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Occupy Supply Free Speech Kit
Free speech is on the run. And people expressing their constitutionally-protected rights are increasingly encountering militarized police forces determined to stop them.
Several months ago on an Occupy Supply webinar, Dan Choi said we needed to start thinking about how to protect people while they are out there protesting on behalf of all of us. So we started asking Occupy groups in various cities what they would find helpful in a “Free Speech” kit.
We’ve finally finished putting the kits together, and they are available now at the Occupy Supply store for $25.
We will also be sending them free of charge to Occupy Wall Street protesters for the one-year anniversary of OWS on September 17. You can donate to send a Free Speech kit to an occupier who will be attending the one-year anniversary of Occupy Wall Street here.
The kits contain:
- Medical supply case that clips on a belt or backpack
- Mead memo-pad for note taking
- Pencil
- “You Have the Right to Remain Silent,” an 18-page manual letting protesters know what their legal rights are compiled by the National Lawyer’s Guild
- 3M E-A-R soft earplugs, with a noise reduction rating of 33 dB
- Alcohol wipes
- Foldable, reusable N95 rated particle mask
- Emergen-C
- Blister pads
- Antiseptic towlettes
- Ginseng and bee pollen
- OcuFresh Eye Wash
- Aloe Cooling Gel for burns, cuts and abrasions
- SPF 30 Sunscreen
- Electrical tape
- 1 pair exam glove
We got the chance to talk with OWS organizers last Wednesday on the Occupy Supply webinar about their plans for S17, and it was great to hear their input on the contents of the kit. Special requests came in for something to read and something to keep energy up, hence inclusion of the NLG booklet, the Emergen-C and the ginseng and bee pollen.
Free Speech Plus Kit
Also in the store we have the super-lightweight, foldable water bottles that were so helpful to occupiers at the Philadelphia national gathering after the mayor told the fire department to stop giving them access to water. We also have non-ventilated safety goggles that can be worn for eye protection. Both are available individually or as part of the Free Speech Kit Plus, which also includes an Occupy Supply bandana.
In addition to occupiers, we drew a lot of our inspiration from others who have compiled great activism kits, including this terrific Life Hacker article. Many thanks to them, as well as the National Lawyer’s Guild for allowing us to reprint the manual.
FDL will have both Kit O’Connell and Brian Sonenstein reporting from the S17 event.
If you’d like to help send Free Speech kits to an occupier who will be attending the one-year anniversary of Occupy Wall Street, you can donate here.
And if you’d like to buy a Free Speech kit for yourself or someone you know, you can do it here.
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About FDL Action
Many thanks to all the occupiers who gave their input, and to Emily and Melany for working so hard to source & pack the kits. And to Brian and Zach for setting it all up online.
We’re really excited about these and hope they help some folks out. I know for me, blister pads and cooling gel alone could make the difference between a magnificent or miserable day.
Tweeted. Recommended.
Three cheers for Emily, Jane and Melany for researching and packing the kits! They look bad-ass, can’t wait to see them at #S17.
(Slightly OT shameless self promotion: Kit and myself will be on the scene here in NYC on the 17th for the one-year anniversary of the Occupy Movement. Don’t forget to stop by FDL for live updates!)
Thanks, Boo.
I’m very excited about what you guys have planned. Covering events live is evolving and you’ve come up with some really interesting ways to try and do that.
Thanks Jane; The People need their Information, and we aim to provide it! :)
I also want to encourage folks to send me links to any livestreams or feeds or twitter accounts, etc they plan to be watching and we’ll bring it all together in one place. Our hope is to bring our coverage on the ground in NYC together with reporting from fellow Citizen Journalists on solidarity actions taking place across the country. We’ll see what happens, but I always love hearing people’s ideas, and when it comes to Occupy there’s always someone planning to do something creative online, so reach me at brian@firedoglake.com.
“Shoot, a fella’ could have a pretty good weekend in Vegas with all that stuff.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5qqfsQGYus
LOL
Have you got any tips on how participants and bystanders can photograph or video the events without getting the crap kicked out of them?
Those wielding cameras seem to have been prime targets of repression at previous events in NYC, Oakland and elsewhere.
Nice job putting these kits together for only $25.
“You’ll have to answer to the Coca-Cola Corporation.”
Fabulous stuff, Jane! Wow, has it been a year already?
You know, I keep seeing people proclaiming Occupy’s demise, and saying that it didn’t do much — yet I can think of two things it’s already done:
1. It changed the national conversation. Up to September 17 of last year, the Catfood Cheerleaders, with Pete Peterson nodding smugly, had total control of the national narrative. It was all about EEEEEEK The Scary Deficit Will Kill Us All Unless We Destroy What’s Left Of The New Deal. Occupy stopped that shit, stopped it in its tracks. Furthermore, Occupy cleared a space for asking things like “If Pete Peterson thinks the deficit is such a life-or-death deal, then why isn’t he offering to pay the same tax rates he’d pay under Eisenhower — or even under Nixon, in whose Cabinet he served? Why instead is he telling those with far less money than he has, people who pay more taxes than he does even as they grow poorer, that they must do without what little they possess just so he and his fellow billionaires can keep their private jets and summer homes?”
2. It created a bunch of new activists. There are lots of people who a little over a year ago had given up. Now they’re fired up and working with their local communities as well as in Occupy. They are going to be our leaders, given a chance.
It was a struggle, especially when you add the “made in the USA” part.
We thought we had everything down (except the goggles, which just aren’t made in the USA) and then the towelettes arrived and said “made in China,” contrary to what it said on the website. I could send them back but then they wouldn’t be available for the kits, so we decided to go ahead and include them and then get strict with the supplier about future orders.
Kit O’Connell of Occupy Austin was interviewed on Pacifica’s KPFT in Houston this afternoon in reference to undercover police infiltration of Occupy Austin and Occupy Houston in the lead up to the Occupy the Ports action last year. Great summary and a terrific shout out to FDL for our ongoing support of the Occupy Movement.
Thanks Kit!
NoCal Activist Alert
Any UC Davis students or alums who want Know Your Rights, and/or Legal Observer training, tomorrow’s your day. 6 PM thru 9 PM in Room 1001 at Mrak Hall
Flyer
Also
Anti Free Speech (Occupy) Ordinance on Tomorrow’s Sac City Council Agenda
Link
I’m going to try to make both events
Movie
https://vimeo.com/33854206