Building a Future from the Grassrots up

    More and more the difference between struggles in the North and the South is evident.  For one thing, the peoples of the South, like Aboriginal peoples, struggle not only against what the neoliberal economy brings them, they also struggle, and to a very large extent, to defend the culture they have built over millennia. They defend their language, their traditional way of life, their values and future generations. In the North, the struggles have often been marked by a single-minded attack against what is seen as unjust. The weakness has often been that, once the particular difficulty has been overcome (work hours, pensions, salary gains, etc.), everyone settled down once again to their regular routine within the society that was theirs. And the manipulation and the corruption continued unabated.

Occupy the Heart of the Island, July 2012

     Perhaps, in some way that is why the case of Quebec (and various other minorities around the world) is somewhat different. The Francophone people in Quebec , like Aboriginal peoples, have something to defend (the beauty of their land, their language, the particular values that were entrenched in the Quiet Revolution of the 1970s). And yet, the majority in Quebec have been integrated into the values and lifestyle of the neoliberal economy and are all too willing to trust their social and political institutions to serve their needs -- much as is in the case for the Rest of Canada.
    There may now be a change at work. There is scepticism about the political machinery and its leaders; there is disgust at the way the financial world is functioning; there is a growing rejection of continuous cuts to social services; development plans erode the land itself; we witness a surrender of education to market interests; the French language is eroded in public places. These issues have drawn hundreds of thousands into the streets in recent month to defend what they have build and to demand accountability from their government. It remains to be seen whether that energy can get translated into a genuine cry for fundamental change.

Occupy the Place of the People, October, 2011

     The strength of the movement lies in its grassroots organizations, and here as elsewhere those organizations have tended to be dependent on financial support from various levels of government. What is needed is the creation of a broad grassroots economic and political life that is independent of government and not at all beholden to it. Here in Quebec we are at the beginning of this process.
    Very likely an election will be called within a month (to be held in early September). Already the pundits are saying that much depends on whether the students (who have led the charge since the beginning of the Maple Springtime this year) will translate their protest into political action by registering en masse and going out to vote. What is important is that, while no one thinks that a change of government will resolve the underlying issues, a more responsive government might be in a position to catalyze the grassroots energy into daring fundamental changes to our political and economic life.

Petite-Patrie

   I live in a neighbourhood right in the middle of Montreal Island. Last night 10,000 people marched through the streets of the neighbourhood--as they have every night for the last week--banging their pots. We were one of a multitude of neighborhoods in Montreal that saw marches. Moreover the phenomenon has spread throughout the Quebec territory. Why do they do this?  The answer is not simple.
   Part of it is support for the student movement that has been on strike for more than 3 months now after the government of Quebec announced it would raise tuition and the students said that would exclude the poor. Part of it is also in response to the government's attempt to temper the street activity by setting rules with heavy penalties for non-compliance. Part also, without any doubt, is a more general reaction to the current Quebec government that is riddled with corruption, pressing ahead with huge resource extraction projects and cutting support to social services. Indirectly, this popular anger is also fed by the arrogance of the federal government, which is enacting a series of legislative changes that crack down on youth crime (even though it is decreasing) and on  immigrants without papers while making drastic cuts to charities, international aid and social services. One traditional symbol among the people here is the rooster (Coq). People seems to have come the conclusion that they are being plucked to the bone (like the famous allouette) and they have had enough.
   As the marches continue, the people are beginning to realize that, in addition to marching through the streets, there is need for stronger organizations. Citizens groups are springing up to take up the issues, to get those in all the political parties to join together to change this: to abolish the infamous law 78 and to support the students. A public inquiry has begun into government corruption; The list goes on.
   This is a unique and historic moment in Quebec history. Something that has not been seen since the time of the Quiet Revolution of the 1960s when Quebec took its destiny into its own hands. It is interesting that the official motto of Quebec is "I remember."  And indeed!

Declaration Regarding Personal and Collective Commitments

Over the last months I have been part of a committee preparing the document given below. It is a foundational document for the Occupy Montreal movement. I present it as it was approved in a general assembly this afternoon, first in English and then in the original French. It should be noted that the document was approved under a Creative Commons agreement, that other groups are free to adopt it and to adapt it as long as they give reference to the original approved by Occupy Montreal.

Declaration Regarding Personal and Collective Commitments

(approved in a general assembly of Occupy Montreal, February 25, 2012)

In order to encourage the participation of people coming from different perspectives toward a social mobilization and collaborative movement, Occupy Montreal (the October 15th movement) states that the following commitments constitute the foundation of our dialogue and action.

        

The Context

To begin with, we are rallied in order to show our indignation through the Occupy movement, locally called Occupy Montreal, because

·        The current economic mechanisms and principles harm peoples’ dignity and lead to growing injustices.

