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The Occupy Portland encampment does not condone any illegal activity. Do not bring illegal substances or engage in illegal activity while you are here. If you are and are doing so, please leave immediately. You will most likely be arrested and jeopardize everything we have worked so hard for.
This is not a statement agreeing or disagreeing with the laws. This is a statement of fact.
Thank you!
The Entire #OccupyPortland Camp
This is not an official statement by the General Assembly of Occupy Portland.
Thumbs up!
Call me Crazy but isn’t Illegally camping in the park Illegal? I am not saying it should be but I think factually its correct. I just don’t want the infiltrators to have any ammo against us.
I don’t view this as camping in the park, per se: the intention is to exercise our rights to assemble and demonstrate peaceably.
“Intention” is the key part here.
Is this GA approved?
Agree with this entirely. We are doing something wonderful–amazing even. It would be a shame to lose it over something so avoidable.
Hey, I do not support turning the event into a party, using drugs and smashing random shop windows that are not even legitimate targets.,….These actions tarnish the movement.
However, you cant honestly be telling us not to break ANY laws, even engaging in civil obedience which is an infraction? Civil disobedience can be an important part of protest, and its often slightly illegal.
Please clarify your intentions, if you are blocking civil disobedience and autonomous direct action, or if you are merely telling people not to be idiots and do things that needlessly reflect poorly.
I think this movement is great. Politicians have forgotten why they are where they are and their purpose. Our society as a whole is suffering because of their lack of concern for the people they were put in office to serve. Our school system is just one example of this lack of concern. It has become about the adults not about the children. We as a nation do not prepare our children for their future. Not through the public school system. I find it very hard to understand why it is more important to help people in other countries then to fund and run our schools so that our children(our future) can be successful. Thank you LaVica
This is critical!! You must remain legal and peaceful to gather and maintain the support of the general public. I do support this movement and expect postive changes to result, but only through thoughtful, legal and peaceful means.
I support this 100%. We are not here to party.
I will party when I feel like it. You will not tell me what this is all about and why. But let us agree that we all want fairness—-the drug laws are unconstitutional and the most destructive force enacted in this country for the past 40 years.
Right. Fine. You exercise your right to “party”, which I assume involves drinking and doing drugs. This is truly politically damageing stuff when otfits like FAUX NEWS gets hold of it. Don’t do it.
Please rethink your position on this. Partying has its place, but not in the middle of a revolution.
I am not opposed to the reasonable use of recreational drugs (including alcohol), but am absolutely opposed to use or being altered on them at the Occupy campsite. The experience of Occupation should be adequately mind-altering itself.
It’s not an unreasonable request to ask people do them elsewhere–and return when they are of clear mind and body.
Additionally (and coming from the perspective of someone who serves on the board of a Portland charity that serves people with mental illness and substance abuse problems), it would be sad for OccupyPortland to inadvertently facilitate drug and alcohol abuse by street kids and older homeless.
(By the way, I am completely fine with the reasonable use of medical marijuana–just do it in a tent and keep it out of public eye.)
YES! Keep Calm and Carry ON
We walked by the encampment on Saturday night and it sounded like a dance party — you definitely don’t want that reputation to be picked up by the media. Stay serious and purposeful!
The whole encampment is ‘illegal’…
This cannot be overstated. Being a part of, and being heard the 99% means respecting the working consensus of the 99%. Right now that consensus is not only best represented by our civic laws, it is also enforced by our peacekeepers, whether they wear blue armbands, or blue uniforms and a badge.
Agreed! Thanks for this.
So basically you’re just going to ignore prohibition, choosing to neither agree nor disagree with the laws.
Why is disagreeing with the laws that have allowed for financial immunity and immunity for war crimes okay but not drug laws? This seems amazingly hypocritical by organizers. Basically you’re saying we only want a safe space for “good families.”
NEWSLFASH: Everything you’re doing is illegal. You are camping in a city park, illegal. Holding an unregistered and permitted event, illegal.
You say you want everyone to show up, for this to be “an inclusive event.” But you really don’t want everyone to show up. You want a nice mom and an nice dad to bring their 1.5 kids to play in the park while the TV cameras take pictures and repeat how unfocused but peaceful this protest is.
