By Christina Fermin
Politics & Society Columnist
This past Saturday, October 8, 2011 our very own Fort Lauderdale, Florida held its first General Assembly meeting for Occupy Fort Lauderdale and I was there. When I first found out about the meeting, I did not know what to expect, who to expect or what to do, but I was determined to go in solidarity with Occupy Wall street and their movement against corruption, greed and the injustice that has touched every one of us. I must say upon arriving I felt nervous, tense, excited, happy, overwhelmed and fearful all at the same time. In the end, I was glad I went and I look forward to what we as a collective will do.
Because of the rain and the nasty weather, I was not expecting much of a turnout even though the advertised event on the Facebook page: Occupy Fort Lauderdale, said over 300 people would be coming. I was expecting less but the turnout was between 250-300 people of all races, ethnicities, backgrounds, beliefs, ideologies and faiths. We first began with Rules, a speech and the Declaration of the Occupation of New York City. Afterward we moved to another space where the acoustics were better and it gave a bit more room than from where we began. After a few speeches and claps from the crowd, people began telling their stories. Just as in NY, we used the "people's mic" so all could hear; this is when speech is broken up into pieces so that those who around the person talking repeat what is being said in unison for all to hear, and may I just say, how wonderfully awesome this technique is.
The stories were different, but similar in many ways. Many of us in the crowd could relate. A women who had recently finished her graduate degree and was a doctor with over $1000 per month in interests fees alone for her student loan debt, with no hope of ever paying down her principle. Another woman who had worked on Wallstreet and never fully understood what was going on, but knew it was shady. A man who had read an email from his best friend whose wife worked for a CEO who was part of the 2%, this CEO had sacrificed dozens of workers just to receive a paycheck for a week’s worth of work, when he could have easily gone without pay and never have missed it. She said he was so disconnected from reality and the 98% of the people, she had been disgusted by her boss and his friends behavior. A women with two degrees who could not find work. A man who had to travel over 1000 miles just to find work.
Aside from the stories of injustice and helplessness, a gentleman spoke about free energy and the suppression of such technology. He told me about how his father had created a device in the 1950s that allowed his car to run off water and 9 cents of gas to travel around the country. The oil companies sued him when he began installing these devices in other peoples cars. Not wanting to lose his home, he gave up in the 1960s and walked away from all the litigation. We also spoke of Nikola Tesla and his electromagnetic machine as well as his wireless energy he created and how J.P. Morgan, J.D. Rockefeller and H. Ford shut him down and hid away his technology in the turn of the century because they could not make money off his inventions.
The following day, October 8, the General Assembly held another meeting at a different location down the street. This time we had broken into groups: Media, Facilitation, Outreach, Legal, Mission Statement and Direct Action. Naturally I joined the media group and we introduced ourselves and what we could contribute. Afterward we reconvened and all the groups declared their goals and purpose. We also decided to have another meeting Wednesday, October 12 at 7 pm at Huizenga Plaza at Bubier Park. I encourage all of you to come out, support the movement and get involved in a wonderful process. If you cannot make it, please clear your calendars for Saturday October 15 at 11 am for a demonstration in solidarity with the World for global change, location to be determined. Already there are Occupy movements in over 1,100 cities and by this weekend it will spread to hundreds if not thousands of international cities. We are the 99%, join us.
Peace & Harmony,
Christina
About the Columnist
With a bachelors degree in political science from Florida Atlantic University, Christina Fermin has always cultivated her love for history, politics, sociology, ancient knowledge and teachings, the outdoors, the ocean and the environment. Christina strives to make our world better by helping us all create a new reality and understanding of all taking place here and now.
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