Falling through the cracks

So, here's a little background about Thaddeus, the guy who needed to have 5 teeth pulled.

Thaddeus was diagnosed at age 5 with Cerebral Palsy. This is a condition that is typically diagnosed before age 10, and is a condition that is "a group of neurological disorders that affect the part of the brain controlling body movement and muscle coordination."

So, Thaddeus shakes. It's pretty clear that there is something not working properly. Consequently, Thaddeus was put on disability at about age 5, when he was diagnosed, and expected to be there for life. There is no known cure for Cerebral Palsy.

But, apparently a few years ago, Thaddeus got thrown in jail, and when he got out, they denied his disability. They told him, since he had no records of this disability, he would have to obtain them to qualify for disability payments.

If anyone has been in jail, you will know that when you get out, they send you off with something like "$50 and a new suit." Thaddeus had no way to re-certify his disability, no money to pay the price for a doctor.

So he kicked around for a while. Lived with some people for a while in an abandoned house, but had to leave there when the police were called. But in Elkhart, we have a public plaza with live electric and wifi, and so he gravitated to the plaza. He has a old laptop that he got somewhere and he guards possessively. This was his connection to hope.

He was at the plaza the day Occupy Elkhart landed there also. He tells me that he was terrified when OE arrived, thinking only that they were a church group or something and they would demand he leave.

Instead, he found an Occupation.

Thaddeus had *tried* to get his disability back. He has a local lawyer he is working with, but despite several calls (many that I have prompted), no one seems to have had the foresight, knowledge, or perhaps, just interest, to work through what is needed to document his disability. I finally sat Thaddeus down and said, "ok, where were you treated and diagnosed? When? What's their address? How do we contact them?"

We got forms in this week from two medical facilities/hospitals for consent to release information. These will go out and hopefully we will get some documentation. From there, hopefully we can work through the other piles of paperwork to get him re-certified.

But here's the kicker: Thaddeus has a state ID with a medical ID alert on the back confirming he has Cerebral Palsy. I don't know what it takes to get the alert, but probably the level of required documentation is not as much. But Thaddeus tells me he went to a plasma bank, several months back, to try to sell plasma to get a little money.

He was turned down due to the medical ID alert on his state ID. The plasma guy said, unfortunately, that with a medical condition such as this, he would need to have a release from his doctor saying it was ok for him to give plasma.

So, Thaddeus can't get medical care because he has no money. If he gets any medical or dental care, since he has no income he can document, he has to paid full price (the reason why it cost $750 to have 5 teeth pulled), and yet, if he tries to do something like donate plasma to earn a few bucks, he's turned down because he's disabled.

I think Thaddeus has fallen through every crack ever invented. So I'm determined to not let him fall through any more.

This is why I do what I do. And this is why I Occupy.

I'm not sure I believe in Angels, but I do believe in Humanity.

I have been really slow in getting this post up, but please forgive me. I've been recently floored by one contributor who stepped up unasked and agreed to pay the full amount for the dentist bill that one of our Occupiers recently had. Thaddeus was homeless when Occupy Elkhart set up in the plaza where he would frequently go. He listened to what people were saying, and decided to join our group. Now he's out here at Mishawaka Road.

Ok, so some people have questioned whether or not this is money well spent. Some have suggested that we can't both change the world and take care of the world's least fortunate. That maybe we have to make some hard choices about where we put our resources.

But I'm sorry, we are the world, every last one of us. But I will let our "Angel" contributor speak now (with permission). This is what humanity looks like:
______________________

Alright, I made the offer to pay the dentist bill and ever since then my inbox has been a flutter with messages, both thanking me and trying to explain the whole situation too me. I feel like I need to explain myself.

First let me say, the only person that I know in this group is Ed Jensen. Ed and I have been amigos close to 20 yrs. Nobody, including Ed said anything to me about paying the bill. It was my own decision.

Secondly, let me explain my involvement in the occupy movement. I got involved in the middle of September as an organizer for the Occupation of Indianapolis. On October 8th when the occupation began I was on security detail, which was really unnecessary, there were no security issues. It was beautiful. Just like we knew it would be. Great speeches, unity, humor, marching. It was fucking fabulous.

I had this feeling that I couldn't explain. this feeling like I was about to realize something that I had always known but had never expressed.

