Two strategies were used to distribute the survey. An online version was created, and respondents were able to respond via computer between November 1 and November 4, 2011. Meanwhile, volunteers took paper copies of the survey to the Occupy Portland camp and conducted face-to-face interviews with people in the ca…mp between November 3 and November 6. As a result of these efforts, a total of 545 people filled out the survey. 205 (52%) of these people were male, and 187 (48%) were female. Meanwhile, 293 (54%) self-identified as white, 61 (11%) as non-white, and 191 (35%) respondents did not provide information about their race/ethnicity.

The 545 people who filled out surveys have had a relatively high level of engagement with the movement. 60% of the respondents say they have marched in one or more Occupy Portland marches; 49% have attended one or more meetings in the Occupy Portland camp; 49% have donated food, money, or supplies to the camp; and 48% say they have done work of some
kind in the camp. 121 of the respondents report that they have spent one or more nights in the camp.

MORE INFO TO COME BUT HERE IS THE GOLDEN QUESTION:

Overall it feels safe to visit the Occupy Camp.

All Respondents

Yes 322 people (76%)
No 103 people (24%)

People who have camped one or more nights

Yes 89 people (81%)
No 21 people (19%)

The percentage of people saying that it feels safe to visit the camp is quite high, and this should not be ignored by city residents, public officials, or members of the media. We also asked survey respondents to list the three most important, positive things that have been created by the Occupy Portland camp and movement. By far, the most common responses to this question were that the camp has brought a wide variety of people together,
allowed for sustained interactions between these people, and allowed for a sense of community and solidarity to emerge.

Many respondents also report that the camp and the wider movement have brought public attention to issues like economic injustice, poverty, and homelessness. A lot of people responding to the survey said something like “These problems are usually swept under the table, but now they are visible have to be dealt with.”

Finally, a number of respondents who said they are homeless said that they feel safer in the camp than they would if they were sleeping in other parts of Portland. Some commentators have criticized the presence of homeless people in the camp. But it should be recognized that the Occupy Portland camp is now serving as something of a safe haven for some of the most
vulnerable residents of our city. Many survey respondents encourage non-profits and city officials to reach out to vulnerable people in the camp, and provide on-the-spot services, rather than using the presence of homeless citizens as a reason to criticize the camp

The time has come, as it has to in all social movements, to finally address the unspoken ideological division between many who claim they are united in common interest. I have been with the Occupy Portland Movement since the 2nd GA, and since then I have heard the repeated rhetoric that people should simply resolve the internal conflicts or quell them for the good of the common movement. Within this rhetoric there is an overarching false assumption implied within this reasoning, that “we are all here for the same purpose.” Are we? This is a question that no one seems to actually be asking; yet clearly the answer of ‘yes’ has been assumed. I feel it necessary at this time to call out the ideological elephant in the room, and propose that the only way for the movement to actually move forward in a cohesive manner is to openly acknowledge and identify the clear differences in the motivations of everyone who seeks to have some sort of voice or presence within Occupy.

First and foremost we are not all here for the same purpose, and the most obvious explanation for this is that many of us come in with different values and ideologies, which inherently place us at times at odds with each other. The lack of discussion around these differences is most likely due in part to the fear of opening the Pandora’s box. The box of endless political and ideological debate which often proves unproductive in a time and need for great unity. However, the time has come to ask whether or not all ideologies can truly be reconciled. Perhaps it is time to move past relativist extremism and ask the difficult questions. A productive social movement must be unified in both values and methods. Our means must reconcile with our ends, unlike the unjust systems in our society.

