consensus process, for example, using small breakout groups to build larger consensus
• Allow spokespeople to represent these small breakout groups

Re: Point 2:

• Use local resources to occupy, for example, occupy corporate atriums, Trump Tower, etc., for the day.
• Need map of locations to occupy
• Allow for greater independence of groups and address representation.

Re: Point 3

• Due to cold weather issue, consolidate online spaces, for example, online communication sessions: webinars, salon-style, along with face-to-face meet up.

Re: Point 4:

• Simple language, less jargon, keep it Hemingway-style; ability to translate it into other languages.

Re: Point 5:

• Opposition between people and profit problematic – people and earth rather than anything else; opposition not necessary.
• Consolidate points 2 and 5 because they overlap.
• Focus should be “people-centric.”

Re: Point 6:

• Simpler language for all the points
• “Reappropriate” is too confrontational a verb
• “Step up, Step back” as a larger strategy

Re: Point 7

• Clarification needed:
• “Bottom up” is not right and is too jargony – needs to be clarified
• Which of our freedoms are “inalienable” needs to be clarified

Re: Point 8:

• Very much on point!

Re: Point 9:

• Why “in the past”?
• A little superficial – requires a structural analysis

Re: Point 10:

Simplify the language

Group 2 

1. Start from personal responsibility.
2. Our group expressed discomfort with the idea that technology can solve all problems.
3. Our group expressed  concern about multiple documents with overlapping agendas. For example what is the relationship between this document and the declaration on the website? Is there a way to create a consolidated document?
4. Our group was concerned with the academic tone of the document. Orderly academic language can marginalize large portions of the 99%.
5. While our group understands that this is a truncated version of this document, we felt that, divorced from tactics and specificity, visions or principals can feel empty.
6. Our group wanted to suggest that we focus on the specificity of this movement, OWS. Historically, all other movements from the civil rights movement, to the labor movement to the women’s movements, to anti-colonial movements have run into SAME barrier “Capitalism”, “the market”, “the economy”. We imagine these to be the ??? of our movement, which all other issues of emancipation are related.

Group 3

1. Skip
2. Resource-based economy, supply-based. Should be rephrased more publically accessible.
3. Move away from “harmony”, towards “impact”.

10  Potentially alienating, prefer to remove, not the focus of the movement.

9     good intention. “Socially constructed”

Overall too lofty. It’s a vision of the future vs. demands still needs focus, too broad.

8. “Peace on earth” to lofty. Maybe make this point focused on government actions/spending.

7.  “Restablish” instead of “define, defend”, otherwise great.

6.  Is the locus of control of the media important?

5      General support. Living in poverty taking away humanity. Should be a human right that is protected. Need more time – very meaty/important issue.

4.  Too long. Education: Free quality education empowering critical thinking. Consumer culture: ? Should create a list of human rights à Vision. Overwhelming should be simple, direct and true.

Overall

May not resonate with some communities.

Too wordy (as a short version).

Not focused

Unreadable, should be more readable.

Group 4

Alt Vision -  Using education to cover the history of how we got to this socio-economical point in history. Using the past to help the future. If we don’t know what we did wrong  officially then how do we change that. Understanding the system.

Alt Vision – Call for Wall Street to empathize with our movement. Engage with the 1%.

Need to explicitly call out an end to patriarchical racism, classist, systems etc. And desire to transcend.

Alt Vision – Maybe what we don’t want instead of what we do, written into a list.

Class consciousness and economic justice.

Concerns with power structure and concentration of powers. Power in the hands of the individuals.

Defining the moment. Show the legitimacy of the group.

Invite educators inappropriate topics. Not as overseers, but as extra ???

We must bring all affected voices into the fold. Make it possible for those who want to participate but either can’t afford to, or lives would incur problems if they came to OWS.

GROUP #5

Overall thoughts

• Electoral improvements that inject greater democracy into our governments can participate in the direct improvement of many of these points. Why isn’t this mentioned anywhere?
• Some of these points can be consolidated.
• There are two kinds of points being made here: policy points and cultural principle points. We feel that there needs to be a greater focus on the policy points.
• Use nothing more complicated that 4^th grade language.

Point 1: This is now a nationwide (& worldwide) movement. Development of communications and other shared resources is necessary in order to ensure our continued progress.

Point 2: How do we balance profits with responsible environmental practices? Can we create some economic disincentives for individual economic actors and/or the economy as a whole when we pass the point of environmental damage? Also, are we talking about a zero-growth economy here

Point 3: Mixed feelings here, leaning positive.

Point 4: This should not be mixed. Focus on education.

Point 5: This we liked – it ties into democratic process

Point 6: Like.

Point 7: This is vague. Is it a call for subsidies on food and shelter? Is it calling for the protection of civil rights? We think it could consider some kind of warning system to call attention to inequities. Perhaps this is a call for civil re-education

Point 8: To focus on non-violence here is better. It makes for a more clear call. Also, we want to note here the importance of the idea that peace spreads outward from the individual.

Point 9: Some of this is just human nature, and we will not be able to eliminate it from ourselves. We should call for the elimination of it in government, but allow for it at the individual level. Also we suggest using positive rather than negative language. Add the word “celebrate.”

Point 10: Points 9 & 10 are very similar, but being clear about a religious respect provision may be useful.