So I'm at the Occupation doing "security" on the first day. I had been just talking to strangers, really talking to them, ya know. Listening, ya know, really listening. And this TV Reporter came up to me and asked me why I was there. Without even thinking about it I said that I was there because I believed in the dignity of humanity. And that I was tired of living in a world where greed was put above humanity and dignity wasn't even a consideration anymore.

That's why I'm a part of the occupy movement. That's why I offered to pay the bill. The situation or reasons behind how the dental bill happened really dont matter. They really don't. Whether or not the work needed to be done or if it was elective is completely unimportant too me.

I don't know the man who had the dental work done. I've never met him I know nothing of him personally. What I do know is that he's a human being......

He is someone son, someones grandson. He may be someones father, someones brother. Just like we all are.

He has a history, a story to tell. He may have huge problems to over come. He may have already over come everything that he's gonna in this lifetime. Just like the rest of us.

There but for the grace of God go I

Go all of us

I offered to pay the bill because people took this unknown, to me, man to the dentist to help him out. To restore some dignity to humanity......

Paying the bill was the least I could do. I believe that when we reach back and help those less fortunate than us we create a better world for all of us.

That what I thought all this occupy stuff was about.

It makes no sense to me to take to the streets in civil disobedience in protest over greed and then argue about money.....

The issues of the homeless are many. They're complicated, complex difficult things to understand, make sense of, let alone find a reasonable working solution too.

But, be that as it may, for me, I'm gonna side on the side of humanity, every fucking time I have a chance too.

There's an awful lot of occu-drama out there if I want to buy into it.

There's a lot of stuff that happens in the occupation that I don't necessarly agree with. When something happens or is happening that I don't see eye to eye with, I share my experience, my concerns and thoughts, let the process happen, and if it goes forward, I cut it the fuck loose.

Because in the end I need to support the movement as a whole. Because I do support the movement.

Were never gonna agree on everything. We all have our own truth that we're working towards. Our own world views and understanding. But we must not allow those differences to destroy our unity of purpose.

We must fight to keep the ties the bind us together stronger than those that would tear us apart.

In Solidarity

Scott Michael
__________

We are "we the people"; we will heal this nation
I might have lost my job, but I found an occupation


If you enjoy this blog, please consider donating to our continued occupation here in Elkhart
https://www.wepay.com/donations/the_new_elkhart_project

I invited Ed "Occupy" Jenson to write a post about what's been going on here. It's been a bit intensive, which is why no posts for a couple of days. But Ed sums  it up pretty well....

OK, we are back. It has been a shit storm (thank you Terri... you have me using the term "shit storm" frequently now... this cowboy didn't know this was gonna happen when I signed on with this outfit) here for the last day or so, with a certain small crew giving us lots of grief over procedural issues.

Ladies and gentlemen, may I submit to you that an emergency situation requires SOMETHING BE DONE NOW. Decisive action was taken. We neither took monies from the OE general fund, nor did we solicit said monies. WE DID ask for donations... people ask for donations all the time. Sick cats, sick kids, meds... asking for help in America is nothing new. The issue that confronts us as a movement, I believe, is the MENTALITY in this country that it is a cardinal sin to ask for help. Somehow, as a society we have bought into the notion that when someone is down on their luck, they and only they themselves are to blame for their plight. What about compassion, altruism? What about the greater good?

Someone did, of their own volition, come forward and donate the cost of this particular expense. Nobody solicited this donor directly for ANY support. He took it upon himself to put up the money, which was a substantial amount.

This is what solidarity looks like.

12/17/11
We just got back from the plaza in Elkhart today, a small group of us standing in the snow, still Occupying.

Ok, so most of Elkhart still thinks we're crazy, and maybe more so now that we're out standing in the snow. But anytime we're at the plaza (every Saturday at 2, without fail; other special ops by appointment), we really get a lot of positive reinforcement. People honk and wave (ok, to be honest, a few wave the finger instead). But for the most part, they are really glad to see us. Some of them are REALLY enthusiastic...occasionally driving by honking and waving, hanging out of the window, screaming "I really love you guys!"

Today, we just had four of us there. Other days are better, especially when the weather is better, but today just four of us stood in the cold. We laughed...we always laugh, and for some reason, we find real joy in just this stubborn persistence. We are not going away. Ed commented today "people are even more enthusiastic now because they're starting to see we're not leaving." So yes, we're determined, and maybe a little crazy, too. But we do know, and are learning more every day, about what is wrong with this world, and how we can fix it.

