WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT OCCUPY MADISON
Occupy Madison is located at the former Don Miller property in the 800 block of E. Washington.
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Occupy Madison is part of the broader movement sweeping the country and the world that is fundamentally about democracy. We want people to be the deciders, not corporations. There are local occupy actions taking place in cities ranging from Chicago IL and Lincoln Nebraska in the US, and from Karachi Pakistan to Hong Kong,China. The demand for to hold Wall Street accountable is global! Visit www.occupytogether.org for a full list of the over 1,500 participating cities around the world.
General Assemblies
Occupy Madison holds General Assemblies at 6 PM on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, & Sundays On-Site. The GA is a space for democratic decision making. We discuss proposals, form committees, make decisions and then ACT! Join us at the old Don Miller property in the 800 block of E. Washington.
24/7 Occupation Site
In addition to our General Assemblies, Occupy Madison maintains a 24-hour encampment of the Occupation grounds, with full support of Madison PD and the City of Madison officials.
The Don Miller Lot was granted to us by the City for use on an indefinite basis. “Reasonable” standards with regard to health/safety needs and noise levels, and of course other city ordinances and laws regarding appropriate behavior in public areas will continue to be observed. We deeply appreciate the City of Madison’s willingness to work with us and be flexible regarding our group’s desires for free speech and political expression, understanding how Occupy does not follow traditional models of political organizational structures.
We maintain tents for sleeping, a Food Tent for community meals, a supplies tent to store donations and cold-weather supplies. We are currently working on constructing a large enclosed space that can be heated so that our GA’s can withstand the cold Wisconsin Winter months.
For full preparation and planning for Visiting at Occupy Madison, go here
For a list of Donation Needs that our Site could use, go here
Work Groups: For a Full List, go to: Working Groups
After GA decisions, Work Groups take up the responsibility of carrying out the various tasks that the Occupation needs. There are many Work Groups at Occupy Madison to participate in, including facilitation, outreach, and art. Visit the Information Booth on site to learn more.
To form a Work Group, all it takes is for a group of people to identify a need—such as food, discussion facilitation, education, etc to start one. Work Groups are also a place to develop and fine-tune proposals which can then be bring to the body of the General Assembly (that’s you!) to discuss and decide. Then we carry out that decision… that’s democracy.
What do we stand for?
We are beholden to no political affiliation, and simply seek to create a democratic space where the 99% can begin to represent, speak, and act for ourselves. We reject all political parties—they exist in a system run by corporate money. This is a movement growing out of people’s anger over the corporate domination of politics (from the President on down) and the reshaping of society to corporate interests. We are fed up with the traditional mechanisms of political expression, and this is why we take our movement to the streets. We know that voting is NOT a place where the average person’s needs can be responded to. We see power in gathering together to practice direct democracy to hold those accountable who hold the entire system: the media, the government, and the economy hostage to their will. We are uniting in cities all over the world, we are speaking louder and dreaming bigger—to push away the nightmare of pessimism and grief that the 1% holds out as the last scrap of doubt that pits us against each other.
For the working document of Demands ratified by Occupy Madison’s General Assembly, go here
Hello! I am so glad to read about Occupy Madison today! Thanks for all of the great organizing work you are doing. My friend Sophia and I are travelling from Occupy Ashland Oregon on December 13 (after we help shut down the west coast ports!). We plan to stop in Montana a few days then head onward to Minneapolis and Madison. I am headed to Washington DC to participate in the January 2 fast supporting Bradley Manning and the GITMO prisoners. We would like to stop and visit Occupy Madison around December 18-20. Do you have room for new folks to join you in either one of your tents or outside in our own tent. Or, do you have anyone offering floor space in a home for Occupy travellers? We will be continuing to travel eastward after Madison so if any of your occupiers have 2 seats in a vehicle we could also use that and can contribute gas money towards the trip. Depending on timing, we may just be heading to Chicago and would just need that ride. Thanks! I look forward to hearing from you. Sincerely, Deb
You are welcome to come by. If we don’t have space on site, we’ll find a place for you to crash. No worries, happy travels!
Thanks for carrying on the struggle. Hope to stop by Monday.