[Street] [Ob-media] [Winter] Open Letter draft 1

Stephen Squibb scsquibb at gmail.com
Thu Dec 1 00:37:19 EST 2011


does an edited version of this letter exist? can someone send it to me?

S

On Fri, Nov 25, 2011 at 9:32 PM, Cailin O'Toole <cailinotoole at gmail.com>wrote:

> I completely agree with Allison, the letter appreciating the hospitality
> shown thus far, knowing all the windows and the world watches. I like to
> think Mayor Menino could be the Italian ambassador that appreciates the
> importance of the people gathered. I know him through my work in Jamaica
> Plain and he is a family man dedicated to greenspace. I would like to think
> it is this side of the mayor that deals with the occupy of our beloved city
> of Boston.
>
> We camp where Benjamin Franklin lived as a boy. The first occupy of this
> land and just as we must face our issues at camp and learn, so as well may
> the government. Please challenge the elected officials to accept our
> devotion to the people and the earth. Let us give these folks a chance to
> remember how much like us they are.
> Cailin
>
> On Fri, Nov 25, 2011 at 12:34 PM, <allison at occupyboston.org> wrote:
>
>> I maintain that it's a human rights violation. Denying people the ability
>> to survive the cold is denying them what it takes to sustain life. I'm sure
>> someone else could state this more eloquently.
>>
>> One note: this letter assumes people support the idea of the camp and
>> would be outraged at the attempts to undermine it. I wonder if it would be
>> beneficial to open the letter with an affirmation as to why the Occupy
>> Movement is profoundly important (creating magnetic centers for public
>> discourse which is not mediated by corporate interests which have corrupted
>> every aspect of our society to the point at which the planet and the people
>> are not sustainable; the right to peaceable assembly, etc.) and why
>> sustainability of the encampment is still key to building the movement and
>> generating a new system of communication and self-governance.
>>
>>
>>
>> Quoting Z Bowditch <zthetop at yahoo.com>:
>>
>>  Here's the first draft.  Feel free to suggest edits and ideas:
>>>
>>>
>>> There is more to closing a tent city than tearing down the tents.  Here
>>> at Occupy Boston, we are facing a crisis as winter sets in.  Due to a city
>>> restriction on tent building and insulation supplies, it is becoming
>>> increasingly difficult to move our summer outdoor spaces into enclosed warm
>>> ones in preparation for cold New England weather.
>>>
>>> Among the restrictions placed on Occupy Boston by the city is that
>>> insulation of any kind is not to be brought into the camp.  The city cited
>>> sanitation concerns as the main reason for this ban, and has even turned
>>> away people bringing donations of clothing and blankets.  What I believe
>>> the city does not understand is that insulating tents is only one aspect of
>>> making them winter ready.  I have been working closely with the group that
>>> has been designing and planning winter ready tents.  Most designs that have
>>> been seriously discussed involve multiple ways of insulating a space,
>>> including foam insulation filled PVC, bricks of insulation board as the
>>> core for a yurt, and many other multi-layered designs.
>>>
>>> What I would like to stress is that the supplies we would use are
>>> identical to those found in modern construction and insulation.  We aren’t
>>> just trying to line tents with cheap insulation materials, where they could
>>> pose dangers to sleepers and gatherers.  We are designing and preparing to
>>> build structurally sound and carefully planned tents that can be easily
>>> broken down when the need for them is done.  We are not planning to build
>>> permanent structures.   That was never the goal.
>>>
>>> As a Red Cross trained first responder and life guard, the inability of
>>> Occupy Boston to build these sorts of structures is a pressing safety
>>> issue.  Many of our protesters spend long periods of time outside, both at
>>> Dewey Square and during marches and speeches, and without proper spaces to
>>> get warm and stay warm there can be serious medical repercussions.
>>>  Hypothermia and frostbite are not serious conditions unto themselves, but
>>> without prompt treatment, they can lead to hospitalization, limb
>>> amputation, and even death.  If Occupy Boston is not allowed to create and
>>> build warm spaces, Occupying poses a very real danger to all involved.
>>>
>>> I ask that the city and Mayor Menino to understand and respect that it
>>> is vital to the safety of all of us to have safe warm spaces this winter,
>>> and to open a dialogue on how we can move forward safely and respectfully
>>>
>>> Z Bowditch
>>>
>>> Winterization Work Group
>>> Occupy Boston
>>>
>>>
>>> Z
>>> zthetop at yahoo.com
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>>
>>
>> In solidarity,
>> Allison
>>
>>
>> ______________________________**_________________
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>>
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