Nice.
Totally agree. The drug war has destroyed millions of families and killed millions of others! Social control!
Yes, everyone knows it is illegal to camp in parks, but nobody cares about that. What we have to do is to do everything to avoil giving grist to the corporate propaganda mill. We are not doing this for ourselves. We are doing it for those tens of millions of people with their 1.5 children. Yes, we want them to bring their childern. When middle America starts bringing their children to our marches, it will be a tremendous victory. The ruling class knows this even if you do not.
If we do not gain their confidence, we will fail. The job of FAUX NEWS is to make sure we fail. We have to be squeeky clean. That is the reality.
After we win, we can have our cultural revolution.
The General Assembly that convened on October 4th, 2011 agreed to a value statement about recreational drugs and alcohol.
“We hold as a value of the General Assembly that there will not be recreational use of drugs and alcohol within in the occupied space. We also recognize the personal freedom of all participants, including medical marijuana card-holders, and we expect all participants to respect this value and the groups’ safety.”
please and thank you!
Why is this on the website if it’s not an official declaration decided at a General Assembly? This is the umpteenth time that the website has had posted seemingly “official” info or declarations that were not ever democratically decided. I do not take personal issue with the statement, merely that most people would take this as an official decision made by the GA.
If Occupy Portland Protest does not condone illegal activity, why are they illegally blocking Main Street?
So is this a statement from Occupy Portland, or isn’t it? There are two conflicting statements in this post.
Slight trolling here as I’m beginning to see this subject as a relapse into the system’s dismantlement of a consenting adult’s rights. But you know whatever. I suspect all the marijuana movement people who have been fighting the system for a long time themselves would throw themselves in front of buses if it meant protecting this movement’s agenda. C’est la vie.
I, for one, won’t be told what to do any longer so that big business (I.e. Pharma) can profit. I thought that was our point. As long as there’s no disruptive behavior, there shouldn’t be a problem.
I agree. Nothing should be banished. The drug law itself is unjustified along with a permit. Those who say that it may cause something negative….so be it. This is not just about Wall street. The drug-war has created more harm than anything else being discussed.
Police have debated whether or not to use chemical weapons on us in case there is a riot. Please don’t use violence, unless necessary in self-defense.
“It doesn’t mean that I advocate violence, but at the same time, I am not against using violence in self-defense. I don’t call it violence when it’s self-defense, I call it intelligence.” – Malcolm X
Camping in a city park is illegal….moron.
I support this announcement wholly. What I would like to voice support and concern about however is the posting itself.
1. I appreciate and love the lower line in the posting stating that this is not an official statement by the GA. This is going a long way toward addressing the issues we had over the weekend related to the march(s).
2. My concern is only that I think we can improve on our clarity of what is and is not supported by the GA. While the initial sentence is of some concern, my real concern is with the “Thank you! The Entire #OccupyPortland Camp”. This seems to make it a statement by the GA. Granted this is on an issue that I think we all agree on. I’m more interested in seeing how we can clear this up in future posts.
Thanks, we are getting better everyday!
I think that it should be discussed whether announcements on the main page like this should always be endorsed by the general assembly.
That’s awesome!!! Peaceful protest all things Corporate not the —— festival. Keep up the good fight!
Really glad to see this message front and center.
This statement is undemocratic. Please approve things like this with the GA or use less strong wording “Some people at occupy portland would like it if you respect our space and don’t bring drugs or alcohol”
Please note the text at the bottom of the post.
Just an FYI for context, occupying a public space is considered illegal by the city and police.
Stop being authoritarian asses and use consensus to make statements of this nature, otherwise this post and others like it merely represent an overly vocal and powerful minority.
Solidarity!
Winning and keeping public support is paramount to success, please keep it legal. Violations of law will quickly kill that support.
AS A PARTICIPANT, YOU are vital to the cause! Every positive social transformation has begun with protests exactly as this. I am in my 50s and financially established, but I know the middle class is vanishing, the victim of class warfare. This cause is just and your efforts are noble! Solidarity!
it seems that the leaderless revolution has some leaders after all … and they control the web site
Camping in a city park is illegal. The occupation is illegal. So are they suppposed to all go home? Someone clearly does not understand the principle of civil disobedience. Whoever is maintaining this site should stop falsely speaking on behalf of the occupiers. Management of this site should be turned over to someone who will agree to only post decisions of the General Assembly. This BS keeps happening. It’s getting ridiculous. The third GA did decide to have an alcohol and drug-free space. So why not post that, instead of this BS?