6.1 Point #1

The visions are great near process of for back first that’s most important

You Occupy together website points listed on

#1 what would be very important i & nation wide gathering of bodies

We need an online forum like a wiki

6.2 Pont # 2

Beautiful

Barter notion is important

What does this mean? It is way too vague. In harmony with nature needs more detail.

Include in nature & human rights based economics by not exploiting each other. We will not exploit nature.

Presenting and protecting the ecosystem and environment should be in the wording.

6.3 Point # 3

- We need global redistribution. ? Would take a centralized system.

-Get rid of centralized government also.

- Ending systematic exploitation (wording)

-We need state power thru revolution to do this until then how will we encourage and support our resistance?

- Promote the value of economic equality among everyone

- A wage time standard of equality.

- Does not like liberation, emancipation, holy language.

6.4 Point # 4

-Add the word free.

-Student loans are small compared to the bailout money.

-Teach kids new paradigm.

-Challenge the psychology of selfishness and promote selflessness.

- establish peace and green economies in our new education.

- teach direct democracy.

- make it student centers, give students more in their education.

6.5 Point #5

We need to do this

but leaders won’t let us do this

We need state power for our movement

what does re-appropriate mean it doesn’t make sense

please simplify the language in the visions points

for people over profits we have to emancipate profits, we need a barter system.

Lets move to a cooperative not corporate economy

more in to a local economy not national chains

6.6 Point # 6

We need to vote within our media dollar don’t by cable

the idea of truth is naive

lets give people access to knowledge instead

I want transparency in media

revealing sources are being honest

media should be independent of business

I want the words “creative and open” here in doc

6.7

Occupy Together

Personal visions

We should have as few points as possible

this all comes down to “income equality”

How to deal with incarceration in the future

A productive polling

Punishment W/O prisons/re-envision punishment

We all don’t have the same vision.

Also of people like optimism and we alienate them

We want to know the visions, goals, relationships with demands. We need more definition in visions and goals

Group 7

Point#1 Purpose of the blueprint.

Condense, edit narrow down or not?

Get sound bitey without appearing like OWS statement.

Internet based communication is unreliable and privileged, but please get on it and participate. The world already looks to OSW for president.

National and international further presence.

Brooklyn GA point ??? we connected to or autonomous from OWS.

Horizontal empowerment for other occupations. Encourage autonomy and solidarity.

Stands with declaration.

Point#2 Economy in harmony with nature.

These points are meant to be developed here, deliberately unclear.

Consider the Judeo-Christian concept of humans at the top of the food chain.

Direct link to Bolivian movement.

Does it mean lack of industry and automization? Ambiguity concern.

Disregard of nature for the sake of economic growth?

No neoletism

Point#3

No centralized financial system

One collapse leads to infinite others

Extension of the “global insurrection against the banks and corporations”.

We can invent a new form of exchange here.

Point #4 Empowering educational paradigm vs. consumer culture.

Can’t disagree

We believe there is an exploitative culture.

Encourage a mass consumer boycott for shopping season.

Point#5 People and nature before profit.

Point#6 Media à Reappropriate and localize.

Major focus on localization

Not at the expense of global connection.

Decentralize control of #5 and #6

Point#7 Define and Defend inalienable liberties.

Defining these liberties is priority and is a long dialogue.

Easy to generally agree with concepts, but hard to “???” them.

“Bottom up” is a … conflicting  term?

Can the “bottom” be defined as 99% or 54% starving?

Bottom worked into our structure, need to address social restructure to eliminate bottom?

Socioeconomic dimensions at occupation. Consider unemployment: basic needs like housing, food clothing, shelter.

Adding “… to create a horizontal structure/culture.” More solution be less universal, needs education.

Feels like more rhetoric and less meaning

Define bottom at poverty line?

Point#8

Peace on Earth with total dedication to nonviolence.

Sounds very violent.

Holocaust example – violence required to end violence.

Historically blind, idealistic. Re: Partially non-violent movement, loose space or defend it?

Civil disobedience vs. violence – fully consider the intersection.

Second amendment, giving up arms, defenseless vs. own police

Global violence?

Not only violence vs. humans

Choice of non- violence, Protecting our own children?

Needs lots of amending, circumscribe terms.

Non-violence as tactic vs. philosophy?

Extent of violence – self defense? Sweatshop labor? Property destruction.

Overall the group agreed with the points but had issues with the language.

GROUP #8

Re: Point 1:

• Some voiced concern that this statement contradicted our desire as a movement to encourage decentralization of power.
• Others acknowledged the symbolism of NYC as the center of corporate greed.

Re: Point 6:

• Some were concerned with the word “truth”.  We would replace this with the idea that the media should represent a diversity of interpretations and have more media accountability.

Re: Point 7:

• We wondered who defines these human rights and would indigenous communities’ and cultures’ needs be a high priority?

Re: Point 8:

• Some wondered about this issue of self-defense.  Is this okay?  How do we address violence from the state?

Re: Point 9:

• When discussing prejudice, we should replace the word “past” with “past, present, and future.”

Re: Point 10:

• Some were confused by this point.  Are we hoping to promote harmony between existing systems or to supersede them?

Unaddressed:

• It was also noted by some that this document does not address the problem of representation in our political system [and the] political process.
• Democracy and feminism not addressed either.