For Immediate Release
Occupy Olympia Takes Building;
Establishes the Rachel Corrie Community Center
Establishes the Rachel Corrie Community Center
Olympia, December 16th, 2011 -- At 1:00 am on Friday, over 200 Occupy Olympia activists marched to and occupied an abandoned building on 5th Ave to peacefully resist the eviction at the camp and to establish the Rachel Corrie Community Center. Olympians gathered at Heritage Park this evening in response to Thursday morning's notice to cease and desist camping and from that gathering the crowd rallied to open Olympia's newest community center to be run as an experiment in direct democracy.
The transition from occupying public parks to occupying private buildings is part of a broader shift throughout the national Occupy Movement. This has been partially a result of state repression at the park encampments, but more significantly it is a move to assert the permanence of this movement and the process of democratic experimentation that it has opened up.
“We see the economic crisis at root as a crisis of democracy, and thus our efforts to address the crisis must work to democratize all aspects of our political and economic lives,” said occupier David Langstaff.
The building occupation is intended to highlight the contradictions between the availability and distribution of resources in the Olympia community. For instance, while there are numerous buildings in the downtown area that have been visibly abandoned for years, 18% of people in downtown at any given time are homeless.
“All the resources that are needed to solve the problems exist, but it is our responsibility to distribute the resources in a just fashion, so we chose to empower ourselves to provide for ourselves,” stated occupier Andrew Meyer.
The state has repeatedly offered services to the people at camp, and as of yet, none have been provided. The question though is not simply shelter from the elements or access to services, but also an issue of dignity and to secure for ourselves the basic necessities of life, including, but not limited to, food, water, shelter, and medical care. Occupy Olympia stands under the slogans, “You can't evict an idea” and “another world is possible”.
occupyolympia.org
UPDATE:
ReplyDeleteFor now, Occupy Olympia had to strategically retreat from the abandoned building on 5th Ave. & the creation of the Rachel Corrie Community Center, but the idea is not going away.
I hope they are able to find a new home.
ReplyDeleteThis Occupy Movement is teribly Important across the nation. Somehow we must keep the 99% emphasis in clear focus -- not just the Wall Street issues, but also the Environmental, Medicare, Social Security, Unemployment, and other issues of deep concern to the majority of Americans.
UPDATE FROM OCCUPY OLYMPIA MEDIA TEAM:
ReplyDeleteOCCUPY OLYMPIA HOLDS SUNDAY GENERAL ASSEMBLIES IN CAPITOL ROTUNDA
Olympia, December 17, 2011 – Despite Occupy Olympia’s eviction from Heritage Park and The Rachel Corrie Community Center, General Assemblies will continue to be held on Sundays at 1p.m. in the Capitol rotunda.
The focus of this week’s meeting will be the movement’s next steps and a debrief from Thursday’s rally and Friday’s raids. Representatives from Occupy Olympia state, “The dispersal of the camp shouldn’t signify the dispersal of the community that has been built.
The rotunda is one place where people from the camp, and Olympia in general, will know how and where they can stay plugged in to the future of the movement.”
Occupy Olympia believes, now more than ever, that “You can’t evict an idea.”