Now in its fifth week, the Occupy Wall Street solidarity protesters in Burlington are beginning to channel their energy into more direct action.

Demonstrators plan to stage an actual occupation — of City Hall Park — starting this Friday.

On Sunday, about 150 people gathered in City Hall Park and marched up and down Church Street. Back at the park, the crowd held a “speak out” and “general assembly.” The latter resembles a large town meeting, where facilitators help people make proposals to the group — either to form subgroups or take collective action — and bring specific proposals on which the assembly can vote.

The biggest “Occupy Vermont” rally to date was last Saturday, when as many as 500 people gathered in City Hall Park and marched through downtown Burlington. At last Sunday’s weekly rally, about 250 people came together and held Burlington’s first general assembly. From that meeting, several subgroups were formed — including ones focused on direct action, anti-misogyny, the economy, and media.

After a brief report from the spokesman for the “strategy working group,” a demonstrator who identified himself only as Will, the rally-goers agreed to occupy City Hall Park starting at 3 p.m. this coming Friday. The occupation will last through the weekend.

When asked what the purpose of the occupation will be, Will replied, “That’s a good question. We’re open to suggestions.”

People planning to camp out for the weekend should bring tents, sleeping bags, food and other things to keep themselves “comfortable,” said Will. People who have extra camping gear were encouraged to bring it.

This is the status of the nascent “Occupy” movement that is bringing together socialists and libertarians, peaceniks and labor activists, veterans and students. There is no one unifying message, platform or list of easy-to-recite demands.

In general, the crowd wants justice and fairness, and wants big government and big business to stop messing around with little folk. And, they want to stop the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, reform the Federal Reserve, get rid of the two-party political system, call on the University of Vermont to craft fair budgets for students and workers and — last but not least — close Vermont Yankee.

Additional occupations are in the works. The University of Vermont is one possible location as is Vermont Yankee, according to rally attendees who have attended a so-called “strategy working group.”

“There are other places we are thinking to occupy that might get us into trouble,” said Will. “Because of that, we’re not saying where that might be in order to keep the element of surprise on our side.”

Matthew Cropp, one of the early organizers of Vermont’s Occupy rallies, suggested a group of people picket outside of one of the large, out-of-state banks.

Al Salzman, a retired teacher from Franklin County, made the trek to Burlington to unveil his latest protest sign, a police tape-style banner that read: “Shumlin’s Budget = Mortal Idiocy & Cruelty! Makes the Rich Richer & Screws the Elderly & Poor!” Under these words were written, “We’re all Greeks,” referencing the unrest in Greece over austerity measures being taken to keep the country from complete insolvency.

Salzman said he wants to channel some of the pent-up anger and frustration at Wall Street toward things closer to home, for instance the state budget. He hopes more people begin paying attention to the budget-cutting measures being weighed in Montpelier.

Gov. Peter Shumlin has asked agency budget writers to cut next year’s budget by 4 percent. As of now, that would not include restoration of a 3 percent pay cut to state workers.

The “media working group” has established a wiki for the “Occupy Burlington” effort, which is designed to allow more people to participate — albeit electronically — in the various working groups that meet in between the weekly rallies. That wiki site is www.owsvt.wikispaces.com. There, people can check out reports from the various working groups, and follow the “Occupy” groups springing up in other parts of the state — including Bennington, Brattleboro, Montpelier and Rutland.

The general assembly, which occurred around the fountain at the center of City Hall Park, displaced some of the homeless who had been gathered there to drink and play chess.

Upset by being displaced, two of the men confronted the protesters. In turn, the protesters tried to explain to the men that they were, in fact, allies. That didn’t seem to appease the men who were stumbling and slurring their words. Shortly afterward, two uniformed police officers arrived to talk to the men; the officers also dumped out liquid from at least one water bottle belonging to the homeless group, which sought refuge from the protesters on the steps of City Hall.

Unlike in New York City, where police officers are buffering the 1 percent from the rowdy masses, Burlington cops were keeping the 99 percent from being harassed by folks who might be called the 99.999999 percent.

This article appears in The Winter Preview Issue 2011.

Shay Totten wrote "Fair Game," a weekly political column, from April 2008-December 2011.

