UPDATE: 11:30 AM
E-mail to SCPR from Canton Councilman Kevin Fisher (Ward 5)
Marty,
To
asnwer (sic) the question you asked on your post on OccupyCanton...yes, I will
continue to support OccupyCanton, as well as the greater Occupy
movement.
What you didn't see Saturday (nor did I, as I left with my
kids before you did) was the resolution to the "pledge the flag
debate"...
I have learned that a meeting was scheduled to discuss issues
some people had with the GA on Saturday...new rules were passed
democratically and they moved on...
Could you imagine a city, county,
state government...or a political party moving to correct issues in less
than 24 hours? Forget it! Issues smaller than that have
paralyzed subdivisions, parties, organizations,etc. Democracy works!
And
that sir, is why I identify with and support the Occupy Movement. It is
about eliminating the democratic deficit...an issue, I believe that is
as important as any.
Kevin
Yours truly has never seen anything like it. It was surreal: A debate on whether or not to recite the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States of America at the beginning of an organization's meeting.
But it did in fact occur at last Saturday's meeting (March 31, 2012) of Occupy Canton.
The SCPR has been following Occupy Canton since last October.
And it has attracted the participation of at least three Stark County public officials; namely, Canton City Councilman Kevin Fisher (Democrat - 5th Ward), recently elected Canton Board of Education member Ida Ross-Freeman and Plain Township Trustee Louis Giavasis. (Giavasis was not at Saturday's meeting and Councilman Fisher and BOE member Ross-Freeman had left the meeting before the extended "Pledge of Allegiance discussion)
In light of Saturday's discussion, one has to wonder whether or not public officials will want to remain identified with the Occupy movement?
Stark Countians will recall that the "occupy movement" sprang on the scene on September 17, 2011 in Zuccotti Park within New York City's Wall Street financial district and thus became known as Occupy Wall Street (OWS).
However, when one realizes (according to a Wikepedia report) that the movement was started by a Canadian "activist" group Adbusters (has a history of setting up demonstrations "around the world') with the objective to protest (in the words of the Wikipedia article):
against social and economic inequality, greed, corruption and the undue influence of corporations on on government—particularly from the financial service sector.Then maybe it is not so strange that there would be members of Occupy Canton that object to the saying of the American Pledge of Allegiance.
On the other hand, the occupy movement does claim to be the 99% (i.e. "We are the 99%) against the top 1%.
As was pointed out during the meeting (which Occupiers call "a General Assembly") by the "pro-pledge folks (led, interesting enough by two former military veterans), OccupyCanton meetings are held in Canton, Stark County, Ohio, in the good "ole" USA.
Wouldn't the vast majority of America's 99% (especially support the reciting the Pledge?
The Report left the meeting early, but one of its "key"members (Eric Vaughan) says that the meeting was not typical of OccupyCanton's General Assembly and that no decision was made at Saturday's meeting as to whether or not the Pledge of Allegiance will be recited at the next meeting presumably scheduled for April 14th at the Canton YWCA (at the corner of Cherry and 6th Street NE) at 2:00 p.m.
In the opinion of the SCPR, discussions/arguments like the Pledge of Allegiance, undermine the ability of OccupyCanton to connect to those Stark Countians who might otherwise share the group's overall and/or some of its specific projects (e.g. opposition to "fracking")
Occupy movements are so loosely organized that the assignation of Vaughn being a "key" member was one assigned by the SCPR, not Vaughn himself.
This, to The Report, is a major weakness of the organization in terms specifically defining itself and agreeing on an agenda and finding consistent leadership.
Leadership within the Occupy movement is not hierarchial (top to bottom). Its model is collegial, shared and distributive.
In fact, the breakdown (in the opinion of the SCPR) in Saturday's meeting is likely to be attributed to the fact that the General Assembly "leader for the day - for organizational purposes only" was thrown into the role at the last minute.
She started off well enough in outlining the agenda for the meeting, to wit:
- announcements
- break out into working groups
- proposals
- consensus (on proposals)
- closing remarks
The "announcements" section of the meeting was the most impressive aspect of it as various members shared prior and future events that OccupyCanton has been/will be engaged in.
It appears to The Report that there was a proposal by a member to do the Pledge of Allegiance before each meeting. However, member Vaughan (not present himself) says his understanding is that the General Assembly never got to the stage of considering proposals.
The Report differs with him in a de facto sense, however, it is clear that no consensus was going to be reached on the matter.
Typically, Vaughan says, at the end of each General Assembly members discuss who will "lead" the next meeting and vote on the matter. Well, for some reason the voted in person could not make it Saturday and Kaye Herbst, a novice (by her own words), took on the task.
The Report has compiled a video of the goings-on at Saturday's meeting including snippets of the Pledge of Allegiance fuss to give readers a glimpse of what goes on at an OccupyCanton General Assembly meeting.
However, be reminded that Vaughan says that the Saturday's meeting is not indicative of a typical Occupy/Canton meeting in that the members did not get through the entire agenda and that it broke up in disharmony.
Here is the video
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