Circling the Wagons Conference to be held Nov. 4-6 in SLC

Mormon Stories will be hosting a conference in support of our LGBTQ brothers and sisters from Nov. 4-6 in SLC

See information here.

Common denominators ?

A helpful way of depicting middle ground and common denominators of genuine concerned people.
Unfortunately both movements are being politicized by the ruling “Big Two” who are equally to blame.

A brief homage to the applied brilliance of the people I have met in the last 12 hours at Occupy Nashville:

Dillon has been on the street for years, but as a kid used to sneak into quantum physics classes after he ended up on his own in Denver a few years ago. He spent the night explaining neuroscience to me. He’s hoping he can get afforable access to Middle Tennessee State University soon- he is thinking he might study political science. He let me sleep in his tent with him, after finishing a great graffiti mural on a big piece of cardboard he found.

After I woke up and packed my stuff, I met Chris, who lives here at the plaza, and asked me what I study. When I said anthropology, he started asking me questions about Marshal Sahlins and the political economy of hunter-gatherer societies. We talked about the dialectic of simple living versus overproduction as different roads to affluence. He’s reading a book on nonviolence he found in the Occupy Nashville library, but says he’d love to get a copy of some Marshal Sahlins articles. I’ve been in anthropology grad school for years, but the intellectual curiosity and commitment of my bunkmates on the street is something I haven’t seen for a long time.

Solidarity to our Occupier brothers and sisters around the world,

Tristan

Occupied Nashville

Prayer on Muammar Gaddafi’s death

Would folks mind if I addressed myself to God in this post? I don’t presume to be a voice for anyone else but myself. But I want to talk to God about statements that I made publicly; and since those statements were made to the general “cyberpublic,” I’d like to “cc” that same public on this message, for the sake of accountability.

************

Heavenly Father and Mother–

I’m grateful that Gaddafi is no longer in power. I pray that this can be the beginning of a better life for Libyans. I pray for peace, and justice, and democracy in Libya. I pray for an end to the violence.

I’m not grateful that he’s dead. I’m sorry that he’s dead. I mean that in the sense that I take accountability for being complicit in his death. I spoke out in support of the war in Libya. And that makes me–I was about to say “in some small way,” but I take that back; minimizing my guilt is Your judgment to make, not mine. Let’s try this again: I spoke out in support of the war in Libya. And that means I share responsibility for the vigilante actions of the soldiers who killed him instead of bringing him to legal justice.

Gaddafi’s death should not have happened. I don’t know, really, what You would have regarded as the ideal way to end his regime. I know You hate tyrrany, so I assume You hated the violence of Gaddafi’s reign. I know You also hate war, though I operate on the assumption that You recognize it’s necessary at times. But I also know You would not have wanted things to end like this.

As I’m writing this, I’m realizing that I feel guilty about Gaddafi’s death because that’s the one that’s been publicized. But if I share responsibility for Gaddafi’s death, because of my support for the counteroffensive against his regime, then I also share responsibility for I-don’t-know-how-many deaths carried out by the rebel forces and their NATO allies, or for whatever other atrocities the rebels have committed on the way to power. I also share responsibility for whatever injustices the new regime commits from this point forward.

I started off this message feeling repentant, but now I’m actually feeling rather angry at You for putting us in situations where we have to make these impossible choices, while You sit up there and judge us and cry over our failures.

I don’t want to end on that note. I pray that somehow what has happened can lead to good for Libyans. I pray for all those who are suffering, whatever “side” they’re on.

In Christ’s name, amen.

Democracy Now

Does anyone know if we are able to embed the daily newscast of Democracy Now http://www.democracynow.org/ on the frontpage of The Mormon Worker? Democracy Now gives us excellent daily updates of the people’s uprising, and it would be great if Democracy Now would be more prominent on The Mormon Worker ! It would be something we could do in our mormon neck of the woods to participate !