The city is allowing us to camp in the park. That means that it’s not illegal. If you want to get involved with getting timely content from the GA to the web site I’m sure a liaison from the GA to the web site folks would be appreciated. Everybody’s doing the best they can — please just step up and help out when you see problems. We’re all on the same side.
I have thought about this overnight, and now I believe the occupation is legal. Not because the city is allowing it, but because the right to assemble is guaranteed by the US Constitution. At some point in the future when the city decides not to allow it (and declares it illegal), it will still be legal because of the right to assemble. The original post is poorly worded. Civil disobedience is a part of activism. Civil disobedience is illegal. To put a post up to “not participate in anything illegal” does not recognized diversity of tactics used by activists, including civil disobedience. The post should have clearly asked people not to use recreational drugs and alcohol. Also, by signing the post “The Entire #OccupyPortland Camp” you appear to speak on behalf of all. Your statement is exclusive to activists who engage in civil disobedience. I agree that drugs and alcohol should not be used in the occupation, in line with the GA’s consensus decision at the 3rd GA. I appreciate the work people are doing on the communications team.
Will people please stop stating that occupying a city park is illegal as if pointing out that inconsistency is some grand intellectual statement. Yes, of course it is, but that occupation is supported by a large and growing number of the general populace and bringing illegal substances into the park will give the police a legal reason to make arrests and will delegitimize the movement for the general populace. So what’s more important, this movement, or turning it into a house party?
This is sad to see. I thought this movement was about stopping corporate corruption of our political system and not about sitting in a park getting high. When I saw this announcement yesterday I was encouraged that the group took this move to clarify what the movement is about and to protect it’s integrity. Now though it seems as if people are complaining that this isn’t a party and is actual hard work, trying to make a change.
Look, I respect everyone’s desire to smoke a bowl or have a drink. I actually enjoy partaking in a bit myself from time to time. Theres a time and place for everything though. If you can’t see the bigger issue here and can’t put the desire to party on the back burner while we fight for a bigger cause than I am genuinely scared about the future for this. This is about making a change, not about having a party.
I would like to see the GA fully approve this stance.
Would someone please describe what is being asked of Occupy PDX peacekeepers? As an older off-site occupier wearing blue arm bands any time I’m in the park, I don’t want to spend time discouraging folks from drinking and smoking marijuana. I totally agree, personally with this request, but if asked to take this kind of action, I’d much rather ask folks to stop cig smoking. Beyond bringing clam energy to the environment, what are peacekeepers directed to attend to?
NOT “clam energy”. That would be weird.
What I see are egos getting in the way here, because regardless of who says it or if it is a consensus of the group as a whole, the statement is true. And seems to be implying things such as drug use or vandalism, not simply occupying the space.
Do you want to get thrown in jail for something other than peaceful protest and bring negative attention to this movement because you needed to feel justified smoking pot, etc? Or do you want to soberly stand up to the greater injustices now and change these legalities later?
” Or do you want to soberly stand up to the greater injustices now and change these legalities later?”
^^^ This! I think or cannabis laws are insanely wrong. But that is a smaller issue compared to the bigger issue of fixing corporate greed in our politics. Focus on the big issues first so the smaller issues can be resolved in time.
No, what I see is people like you getting in the way. Part of this movement is about freedom and unjust laws. Drug laws are unjust and therefore worthy of this fight. If you personally don’t condone drug use- that’s your decision. However, you should recognize that millions of people enjoy and consume “illegal” substances everyday in this country without any issues whatsoever. Sure, some will go over the limit just like any other consumable product…that’s life… Come back to reality….
I drove in from Washington county yesterday for my third visit. I was hoping that I could bring my mother, friends etc. And that the smokey, party atmosphere of my 2 other visits were due to the fact that previously I had been there weekends/nights.
I was screamed at for not immediately handing over money to a clearly drunk homeless man who had tried to shake me down, not willing to take no for answer.