·        The blind search for profit degrades the environment at a speed that is threatening life.

·        Freedom of thought and the democratic life of 99% of the people are threatened by the grip of 1%.

   

The objective of the commitments

We want to go further now by adopting individual commitments that have a collective impact. By agreeing on these values, we commit to change ourselves at the same time as we change the world, since one cannot advance without the other.

“With a view to participating from this moment forward in the collective changes underway, I commit personally and voluntarily to do my best to: HUMANITY: Develop ties that link me to others and seek value in human relations rather than in merchandise; ENVIRONMENT: Respect living beings, their habitats and consume in a responsible way;  KNOWLEDGE: Become better educated and encourage exchange of knowledge; RESPONSIBILITY: Cultivate a spirit of conciliation in relationships and in communication with  others.   JUSTICE: Make my voice heard and act to denounce injustices; INCLUSION: Be open to diversity among beings and respect the differences; NON-VIOLENCE: Defend my values with dignity and without falling to the trap of oppression; TRANSPARENCY: Live with integrity and refuse to accept lies and corruption; HONESTY: Choose honesty and integrity rather than lies and corruption; HEALTH: Take care of myself; EMPATHY: Recognise the feelings of others and take them into account; HUMILITY: Recognise that I can be mistaken;

It is people’s involvement that will make a difference

  

By adopting these commitments, we hope to contribute to changes that will bring about a more just society. In order to put an end to the activity of a minority of persons who reserve to themselves the control of the principal resources of our planet, there has to be a massive participation of the population within a democratic movement. Every gesture counts! By means of this text, Occupy Montreal intends to promote an awareness that will benefit everyone and the generations to come.

Let’s move forward!

 This text is shared according to the terms of the Creative Commons. The most recent version can be found at http://oqpy.pan.waglo.com/philo/politique/node197


 Original French Version: (used at the assembly)

  

Déclaration des engagements individuels et collectifs 

mis de l'avant par Occupons Montréal, approuvée en assemblée générale, 25 février 2012

Dans le but de favoriser la participation de personnes d’horizons différents à une mobilisation sociale et un mouvement concerté, Occupons Montréal (Mouvement du 15 octobre) affirme que les engagements suivants constituent notre fondement au dialogue et à l’action.

Le contexte
Nous nous sommes d'abord mobilisés en manifestant notre indignation à travers le mouvement Occupy, localement 'Occupons Montréal', parce que :

• les mécanismes et les principes économiques actuels portent atteinte à la dignité des personnes et causent des injustices grandissantes ;
• la recherche aveugle du profit dégrade l'environnement à une vitesse qui menace la vie ;
• la liberté de pensée et la vie démocratique des '99%' du Peuple sont menacées par l'emprise du '1%'.

L'objectif des engagements

Nous voulons maintenant aller plus loin en adoptant des engagements individuels ayant un impact collectif. En nous entendant sur ces valeurs, nous nous engageons à changer en même temps que nous changeons le monde, car l'un ne va pas sans l'autre.

---

« En vue de participer dès maintenant aux changements collectifs en cours, c'est personnellement et volontairement que je m’engage à faire de mon mieux pour :

HUMANITÉ : Développer le lien qui m'unit aux autres et chercher la valeur dans les relations humaines plutôt que dans les marchandises.
ENVIRONNEMENT : Respecter les êtres vivants, leurs habitats et consommer de façon responsable.
CONNAISSANCE : M’éduquer et encourager l'échange des connaissances.
RESPONSABILITÉ : Cultiver l’esprit de conciliation dans mes relations et communications avec les autres.
JUSTICE : Prendre la parole et agir pour dénoncer les injustices.
INCLUSION : M'ouvrir à la diversité des êtres et respecter les différences.
NON-VIOLENCE : Défendre mes valeurs avec dignité sans tomber dans le piège de l'oppression.
TRANSPARENCE : Être intègre et ne pas accepter les mensonges et la corruption.
SANTÉ : Prendre soin de moi.
EMPATHIE : Reconnaître les sentiments des autres et en tenir compte.
HUMILITÉ : Reconnaître que je peux être dans l'erreur. »

---

C'est l'implication des personnes qui fera la différence

En adoptant ces comportements, nous souhaitons contribuer aux changements qui amèneront une société plus juste. Pour mettre un terme aux agissements d'une minorité de personnes qui se réservent le contrôle des principales ressources de notre planète, il est nécessaire d'avoir une participation massive de la population au sein d'une mobilisation démocratique. Car chaque geste compte!
Occupons Montréal vise, par ce texte, à susciter une prise de conscience qui bénéficiera à l'ensemble du monde et des générations à venir.
Allons de l'avant !