Occupy Wall Street: Approaching Zion

 

                    “One of the great evils with which our own nation is menaced at the present time is the wonderful growth of wealth in the hands of a comparatively few individuals”

                                    –Proclamation on the Economy 1875 from The First

                                   Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

                                    Resurrected on October 6, 2011

Today I joined the “Occupation.”  I heard their voices, read their signs/handouts, asked questions, listened and took notes.  There were an estimated 500 to 1,000 that marched on the downtown Salt Lake City business district before occupying Pioneer Park.  I was pleasantly surprised in speaking with four of the key organizers of Occupy Wall Street/SLC (Skylar Hawk, Kora Christensen, Ryan Kane, and Gregory Lucero) that there was what I consider a genius to their protest:  What appears on the surface to be a vague, rudderless, impromptu protest without concrete objectives or party affiliation is in fact a strategy that gives this movement its’ strength and even, ironically, its’ clarity.

What this Occupation/Protest is NOT defines it as much as what is IS.

   —It is NOT part of any political party affiliation.  It refuses to be co-opted by either the Democratic or Republican Party, or for that matter any definable political party.  It IS a movement that seeks to affiliate with the entire political spectrum.  Today at the march there were those that were Tea Partiers (the chant during the march was “Shame on the Fed”) that were stride for stride marching with liberals, progressives, and even Marxists.

—It is NOT beholden to any well funded special interest. It IS a movement that is truly operated and funded by those who are offering their last few dollars, spare jacket, and one person even offered me their half eaten meal.  This group owes no allegiance to anything but their own conscience

—It is NOT a movement centered around an icon/personality.  It IS deliberately leaderless. It seeks to be governed by “Common Consent.”  Each night, like a little Swiss Canton, they engage in direct democratic vote from the little decisions such as where they will march the next day to their collectively stated agenda/goals—and they are fluid and subject to change.  Their voice comes from those governed and not from any top down authoritarian straight-jacket.

–It is NOT a  movement that defines itself by who it excludes.  It seeks to include all humanity.  It IS a movement that wants to include everyone—even the “one percent.”  Bill Gates would fit in as well as the homeless. They are only excluding those who do not exist, namely, corporations and those who chose to exclude themselves from the suffering of humanity.

–It is NOT seeking to compel anyone through the force of authority, money or violence.  It IS using the only force that it has—persuasion.

Occupy Wall Street Protests in SLC

There are planning meetings every night until oct. 6th behind the Main SLC library at 8pm. on Oct 6th we start occupying at Pioneer Park in solidarity with nationwide occupations.

More info to come

LDS Democrats

Not exactly about radical politics, but very interesting nevertheless:

Salt Lake Tribune 26 September 2011:
The Utah Democratic Party has 15 caucuses within its tent, ranging from women, labor, educators, the LGBT community, African-Americans, Asians and Pacific Islanders and Latinos to rural and veterans and military families.

Now comes another, perhaps unexpected in Republican- and Mormon-dominated Utah — the LDS Dems Caucus.

Emboldened by the election of Jim Dabakis, who is gay, to the party chairmanship, a band of like-minded moderate and progressive Mormons decided they want “a room of our own,” says Crystal Young-Otterstrom, the caucus’s interim vice chairwoman.

“There have been many people for a long time who wanted to do something like this,” she says. “We want to find the closeted Democrats out there.”

At present, the caucus will focus on education, environmental issues, immigration and compassionate service to those in need, which is one of the LDS Church’s four main purposes.

By way of introduction, the caucus is hosting a pre-LDS General Conference breakfast on Saturday at Murray Park, where Mormon Democratic elected officials will be cooking. The party’s central committee is to vote Oct. 15 on the caucus’ application.

In early Utah history and today, we’ve learned that LDS people, like anyone else, are not monolithic. Faithful Mormons, Democratic and Republican, have and do occupy political seats in the Utah Legislature, the U.S. Congress, federal and state governments and mayorships and city council seats.

Former governors Cal Rampton and Scott M. Matheson were LDS Democrats, as are Matheson’s sons, one a sitting congressman, the other a federal appeals court judge. Still, the last presidential election when Utah leaned Democrat was in 1964, when Lyndon Johnson was elected. The Utah Legislature remains overwhelmingly Republican, and many members in both parties are LDS.

The LDS Dems have a new web page with further details and with quotes from both the scriptures as well as from church leaders: http://ldsdems.org/

Occupy Wall Street Protests Intensify

Over 1000 people gathered today in degenerate New York City, to protest the greed of the few which has exploited so many. Over a hundred people were arrested.

More will appear tomorrow…