"Declaration
of the Occupation of New York City THIS DOCUMENT WAS ACCEPTED BY THE NYC
GENERAL ASSEMBLY ON SEPTEMBER 29, 2011 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 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, who are responsible for 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 or provide relief
in order to protect investments that have already turned a substantial 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."