Ce texte est diffusé selon les termes de la licence Creative Commons. Version 0.99. La source de ce document vivant se trouve à: http://oqpy.pan.waglo.com/philo-politique/node/197

Where is the Occupy Montreal Movement Headed?

Occupy Montreal hit the streets running on October 15, 2011 as part of a global moment to begin creating a better world through the occupation of public spaces. The movement in Montreal has its similarities and differences from that in the Rest of Canada, the United States, Europe and the Middle East. It would be important to be able to elaborate these similarities and especially the differences--separately in another essay. Certainly the political, social and cultural context of Quebec provides the movement with its unique identity and challenges.
 In Montreal the movement came to notice thorugh a tent village in the financial district that lasted more than a month. Since then it has expanded and deepened both its organizational capacity and its vision. These winter months are crucial for the future of the movement. It is being taken up as a time to focus the energy and develop the structures that will allow for intense coordinated action for the rest of the year.
 At this point, no official document (that is to say, approved by a General Assembly) outlines the specific goals for the movement during 2012. However, the movement has begun a series of concerted assemblies moving in that direction. From my own personal point of view, there are four major areas of concern that appear to focus the energy of most participants. I list them in no particular order. The movement rejects the oligarchy that currently veils itself as democracy in Quebec (and Canada) and it proposes the creation of direct, participatory democracy at the local level. The movement rejects the financial tyranny that currently dominates world capitalism and proposes an economy of sharing in which no one is excluded and everyone’s needs are met. The movement rejects the damage being done to the environment and proposes a way of living in society that is in harmony with all living creatures who inhabit our Mother Earth. (Currently this includes an effort to provide locally cultivated food to those who need it.) Finally, the disinformation provided by the mass media is rejected and an extraordinary effort is being made to provide alternative sources of both information and analysis. In this respect also a large amount of creative artistic energy is being developed. This list is not exhaustive. There are many other issues being taken up by various groups in the movement but I think most of them would fall under one or another of these major categories.
 The question that naturally flows from this effort to understand what it is that the movement is proposing is how to address these issues. Here too the practice is instructive. First of all, the movement proposes that we begin now, actively to address the issues by “occupying” their spaces with our creative energy. The primary concern, so far, has been to occupy those spaces in a way that encourages other citizens to set aside their fear that nothing can change, to become aware of their own power to make a difference and to begin also to act. The actions tend to create spaces in society for real democracy, inclusion, sharing and sensitivity to Mother Earth. However, there are also those in the movement who are aware that we cannot simply ignore the fact that major systems of government, finance, industry and social organization exist, are diametrically opposed to the goals of the occupy movement and not at all indifferent to its presence. Resistance to the forces of domination are central to the movement.
 ([i]I have placed this also on Atrium and Facebook. It will also appear on my blog--richardrenshaw.blogspot.com[/i])

The Occupy movement is nonviolent and thus inserts itself within the long history of nonviolent movements and nonviolent direct action around the world over many centuries. Every action undertaken by participants in the movement in inscribed within that call to take the issues into our own hands and make a difference, especially at the local level through using that inner power that connects us with one another.
 Challenges are not lacking in this first year of Occupy Montreal. Much of the energy during the winter is focused on improving internal and external communication, that is to say, within the movement in Montreal( and elsewhere) as well as with the larger society of our city. A considerable effort has been made to counter the image of the movement created by the mainstream media by a public presence to provide citizens with specific examples of who is part of the movement, what it stands for and how it operates. Finally, local groups have been established in several Montreal neighbourhoods and evidence considerable vitality and commitment. Those who make up the mouvement, at this point, tend to be largely young (20-40) with a significant representation of those who are somewhat older. They tend to be well educated and engaged already in community groups, NGOs or working professionally.
 When Spring arrives a few weeks from now, Montreal will witness a flourishing of public activity supported by the movement. How this develops and is received will be an important factor in laying the foundations for a long-term presence in Montreal that makes a difference and that impacts on the global scene.  ----- Richard Renshaw

Threats to society

A report on threats to the global society has just been released for the Davos group. It is certainly worth a read in the light of my earlier reflection on Societal Breakdown and its sequel.  I found  the link on the front page of Le Devoir today.

Le sens de la marche méditative

J'ai écrit ce petit texte en collaboration avec Gérard Laverdure et après notre marche méditative aujourd'hui.

