Current Status

Much of the news is feeding information in a similar way that it did about the Tea Party protesters, in the sense that the message is getting across, but the focus is of the individuals who are most newsworthy. Regardless, the media has done a good job of creating a first impression of us; therefore, explaining to us what needs to change.

The public, especially those that don’t understand the movement, consider us to be completely unorganized and nebulous about what we are protesting.  Therefore, it is necessary that we dispel this as quickly as possible.

We have many desires from this movement, but we must start with a priority, and make the priority our focus. We should not be on camera unless the first few priorities are on our lips, or in our communication in some way. It must be ingrained on the minds of those that see our movement.

We must be capable of defending our positions against the onslaught of any criticism. There are those in our group that are capable of great responses in the face of difficult questions. These are the people we must make our faces when asked. We should refuse to answer if we are uncertain of a response, and put the responsibility on those that can adequately retort. Therefore, it would be good measure for us as a group to decide on some communications leaders, those that will speak logically and passionately about our views, without falling into the traps of irrational anger when criticized. Those who do not believe they are capable of holding such rational conversations should point any questions to those that can.

There are those who are excellent thinkers in terms of strategy. These are the strategic leaders, and should be given the role of deciding how to create the best visibility.

Some of you are researchers, and this can be put to use to find more information. The group needs a wiki

There are those of you who are protesting whom have money, and you still wish to struggle for the same goals as those that do not. Our demographic is broad, and we each have ways we can contribute. As a financial leader, it’s understandable that you may not want to make your position obvious for numerous reasons, but we all need to make a way for donations to this cause to help afford the food, sleeping blankets, and stationary. In addition, a fund should be started for a commercial, which can run for prime time, to explain our point of view.

For those of you who are decided to be such leaders, you must recognize that you are not the important ones, and that you are doing it for those who are not filling those roles. You are doing this for no fame, for no recognition, for no money, and for single person, but for all of those who you represent (without whom you serve no goal). Your goal is not to be liked, and not to be disliked, but to be heard, and more importantly, understood.

Print out business cards for those that should speak to the media.  If an individual understands that the media wants to ask questions for purposes of showing weaknesses, they can give the individual a flier, or give them a business card to point them in the direction of communication leaders.

Give as much transparency as you can.  Provide as much information about the movement yourself online, not through the media.  Make the websites available on signs. Let people see your information without editing.

Do not be so general, that you indemnify the innocent with the guilty. This is a war, and although there will inevitably be some innocent casualties of this war, we are doing more injustice if cause this on purpose. This war is a war against the evil, and shouldn’t be a war against all employees of a company. Remember, that there are those that are on your side that work for oil companies and banks, and shouldn’t be grouped into the evils that have occurred above their heads.

We are at war with greed and evil practices which have destroyed our livelihoods, not with this company or that company.

Reiterate that we aren’t interested in restricting people, just interested in preventing corporate sovereignty.

Things you all can do

• If you have an account with a big bank, you can move your money to a smaller bank
• You can carpool to locations and save gas where possible
• You can respect the laws of the land, while peacefully protesting them
• You can respect all points of view, since they learned from different foundational principles.  Any change in understanding comes from understanding the fallacies in those foundational principles, requiring a lot of education.
• You can educate yourself on the myriad of statistics that show that not taking care of an oligarchic society inevitably leads to ruins of that society. Learn the numbers, learn the dates, and learn the information. Do not blindly follow without understanding why you are following.
• Seek out those who have protested before, learn from them about what to do and what not to do.
• Educate yourself on the DOs and DON’Ts as listed on the website, these tips can be what makes this a success or a failure.
• You can write your testimony about your life and reasons for joining on a blog.
• You can use your contacts with members of other “Occupations” to bring the message together.
• Do not subject to using generalized pronouns like “they.” Make people aware of what you mean. Don’t just say “corporations”, say “the greedy corporations.” Don’t just say “government,” say the “the sold out politicians.”
• Bring American flags. Make sure people understand that you are doing this for your country, not just yourself.
• Design a flag for humanity. Make sure people know you are doing this for all of humankind.

Law of Social Cycle

Prabhat Sarkar first introduced the “Law of Social Cycle” and Ravi Batra predicted the coming of this revolution that is of the same merit as the Arab Spring. He spoke of four epochs that civilizations pass through cyclically, starting with the epoch of expansion of borders that included the days of imperialism in which the warriors sought out new places, usually crashing through everything as they did. Then saw the epoch of intellectuals, most recently brought out as the Enlightenment. Most recently has come the age of Capitalism, in which the acquisitionists seek out money, pushing down those that would have been warriors by forcing them into multiple jobs to keep them down, and pushing down the artists and intellectuals who are being made to do twice the work for the same money, and the laborers who are the backbone of all of us, who have been exploited for far too many years by those who have created “kingdoms” that force down the “common.”