69 replies on ““Occupy Burlington” Plans to Truly Occupy Burlington”

  2. DISAPOINTED:Perhaps the Farmers Market folks (who are at least trying to make a living) just don’t want to be strongarmed and/or shamed into having to donate their lost sales, lost time, rules they’ve followed, and probably their inventory to YOUR cause without just compensation or even thanks.

  3. Does the mob imposed “Anti-Misogyny” Rule mean that if hip-hop mogul Russel Simmons shows up with financial support for the cause like he did at Zucotti Park that he would be turned away and/or ostracized? Or would the group hypocritically take his donation and then boot him?

  6. This is from the Occupy Vermont FB page, truly disappointing: “We have bent over backwards today to make nice with certain vendors from Burlington’s Farmer’s Market.We are done with that.Apparently our reassurances that we are in support of their market,are CUSTOMERS of theirs,and would NEVER compromise their flow are just not enough.They will not be happy until we postpone OCCUPATION until they’ve wrung every last centimo out of their clients,and apparently they’re afraid we might jeopardize the transaction regardless of our stated friendship,kinship,and support.Sounds kinda like a big bank,doesn’t it?In their favor,the market manager has been very receptive and offered to share the park with us.Hmmmm.SHARE OUR PARK WITH US.Well.Very generous.It all tasted like chicken until the relentless crowd of unreasoning vendors descended without hearing a word of our message,and proceeded to complain about how we would hurt their profits,and they continue on the thread below this very moment.Whatever group turned these people out today is culpable.They have COMPLETELY and DELIBERATELY disregarded our message.I tried to assure them that we would not be a nuisance.I even let them know that we are a very small group and really would not be a presence.They don’t care.Told them we have business in Montpelier Saturday and many of us would be traveling,and not in the park at all.No matter to them.All the while they used our terminology(probably got it from TV) telling us we were hurting fellow 99%ers.COME ON!We need to eat,right?FEED US!We need groceries,right?SELL TO US.Not one of them offered leftover prepared foods.Not one of them told us they were at a rally ONCE.They are our brothers and sisters,but they dwell in dark places.Let’s bring them into the light.This Saturday,let’s make sure the vendors of the Farmer’s Market know why we are there.We’ve had a most obtuse day of input from them.I believe they may be in need of education.I guess that will be up to you.Thank you.”

  7. My most humble (but rather lengthy) opinion:In light of the extensive list of grievances supporters of the OWS movement could legitimately cite, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to say there is not “one” mission, action plan, or solution. After all, if there were one solution to fix our country’s (and our world’s) problems, surely someone would have come up with it by now. Yes? Now that we’re on the same page, onward…The process with which the OWS movement seems obliged to uphold is that of grassroots democracy. By maintaining a leaderless movement, the power is distributed among the participants, and the participants are thus empowered. The process is strengthened this way. Within such a system of organization, tried and true methods of communication and decision-making, such as general assembly, speak-out, and report-back, are necessary for an effective and efficient process.To speak to the issue of “the purpose of occupying a public space,” will first reference a paragraph that can be found on Occupy Wall Street’s News page (http://occupywallst.org/). It comes from a statement of solidarity from “Comrades in Cairo, Egypt”:”We are occupying. We are reclaiming those same spaces of public practice that have been commodified, privatized and locked into the hands of faceless bureaucracy , real estate portfolios, and police ‘protection’. Hold on to these spaces, nurture them, and let the boundaries of your occupations grow. After all, who built these parks, these plazas, these buildings? Whose labor made them real and livable? Why should it seem so natural that they should be withheld from us, policed and disciplined? Reclaiming these spaces and managing them justly and collectively is proof enough of our legitimacy.”More on that: A root of many of the problems we are facing right now, such as high unemployment, federal budget deficit, and a strained economy, is inequality. That’s a pretty broad statement– is it inequality of men and women, inequality of rich people and poor people, inequality of “white” people and “non-white” people, inequality of gay people and non-gay people? It is, indeed, all of the above. And more significantly, the root of the problem lies in the IGNORANCE of the role that inequality plays in the more concrete problems that people can actually talk about. Since most people don’t have access to post-secondary education, where they might have the opportunity to learn about these issues and causal relationships in Sociology 101, it is important for those that DO have knowledge about these issues, who DO have care passionately about social justice, to share that knowledge. By getting attention from the public as well as the media, more light is shed on the issues we are trying to address, and it gets more people in on the conversation. What better place to get the public’s attention than in a public place like City Hall Park? It is a strategy of outreach, if you will. The VERY FIRST STEP to democratically making the changes that we want is to educate and inform others so that they can make educated, informed decisions, and contribute meaningful ideas to the bigger conversation.I realize this process might seem slow and ineffective to some (apparently Jimmy in particular), but what you need to realize is to be effective is going to take the force of EVERYONE in the 99%. The purpose behind this slogan is a call to join forces. The amount of political power that has accumulated and that is concentrated in the hands of the top 1% of the income bracket prevents the interests of the other 99% of we, the little people, from being addressed and taken care of. The people-power that will be required to reclaim our democratic process really is enormous– it’s going to take EVERYONE. And to get everyone, apparently it’s actually going to take carrying around signs, yelling, throwing it in your face that THEY ARE PISSING ON OUR CONSTITUTION. This is not about amending the right to free speech, it’s about having an opportunity to express an opinion in the first place. What the political power of the 1% does is dilute the political voice of everyone else, which secures their personal interests, including but not limited to: engaging in various wars to secure oil while crushing any legislation that would pursue more sustainable methods of creating energy; keeping higher education unaccessible for lower-income folks which then perpetuates the inequality; misleading the general public with all kinds of fear-mongering and propaganda in the media and spreading disinformation; the list goes on…The point is that this is the first step to a very long process. This is about issue awareness. This is about getting angry and getting motivated to seek change, and to seek solutions, and it is about getting OTHERS to seek change, to inform themselves, and to bring solutions to the discussion.

