To the people of Valdosta and South Georgia —Occupy Valdosta

Posted today in Occupy Valdosta's facebook page:

To the people of Valdosta and South Georgia

We, the local citizens occupying Valdosta, urge you to assert your power.

Exercise your right to peaceably assemble; to nonviolently occupy public space; to create an open process to address the problems we face, and to generate solutions accessible to everyone.

Our issues are varied, yet related.

We seek

open discussions on important issues which have been ignored. We seek to unite a long overdue people's movement, bringing together people from all walks of life, to improve the

quality of life for everyone, not just for a few.

We need a local free press, including print, radio, TV, and online text, pictures, and video, that covers events and issues of local importance to the local community, not just of importance to selected parts of the business community.

We need a level playing field, where everyone has the chance to attain the American Dream, with equal rights and justice for all, regardless of age, the color of ones skin, gender identity, or sexual orientation.

We need a workable solution to the problem of poverty so that people have security of basic food and shelter, so that parents can pay attention to their children, and so that children can learn.

We need a quality, affordable, public education system, at both the college and the K-12 levels, designed and operated by educators for education, not by business for profit. Our community needs business to focus on business and so educators can focus on educating our children.

We need to end the school to prison pipeline and to reduce the shamefully high incarceration rate that Georgia leads in the nation and the nation leads in the world, most immediately by refusing to accept a private prison.

We need transparent government which is of, by and for the people and not of, by and for corporations. Decisions by elected and appointed public officials should be made in open meetings, with open records available to all.

All local governments need to recognize that builders and developers are not a privileged class, and their desire to make a profit is not more important than a clean environment nor the rights of neighbors, agriculture, forests, or taxpayers. Sprawl is a sure path to fiscal disaster, and new housing should be encouraged to locate near existing services.

We need separation of corporation and state, including fundamental campaign finance reform which ends unlimited corporate donations to candidates and elected officials. Local referendum campaign contributions should be made public.

Automobiles are not a privileged class. Our community needs public transportation, and it needs to be more bicycle friendly and pedestrian friendly.

Our community needs to move ahead with renewable and sustainable energy such as solar, wind, efficiency, and conservation, for jobs, health, and a clean environment, and to enhance national security by reducing dependence on foreign oil and other remote fossil fuels.

Our community needs a banking system that provides needed services such as financing renewable and sustainable energy and charges reasonable fees.

We need to end corporate greed and have corporations pay their fair share of taxes.

The Federal Reserve should be audited by a citizen watch group, and reformed or abolished.

We need real immigration reform that provides for humane treatment of immigrants, a clear path to citizenship, a work force for farmers and other employers, and minimal competition with domestic labor.

Our community needs to support local agriculture with minimal pesticides and local farmers markets and stores, for jobs, health, and community.

Our community needs to be good stewards of all our resources. We do not need to be Tallahassee or Jacksonville or Atlanta to be a vibrant, educated, employed, and cooperating community.

Comments

[Barbara Stratton]

Now I understand why you don't like it when I protest against UN Agenda 21. Everything you posted here is straight from the UN Agenda 21 blueprint. There ultimate goal is to get the entire population corraled into designated areas (actually stacked on top of each other in high rises) so personal vehicles can be outlawed with public transportation being the only option. One thing you won't like is you & everyone else who owns land will have to relinguish it to the government so you can forget private food production. On the positive for your viewpoint all the rich landowners & developers will also lose all their private property & their money no matter how powerful they think they are. Don't think that because you've chosen what you believe to be the correct side you will be allowed to keep what you have. All private property will be taken in by the government. The beginning of the process is public/private partnerships where the private owner/business is led to believe they are profitting from the arrangement when in reality they are giving control of their property/business/non-profit over to government entities. It looks good & is profitable to begin with, but when the time is right the government will exercise its right to total control. The ultra ultra rich the left is protesting about will be the only winners. Do you not ever wonder why people like George Soros supports Occupy Wall Street when he is one of the worst offenders of the protest lists. They give out grant monies & endowments, especially for education, that are designed to ultimately benefit their agendas & fool people into believing they are social justice benefactors.

Anyway I support your right to peacefully express your views. I've been displaced by greedy middle management individuals who took everything for themselves so I can identify with some of your points, but definitely not all. Even if I agreed with everything you are marching for I would never identify my support with what is going on in NY & other cities. I was sent a photo on FB of a male bearing his bottom to take a dump on an American flag in front of a cheering crowd in NY. That is mob mentality & not something I would identify myself with for any reason. I'm sure nothing like that will be allowed by your group here in Valdosta, but you are still associating yourselves with that mob mentality & eventually they will come here too.

[Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange]

Barbara,

"I've been displaced by greedy middle management individuals who took everything for themselves so I can identify with some of your points, but definitely not all."

I, for one, would be interested in hearing which points are which in your mind. Specifically which points as actually written in the document, rather than whatever these other things are you're referring to that are not in the document.

-jsq