A few months ago, when Occupy Wall Street came to Bend, I invited many of my conservative friends to participate along with my liberal friends. Very few conservatives accepted. Most gave their reasons for declining as political, even as I assured them that this was not a political movement. If anything, it was anti-politics. I said that Occupy Bend was about gaining economic sustainability and fairness for all.
I was wrong.
It saddens me that my observations and predictions about Occupy Bend have been confirmed. The Democratic Party organized the protest in front of Walden’s office Monday, and called it OCCUPY, and I have heard no voice within protesting this new ownership.
The tea party let themselves be co-opted by the Republicans. Now, apparently, Occupy Bend has sold out to the Democrats. THE DEMS ARE JUST AS GUILTY as the Republicans for destroying this economy and stealing our prosperity. They voted to fund the wars. They voted to borrow for the bailouts. They voted to raise the debt ceiling another 2.4 TRILLION.
It’s an amazing act of self delusion that allows some of us to believe that those that are looting our wealth for the gain of the 1 percent will stand up and be a champion of the truth and real economic solution.
If Occupy Bend does not speak out against this co-opting by the DEMS, then Occupy, like the tea party becomes part of the LIE, and part of the corruption, and the real movement of the people, by the people, will go underground, take a different form and name and move on without them.
– Ron Boozel, aka Rondo.
This article appears in Dec 15-21, 2011.
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I was wrong. Again.
I wrote this opinion over a week ago, the day after the Walden Protest Downtown. I would like to make a couple of corrections.
I would like to apologize to Bruce Morris, who I was later told was largely responsible for that event’s organization. Sorry for the misunderstanding. I hope that we are still friends.
In my defense, it was a bad assumption on my part that largely resulted from an invitation sent to me from the Chair of the Deschutes Democrats. Bruce’s contact information was given at the bottom of the email.
At the heart of this original editorial, is my concern that those who participate in big party politics hear that it is -their- party that Occupy is protesting.
This last week I did find some outspoken elements who are equally concerned that one of the big parties would seek to manipulate OWS to their own political end, and business as usual.
At this date, I happily report that at least for the holidays. neither big party will Occupy Bend. PEACE
Maybe in the future you might further investigate assumptions before tar and feather a large group in OUR town. The damage is done and the misinformed conservatives will only co-oped your lies with local talk show hosts repeating your misinformation. On another point you fail to address… there are some Democratic congressman and woman, that have voted against the same bills you blame them for passing… however small in numbers they are looking out for the common good and not the common criminal corporations that are bankrupting this country.
I appreciate Ron’s willingness to make this correction. I want to add that I was one of a team of people all over District 2 who organized the Occupy Congressional 2 action on December 5 in Bend. No political party was involved in any way.
I will add that I too appreciate your apology and wish you some higher level of research next time.
I also appreciate Ron’s ability to admit that he misspoke and made spurious assumptions. Though it’s hard to feel comforted when he apologizes to an individual after actively smearing an entire group. And it’s downright unnerving to read his comment that “at least for the holidays. neither big party will Occupy Bend.” which seems to suggest that his attack on Occupy Bend is merely being postponed for Christmas truce.
And Ron does little to fully disclose his limited experience and controversial role with the Occupy Bend group, and he therefor mis-portrays a vivid critique of a group and a process he spends more time criticizing than interacting with. Though he has addressed the group several times in a manner you would expect from an amateur politician, he has to my knowledge, not submitted a single proposal to the consensus process.
For those who do not know, Occupy Bend is an actual group of real people who meet once a week to practice direct democracy through the consensus process. It is absolutely correct that their have been, and continue to be, multiple attempts to co-opt this group by other groups and individuals. And there’s simply no doubt that the coming election year will bring greater concentrated efforts by the Democrats specifically. It’s hard to believe the Republican party would even try to co-opt #occupy groups, and it’s equally hard to believe that the Libertarian party could try any harder than they already are.
But the ultimate irony is that Ron Boozell has been one of those people who have been trying to co-opt Occupy Bend, or at least force his ideas and agenda on the group, without respecting the consensus process. Ron would very much like for Occupy Bend to “ally” with the “Tea Party”, he thinks it’s important for some reason and if he doesn’t get what he wants he publicly undermines the group. In short, if Ron cannot co-opt Occupy Bend, then, in his mind anyway, someone else must have beaten him to it.
And to those conservatives out there who may be prone to believe Ron’s portrayal of Occupy Bend, that it’s exclusive of your views and opinions: Please come to the meetings and find out for yourself who the group is and how they operate. If Ron really cared about needlessly excluding those on the right, why then would he so actively identify the group and the movement with his extreme left rhetoric about the “War on Cannabis?” Yet another personal agenda he refuses to submit to the consensus process for approval.
