Solidarity: The Occupy Austin Occuzine

8/2/2019 Solidarity: The Occupy Austin Occuzine

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THE OCCUPY AUSTIN OCCUZINE

Issue 2 Page 1FEB. 28TH

, 2012

OCCUPY AUSTIN MOURNS LOSS OF LIBERTIES

On February 3rd, 2012 members of Occupy Austin

met at the Texas State Capitol for a silent protest

of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012.

To emphasize the feelings of loss, protestors were

dressed in funeral attire. With performance art,

Occupiers showed what life could be like now that

the government has the power to indefinitely

detain American citizens on American soil. Later

that evening, there was a silent march down

Congress Avenue to City Hall.

BELOW and RIGHT: Photos by Heather Kafka

BOTTOM RIGHT: Flyer for NDAA Protest and March


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ABOVE: Photo by Heather Kafka

RIGHT: Photo by Jeeps

BELOW: One of our youngest Occupiers, gets

in on the NDAA action. Photo by Lainie Duro

Above: Occupiers are detained for being terrorists, Photo by John Anderson

Below: The candlelit march begins, Photo by John Anderson

Issue 2 Page 2


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More NDAA Protest Photos All

photos by Lainie Duro except

Repeal NDAA sign by Jeeps

Issue2 Page3


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Common Courtesy at Bank of America

By Nolan Darilek

I, like many, closed my account with Bank of America late last year.

Unfortunately, a surprising direct deposit re-opened the account, which

was again closed with the support of five fellow members of OccupyAustin.

The alert arrived early one morning, a "courtesy" balance notification

from an account I'd thought was closed. An Amazon affiliate marketing

venture had finally paid off unexpectedly, and the direct deposit re-

activated the account.

I had also unknowingly been opted into a minimum balance at some

point during my twelve years with Bank of America. My account was

thus being charged fees on these direct deposits, which existence was

unknown to me.

Finally, and most infuriatingly, my account was only selectively re-

opened. As someone who is blind, I rely heavily on debit alerts as

receipts, electronic deposit notifications as pay stubs, and a number of

other emailed alerts in lieu of paper which must be scanned or read by

others before being tossed into our landfills. While Bank of America

opened my account to the extent that it earned them money, they did not

re-enable anything other than the courtesy balance notification, likely

only in place to alert me that my closed account would soon be of no use

to them unless I decided to start puttingmoney in it again.

Closing the account was luckily rather straight-forward. With the help

of fellow occupiers, we were able to both get the fees refunded and

empty the account. I could write about a number of things, from the

banker's unwillingness to explain how this 30-day window was

anything other than a vehicle to extort fees, to the teller's unwillingness

to accept a passport even though it was perfectly fine on several

occasions in the past. Instead, I would rather focus on a unique aspect

of this closure that highlights the degree to which this system is

broken.

I occupy for a number of reasons, some usual, some not. There were

two interactions that stood out for me, one of which I'd missed because

it happens so commonly to me that it slips into the background of my

life unnoticed.

I am used to people's experiences with blindness being defined by

Helen Keller. This means that I am invariably spoken loudly or slowly

to, as if hearing loss goes hand in hand with sight loss. At the doors, I

was greeted by an overly loud call from one of the bankers in the

lobby. I had assumed that this was because they were used to Occupy

interfering with their business, but when it was pointed out during the

post-closure rant session that this person may very well have beenyelling at me because she assumed I couldn't hear, I had to admit that

was a very likely possibility.

The second was minor, but huge in its implications. Before the teller

handed me my final account balance, she spoke of me in...

Contd page 5

Below: Artwork byNikaeal Valentina Roe Sainz

Issue2 Page4


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I Cant Afford to Be the HeroI braked as the light changed from yellow to red,

second in line to turn.

A raggedy heap

of dirty clothes

perched on the guardrail -

a buzzard scavengerwith a cardboard beak.

I cocked my head to the side, and shut one eye.

He disappeared into my blind spot.

I had a brief philosophical discussion with

myself,

about how easy it is

for the fed

to dismiss the hungry,

as I fiddled with the change in my armrest.