The sidewalks are so crowded it’s difficult to walk, but crowded with do-nothing homeless who aren’t so much “occupying” as lounging, begging and freeloading resources meant for protesters.
I cant ask my 99% friends to come and support this. I certainly wouldn’t bring folks there in hopes of them participating.
I’ll keep up with what’s going on online, maybe I’ll try again next week, but Im kinda disillusioned. I’m 99% too.
Wow…so part of this movement you actually don’t comprehend. A lot of the homeless you mention are part of the protest, fool. So I guess we are supposed to lay out the red carpet and make sure we got fans on so you don’t get bothered by the “…smokey, party atmosphere..” I suppose you want a gourmet meal and a foot massage as well. And hey, why not drug-test everyone while we’re at it. Everyone else gets tested, right? Gee, when a protest is up to YOUR standards, I’ll send ya an email.
“A lot of the homeless you mention are part of the protest, fool. ”
And a lot of them just need enough money to get a Greyhound ticket ’cause their car broke down, you see, and…
You guys are aware, I’m sure, that the police regard the park as safer and cleaner now than usual because it may be filled with hippies but at least there aren’t hookers in the men’s room, rape in the women’s room and paint-huffing junkies in the park.
“when a protest is up to YOUR standards, I’ll send ya an email.”
Do you actually organize protests?
heres the deal: we all are screwed. u want minimum wage? ok, how do u support yourself on that? ya dont.
u want bla bla bla….
the basics are this: living wage, decent housing, and a vote for the people—not the corps.
not that this will go thru—if so, then it should be known that everything i have written today has not been posted. i have been eliminated… apparently from all discussions with no reason. i have lost all faith in this pathetic hands off approach to the problems that face most people. i have been censored by….? hmmm. my posts were positive in nature and yet i have been cast out. thanks.
this in no way is freedom if a moderator is present that has already suppressed 4 posts of positive nature. what bs
so—fuck u…kos will rule after the support grows thin within the educated ranks. we all lose anyway. the gov has known this to happen–they are ready…more than this pathetic “do what your told” crowd. Illegal? fuk u. U should be able to do what u want so long as u dont hurt others—and u say this is wrong?! who the fuk is writing!? who is running this? not the people!!!!!!!!!!!!
why is there mods when the protest is against that!
good, finally…thank u
and all those that want freedom—thank you!!!!!!!!!!!
let the spirit of freedom rule—yes, it takes effort and thought, but we can do it with people…..lots and lots of people!!!!!!
And then Portland will just write you all off as a bunch of junkies. The 99% downtown aren’t drunk or high because they have actual shit to do.
A lot of people… (I’m not one of them. You’d never accept me because I think Leonidas did a whole lot more for democracy than freakin’ Ghandi, and I don’t wear Che Guevara panties, dig?)… a lot of people worked really hard to organize this, gain the respect of the community and the police, and I think it’s reasonable to respect their wishes because they’re clearly doing an excellent job.
Sic Semper Tyrannis!
if in fact that’s what people wanted,,,so be it. i doubt that to be true—so i ask–who is saying this? u are going against the majority….those that wish to do something that,,,really doesnt effect anyone….and to point them out,,,what the fuk! u can never point me out–nor can many others. fuk u
If anyone is there and needs to medicate, please do it in a tent. I’m sure that you will not have trouble finding a sympathetic tent occupant that will be happy to help you. You just cannot do it in public.
The homeless are as much a part of the 99% as anyone there. I you don’t like it, you don’t have to come as a tourist, come as a participant and try to change it. Everyone has a voice, use it and quit complaining.
If this is an attempt at real community building it is necessary to adopt an attitude that puts the thing we are trying to create ahead of personal considerations to some degree. Autonomy does not relieve on of responsibility to others it begs it, it demands it.
You realize that you are already doing illegal things by not having permits and block a road…!!!!
It would be a shame if we lost the legitimacy and support of the people because of the agenda of the few. I am not am against those who smoke it illegally. I am not against legalizing it. But I recognize we are an extension of occupy wall street. We want this movement to grow and supported by the 99% so we can affect change. I worry this will be thwarted because of the drug activity.
The rationalization that doing one legal activity, justifies other illegal activity is a slippery slope