So I've had a lot of conversations lately with friends who started questioning my sanity when I joined Occupy. They are good friends. I've known them a long time, and so I can't really get angry when they come and basically say, "we think you've gone crazy." But then I explain to them; it takes some time. About basic economics, about credit default swaps, about fiat currency and what money really is, and how we got in this mess in the first place. And slowly they start coming around.

So I hope to try to explain some of that here on this blog too. I promise not too much. Sometimes when I'm reading and figuring things out, my head hurts afterwards for a day straight. I promise not to inflict too much here.

But when you start to figure it all out, when the pieces start to fall into place and you start to understand why "we" occupy, then I think you can't help but conclude that this is a very good thing for our nation, and our world.

We are "we the people"; we will heal this nation
I might have lost my job, but I found an occupation


If you enjoy this blog, please consider donating to our continued occupation here in Elkhart
https://www.wepay.com/donations/the_new_elkhart_project

Anon Culture and Cointelpro

Nov. 22
We all know that OWS is worried about getting co-opted by a political party or other group. On my city's Occupy FB group, we have had one political hopeful, in particular, who has joined the group and has been pretty actively campaigning on the group. I've met with this guy a few times and I honestly think he's supportive of the Occupy movement and, in general, what it stands for. But there's also a huge disconnect between what I guess I'll call "normal" politics and the new politics that the Occupys seem to be shaping.

I give Anonymous the credit and/or blame for this.

Last night on the group was the perfect example. Someone on the group had posted something about the politician, something like "I really appreciate Andrew's grasp on the current problems" or something similar. This was just an individual posting an opinion, but it did give Andrew an opening to post something about his ideas or platform, and so he did.

Then another member of the group, Adam, posted something about being concerned that Andrew and/or his party was trying to take over our Occupy. Andrew objected, Adam persisted, others started chiming in, and so it all devolved pretty quickly into a shitstorm. Well anyone from WITP knows how that goes.

So I'm watching this, and putting in my own 2 cents, when suddenly I get a PM from Andrew the politician saying "Hey, I think this Adam is working for my opponent. I've got a lot of experience spotting them." Cointelpro.

Now Adam is one of our group members that I tried (rather unsuccessfully, I might add) to describe earlier. He's youngish, maybe 30, huge grin, and can typically be seen on the corner wielding his protest sign like a well-tuned weapon of lulz, Guy Fawkes mask strategically placed on the back of his head. He's been coming to the GAs since the very beginning, and he's been pretty active at the marches, protests, whatever. So if I had to choose just one person from our group that I would say is definitely Anon, Adam would be it. It's not just the Guy Fawkes mask. It's his attitude, practically oozing from every pore: "Fuck fear. I will live and never stop."

So when Andrew says he's really "quite sure" this guy is cointelpro, I could hardly keep from laughing. I told Andrew, "No, I'm pretty sure he's just Anon. It's a different culture, you know."

Explaining the hivemind to a NORP, actually, a superNORP, as I expect all politicians must be, is not an easy task. First, even using the term "hivemind" automatically gives the wrong impression, as I found when I told Andrew he just needed to understand the hivemind.

"What?" he asked. "Borg?"

"No, no," I typed. "Completely different."

And, as usual, when I'm trying to explain or describe something about Anonymous, I ended up quoting FFAD/Telemachos. He seems to have a much better understanding than I do:

FFAD/Telemachos wrote:
"If we truly develop a hivemind community that calls itself "Anonymous", then we need to understand and agree upon what Anonymous really means, because really, all of our culture and philosophy, all of our actions, arise from that single point of meta-agreement. Anonymous as it was originally conceived only truly exists within the collective intelligence of those who hold this idea in common. This is a hard and fast rule. Anonymous only exists in the hivemind, and can only be understood in the plural sense, of those who are self-aware Anonymous.

"Anonymous is an idea that anyone can have and share in, and even have their own idea about. If there is a disagreement about what Anonymous is, then with this meta-agreement, we have a basis for agreeing to disagree on certain points. In addition, this gives us a basis for collaboration and organizing further.

"When you are in Anonymous, you are one of a myriad of nameless, faceless individuals. You cannot be singled out nor even attacked for your actions, for to attack one is to attack all. When Anonymous has no cause they are a herd of cats. When they do, they are a swarm of angry hornets. Anonymous is a brotherhood, and yes, a sisterhood as well, that knows its own, and takes care of its own.