     Depuis le 19 novembre, chaque samedi, vers midi, plusieurs personnes se réunissent autour de La Place du Peuple (Square Victoria) à Montréal pour amorcer une marche méditative en silence pour la paix. Cette marche se réalise quelques minutes avant l’assemblée générale du mouvement des Indigné(e)s et se voit comme un effort de créer une ambiance de non-violence, d’écoute et de respect pour l’assemblée et pour tout le mouvement. Notre présence silencieuse et déterminée démontre à nos concitoyens l’enracinement spirituel de l’indignation, de la soif de justice, d’intégrité, de dignité et de paix. Protester contre les injustices et s’engager à changer le désordre social est une démarche profondément spirituelle. La pratique de marcher en silence a une longue histoire qui se retrouve dans plusieurs contextes. Chacune de ces références peut nous aider à comprendre mieux le sens de notre marche méditative.

     Commençons en rappelant que les moines et les moniales ont une longue pratique de marcher lentement en file pendant qu’ils prient ou méditent. Ceux et celles qui ont vécu la vie monastique avant 1960 se souviendront de ces marches «à la file indienne» à la fin de l’après-midi pour prier le rosaire. Il y a quelque chose dans la marche même qui aide à la concentration, à une meilleure présence consciente au moment de prière.

     Ce sont les bouddhistes qui ont d’avantage analysé cette expérience. Thich Nhat Hanh a écrit un beau petit livre, entre autres, qui s’appelle La Sérénité de l'instant. Paix et joie à chaque pas. Il fait appel à la marche de pleine conscience. On marche lentement, prêtant attention à chaque étape du mouvement. Ce n’est pas un moment pour oublier rien de la réalité intérieure ou extérieure sinon plutôt pour s’ouvrir à sa plénitude – la plénitude du moment présent. Le passé n’existe pas, le futur n’existe pas. Nous vivons le moment présent dans la plénitude de tout son contexte intérieur et extérieur. En arrivant à cette pleine conscience, la compassion surgit dans notre cœur et nous invite à découvrir comment répondre à ce moment précieux qui nous est donné. La pratique de la marche en pleine conscience devient un apprentissage pour vivre présent au moment actuel pendant toute notre vie, toujours en pleine ouverture à la réalité et aussi pleinement à l’écoute, ouvert à la compassion et prêt à agir avec compassion, c’est-à-dire de façon non-violent.

     Quand on se tourne vers les Écritures chrétiennes, on trouve que le mot le plus fréquemment utilisé pour caractériser les disciples de Jésus, c’est le mot : vigilant. Très souvent Jésus invite ses disciples à être vigilants, attentifs au moment présent. C’est dans ce moment présent qu’il nous invite à y trouver le Royaume de son Père, thème principal de sa prédication. Le Royaume de Dieu n’est pas dans le passé, ni dans le future. Il ne faut pas aller loin pour la trouver parce que c’est en nous et entre nous qu’il se déploie, se construit. Il est toujours présent parmi nous. Qui n’est pas attentif, manquera le moment du Royaume de Dieu, manquera l’arrivée de la plénitude.

     Les Anishnabe, peuple autochtone de notre région, voient leur histoire comme une longue marche ver l’ouest. Pour pouvoir continuer la marche et pour ne pas mourir, il y a des gens chez eux qui sont désigné des porteurs du feu. Le feu est absolument nécessaire pour la survie du peuple. Donc les porteurs du feu ont une responsabilité énorme pour s’assurer que le peuple arrivera au bout de sa marche. Nous retrouvons aussi ce concept chez les Juifs et les Chrétiens : la Terre promise. Terre atteinte au bout de la traversée solidaire d’un long désert.

     Peut-être ces petits références vous aideront à trouver le sens de notre petite activité chaque samedi midi à la Place du Peuple en préparation pour l’assemblée générale – surtout pour un mouvement qui se déclare formellement non-violent et qui annonce, en citant Gandhi, qu’il faut être le changement qu’on veut engendrer.   

Returning the Gaze

     In my last entry I spoke of returning the gaze of those who find themselves in situations of exclusion or oppression. That profound gazing into the eyes (and heart) of the excluded is a wake-up call to discover the profound dimensions of our human existence, what I would call the divine dimension since in fact it is a bottomless well from which one can draw enormous strength and meaning.

      There is however also another and very classic version of the theme of “returning the gaze” that is perhaps even more important. Years ago, when I visited Chiapas, that largely indigenous State in southern Mexico with its long, long history of colonization, the indigenous people always looked down when addressing or being addressed by non-native people. Looking up would have been interpreted as insolence. Part of the pastoral work in the diocese at that time included that of insisting that the indigenous people look directly into the eyes of the non-natives who addressed them.  That included the foreign priests and nuns. In some way one could say that this simple change was part of the origin of the Zapatista movement. That the oppressed and excluded return the gaze of the oppressor is an important gesture, one that speaks loudly and clearly of their dignity, the respect they deserve, the equality they claim. Returning the gaze is in fact a challenge, the insolence of asking for transformation in the heart and in the relationship between oppressed and oppressor. Returning the gaze is a way of demanding that the oppressor “look” deeper.