35 cents was all I could spare,

and 35 cents seemed embarrassing.

So, I pretended I didn't care,

turned, and gave him nothing.

~Wendy Darling

Contd from page 4

third person, despite me standing practically right in front

of her. "He's going to have to sign...you're going to have to

sign," she rapidly corrected, and I'm glad that she did. But it

wasn't fast enough.

I am all too used to being dehumanized by others' speaking

past and around me. This is especially bothersome when it

is done by someone who has just taken money from me.

My takeaway is that I am tangible enough to hand someone

money, but not so human as to engage in conversation orinteract intelligently. It angers me that I am only valid as a

vehicle of money to some, and I wish I could convey to the

many with able-bodied privilege who have rushed to defend

this conduct over the years how fortunate they are not to

face this subtle treatment by so many "well-meaning"

people.

Regardless of how able you are, regardless of your gender

or skin color, this DOES happen to you every day. Your

bank takes your money, invests it in companies whose

practices would likely horrify you if you knew them. It

thrives on your largess while hitting you with fees for the

privilege. Meanwhile, it forecloses on homes, lies to loyal

customers and drives them into the streets with thought for

nothing other than its bottom line. You too are being

dehumanized by your bank. It may not be as blatant as what

I and other disabled people face regularly, but it is there,

and will continue unless you take a stand against it. If the

teller hadn't corrected herself, I would have called her on it

and ask that she speak TO me rather than about me. The

banks are NOT correcting their behavior on their own, so

now it is up to you to call them on it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Top Left: Claire

Hirschkind holds a poster-

size photo of the

aggressive treatment she

endured during her Feb.

3rd

eviction at the Feb. 9th

Austin City Council

meeting. Many others

joined her with photos of

excessive police presence

over that weekend.

Photo by Heather Kafka

Issue 2 Page 5


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Fetish

guns make great lovers

baseball bats too

knives are one night stands of bloodlust and frenzy

but as always fun

brass knuckles and nunchakus

kinky and exotic

leave nothing for imagination

machetes are for virgins

whose innocence

invites unknowingly its own massacre

throbbing bodily

flesh at the tip of a sadists whip

bombs are for the lonely

pornographic rich

yet when it comes

to seductions cardinal thread

nothing titillates like a nuclear warhead

~ Michael Sadler

Top: Photo manipulation by Wendy Darling

Above: Artwork by Tomas Fierro

Below: Painting by Shaida Alizadeh-Moein

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Haikupyfacebook frustration

there's nothing better to do

hey folks! let's argue!

proposals galore

but we don't have a quorum

It's time to table!

haters drive by and

from windows shout, "get a job"

no balls to face us

Idea for Occuhaha comes from Kat Freedom.

Haikus and photo memes by Wendy Darling.

Issue 2 Page 8


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Issue 2 Page 8

OCCUPY POTLUCK PICNIC FEB.12th

, 2012

Above: Photo by Lainie Duro

Above right: Occudog photo by Marz Theron

Right: Photo by Lainie Duro

Bottom left: Photo by Kat Freedom

Bottom right: Photo by Lainie Duro


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Issue 2 Page 9

OCCUPY AUSTIN LOVES YOU

POTLUCK PICNIC IN THE PARK

Occupiers from Austin gathered in

the Pecan Grove Picnic area of

Zilker Park on February 12 th, 2012to celebrate community with a

potluck picnic. The intention of this

potluck was to introduce the existing

Occupy Austin members to any new

members interested in joining us in

fighting for the rights of the 99%.

This was a fun, family-friendly way

to share a little Occupy Austin love

with the community.

In addition to the feast, Occupiersengaged in discussions, wrote thank-

you notes to supporters, danced and

had an OccuPie Eating contest.

When the inevitable police officer

showed up, Occupiers continued

with the spirit of community by

offering the officer food, and a

Keep Austin Occupied t-shirt.

All photos this page by John Anderson


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Issue 2 Page 10

Top: Group photo by Lainie Duro

Above left: Photo by John Anderson

Above right: Photo by Kat Freedom

Left: Photo by Lainie Duro

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Solidarity: The Occupy Austin Occuzine