'portlandians'

1) This first part consists of excerpts from an article you can find here:

http://rt.com/usa/news/mayor-quan-occupy-oakland-121/

Mayor Jean Quan wants OWS to disown Occupy Oakland

Published: 31 January, 2012, 05:13

Occupy Oakland demonstrators shield themselves during a confrontation with the police in Oakland (Reuters / Stephen Lam)

“…In the early days of Occupy Oakland, an Iraq War veteran was critically injured after being hit in the skull by a police-fired projectile. On Saturday’s march, law enforcement once again fired ammo into crowds of protesters and were videotaped swinging batons at protesters and journalists alike. As demonstrators declare their intentions with chants of “this is a peaceful protest,” Mayor Quan sees it from another side…”

“…Now the city leader is appealing to other Occupy movements across the country to disown Occupy Oakland in hopes of finally extinguishing the demonstrations that have scarred her administration due to overzealous arrests and the repeated firing of projectiles at peaceful protesters…”

“…Unfortunately for Mayor Quan, the national Occupy movement has by-and-large agreed (and insisted) several times that they are leaderless, so she might have a hard time trying to track them down…”

2) Here’s an early draft of a statement in response to Mayor Jean Quan.  [This is being created online as I’m writing this, collaboratively & in real-time, by the 99% nationwide]:

Dear Mayor Quan,

Your request for Occupy Wall Street and the other occupations to “disown” Occupy Oakland shows a failure to understand the nature of this movement and does a disservice to those you were elected to represent.

Among other things, occupying is about self-reliance, dialogue, skill sharing, and directly democratic decision-making. We organize within our communities to address the issues that affect them. The issues affecting the City of Oakland are not all unique, but, as in each of our cities, core problems of neglect, poverty, inequity, and voicelessness rob families of their wealth, individuals of their dignity, and communities of their togetherness. The unique circumstances of Oakland require customized solutions that your and other administrations have failed to provide. Your city’s people have risen up to take responsibility for their struggle, and it’s you who must answer to them, not the other way around.

Oakland wants change, and so do we.  The use of physical violence, rubber bullets, bean bags and chemical weapons against occupiers, including children, is a disgrace.

Your dispute is between your city and yourself, Mayor Quan. If you’d like our help in addressing some of the causes of Oakland’s burdens, we are here in solidarity. But until you join the struggle for justice, we recommend you do not expect our compliance.

Expect us,

Occupy