Poet For the Planet, Drew Dellinger, At Occupy Oakland

It’s time to rock the nation, rock this occupation! Our communities need us. We are all leaders. How could we ask for anything less than the future?

A powerful video of the Occupy poem by acclaimed spoken word artist Drew Dellinger,  by award winning filmmaker Velcrow Ripper, set to the beats of Jef Stott . Shot at Occupy Oakland on November 2nd, 2011.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxvuU9BJem8]

More links:

Planetize The Movement

Occupy Love.org

What Are We Waiting For?

A powerful message beamed onto the Verizon building in New York City:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OROZBOj8nM&feature=youtu.be&a]

Now is the time to STAND UP for yourself, to be BOLD, be CREATIVE, be RADICAL To Dream BIG, IMAGINE, Feel the fear but DO IT! Anyway its time to Question Expert Authority, ASK hard questions, PROPOSE and DEMAND solutions. To Participate and AGITATE. DISOBEY if you must. To VISUALISE and Organise. To KILL the fear spreading Media – EDUCATE and INFORM yourself and Others. NOW is the time to invest in HOPE.

To cultivate LOVE To Give Thanks for what we have and to help those that Haven’t. We Must DANCE, PLAY, ENJOY ourselves. TRANSFORM your situation no matter how bad it is. It can be done, EAT WELL, REST, MEDITATE. PROTECT yourself. BECOME a SOUL WARRIOR. Don’t Apoligise for being a DREAMER – we need MORE DREAMERS. PERSIST Resist and ignore the begrudgers, hold firm to your vision. Don’t make up excuses or get caught up in Blame. In the Game of them and Us RESPECT Everyone, even if you dont like them. Enemies are Great Teachers. TRANSCEND, RISE, Reach for the STARS.

Don’t take yourself too seriously. LAUGH at yourself. LOVE YOURSELF. You are WONDERFUL if you let yourself BE. ABANDON JUDGEMENT, Age, Roles, Stereotypes. Take RISKS. Drop LEFT RIGHT and RELIGIOUS Dogma. THINK FOR YOURSELF. Take control of your Diet, Money, Home, Family, Work Spend Time in NATURE. Listen to your Gut, Instinct, Intuition, Heart. Go offline to get ONLINE. Take QUIET TIME for you, to WRITE, DRAW. EXPERIMENT. Learn a SONG, Call a Meeting, Start a Petition. BUILD COMMUNITY. See what happens. SHARE. Take your time. Slow Down – Small and Slow are POWERFUL and BEAUTIFUL. Wake up to REALITY. It’s not that bad. If it is THEN CHANGE IT. Don’t wait for others to do it. TELL OTHERS, JOIN them, ASK for HELP.

SING IT LOUD. BE Proud you’re not a Zombie caught up on the harsh production line of Commuting, Work, Shopping, Consumption and SLEEP. You’re MUCH MORE ALIVE This is not a PRACTICE RUN, THIS IS YOUR REVOLUTION TO MAKE IT HAPPEN THERE ARE ALWAYS MORE POSSIBLITIES THAT YOU THINK! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

 

Remembering the Montgomery Bus Boycott During Occupy Times

It was fifty five years ago today the Supreme Court of the United States of America upheld the decision of the Federal District Court for the Middle District of Alabama “that Alabama’s racial segregation laws for buses were unconstitutional.”  It was only just the beginning of the civil rights movement.  Only the beginning.  So “keep on keeping on” Occupy, we have only just begun!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=jJ1OO5iBWCQ]

The Occupy Movement Goes Global

Yesterday the Occupy Wall Street movement, sparked by a call from the Vancouver-based Ad Busters magazine, started sparking occupations in Canada. From  five thousand people  in Vancouver, to three hundred in Halifax, and dozens of other “occupations” in between, Canadians expressed their disatisfaction with the status quo. I was able to participate in some of the Occupy Winnipeg event, where three hundred+ of us showed up and walked and chanted our way from the Manitoba Legislature to the TD Bank building on Portage Avenue, and back. It was inspiring and fun, and I hope it signals a sea-change in our political and economic system. Because if we continue down the road we are on, we are heading towards economic and planetary disaster.

Here’s filmmaker Velcrow Ripper speaking at the Occupy Saskatoon yesterday:

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/30601459]