Is it time to finally say, “I’m mad as hell and not going to take this anymore?”

The Arizona Legislature (and other Republican-led Legislatures around the country) are attacking the citizens with anti-work bills and anti-student bills.

Republican presidential candidates Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney, and Newt Gingrich and Congressional Republicans are attacking women, immigrants, gays and Lesbians, unions, teachers, college students, the poor, reproductive health, public education, healthcare… the list goes on. They want to take away basic rights that we have taken for granted– like the minimum wage and collective bargaining.

FIVE people have donated 25%– $14 million– to super pacs to elect more Republicans– particularly a Republican President.

Are you tired of government against the people and for the corporations?

If you are “mad as hell”, then join Occupy Tucson, PDA Tucson, and others for a demonstration against corporate rule.

Tucsonans– and others around the world– will be demonstrating against corporate control of our lives, big-money politics, and specifically against the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)– the folks who gave us SB1070 and the anti-worker legislation in Wisconsin, Ohio, Arizona, and elsewhere.

Tomorrow, Feb. 29, come to the downtown public library at 4 p.m. for the demonstration. Bring your signs, noise-makers, and friends. Here’s more information from Occupy Wall Street…

This Wednesday, Occupiers in New York, Oakland, Mexico City, and over 80 other cities [including Tucson] will take part in a coordinated National Day of Action to Shut Down the Corporations. Occupations have been preparing a variety of decentralized actions in response to Occupy Portland’s call to target the American Legislative Exchange Council:

We specifically call on people to target corporations that are members of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). The biggest corporations in America, like ExxonMobil, Bank of America, BP, Monsanto, Pfizer, and Wal-Mart use ALEC to buy off legislators and craft legislation that serves only the interests of corporations and not people. They then duplicate and spread this corporate legislation in Washington, D.C. and in state legislatures across the country. The anti-labor legislation in Wisconsin and the racist bill SB 1070 in Arizona are two recent and destructive examples of what corporations use ALEC to do.

See here for more about why we protest corporate power and how ALEC seeks to erode our democracy, undermine workers rights and attack unions, destroy our environment, obstruct efforts to address climate change, undermine public education, pursue destructive agricultural practices and fuel the prison industrial complex. You can also RSVP for the Occupy Wall St/NYC Facebook event. For national coverage, follow @F29PDX on Twitter.

Simultaneously, European trade unions have declared Feb. 29th a European Day of Action against austerity, following massive demonstrations against budget cuts in Greece, Spain, Belgium, and elsewhere. Decentralized actions in all 27 European Union nations and beyond will be “sending a clear message to the EU leaders: this imposed austerity is going to plunge Europe into a recession!”

The effects of the financial, economic and social crisis have reached unbearable levels in several countries. Faced with the extreme seriousness of the situation, European leaders are making the race for austerity their priority response. The crisis serves as a ready-made pretext to attack the European social model, justify cuts in wages and public services, weaken social protection, make the labour market hyperflexible, and attack trade union rights.

Thus, at a time when the European summit has to adopt a treaty plunging Europe into recession and job insecurity for the long haul, the European trade unions are saying “enough is enough” and putting employment, recovery, social justice and solidarity at the forefront of the discussions.

If you are not “mad as hell,” check out the ALEC Exposed website here.

Occupy Tucson banner (Image credit: Pamela Powers)

Since Occupy Tucson was evicted by the Tucson Police from Veinte de Agosto Park in December, Occupiers have been busy– the food drive, multiple marches, regular general assemblies, and occupying the sidewalk.

Today, Occupy Tucson announced that they will begin occupying DeAnza Park at Stone and Speedway. From their press release…

The tents are coming back. Some members of Occupy Tucson, the local branch of the Occupy Wall Street movement, will be putting up tents and sleeping in DeAnza Park after reaching a consensus at the General Assembly meeting last Monday night.