   A Buddhist riddle asks when one would be able to determine the difference between night and the coming of daylight. After several attempts by the disciples, the master finally suggests that it is when one can recognise that the other is one’s sister or brother. It is then that the day has some.

Do We Really Listen?

     For the past five years I have volunteered at a “listening centre” where people can call (or come) to talk about whatever is on their mind. We receive calls from people suffering from domestic problems, mental health difficulties, problems of addiction, loneliness, joblessness, in a state of panic or depression. The list is long and the calls are many. We spend hundreds of hours every year just listening. Our training is along the lines developed by Carl Rogers’ “active listening.” Active listening means paying attention to the person who is speaking, welcoming their presence and their story, without judgement or advice, counsel or orientation, respecting that they will, as they speak, eventually find the path they need to follow. We thank them at the end for speaking without offering them advice or orientation. We say very little except to encourage them to speak. Often, at the end of a session, the person who called or visited will conclude by saying that they feel much better and will express gratitude for the attentive welcome they have received.
     One of the important features of active listening is that one has to draw close to someone in order to hear them. We have to “displace” ourselves and move into the place of the other. Unless there is some sort of proximity (not physical necessarily), there is no possibility of listening.
     For me, all this connects with my interest in liberation theology, which begins by listening to what people are living, to what is happening in society. Without a listening ear, somewhere, we become non-persons, alone and disconnected. Our joys and our sufferings are unheard. We serve only to move the machinery of the economy; apart from that, we might as well be non-existent.  Far too often, this is the experience of the 99% who spend their days either working themselves to death for a pittance that barely provides for their basic needs, or perhaps not even that, or who are literally set aside entirely and live off hand-outs, unknown and unheard by those who have more than enough.    
     One of the interesting dynamics of the “occupy” movement is to attempt to listen to everyone’s opinion and to learn from it. First of all, it is pretty much impossible to participate in the movement without being physically present at their activities. To participate, we have to “displace” and on many levels.
     In an assembly, even one person can block a decision if it does against his or her profound values. The person presenting a proposition will have to go back and re-work it. Dialogue is essential. When a proposition is complex, the assembly divides into smaller groups for discussion. There is usually a “talking stick” that is passed around to give every person a chance to have their say without having to fight to get into the conversation. People are listened to carefully; their intervention is appreciated and pondered. Nothing serious will go far if there is no consensus.
     Try sometime, during a day, to watch how often you are more energized about sharing your point of view or your feeling than about listening to that of others. Watch how often people’s point of view or feelings go unacknowledged in conversations or how people are cut off because someone has something they consider more important to say. We are not a society that goes out of its way to listen, especially to those who are not “significant” or who do not have ready access to contexts where they can share easily.
     It is not hard to make a leap to the larger scale. More than half of the world’s population lives in conditions that do not allow their voice and their needs to be heard by those who have cornered the means to live in excessive comfort. While the press, radio and television blare out their messages twenty-four hours of every day, the message they send is geared basically to encourage us to become nameless, mindless consumers of things we really do not need or even want. In between, there are some rather half-hearted attempts at informing. Mark Twain is quoted as saying that if you do not read the newspaper, you are uninformed; But, if you do read the newspaper, you are misinformed. The media are not there to listen or even to inform. They are there to orient – to consumption of commercial products. Today, it is their principal reason for existence.
     The internet and the social media were invented to provide a medium so that everyone could have a voice – that is, if you could afford a computer or an iPod.  The commercial interests have done everything possible to turn them into a space for encouraging more spending on commercial goods. To some extent they have succeeded, though it remains an extremely significant means of communication between people. As a result, billions of dollars are now being invested in surveillance of this dangerous phenomenon of people communicating with one another.
     All this, it seems to me, reveals the disjunction between the way our economic structures work and what ordinary people really want and hope for. We are faced with fundamental options about how to live our lives.   

Experience of God?

Yesterday evening, a small group of people, mostly young and some significantly older, gathered in a small café in my neighbourhood to discuss the events of the Occupy Montreal movement. We talked about what has been going on there—downtown—and about the reality of poverty and exclusion in our own neighbourhood. We asked ourselves what this meant for us, whether the movement had something also to say to us. We asked whether we also, in our own neighbourhood, should not find some way to “occupy.”  We don’t know what that means or how it could happen but, we asked the question and we decided to come back to it—soon.

Saturday, some of us will go down to the Occupy site, along with people from around the city. We will form a human chain around the site and spend a half-hour in silence meditating on peace, peace for the people at the site, peace for the movement, peace in all they struggle for.  Afterwards, we hope to be able to return regularly. We do it as an act of solidarity; we do it also to transform our own “positioning” in the world. We do it in order to say something to society but without words, in pointing to others and the “word” of their lives, of their engagement.

