It wasn’t long ago that we brought you news of a police march in London, a march that contained over 35,000 officers from all over the UK. Officers marched through the city on May 10th, in protest against cuts in pay, cuts in personnel, and the greater of both evils, privatization. May 10th was the largest police protest in world history, but officers weren’t the only ones there protesting against Tom Winsor’s suggested cuts in pay, and sneaky attempt to privatize a large chunk of the police force ..a hand full of occupiers were there as well. Yes you heard me right, occupy was there to support that day, as they should be and officers were in awe over the show of solidarity. One officer told us seeing occupy there was “the highlight of the march”, another said he will “never forget this show of solidarity” a very many thanks poured in from officers around the UK after the march. Although you can’t tell from the picture below, there were scores of people lined up to take pictures of occupiers who showed up to support officers, many of thecameramen, were officers themselves. Seeing this play out reminded me of the way occupiers jumped on Captain Lewis when he first set foot in Zuccotti Park last year, many occupiers had lined up in front of the Captian, in awe, to take his picture. Watching the scene unfold in London was like Zuccotti, except in reverse, this time is was occupiers supporting police, such a rare sight for police who were overjoyed to see the solidarity.. That should tell you something -
Occupy London live streamer Naffy was there that day making her way through the crowd talking with officers about their reasons for the march, and informing them about Occupy Police. Some officers we’re nervous when Naffy talked about OcPo with them, understandably, being on camera talking about certain things can get you fired, which is one reason OcPo is building Op Spartacus, we’ll show you just how un-free officers are to really say what’s on their mind, in private, let alone on camera. Here’s what can happen when an officer speaks their mind in private, we shared with you this petition over the winter in an attempt to fight against lack of free speech, and thank you for the support, to date it’s had over 17,000 signatures.
When it comes to major issues, and how they’re tackled, Occupy and Police haven’t seen see eye to eye in quite some time. While both are wanting and needing to be supported, both have yet to find mass approval for it from their internal communities, but, as the global economy weakens, and money continues to dry up we find that our issues, and futures, are more closely tied to each others than we once thought. The time to assist each other is at hand -
In a conversation a while back I asked a friend, how does the system work, we have police, civilians, and politicians, and we’re all tied together, my friend responded, “It’s easy, it’s rock, paper, scissors, rock being the police, paper being the politicians, and scissors being civilians” ..if you’ve ever played that game, you’ll get it right off the bat. I remember thinking despite the differences in the way we think, rocks and scissors need to be on the same side, because it would be here on this “same side” we would hold the collective power to make real change where and when needed. When on the “same side” with our differences cast aside, there is no corporate or political agenda that can weigh itself down on us, because the people united can never be defeated.
Madison Wisconsin is a prime example for this. The Police Union in Madison decided to joined forces with protesters to first keep them safe, and second, to fight a corrupt governor, and they’re winning, together …peacefully.
Madison Police are an example for the world when it comes to making change together, ..but what if there was no Madison Police Union? What if instead there was a private corporate security firm in it’s place, one which is not accountable to the public, does not have to answer to the freedom of information act, and can generally do what it wishes despite public scrutiny, while still calling itself a Police Department. Sounds fascist right? It’s about to happen in Britain, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. The entire transition is being put forward by a few who not only have a political agenda, but sit on the board of corporate security firms who stand to gain massive contracts should Tom Winsor’s recommendations be put into action, very similar to the way Dick Cheney was with Haliburton when the US invaded Iraq. Are bells going off yet? Occupy Police UK has put together an extensive initial report broken down into 2 parts detailing the people involved with attempting to mass privatize the police, how they interconnect with each other, and are positioned to make millions while enhancing their private and political careers. Is this in the International publics’ interest? It should be ….
In The Public Interest?
An Initial Exploration of ‘Police Reform’ and Why a Full and Immediate Public Inquiry is Absolutely Necessary.
In Parts 1 and 2 we will introduce you to all the players, show you how they’re interconnected with each other and positioned to make millions while enhancing their private and political careers. Before we continue on to the report, we’re going to share with you a Q&A (below) between Occupy Police US and Occupy Police UK – If you’re not familiar with the situation, this should bring you up to speed before you read the report and equally, if you’re unfamiliar with a person or organization mentioned in the report, refer back to this Q&A. Following each individual section in parts one and two we have posted obvious conclusions over the information you will read. Following each of the 2 parts of this report, we have included 5 recommendation which we hope will be taken seriously and considered by leaders of the UK government in light of the information set forth – Thank You and if you have any questions please forward them to solidarity@occupypolice.org or contact us here
I like this quote: When on the “same side” with our differences cast aside, there is no corporate or political agenda that can weigh itself down on us, because the people united can never be defeated.