via Occupy Charlotte

Calling on all Occupiers and friends of the Occupy Movement –

At the beginning of September, Charlotte, NC will host the 2012 Democratic National Convention. The Democratic Party has chosen this “Wall Street of the South” as its rallying city despite North Carolina being one of the most anti-union states in the country and despite Charlotte being the home of several corporate criminals, most notably Bank of America, one of the mega-banks most responsible for the 2008 economic meltdown. Charlotte holds the second largest concentration of finance capital in the United States, the East Coast headquarters of Wells Fargo, the new home of human-rights offender Chiquita, and the home of Duke Energy, which recently merged with Progress Energy, making Duke the largest energy monopoly in the country.

These corporate targets alone are reason enough to OCCUPY WALL STREET SOUTH. But early September will also provide the opportunity to OCCUPY THE DNC, to demonstrate to the country and the world that we know corporations own our politicians and ANOTHER WORLD IS POSSIBLE.

Both the Democratic and Republican Parties are controlled by moneyed interests and the 1%, and the Occupy Movement will hold both Parties accountable at the RNC in Tampa in August and at the DNC in Charlotte in September. We cannot allow this two-party system and its corporate puppeteers to determine our country’s destiny. While we recognize the historical significance of President Obama’s election, we will not sit idly by as the Administration favors corporations and the 1%, tramples civil liberties, and wages tragic wars.

We will continue to hold President Obama’s Administration accountable for refusing to close Guantanamo Bay, for not insisting on true universal healthcare, for deporting our immigrant brothers and sisters in record numbers, for working to expedite approval of the Keystone XL pipeline, for signing the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), for utilizing secret kill lists, for continuing to wage perpetual warfare, for failing to bring to justice those responsible for the economic crisis, and for its documented systematic effort to quash Occupations throughout the country.

We will continue to hold the Democratic Party accountable for pandering to corporate interests, including the military industrial complex which has caused the deaths of millions around the world; for inadequately funding social programs, education, health care, and infrastructure; for encouraging financial fraud by granting amnesties and bailout money and by rehiring financial criminals to the Administration’s Cabinet and to the Treasury Department; for promoting worldwide distrust of and animosity towards the United States through a dangerously expanding imperialistic war economy; and for colluding with the Republican Party to thwart ballot-access to third-party and independent candidates.

We will continue to hold Charlotte’s Democrat-controlled City Council accountable for passing repressive and unconstitutional permanent changes to the Charlotte City Code which restrict free speech and assembly, open wide the door for profiling protesters and the homeless, and evicted the peaceful protest taking place on The People’s Lawn of Old City Hall.

And we will continue to hold WALL STREET SOUTH accountable for abusing and profiting off of the hard work and perseverance of ordinary people — the 99% — and giving nothing in return but layoffs, foreclosures, and demands for corporate welfare.

We want a true democracy. A country by and for the People. Not a country by and for the corporations and the 1%.

We the People of Occupy Charlotte call on all People willing and able to join us here in Charlotte for an OCCUPATION OF THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION from September 1st – 6th. There will be many opportunities to take action before and during the Convention. THE MARCH ON WALL STREET SOUTH will take place on Sunday, September 2nd.

If you cannot be with us here in Charlotte, take action in your own community on September 6th when President Obama accepts the nomination. Find the closest Democratic Party campaign office and protest the misdeeds of the Administration, the Democratic Party and the two-party system, and the corporations who control currently control our electoral process and buy our representatives.

When you arrive in Charlotte, please be mindful that Occupy Charlotte is a nonviolent movement. Other Occupations have experienced violent police repression. However, the majority of officers within the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department have treated Occupy Charlotte with respect and vice versa. We hope that this respectful relationship will continue well past the Democratic National Convention, and we appreciate any efforts visitors can make to help us maintain this relationship.

Interested in being involved with the planning, making a donation, or finding out more about Charlotte? Please visit occupyclt.net and occupythednc.us.

OCCUPY THE DNC!
OCCUPY WALL STREET SOUTH!
OCCUPY CHARLOTTE!

[editor's note: Other actions going on during the DNC can be found at the Coalition to March on Wall Street South. See also: The autonomous Occupy the Military Industrial Complex DemCon 2012 Peace Camp and the "Occupy to Free Pfc. Manning & Reclaim Charlotte Streets" Dance Party.]