For me all this is connected to a question that has haunted me for decades: the question of God.

Europeans have said: How can we continue to believe in God after the Holocaust?  Latin Americans have asked how they can believe in God during the repression suffered during the 70s and 80s. Today we might well ask how we can believe in God while living under the totalitarian global capitalism of today? The fact is, many don’t. 

Living in Peru during the 1980s, I sometimes asked myself if God were not absent from the violence-torn country?  It was very difficult for me to find the presence of God in the midst of crushing poverty, death-dealing illness, severe repression, tens of thousands of assassinated and disappeared.  Yet there is something central about the notion of God’s presence in the suffering and in the death.

At one point, I have been told, Ivan Illych was giving a talk in a large auditorium, not long before his death. During the question period, someone asked him how he managed to avoid despair in situations of the major repression and violence, which, at that time, engulfed all of Latin America. There was a very long silence, then he called to a colleague, who was seated nearby, to come up beside him. He put his arm around him and replied “a friend.” 

That’s not a very theological answer but in practice it opens an important path to deal with the question of God. Today, it has become extremely difficult to talk about God. God is hidden and silent. Theology has become bankrupt largely. However, and I would underline this, the urgency, even the imperative of speaking to God is paramount. We have a desperate need to speak to a God we do not understand, and probably never will. We cry out our horror, our anguish, our longing, our desperation in the face of the world as we find it. It is the very depth of our being that cries out and, it seems, that is where, finally, God “appears,” silently, without words, without solution, right in the cry itself. We need to stay with the cry itself, our cry. Not a scream, out of control, but a cry that mobilizes all the energy within us.  

In liberation theology, the first step indicated was the call to make a choice, to take up a different position – physically. We had to move out of our everyday, normal environment in order to go to the place where the poor, the excluded, the repressed, the non-persons were and to plunk ourselves down in their reality. (Even the poor had to make the choice since they were often trying desperately to get out of that reality!)

It seems to me that something similar is still very necessary, at least for those of us who are privileged not to live in misery. We have to choose to immerse ourselves in the reality where God is absent and does not speak, where God is silent, where the easy discourse of theology and homiletics is muted. If we choose to move, it seems to me that what happens is that God also chooses to move, to accompany our move. God still remains the silent Other, but that Other becomes located in the non-persons who, because we are there, cast their gaze upon us, a very disturbing gaze, a profoundly questioning gaze. And it is in the profound depths of the silence that underlies their gaze that we are challenged. It is then, I believe, that we experience God, not seated on a lofty throne governing the universe, not ruling over the cosmos, not defeating the embattled armies of evil, but rather dwelling deep in the gaze of those others, those non-persons. The silence of God is an experience that calls to us nevertheless. For out of God’s silence, we are empowered to cry out and to mobilizes our forces. It is a cry that transforms since it is rooted in God’s silence. It seems to me the issue is not so much the experience of God finally as it is the question of God, or perhaps better said, our questioning of God! And that questioning is itself the experience.   

Official Occupy Wall Street Declaration

(Image by Cerezo Barredo)

     Yesterday I visited Occupy Montreal once again. During the general assembly they addressed three questions (while I was there at least): How to deal with people who repeatedly violate the accords taken. One option was to eject them. The assembly decided they would study more how to accompany them non-violently and asked professionals to offer their time to help. They also looked at the question of people too shy to speak in public at an assembly and decided to use a system of the "talking stick" in small groups to assure them a safe place to speak out. Finally they dealt with the question of solidarity with other occupations suffering repression. In each case they dealt with the issue sensitively, caringly, openly. Good government!
   Next Saturday there are plans for a half-hour inter-faith peace meditation chain surrounding the site. People from all traditions are being contacted.

     Gérard Laverdure sends me the folloiwng link for the official declaration the Occupy Wall Street. It speaks volumes about what this movement is all about. First, here is the link: Occupy Wall Street.