Batra knew that the acquisition phase was so great that the revolution to the next epoch was certain.  He was aware that the common folk would soon get their day.  We are the 99%, and we are here to bring about this revolution; a revolution that can be carried out without violence and without destruction.

The elite has changed over the years, and follows us throughout our lives. The only problem that we have as a society is when we allow people to recognize themselves as elite. There is no elite, only those with different skills and roles. When we allow those with innate muscle and strategy to rule, we end up in tyranny, knowing that that they are nothing without a people to rule. When we allow those with innate intelligence to rule, we end up with a paternal authoritarianism, not even allowing themselves the freedom to follow all of their own rules. When we allow those with innate business sense to rule, we end up in a greedy oligarchic Feudalistic atmosphere which corporations force down all the commoners.

If we are allowed to forget this, then we will inevitably return to this cycle.

Remember that a true king is one who serves his people, not one that has his people serve him.

What we want

It is understood that not every member of the group will agree with every demand/desire, but we are all here for the top priority.  We not only desire this, but are bringing methods that would produce what we desire.

1. We desire to limit and reverse the accelerating inequality.  At the top priority, we want to see at least two of three things: an end to capital gains tax loopholes, a law to bring two more tax brackets for higher earners, and the end of the Bush tax cuts.

• We want to see these invested in jobs until the economy recovers
• Then used to help pay down the deficit (instead of cutting economic programs)

The current taxes have not only failed to keep up with growth and inequality, but have actually added to inequality.  In time, the inequality measures will settle on a more reasonable number, as the changes are allowed to reach economic equilibrium.

2. We demand fair reward for our efforts.  We want to see a limit to the ratio in which corporate officer (top earners) can be paid in relation to the median pay of the workers.  This final pay should also include benefits, bonuses, and stock options.

• We want to see the money invested in the company for new jobs, instead of having people do more with fewer employees.
• We want to see the money invested in research, so that the US can return to being the technological leader.

There will be those officers who will be willing to work for the level of pay at the limit, and who will be willing to increase the pay of workers so that they can make more money themselves.

3. We desire to be given a chance to work.  We want a law to end some of the practices that frustrate the job hunt.

• We want to end the practice of companies rejecting individuals that are “over-qualified”
• We want prevent companies from either holding interviews for jobs that they were intended to be hired from within, or prevent the companies from putting so much emphasis on internal employees in such an interview

4. We demand to make higher education easier. We want to decrease the load on those who wish to further their education.

• We want to set up a college loan lowering settlement for those individuals who complete their education
• We want the higher education system studied to determine why the costs are accelerating, and if there is something that can be done to improve this

5. We desire to limit corporate welfare. We want to see responsibility taken by those whose practices have caused their business to fail. There are none that are “too big to fail.”

• Out of fairness for those that may be innocent bystanders working for the companies, and of the fact that individuals are also provided security measures (such as unemployment), we desire to limit, not to prohibit funding to hold up companies
• If they are too big to fail, then they may have already been too large of a company, warranting investigation for monopoly

There is no business that classifies as too big to fail, in any economic environment.  Even in Communist China, Guangdong International Trust & Investment Corporate was allowed to go bankrupt.

6. We desire to see monopoly laws enforced more stringently. There are many companies that currently exist that would have been considered monopolies in previous years. Today’s age makes monopolies easier, but competition is important to the market, to the workforce, and to the consumers.

7. We want the economic freedom to start our own businesses. Once in time, it was possible to start your own local grocery store or local convenience store. We have lost the ability to survive against the competitiveness that deep corporate pockets create. Unfortunately, we still need ways to resolve this issue, and will remain a very low priority until a legitimate method surfaces.

