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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
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More NDAA Protest Photos All
photos by Lainie Duro except
Repeal NDAA sign by Jeeps
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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
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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
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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.
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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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