Paul
How would you define Occupy ?
An experiment in social society and politics that takes a consensus decision making model where even the rational dissenting voice gets heard.
For me this was the defining construct that seeing it in action had me fascinated. Occupy was like nothing else I had seen and it gave me hope and therefore a desire to take part. Maybe my voice would be heard and valued?
Occupy hits issues head on, Occupy is anarchic, un-cosy and challenging, it made you have to think “How can I define my idea so it works for everyone?” Because if you did not the people they don’t work for reject them and you have to think again until you do.
Occupy was a bunch of strangers of all walks of life with one idea between them, it must be possible to make things better and they became a community taking on the City of London which even Kings had never done and in just a short time became voices that were heard in the media and corridors of power.
Occupy is an idea of ideas.
What were you doing before Occupy ?
Before Occupy I was a Social Justice Campaigner, Advocate and change maker taking on injustice issues as they affected many individuals in Family Law, Domestic Violence and in corrupted Governance and Legal issues.
Having a background in Forensic Systems Analysis (Business & Legal Systems as an independent) with a focus on fraud detection, prevention and fault and solution analysis, I used these skills to analyse injustice on a fault and solutions basis with a particular focus on where authorities commit crimes without lawful authority breaches.
This was after I was threatened with arrest by two police officers for trespass in my own garden if I did not leave my home and realised that this was not an isolated incident but the experience of many. I started making a noise and investigating. The trail uncovered Fraudulent use of Millions of Pounds Public Funds and unlawful policies put in place by a committee of 32 Government Ministers and this had caused distortion and perverting of the Justice System for political policy objectives. I was just one of many tens of thousands of Victims.
Why did you participate in Occupy?
I was giving evidence in the High Court as a witness in a very public family case against a corrupt local authority on November 4th 2011. The case finished early and I said to the parents involved, there is something going on at St Paul’s Cathedral, let’s take a look.
We turned up at 5pm and I stayed till 11pm taking part in a General Assembly. I was fascinated and I wanted more. I was due to go home the next morning but decided I would go the next day and if there was a free tent I would stay awhile. After two hours I was told there was a red peg on my free tent and I stayed not just a few days but it became my home for the next few months.
What impact did Occupy have on your personal life?
I stayed so long I lost my home, I became so immersed it became my whole life, I learnt so much from so many people and learnt the value of living in a very complete but challenging community.
It exposed me to discussions and the depth of ideas it would not have been possible to have in any other places and a closer understanding of ideas from a perspective that one can only get living with people.
It showed me that it is possible for even those that disagree with each other to live together and support each other.
Did Occupy change the ways you think, feel and interact with the world? If yes, how so? What do you feel that you learned (or unlearned) that was unique to Occupy?
It did not change the way I think, it helped refine and focus it on core essentials. It affirmed that despite our differences we are none of us so different and that people with passion for the common good can live and work together no matter what their differences.
It did refine for me that the so-called system is more interested in preserving itself that serving those it is meant to. It gave me proof positive that the media will lie for party political reasons.
It made me more determined to work for equity and justice and that showed me that party politics can never achieve that as it is more about conflict than solutions.
I learned 1st hand that even senior judiciary are not above a lie in their judgments to maintain an unjust and corrupt status quo.
What impact do you think Occupy has had on the economic and political situation?
Occupy introduced a new language into the economic and political sphere. It caused people to think and look a bit deeper. Whilst it only went on for a few months the ideas and discussions gestated into public consciousness much faster than it would normally take.
Words like: Elites, Banksters, 99% and many more all represent ideas that are crystallized in the press and public mind, people know what they mean because of Occupy. In the wider context of the Occupy sound bites these words represent there are now many discussing the issues they represent. Occupy if it did nothing more did burst the boil of real issues not being discussed.
But Occupy never had the time it really deserved to explore solutions. It has been left to others to continue the “Discussion.”
Given the current political and economic situation, what is your view on what people can do to bring long lasting systemic change?
Further research since my time at Occupy, a coalescing of ideas I knew of from before and learnt from and during Occupy and have discussed since, has shown me that there are real and quite easy solutions to the most pressing of the current political and economic issues and they are actually quite easy problems to solve.
The Economic Problems are solvable with a quite simple economic algorithm and the result combines the issue solutions that the two main and competing political economic models try to solve but do not and solves them both by giving both their desired outcomes. It does so by solving both the tax issues and the social benefits issues in one go in a way that all can agree to.
I had to take seriously “How can I define my ideas so it works for everyone?” Because if you did not the people they don’t work for will reject them and you have to think again until you do.
It may sound arrogant to say this but having checked my figures with the Bank of England, they work for all. EVERY BODY BENEFITS.
Austerity Goes, Council Tax Goes, Fuel Poverty Goes, Student Fees & Debt Go, University Fees Go, Unemployment Goes, Work Capability Assessments Go & THE POLITICAL ARGUMENTS OVER TAXES GO!
Pensions Increase, NHS Budgets Increase, Incomes Increase, Affordable Housing CAN be Funded, the National Debt can be Paid off, Food Prices Decrease, Communities can be funded.
How? Easy. The current tax system has not accounted for advances in technology. It’s like the tax system is using the equivalent of Oil Lamps and not using LED lights!
Imagine total taxes at 2% but THREE times the tax revenue in one year!
However, how one implements this also solves the democratic & political deficit issues. This is easily done using the Occupy model in 10,000 autonomous areas of the UK that have existed for centuries and using a long forgotten part of our constitution and it only take 6 people in each area to start it and ten to guarantee that all in that areas get a say. AND IT BRIDGES ALL POLITICAL & SOCIAL PERSUASIONS & POSITIONS.
This is the next discussion to have. Occupy started the discussions, but now is time for the solutions.
Before Occupy, were you involved in activities related to the reasons why you participated in Occupy? (Activist groups, campaign groups, media platforms, volunteering, research, etc)
Yes
Which ones?
Freelance Social justice & The Advocacy Fund
Are you still involved in activities related to the reasons why you participated in Occupy? (Activist groups, campaign groups, media platforms, volunteering, research, etc)
Yes
Which ones?
Still freelance but founded, www.thereset.org
Are you still actively working or engaged with people that you met through Occupy?
Yes
What kind of activities are you doing together?
Solutions Research