What We Are Made Of

The media has been trying to make us out to be what they believe. They will eventually come study the group, but until then we should be making the public aware of what we are:

• We are those who have been laid off, and have been searching for months to find a new job
• We are those who have completed an education, and cannot find a job since they have graduated
• We are those who have jobs, maybe two, maybe three, just to make ends meet, loosing time to spend with their children as they grow up
• We are those who have well-paying jobs who agree with the movement, who are taking vacation to stand with friends and family who we’ve watched lose everything
• We are those who have well-paying jobs who have just noticed the differences in the workplace environment over the years
• We are the retired who have lost their retirement to the practices of those who we’ve entrusted with our accounts
• We are those who cannot stand with the crowd, but fully wish they had the opportunity to take the time
• We are those who agree, but are afraid of their own company to make their opinions public

–Nobody said it was easy (“The Scientist” – Coldplay)

Many people, my friends, family and neighors who care about me have called me and have expressed their concerns about my recent actions in Houston in respect to the Downtown 'protests' as they call it. They care about me and love me and wish no harm upon me. I love them too, and I want them to know that I am perfectly fine. Some of you have called me to tell me to stop doing what I'm doing and others have asked me general information on what it is that I am doing. This NOTE and my reasons for being out there deal with the very same thing that I have been told by many in my own community, time after time, that my voice will not be heard and that it doesn't matter what I do. Recently in a video interview, I stated that "I would stay here [as long as it takes...]. When I said "I" will stay here, it was was meant to mean a collective, "I".  I feel that the collective, "I" is anyone who is angry and upset and and concerned about the current state of affiars in their counry, their state, their city, their neighorbood, their bank balances, their childrens dance programs, their photogrpahy exhbitions, their day to day 9-5ives and their family's welfare. The "I" are the ones that are wanting to do something now, not wait until grandchildren lose their savings because daddy only worried about himself since he viewed himself outside of the community and never really a part of it.

I stayed overnight in Downtown Houston at City Hall, on the ground with a make shift bed, along with about 65 other "I" last night. What was the singular "I", the singular, "Vipul" doing there, since the singular "Vipul" has clamined that individuals should voice their own concerns? I was there to  address my concern in a democratic process. I came to stir up particular conversations, have a proposal accepted on a particular objective and to watch it grow. I am not skipping out on other responsibilities and commitments, and I will not run away from or abandon them.  I was organized during the morning hours, yesterday  October 6,  I was organized last night October 6, and I am organized today. I will not force my issues on others. I do not require anyone to bail me out because first of all you can not jail an idea, and second of all, I am not in jail, and third, I wouldn't ask anyone to bail me out who was truly part of THE 1%. But in reality, those who appose me, you are also part of the 99%. To those who believe that I am fighting you, that I am including your occupation and your life and you hard earned wealth and your giant LCD TVs as corruption and greed, I am not doing that. I believe that every individual is granted their freedom of being able to pursuit their own goals and dreams and their own version of happiness, so therefore I am not fighting against you, the established status quo: I am fighting for you, because you're just one layoff away from being the 99% of us who are either unemployed, underemployed or have been or will be taken advantage of through government corruption and corporate greed.

And it's not just OTHER people's problems, you live in this society, it's your problem too. Examine carefully what I just said. This is your problem as much as it is my problem as much as it is Mr. White's problem, as much as it's Mrs. Yellow's problem. You do not have an endless supply of wealth and proposperity or grant income, or parent's income,  just because you came from a nice family and  have two MBAs and a MD or becaue you have been succesful at applying for grants and the community already supports you. What if you were an engineer and what if one day you are replaced by a robot? Your supervisor comes to you and says the following,

"Mr./Ms Patel, we know you've been with 'said company' for 'said number of years', and we'd like to offer you an opportunity to enjoy the rest of your life. We are thanking you by letting you design a custom machine built to your specifications, basically a machine that will do your job. We are going to thank you by giving your job to a machine and you don't need to come in that many hours to work anymore because the company is restructuring its human resources and humans are not at the top of the list. But here's a one time check for $300K and your picture in the newspaper…oh and the US treasury will be issuing your check so it should take 8-10 weeks, maybe more, maybe less, and in the meantime, here are year long passes to the movie theater"…

You see, corporate greed and government corruption can and will affect you, if you do not think it already is. The aboev story is not science fiction, it has already occured in many parts of the country. It's only a matter of time. And It's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when, to those who say that they are not directly affected, why should I care? You will be affected, quite soon and many of you are already seeing it. Jobs cuts, hour cuts, working overtime with same or reduced pay, healthcare preimiums reaching the moon, not getting your ROI on stocks that were sold to you as if they were drips from the fountain of youth. These same stocks that you thought would help build a savings for your children's college funds. And it will get worse and worse and worse. And it won't just get worse for the one's that are citizens or natives of this country. It will get worse for everyone who is here. Some of you have an attitude that this country is just a giant waste basket or something to not be 'proud of' or to take care of. If this country has taken care of you in the past when corporations were not as greedy and government was not as corrupt, why not do your part and take care of it. Take care of yourself. Take care of your sons and daughters. More and more, you see that promise of the home of the freedom land fade off into a distant past that 'used to happen', 'way back in the day', 'during the good ol' days'. Yet, some of you, while you reminnce in the past, still refuse to want to or should think anything ought to be done to 'bring back the good ol days' and to restore America and to fix the mess.