Secondly, here is the text found there:

Declaration of the Occupation of New York City

As we gather together in solidarity to express a feeling of mass injustice, we must not lose sight of what brought us together. We write so that all people who feel wronged by the corporate forces of the world can know that we are your allies.
As one people, united, we acknowledge the reality: that the future of the human race requires the cooperation of its members; that our system must protect our rights, and upon corruption of that system, it is up to the individuals to protect their own rights, and those of their neighbors; that a democratic government derives its just power from the people, but corporations do not seek consent to extract wealth from the people and the Earth; and that no true democracy is attainable when the process is determined by economic power. We come to you at a time when corporations, which place profit over people, self-interest over justice, and oppression over equality, run our governments. We have peaceably assembled here, as is our right, to let these facts be known.
They have taken our houses through an illegal foreclosure process, despite not having the original mortgage.
They have taken bailouts from taxpayers with impunity, and continue to give Executives exorbitant bonuses.
They have perpetuated inequality and discrimination in the workplace based on age, the color of one's skin, sex, gender identity and sexual orientation.
They have poisoned the food supply through negligence, and undermined the farming system through monopolization.
They have profited off of the torture, confinement, and cruel treatment of countless nonhuman animals, and actively hide these practices.
They have continuously sought to strip employees of the right to negotiate for better pay and safer working conditions.
They have held students hostage with tens of thousands of dollars of debt on education, which is itself a human right.
They have consistently outsourced labor and used that outsourcing as leverage to cut workers’ healthcare and pay.
They have influenced the courts to achieve the same rights as people, with none of the culpability or responsibility.
They have spent millions of dollars on legal teams that look for ways to get them out of contracts in regards to health insurance.
They have sold our privacy as a commodity.
They have used the military and police force to prevent freedom of the press.
They have deliberately declined to recall faulty products endangering lives in pursuit of profit.
They determine economic policy, despite the catastrophic failures their policies have produced and continue to produce.
They have donated large sums of money to politicians supposed to be regulating them.
They continue to block alternate forms of energy to keep us dependent on oil.
They continue to block generic forms of medicine that could save people’s lives in order to protect investments that have already turned a substantive profit.
They have purposely covered up oil spills, accidents, faulty bookkeeping, and inactive ingredients in pursuit of profit.
They purposefully keep people misinformed and fearful through their control of the media.
They have accepted private contracts to murder prisoners even when presented with serious doubts about their guilt.
They have perpetuated colonialism at home and abroad.
They have participated in the torture and murder of innocent civilians overseas.
They continue to create weapons of mass destruction in order to receive government contracts. *
To the people of the world,
We, the New York City General Assembly occupying Wall Street in Liberty Square, urge you to assert your power.
Exercise your right to peaceably assemble; occupy public space; create a process to address the problems we face, and generate solutions accessible to everyone.
To all communities that take action and form groups in the spirit of direct democracy, we offer support, documentation, and all of the resources at our disposal.
Join us and make your voices heard!
*These grievances are not all-inclusive.

Moving into Winter mode

Forgive me if I am a bit fixated on the Occupy Montreal movement at this point. The fact is that this is a phenomenon that is forging a new history.

Just for your information: The village--400 people certainly makes a village--is facing nights that drop to the freezing point.  The first indication of a move to prepare for winter--in Montreal that can mean temperatures dropping to twenty below zero (Celcius)--was the appearance of a yurt. Now the call is for trucks to bring in the long wooden poles that will be used to put up teepees.. The arrival on the site  of Mohawks from a local reserve in order to set up their traditional living structures marks a new chapter in the history of the movement here. To me it is extremely significant and symbolic. Secondly, since the refusal of the city to allow an electrical connection, There is a good chance that those who want to stay for the winter will have all that is needed: warm, safe, housing and a steady supply of good food.
Now there is a daily workshop on economics for those interested. Those at the village are deepening their understanding of the issues of inequity in democracy and in economy. This is a movement that drives at the achilles heel of the Empire.
There are also groups springing up here and there around the city. They meet to discuss the issues raised by the 99% movement. As one commentator said: If this movement can leap the boundaries of class, race and generation, it will change things radically. The people at the village today are well along the way.

99% - Everywhere

Since Google does not give the same information everywhere, and for those who want to go a little further in understanding the "We are the 99%" movement--we call ourselves the "Indigné(e)s" in Montreal-- here are a couple of sites about the wider movement:

http://occupywallst.org/ (The New York occupation)

http://www.occupytogether.org/ (info about the movement in general)

http://www.occupytogether.org/directory/ (A listing of 200 occupations throughout the USA and elsewhere)

The 1% is getting nervous and beging to make preparations to eliminate these occupations. That will problably only broaden the struggle.

This is a movement that is certainly going to change as it grows. No one really knows what turns it will take -- But, one thing is sure: it has already inspired huge numbers of people throughout the world and has already made a significant difference in several countries.

A world march is being planned for Saturday October 29. Millions can be expected to turn out.