Thank you my friend Johnny. For those of you who do not know Johnny, he is the man at the door. He is one of the unofficial gatekeepers of OccupyBend.
When I first met Johnny, a few months ago, he declared to me his genius, and then began to describe how he chased away the TeaPartiers and RonPaulicans that day. No doubt; others who had wanted to co-opt his movement.
Isn’t it obvious that Wall Street is investing in, and profiting from, the War on Cannabis? …just as Wall Street invested in, and profited from, the corruption of the War on Alcohol, almost a century ago.
This time around, we have a much larger political machine of pharmaceutical companies and corporations like Monsanto who are doing everything they can to steal our right to produce local healthy food and medicine.
OBTW, after a decade of Prohibition and Wall Street Prosperity, the market crashed and so did the economy. If a People are to protest a group of huge corporations who are stealing their prosperity, then the obvious strategy is to attack their profit margin.
The DrugWar makes our children unsafe, and it distracts our court and police resources from real crime. The economic costs of the black market are clear, and the benefits of decriminalization are obvious. We cannot afford the criminalize a plant that can feed and medicate us cheaply.
NO JOHNNY, I have not submitted this to Occupy Bend for consensus. What’s the point. I have not asked for the support or endorsement of the group.
I am seeking consensus every day as I receive the signatures of Bend Voters so we can put the issue for ultimate consensus: The City of Bend Ballot.
Should OccupyBend support the Local Initiative to Decriminalize Cannabis? Maybe it should, that is not for me to say, or to ask. It does seem like the Initiative is local action that effectively OCCUPIES WALL STREET.
My original concern, is that I RECEIVED AN EMAIL INVITATION FROM “Deschutes Democrats”
It said:
A message from our friends at Occupy Bend:
“OCCUPY CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT 2!”
HEADER & EDRESS:
Deschutes Democrats chair@deschutes.oregondemocrats.org
via chair@deschutes.oregondemocrats.org
IF YOU ARE MAD AT ME for making a mistake,
then you should be at least as mad at the DEMS for doing what they did ON PURPOSE. Again, I received the invitation from the DEM CHAIR.
YES, I should have contacted the sender of the invite. MY BAD.
THIS CONVERSATION hardly undermines the group, unless Johnny -wants- the the DEMS to OccupyBend.
Lucky for me, Rondo is well known in this community, and the readers of the source know to keep a bucket of salt on hand as everything Rondo says should be taken with (at least) a grain of salt. Probably because he sugar coats his every word and when the sugar melts there is absolutely nothing there.
So I’m not at all concerned that Rondo would use this forum in which we discuss his careless innuendo, to create even more fallacies about myself and or Occupy Bend which is very much separate from myself. For those who have bothered to get to know me (Rondo not included) his portrayal of me, sounds a bit off.
“When I first met Johnny, a few months ago, he declared to me his genius, and then began to describe how he chased away the TeaPartiers and RonPaulicans that day.”
Actually what I said, which was being echoed from a number of people that day, was that I didn’t agree with Rondos political activity at an Occupy event, and therefore I would not sign his petition. I told him that I was talking to him out of respect, and that I had talked to another individual who had a Ron Paul sign. At the time the #occupy movement was young but the general consensus was that it should not endorse any candidates or existing political agendas.
But his reply above goes a long way to show just how much Rondo is willing to be a part of a group. He doesn’t come to Occupy Bend as an equal, but as a self proclaimed leader who is not so patiently waiting for us to realize HIS genius and beg for his guidance. It’s true, there are many of us in the group who protect it like a mama pit bull, from the Dems, Repubs, Libertarians, and unfortunately Rondo.
But what we say to the individuals in these parties is that, you are welcome as individuals, not as agents or representatives of a party. You might think Rondo would appreciate that, but he sees himself as something more than an individual, and therefore he is uncomfortable with the idea of just being one person in a democratic group, one person one vote. And he’s not the only one, they are many and they are persistent. But they all have one thing in common, when we say “Come join us” all they hear “Go away!”
Still no apology to Occupy Bend?
I am OccupyBend. (So are you)
NO, Johnny, as far as I know,
the DEMS have not yet apologized to us.
The Dems didn’t write the editorial, Ron. You did. Your last comment was simultaneously cowardly, disingenuous and, frankly, a little sad. You also co-opted MoWo’s slogan which doesn’t help your argument too much. Maybe he should write a letter before talking to you.
