Occupy London received eviction notices on November 8th. There was an official press conference, and many “notice and order” papers were taped at the occupation site (on all of the tents, on street poles in the park, on the occupation porta-potty, etc).
I sent the following statement to the London, Ontario mayor, and to the city councillors. These words were e-mailed in to those officials about 9 hours before the occupation site was forcibly evicted.
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London officials:
Please respect the Occupy London safe space statement:
“Everyone has a right to feel safe and valuable. Safe space is a communal responsibility. It means being safe from sexual harassment, physical assault, verbal threat and abuse, racism, sexism, colonialism, classism, ablism, ageism, homophobia, transphobia, and all forms of oppression. We encourage the whole assembly to develop their own sense of what a safe space society would look and feel like. We encourage everyone to be conscious and respectful to the safety of others.”
Michael Ignatieff (the head of the Liberal Party) dropped by a public skating rink here in London, Ontario for a photo op. Some of us were waiting to greet him with a protest.
A Food Not Bombs table also was set up well before Ignatieff stopped by.
During the protest, some of us stood on the stage, facing the skating rink. (The Liberal Party had set up a hot chocolate dispenser on there beforehand.)
Our main chant was “Hey Mike, what’s the story? Why you acting like a Tory?”
There also were chants about the mining bill (c-300), war resisters, mining justice and climate justice.
Other protest photos are posted on Facebook — here. (Keep clicking “Previous” to see those photos.)
Here is a Liberal Party video of the photo op — with the protest edited out. You won’t see us in the Party’s official photos either.
Below, there is some more writing that adds to that piece. First, here are some remarks about the Waging Nonviolence post -
That post revolves around a monument which is dedicated to women in a campaign against nuclear cruise missiles at a military base in the UK (at the Greenham Common, in Berkshire). I’ve provided some background and context — while highlighting a history of wider campaigns.
The nuclear issues foregrounded in the title actually are just part of the post; feminism, anti-militarism, and ecology all are raised in there as well.
There also is a little writing about me. One of the editors suggested that I should write about my personal experiences at the monument site. I mainly wrote myself in there like that to convey what it is like to see the monument. Basically, I’ve communicated what it’s like to see it without a grasp of the inside references there. It’s more likely that the monument would resonate with people from the UK, but there must be a lot of people over there who don’t know anything about the Greenham Common networks and peace camp.
“Dayenu! (Enough!).Enough suffering inflicted on the surviving families in Gaza who are hungry, thirsty, cold, frightened, wounded, traumatized for life, and bereaved. Enough. And enough suffering on the other side of the fence in Sderot and environs, too. (Their fates are inextricably intertwined; all our fates are inextricably intertwined.)
The generals and the militants have had their day, for the nth time – and at the end of it, as usual, all that we (any of us) have now, as a result, is war crimes and grief. War crimes and grief and fear. War crimes, grief, fear, hatred, and despair… with thousands of injured and disabled people bearing the burden most directly, forever.
Enough! Israelis are more afraid now than before, and more at risk, too. Time to ABANDON this insane strategy that we (any of us) can force people to love us, or anyhow accept us, by killing them!”
“They have lost everything and their situation is dire. We in Israel have lost our moral compass and we want to reclaim it.”
The event consisted of music and a series of speeches, followed by a relatively “silent march” through the streets of downtown London—albeit without filling Dundas or other major streets, while also avoiding the folk festival at Victoria Park. The rally certainly was not aggressive.