More on the 99%

Celebration

General Assembly

It is now more than a week since the 99% invaded Square Victoria in the heart of Montreal and established the People's Square. They began with a few tents and a great desire to build another world that is possible, one very different from that of the 1%. The "village has now grown large in every sense. There are more than 200 tents -- it was necessary to occupy additional space to accomodate all the tents and more space may still be required. There is a kitchen that serves two meals a day, a small library and daily general assemblies where direct democracy is both very real and  inclusive. There is even a large tent marked "hospital" with at least one bed and qualified personnel. The relationship with the city and with the police continues to be good. They are learning from those who have expericence, to prepare for "winter camping" with a view to staying throughout the bitterly cold months ahead. There are signs everywhere reminding people to be clean, non-violent and inclusive. Next Saturday there will be a march in solidarity with all the other groups around the world who are expressing the voice of the 99%. Thousands are expected. What I have seen of the media in Montreal is fairly positive. The community has excellent media capacity: a really good web site (http://occupymontreal.tk/), a facebook site, a forum site, and so on.

Shared Kitchen

I speak of all this because it leads me into a reflection on liberation theology. If liberation theology was initially "invented" to attempt to discern the presence and path of God's liberating Spirit in the struggle of the excluded "non-persons" of society, then the experience of the camps, like the one in Montreal and others around the world, is certainly an irruption of the poor (the 99%) into the social, economic and political scene of 2011. This irruption deserves profound reflection. When I am on the site, when I witness the general assemblies, when I see their initiatives to build community, when I hear them struggling to express the values and directions they want to move in, there is no doubt in my mind that the Spirit is at work here building something radically new, something that draws deeply on our faith traditions. It is a phenomenon that will mark history and that builds on the struggles of many other peoples in many other places -- today and in the past.

Theology is a very pretentious word: it claims to engage in discerning and interpreting the path of liberation in the here and now. In the past liberation theology  tried to give "voice to the voiceless." Theology no longer needs to do that.  The voiceless have found their own voice and are giving powerful expression to their own path. There is no need for philosphers, theologians or social scientists to help them analyze the current situation; those on site in the camps are extremely articulate and connected to those analyses. There is perhaps not even  a need to provide a word of support and hope since the artists among them (musicians, poets, graphic artists) are providing a powerful cultural expression of the vision that animates and directs their presence. While I am not advocating "slogan" theology, there is nevertheless much for a theologian to reflect on in the signs displayed in downtown Montreal . There is also much to be reflected on in the way the camp functions, in the way decisions are made, in the way food is shared, in the way people are welcomed, in the way the "word" in honoured.

At this point it seems to me that what theologians need to do is to be PRESENT. This is one of those times when the theologians (and other professional religious folk) need to physically displace themselves in order to grasp the situation. We need to go there, spend time there. Theologians need to become the defenders of this movement for those sectors of the wider society who practice what the religious institutions dictate. There are broad sectors of the Churches that are sympathetic to what is happening in these camps but who have very little access to know how to understand it. While the people in the camp are doing a wonderful job, it is up to those of us who are close to the movement to make sure that the message gets through to our circles. Those circles can be crucial to the future of the movement. If we truly believe that this is an expression of God's Spirit

in our world today, in 2011, then we surely need to reflect deeply on the ways in which this phenomenon embodies our tradtion and make absolutely sure that the religious sector (at the base and in the hierarchy) understand and support it. It is what liberation theology has attempted to do for more than forty years. We cannot do less today. If the religions of the world get behind this, it is clearly unstoppable.

(All the pictures are taken from the Occupy Montreal web site. The credits are given there.)

David Suzuki interviewed at Occupy Montreal: 

http://youtu.be/rUTDxUicSmo

Michael Stone at Occupy Montreal : Taking Care of Yourself

http://vimeo.com/31007476 

Michael runs the Centre of Gravity in Montreal.

Les Indignés

     So the movement to occupy the public squares and demand change has finally come to North America and Europe. The turn-out yesterday was remarkable: More than a thousand cities around the world. The institutions are listening carefully, not so much to make major changes but rather to adjust the structure to accomodate the level of protest and to give the impression that something positive is happening. Meanwhile, at the stock exchanges and in government, it is still business as usual. The level of response would have to be much greater for anything significant to happen. Perhasp the movement will grow. That certainly was the case in Tunisia, in Egypt, in Yemen and in Syria, to mention only a few examples. Gradually there is an awakening.  However the dynamics are not the same here as in the South.      In any case, there are hundreds of people camped out in public parks in hundreds of cities around the world. As the slogan goes here in MontreaL the 99% is telling the 1% that thjey have awakened.
It will be an exceptional time to talk about things like participatory democracy and an ecological  economy on a human scale.
      This could be an important awakening. And, like all history, it could also be just a bubble.  That depends on all of us. 
A powerfull comment on the movement in the USA :  http://front.moveon.org/the-most-powerful-occupywallstreet-clip-you-will-see-this-month/#.TpttX9PHbS5.facebook

The Montreal occupaton  is going well. Visit their site on facebook: Occupons Montréal