Nonviolence is not relativist, though there may be a spectrum of violence. Nonviolence is an ultimate reality that within it transcends the spectrum of violence through its commitment and dedication to restrain from harm doing in thought, word and deed. A movement, which seeks to create effective social transformation, must transform the hearts and minds of a people, not seek to destroy them. Those impatient for progress and who lack the will of restraint can neither transform nor change others to path of light. The path of nonviolence calls us to critically evaluate our methods and the ends with which we hope to create. It is a moral directive, it is a compass, it is love. If you love you do not harm. Life is not always so cut and dry, but nonviolence is the measuring rod with which we use to measure our intentions and actions through uncertainty. Anger is a powerful emotional indicator, but when channeled through hate it produces harm and unnecessary violence.

Moving away from relativist extremism, we must ask if there is an ultimate truth. The answer to this is yes and no. There are many truths, and each truth is a path created by conscious and unconscious choices, which in the end lead to an ultimate reality, end result, or consequence. The end to each path is the ultimate truth for that path, and when we become enlightened beings we begin to become more aware of our ability to influence the decisions and outcomes of such realities. There is a spectrum of truth, and though there are many different paths, there are but only two ends. There is an ultimate reality which is born out of life giving choices derived of love, compassion, empathy, giving, and nonviolence, and there is also an ultimate reality born out of life taking choices derived from unchecked anger, fear, violence, greed and hate. Our individual realities are connected in a great web of relationship. The path we choose will influence both our personal realities and the universal reality born of collective consciousness.

There are many ideologies, which exist, but the time has come to evaluate which ultimate reality these ideologies seek to manifest. If the reality we seek both individually and collectively truly seeks collective harmony, love and sustainability, then we must boldly reject ideologies, which reject a balance between self and community desire. An ultimate reality of sustainability requires balance, like the great web of life, all is held in delicate balance, when this balance is disturbed harm occurs. There are ideologies present which currently seek to place the ‘self’ as the center for all motivation, or only ‘the collective’. Many of these ideologies mask their reality through rhetoric and calls for social change, all the while espousing methods for social change, which inherently contradict and undermine the very values of love, nonviolence, compassion, empathy, generosity, and sustainability.

We must not become paralyzed by relativist extremism. However, if we are to stand and reject ideology that is all we must reject. In line with the values of a life giving reality we must not reject people, and we must reject in a way that also reconciles our values. Boycott negative truths, and speak positive truths. Go the path of social transformation because a revolution is simply quick change made by oppressive force.

* According to the City of Portland Health & Human Services Department, Social Services Division, as of 2011, over 300 individuals and families have checked in to local Portland homeless and Women’s shelters. These numbers do not include the hundreds of those unable to access shelters that, due to a lack of beds and resources are forced to stay on the street.

* According to the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, homeless people commit fewer crimes than people with houses AND 84% of those interviewed listed issues such as employment, housing, disabilities, family problems, forced relocation, and natural disasters as the main cause of their displacement.

The Transitions & Sustainability group need your feedback on the future of Occupy Portland. This is a peoples movement, and to ensure that future proposals brought to the General Assembly are more informed, we want to know what you think is going well, what needs improvement, and what the next steps should be.

A survey process will be underway on site and via social media, starting today and will continue for the next day or two. Please come forward and say what needs to be said. If you don’t speak up, who will?

In a social movement dependent on actual physical bodies, it is crucial that we as a movement explore in more depth ALL the social and political action tools and strategies available to us. Too often the use of political arrest becomes the tool, instead of an unwanted result of a direct action. There are certain types of direct actions that may call for an arrest, but this is a last resort, and the last tool in the box.

Our movement is not desperate, nor is it lacking in creativity and passion. It is time we put this creativity to good use for long term sustainable approaches. The Occupy Movement, if it wants to be sustainable must expand its understanding of what it means to ‘Occupy’. If we intend to expand it may be in our best interest to seek creative ways of having a constant presence in a manner resistant to legal take down.

In Eastern Philosophy, the concept of fluidity, rather than rigidity is a value intended on the need for adaptation. Those that survive are those that can move with the flow. We must be careful not to cling too tightly to certain ideas, because in doing so we will fail to identify the other means available to us which can achieve the same ends while giving us a greater advantage.