"I call for a community of intelligent, constructive trolls and activists. Anonymous knows when to be serious, and when to have fun; hacktivism to keep the Internet free and change the world, and trolling constructively for the lulz.

"We level the playing field by making information free, and we do it for the lulz.

"You are free to have your own idea about what Anonymous is."

"And I must add," I told Andrew, "that not everyone in Anonymous agrees with this definition."

"I'm a lawyer," Andrew responded. "I'm also running for Congress. Much more of me is not anonymous than other people, by and large."

So here's the big difference between the NORP/superNORP cultures and the Anonymous culture, and I suspect this will become even more pronounced as this movement grows and evolves.

"Yes, exactly." I told Andrew. "I think Anons have gotten a taste of the freedom that comes from being Anonymous...literally anonymous, and being able to say whatever they want without repercussion. So, now they do. Whenever."

"I was just advised by a friend that I need to do LESS of that!" Andrew responded.

LULZY indeed!

By now, on the group, our Admin had finally gotten on and deleted the whole shitstorm thread (there are no /b/asements on FB, and from what I understand, there's also no true delete, but I digress). One of our other members who had been thick in the fray with Adam started a new thread:

Bret: that's done
Bret: sorry again.
Adam: LoL Good call.
me: Yep, you guys keep me on my toes! What would I do for entertainment without you two? ♥

And then quiet. PEACE. Just a herd of cats, looking for the next reason to pounce and play.
__________________

So that is the hivemind. I have a working theory that WITP was an intensive, 3-month course in the Anon culture. Not that anyone planned it to be that way. If it were planned, I doubt it would have ever happened. But somehow, what was birthed and developed in that environment was a strange alchemy between the Channers, old-time activists and NORP/activist wannabes. And I think the key WAS (IS?) being anonymous, as has been often theorized. That in some way, the anonymous nature of the Internet and especially anonymous/psuedononymous forums allows a part of the psyche to be fed, perhaps the ID, or perhaps it is just a feeding of the whole psyche. A time and a place where human spirits can escape from the continuous and often harsh repercussions of the real world. And become, if only for an instant or two, free.

Not to suggest that there are not repercussions, too, in that world. Or to suggest that anyone can be truly anonymous, much less Anonymous. But I'll have to go into that another time.

Tomorrow we're supposed to have a "Black Friday OP" and I'll get a chance to talk with Adam about how he needs to stop being cointelpro. I wonder if he'll find that as hilarious as I did?

Dear Occupy Diary

NOTE: This is a part of a different online diary/blog that I started on November 17th, 2011. I will copy those relevant posts here, then continue with new posts here where things are more open to the public. Thanks for reading.

Ok, it occurred to me that I am missing a great opportunity to journal my experiences with a local Occupy and to get some feedback (maybe) in the process, so I'm setting up this thread to record, and if anyone else has experiences to share on the same subject, please chime in.

For the record, I'm working with the Occupy Elkhart group in Elkhart, IN, USA. Elkhart is a pretty small city, population of 51,000 in 2010. Heretofore, its claim to fame was as the "RV capital of the world" (no joke). That pretty much changed with the meltdown which resulted in many RV manufacturing plants locally closing, and the city and county with an unemployment rate that, at one point, was nearing 17%.

Ahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elkhart,_IndianaI

Around Jan 1, 2009, MSNBC announced that they would follow the city of Elkhart for a year to see how it weathered through the financial crisis. You can read about MSNBC's "Elkhart Project" here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31369315/ns/us_news-the_elkhart_project/

Ok, I won't go into right now how I got involved in the local Occupy Elkhart, or try to catch up to explain all of the personalities involved. I hope this will come out in the course of the journal. I will say that, when Occupy Elkhart started here, I tweeted MSNBC and told them that "Elkhart has a new project" and asked if they were interested. We haven't heard from MSNBC directly, but Rachael Maddow did mention (just barely, but still) Occupy Elkhart on one of her broadcasts. So yea, I guess we're famous :-)

I'm going to try and be disciplined and write a bit every day, but no promises. I'm pretty busy. Or, if enough people say "shut up," I likely will.

Tomorrow I will put down more, but for now, I'm dead tired. I spent 3 hours earlier tonight dancing with a sign at the plaza. And had the time of my life.