Forum Post: Occupy Public Meetings

Maybe the 'Occupy' movement is heading this way already, but I just had to say .......

Maybe the next step is to occupy the public meetings.

Think of all those empty at all those public meetings; county commission, city council, school board, state house, budgets, taxes, land use ..... Lots and lots of empty seats where the really boring nuts and bolts of our society get hashed over in excruciating detail, and hardly anyone bothers to show up. How about occupying all those empty seats? Make it standing room only.

• Obey all the rules.
• Don't bring anything that will disrupt the meeting.
• If there is a public statement portion, use that to state your issues, but keep it short and within the rules of the meeting; short always gets more positive attention that long and ranting.
• Read the meeting agenda, so you know what they're talking about.
• Do it for months, or as long as it takes; stare them down.
• Meet after the meeting and discuss what you saw/heard.

Doing something like that, month after month, would take a lot of stamina -- there are few things as tedious and un-glamorous as people talking; the action is truly glacial. I suppose that one could still text/twitter from a meeting and a large group wearing matching t-shirts could make a statement without disrupting anything. But occupying public meetings could:

• get headlines; the press loves a crowd.
• get allies among people who would not/could not camp out in a park; if the 'Occupy' movement is to get anywhere it NEEDS ALLIES.
• might even get respect from the elected persons who are sympathetic to your issues.
• make a decent platform for anyone in the 'Occupy' movement who wants to run for office.

At the very least, the buildings are heated/air conditioned and have public bathrooms.

I'm just saying ........