List
Facebook Twitter Reddit Tumblr Email

On Friday, 26 members of Occupy Albany were arrested, and another 13 on Saturday. Eight of those arrested were members of the Radical Caucus.

The following “Statement by the Members of Occupy Albany’s Radical Caucus Arrested Saturday and Sunday Evenings in Lafayette Park” was released today:

On Saturday evening 26 people were arrested and on Sunday evening 13 were arrested for remaining in Lafayette Park past a curfew. This curfew did not exist until days before the first General Assembly in Lafayette Park.  Among each night’s arrestees were 8 members of the Occupy Albany Radical Caucus.  While we took part in this action, we would like to make it known we are not of the view that occupying public spaces and appealing to the Bill of Rights is sufficient action for the creation of a just society. No government can grant us rights; they can merely take away our autonomy. This was demonstrated last night when we were arrested.

The privatization of public space and resources must be thoughtfully and effectively resisted. We feel it is essential to defend against this offensive by the 1% and their lapdogs such as Andrew Cuomo.  But we also recognize that it will be necessary to challenge the property rights system which forms the legal basis for many of the material injustices done upon the 99%.  Eviction of persons from their homes by banks and landlords, the idling and off-shoring of our productive capacity, falling wages for those who remain employed, and the elimination of an already miserly social safety net are all methods by which the wealth of our nation is being consolidated to the richest 1%. This extraction can only be ended by moving beyond a system which affirms the property rights of owners to act with profit driven self-interest and towards a system that holds people accountable for the shared costs they impose on society.

The Radical Caucus is united by the demands to “be intimately involved in all social aspects of our communities” and “to build communities that are ecologically and socially sustainable.” The first principle requires “participatory, direct democracy in all political and economic affairs that impact our lives.”

“The existing political and economic relations militate against participation, and must be radically transformed,” states the Radical Caucus points of unity. “Because capitalist, competitive markets entail exploitation of labor, the private ownership of the means of production, and a division of labor that prohibits true participation, we must move beyond the global industrial-capitalist system.” The caucus additionally stands against existing forms of racism, patriarchy, and colonialism.

“Our communities should function in ways that encourage full participation of all people […] in the affairs that impact their lives,” says the Radical Caucus. This applies to “not only those alive today, but also those who will live in the future […]. For future generations to participate to the extent we demand for ourselves, we must radically transform our modes of production and consumption, our relationships with one another, with ourselves, with nonhuman animals, and with our environment.”

The Radical Caucus has recognized an essential component for a sustainable, democratic community: “This transformation should lead to localized production that balances autonomy, self-reliance, and interdependence.”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  Posts

1 2 3 7
April 23rd, 2019

Standing on the Shoulders of Unpaid Labor

It is fair to say that science today would not exist without unpaid labor. In the academy today, we are […]

September 6th, 2017

Teaching in the Time of Adjunctification

I am now in my second year as a contingent, adjunct instructor. For those not familiar with this terminology, it […]

September 17th, 2015

Police: The Strong Blue Thread

Facebook user, Anthony Welichko posted the picture above with the following message about “The Safe Harbor Initiative.” “To all law […]

September 16th, 2015

What will we take away from the Ahmed Mohamed controversy?

On Monday, August 14, a 14-year-old ninth grade student, Ahmed Mohamed, was arrested for bringing a homemade clock to Irving […]

December 21st, 2014

Challenging Police Union Leadership in the War on the Poor and People of Color

Police Leadership in Manufacturing ‘War Zones’ Police increasingly describe the communities they occupy as war zones, their inhabitants as enemy combatants, […]

December 4th, 2014

The Reason Mike Brown Can’t Get Justice Has Nothing To Do With Cameras

  Cops killed #EricGarner #OscarGrant #TaneshaAnderson #TamirRice #JohnCrawford #ErnestoDuenez #KellyThomas on camera. pic.twitter.com/4gCc65gcAj — Ben Brucato (@BrucatoBen) December 4, 2014 […]

December 3rd, 2014

A Short Script on On-Officer Wearable Cameras and Civilian Complaints

The scene is an interrogation room. A small room with brick walls, painted in light green-grey. A two-way mirror is […]

December 3rd, 2014

Cameras on Cops and Junk Science in Rialto

Those of us who don’t confront the potential wide diffusion of on-officer body-worn cameras with excitement and hopefulness have already […]

December 1st, 2014

Police Violence Is Not A Problem Because Of Its Invisibility

  For months, in response to the killing of Michael Brown, Ferguson and Saint Louis have been sites of ongoing […]

November 12th, 2014

Civilians Less Violent, Cops More Violent, All More Visible

Police are safer than ever, civilians are less violent than ever, and violent force and imprisonment is more often to […]