Social movements are about strategy, we must out think and out last the people and systems which would seek to otherwise suppress the message of truth.

So with that being said… Consider the following this Saturday as the occupation expands to Jamison… Which will have a more sustainable and long lasting effect? Moving in on a new space overnight where everyone is most likely to be arrested the moment midnight roles around? (Not to mention the risk of an entire occupation take down.) OR Being there everyday from 5am until midnight doing everything you would normally do, but NOT be arrested.

No one would be able to question your presence and your only giving up 5 hours out of an occupation day! 5 hours, is not much to give up when you consider the benefits of a long term stay.

“Hear what is said, retain what is important, speak what is worthy. Attach to nothing.” Asian Proverb

The current ‘occupation’ at Lounsdale and Chapman parks, is currently unsustainable and growing somewhat like a pressure cooker. Portland has a unique demographic and is extremely lacking in resources. Currently the Occupy movement has attracted many who have been victimized by the system, however, despite all good intentions, both the Occupy Movement, and the Peace & Safety Team have reached capacity and can no longer guarantee the peace and safety of occupiers for the following reasons:

THE PROBLEM:

1.) We as an occupation are unable to meet the needs of the vulnerable populations coming for refuge, and due to this lack of capacity are causing more harm than good.

2.) Winter is on the way, and we do not have the capacity or resources to sustain through winter, particularly those folks most at risk to the elements.

3.) Since the occupiers are not enforcing their own community values, there is no way to enforce anything or to help people who feel unsafe, and in this problem we are putting volunteers at needless risk as well as other occupiers.

4.) There are more than simply “a few” folks occupying who are having serious substance abuse problems putting the camp and movement at risk, and are taking up city resources. (Like having to call ambulances for people who OD)

5.) Neither the GA or the current community of Occupy have taken any serious steps to make for positive change.

THE PROPOSAL

Come tomorrow the Peace & Safety Team will be proposing to the GA a plan to re-occupy a new space and to Vacate the current parks BY NO LATER THAN NOVEMBER 5th 2011
. It is unclear at this moment where this new space will be, or what it will look like (as we are hoping for collective input) but the following features will be a must:

-The space must be private and indoors through the winter
-The space must be legal so that we are able to hold people accountable for behavioral conduct and community values (screen people who want to come in, as well as eject people who pose a serious risk)
- The space must be warm enough so that vulnerable populations are kept safe
-The location of the space must be large enough to recreate our community village spaces
-The location of the space must be close enough to downtown and the Eastside in order to mobilize actions
-The space must be permissive of off grid set ups and other engineering designs

THE BENEFITS:

1.) In an indoor private space we will be able to have a better ability to manage community expectations and be able to preserve the peace.

2.) In a more managed environment, we can pre-screen folks who wish to dwell in our intentional community and only take in those we feel confident we can support and assist, as well as ensure those who come can support and assist us.

3.) In a more managed environment we can reduce the amount of time on occupation camp issues and create a well organized action operations center designed to employ mobilized actions across the city and state.

4.) We will have greater freedom to create and explore our new community vision without the fear of being shutdown at every moment.

5.) We will be more stable and sustainable for the long haul and will be able to establish a new national model for the occupy movement.

This proposal was created based on collective feedback from various and numerous occupiers as well as almost the entire Peace & Safety Team, currently occupying who have expressed a deep concern for the integrity as well as safety of the movement. We encourage all those interested in ensuring the growth of this movement come and support a sustainable option. We as a collective can not ask our government to change its practices or policies if we ourselves are not in reconciliation with our own values. The intention of this proposal is to draw out in the open the discussions and concerns many in our community have been having but have not known how to express these concerns. By bringing this to the GA it will force our community to collectively and with transparency deal with this issue.

You said it, Dan! I’m glad not everyone in Portland is a non-thinking reiterator of the Leftist slogans.