Some of you think that as an immigrant, we are all just guests in this country and trouble makes will ruin it for everyone else. To you I say that it's shocking and insulting to this nation, which a lot of you have been in for over 50 years, half a century, that you can just say you're a guest. You've been pooping, and peeing and crying and working, sweating and living in this nation for such a long time and you're only a guest? Your children are only guests? I must state that if you're just a guest, you've over stayed your welcome, then. But if you care about this society and what it has done for you will do for your future and your children's future, and you are worried and even have a hair of a doubt of insecurity, do something and do something soon. You don't have to occupy a city, fine. It's ok. The point is to allow the conversation to occur, first. Let it be heard at the dinner table from every member of the family, let it be heard at the Temples, Masjids and Mosques. Let it be heard first from within yourselves before you decide to come to main street or any street.

I've been asked what will occur through making a stand. What are the demands or voted upon concerns? There are no demands from #OccupyHouston's groups as of yet. It's a raw, pure form of democracy at this stage. But mind you, we are not unorganized. It's very, very well organized and I can give you an example:

I am an Indian American. I was able to successfully get an international proposal across a mostly white and Hispanic majority that I recently came across while occupying City Hall last night. I didn't force my proposal on anyone, nor did I trick them or try to sell them anything. I just spoke and asked questions. They heard and replied. They said that they agree and an organized, group consensus would be saught. No police brutality, no one going to jail, no violence, and no traffic and daily life of anyone else, the one's who disagree with me taking a stance, were were disturbed or harassed. The police were actually like little guardians, watching over us, being extra gentle.

I also feel that the herd mentality is blocking many people from the immigrant and international community from talking about this issues amongst themselves, let alone coming out on main street USA. It is an observation that an immigrant herd mentality asks,

"why are you speaking out when no one else in your community is? What will people in [our] community think?"

To those questions I answer, "People in [your community] do not care first of all, and second, they do not know what is going on because they are hiding behind a veil of comfort and luxury, acquired through endless air miles, billions of credit card swipes, lucrative and very successful stock purchases and other investments. Though some do not know what is going on because they have other responsibilities such as working a 15 hour shift to support a newborn. That is understandable. But what is not acceptable and mind blowing (I stole that phrase from Bollywood) to me is that the observation that people do not care about a concern or your concern when they feel threatened that their current occupation and livelihood maybe harassed, tainted or even destroyed by what they call a troublemaker, an outcast.

What people do not realize that a revolution has already started and hundreds and thousands of trouble makers out there are mobilizing to fight for you, and they could be your own son, your own neighbor, your own father, your own uncle, your own cousin, your own boyfriend, your own priest, your own best friend and the list goes on and on and one. And then one day you will become that trouble maker you were resisting and you may face resistance from your own people and you too will say the following:

"We are not fighting against you and your wealth and what you've earned through hard work and genuine dedication. A few rotten apples are trying to make the rest of the apples appear bad. We are fighting for you to make sure that your pursuit of happiness, in this current state of affairs, in this day and age, in this country of the united states, is pursued through resources that are just, fair and free from corporate greed and government corruption.

CONCLUSION:

I will repeat what I've said before, which is my podium talk that anyone can share and reuse if they indentify with it:

I am a Texan but I'm also an Indian. Curry not feathers. I am here to tell the members of the international community that you are being represented in the occupation of Houston in very little numbers. Our dry cleaning, our subway sandwich shops, our gas stations, hotels and liquor stores can be left closed for one day or for a couple of hours. America will not die if they do not listen to Jarrod from Subway and run over to your sandwich shop. Our mathematical equations, our spelling bees, and our Z TV cultural programming will always be there. America will not peril and your stock will not crash if you can not spell "stock" in Swahilli. Things in your life will not change or alter. Everything you know will be the same. But if you keep doing what you're doing, keep brushing your converation, my conversation, the conversation of main street under the mat of 'what will people think', what you will never experience in your life time is this moment or other moments like it, this day or other days like it, to be that change that you want to see in the world that you always quote and preach.

Members of the international community: I hereby declare that TODAY be a day that you Occupy your city, your neighborhoods, and your country so you can show that change you wish to see in the world…OTHERWISE you're just one layoff away from being the 99%.