  8. While I’m not a protester myself, I don’t think it’s fair to say they’re not accomplishing anything. If not for Occupy Wall Street, I doubt we’d see any mainstream media outlets running stories about the large, and growing, gap between rich and poor in the United States. But they’re all doing that now, so to say Occupy Wall Street is a waste of time because they don’t have a detailed action plan is disingenuous.That said, I really don’t think it’s a good idea to start occupying during the Farmers Market. Just push it back a day and everyone will be happy.

  9. Seven Days: This article is a disgrace to journalism. I’ve been in the areas for a few years now for grad school. I’ve been mostly impressed with the level of integrity, and the quality, of many of the local news sources, including your paper. This article was suprisingly sensational, (in a very manipulative way) AND ignorantly drafted. Definitelly a spin. I was at this meeting and this is NOT an accurate synopsis of events. While many news sources nationally have blindly reverberated, this misguided notion that the OWS movement is a bunch of hippie kids with no clue why they are angry, even main news outlets, such as CBS and ABC, have done a better job at times of representing the truth of this movement than you have. This is a perioud of great change. A chance for people to wake up from the apathy. Please do wake up and join the movement toward active engagement in both democracy and your own life, by practicing first clear reporting. This article is clearly more of an attempt to play out a tired narrative, while poking fun and trying to be cute. Who were you trying to please by writing this? Your boss? An unamed group of people who even your conciousness is not aware of? Try pleasing yourself by acting with integrity. You will be amazed at how liberating it is.

  10. I don’t think anyone will dispute Bill Gross’ prominence and expertise on Wall Street, yet he writes this month in his Investment Outlook that ?”even conservatives must acknowledge that return on capital investment, and the liquid stocks and bonds that mimic it, are ultimately dependent on returns to labor in the form of jobs and real wage gains. If Main Street is unemployed and undercompensated, capital can only travel so far down Prosperity Road. Until recently, economic recovery has been relatively robust if one were a deployer of capital as opposed to the laborer who made that deployment possible. Near zero percent interest rates have allowed profit margins to widen even in the face of anemic end demand. As well, “productivity” has remained high, but only because of layoffs and the production of goods and services with fewer people. While that is a benefit to capital, it obviously comes at a great cost to labor.” The commenters here on 7dvt who ask that protesters develop an action plan are genuinely missing the point. People have a message to share and they are successfully doing so. It’s not essential that they also have an action plan. Plenty of us who are employed (yes, even as investment professionals) comprehend and are prepared to respond to their message with strategies for divestment and/or reinvestment, borrowing or raising capital, etc. Not everyone is a legislator, nor must every one be one.

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