People We can’t be afraid that other movements and even political parties, mirror and already correspond with Occupy in small aspects. We must not be afraid to actually utilize any movement towards our 100%. The parties want to attack each other through the leverage of this monumental social movement? I say let them, not to become their blind tools, but because I trust the energy and momentum of the Occupy movement and if Occupy is utilized as ‘movement’ in any form the result will be positive action. Our strength is not found in what we are not, We represent the Still-Point in societies Chaos(despite what the media relates). We are not to be guided to solution from the failure of the system. We are Action, we are not owned by Re-Action. The Political leveraging action of sacrificing the voice and rights of the people in-exchange for personal publicity, short term solutions, money value, or lobbying relations, is just continuing here in our small town, can we afford to forgive ourselves?, and not forget we are all bigger than any our individual & universal shortcomings? so that we can step forward on the right path..As We stand for what we Are, instead of identifying through what we are not, We offer True Freedom to everyone’s movement. Be the 100%. thanks Ericka R Hogg
With all due respect to Ron Boozell, I don’t know him well and I don’t seek to judge him. I have, however, given up in frustration many times just trying to figure out where he stands. Not because I’m fascinated by him and want to know more, but because we’ve only discussed my ideas, my writings, and he’s always opposed to my position, where ever that happens to be at the moment.
So needless to say it’s disturbing (aside from being disingenuous)when someone you don’t know insists on debating your every sentence while calling you “friend.” I prefer to deal with up front and forthright individuals over speculating what someone might be about as they whack away at my bottom half searching for my Achilles heel.
Ron says he is Occupy Bend, but it’s hard to imagine how he could write “Keeping Occupied” with such indignation if he so strongly identified with the group. The criticism and complaints publicly aired are divisive and portray the movement falsely, and could have been avoided if Ron attended regular General Assembly meetings and engaged the group in discussion.
In fact, a few weeks ago at Ron’s only appearance in the last two months, I attempted to address this very issue. He had already made these allegations (Before his tainted invite from the Dems) on the Occupy Bend Facebook Group page. I brought it up because he was still insisting we should embrace the Tea Party with open arms, and he didn’t see that as being co-opted by the Tea Party. I suggested that if he could be so easily convinced we were co-opted my the Dems, why then could he not see a problem with the Tea Party?
So again, if you are Occupy Bend Rondo, why would you publicly air your grievances here without consulting the group? Without engaging in conversation? Why would you write “Keeping Occupied” and THEN go to your first GA in a month or more? Why would you portray yourself as an authority on information you didn’t take the first step to fact check?
“THIS CONVERSATION hardly undermines the group”
Exactly Rondo; Conversation=good, innuendo=bad.
Just say your sorry and play nice with your “friends.”
I love the local TeaPartiers, and I love the OccupyBenders.
I believe that when these two groups find common ground,
Wall Street, and the Banks, and the Fed, will tremble.
“I love the local TeaPartiers, and I love the OccupyBenders. I believe that when these two groups find common ground,
Wall Street, and the Banks, and the Fed, will tremble.”
~Ron Boozell
Ok, VERY simple thought experiment for you Rondo. Imagine someone who loves the Democrats saying exactly the same statement with the word “Democrats” in place of “Tea Partiers”, and if your imagination fails you it would look just like this:
“I love the local Democrats, and I love the OccupyBenders. I believe that when these two groups find common ground,
Wall Street, and the Banks, and the Fed, will tremble.”
~Hypothetical
Rondo, even if you believe your statement, it is not necessarily so. There are loyal Democrats who probably believe the second statement, but that’s not the case either. What you are saying Rondo, is that you would like to “Fuse” the two groups into one, or at least “Confuse” the two groups with each other in the public eye.
OK, no problem. Except that you made your case to Occupy Bend and it has not been well received. The next logical step for a member of the group would be to put it to the consensus process for the group to decide. I suspect you haven’t done this because you don’t want to experience rejection. But if you had done so at any point in the last 3+ months, you would have your answer, and “if” the answer was “No, thank you.” then we could all simply move on.
But wait, simply move on? With no further conflict or disturbances? Set aside differences to pursue our common interests? Where’s the fun in that? Is it just possible Rondo, that you thrive on conflict? Could it be that you create turbulence everywhere you go as fuel for your ego? Maybe, just maybe, everything you say is disingenuous, and you only enter a group to stall and stymie, to undermine and back stab, to create lies and innuendo. (see “Keeping Occupied” above)
With supporters like Rondo, who needs enemies?
Maybe…