“We’ve never really gotten an opportunity to engage with the community in the way we’ve envisioned,” said Dave Croteau, one of the Occupiers who will be sleeping in the public park at Speedway Boulevard and Stone Avenue. “We’ve planned teach-ins and around the clock activities this time,” said Croteau, “and we welcome the neighbors to come see what we’re about.”

“The ills of our economy will continue to challenge the poorest citizens,” said Mary DeCamp. “The Tucson Police Department can continue wasting the tax-payers’ money chasing us out of the city parks, but we will continue to petition our broken government for redress to the social and political inequalities that have spawned this global movement.”

Three of the neighborhood associations near DeAnza Park were consulted prior to the encampment. The West University Neighborhood Association Board of Directors was informed of the impending action because DeAnza is within their jurisdiction; they voiced no opposition to the proposal to occupy. Feldman and Dunbar Springs Neighborhood Associations both voted in support of the Occupy Tucson action. Neighbors immediately adjacent to DeAnza were invited by Occupy Tucson representatives in the past two days to share their concerns. “Rather than being chased out and treated as criminals, Occupiers would like to help meet the needs of the community and work to find solutions to the home foreclosure crisis” said Ethan Beasley. “Too many of our friends and neighbors have had their homes taken from them through illegal title transfers using an automated recording system called MERS. The original deeds have been bundled, sliced, diced, and resold by banks and mortgage brokers who walked away with untold riches while hard-working would-be homeowners were fleeced like sheep. We’ve got to do something about those crimes,” said Beasley.

“We’re grateful that the Tucson Police Department hasn’t reacted violently to our presence,” said Sherry Mann, “but we have to have physical space to gather, to share our concerns, and to explore alternatives that will work for all.”

As puppets of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and the Goldwater Institute, Governor Jan Brewer and the Arizona Legislature  are  attacking workers. Did we — the Arizona voters– ask the government to eliminate collective bargaining? NO. Did they campaign on this platform? NO. Why are they fast-tracking anti-union legislation? Because their corporate masters told them to.

We need the Occupy movement now more than ever. There are two classes of people in the US– workers and owners. All workers– union or not– should push back. We need to get corporate money out of government. We are the 99%.

End corporate personhood. (Image Credit: Pamela Powers Hannley)

Today– January 20– is a date that has gone down in infamy. Today is the anniversary of the landmark Citizens United case.

To commemorate the Supreme Court case that struck down campaign finance reform, ruled that money is speech, and paved the way for obscene amounts of money to flood our elections, Occupy Tucson, MoveOn.org, and other groups nationwide will “Occupy the Courts”.

In Tucson, there will be protests all day in front of the federal court house. Here is basic information from the Move to Amend group that wants to amend the Constitution and fix campaign financing.

 LOCATION: Evo A. DeConcini United States Courthouse
405 West Congress Street at Granada (southwest corner)
Tucson AZ 85701

8am-5pm

Protesters are being asked to simply display relevant signs, support petitions to amend the U.S. Constitution, or register to vote early.

Planned activities include:
10:00 a.m.: press conference
12:00 noon: march though downtown Tucson
4:00 p.m.: rally with music & speakers
8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.: open microphone for comments and local entertainers

CONTACT: Danielle Rushford, dani7117@aol.com, Diane Dvoskin, ddvoskin@cox.net

Tucsonans turned out in force last week to support postal worker jobs and protect the Cherrybell mail processing plant from closure.

Inside the Leo Rich Theater, a capacity crowd of more than 500 citizens listened to United States Postal Service (USPS) representative Brian McCoy’s dog and pony show touting plant closures and layoffs as the path to financial solvency for the USPS.

Outside, representatives from Jobs with Justice, Occupy Tucson, and unions chanted, waved protest signs and signed a petition to save local mail processing.

The main reason the post office is going broke isn’t the Internet or the number of postal workers, it’s the Congressional mandate requiring them to pre-pay employee retirement. Last fiscal year, the USPS lost $5.1 billion. During the same time period, they had a $6.9 billion surplus in the Federal Employee Retirement Fund.

Closing 250 mail processing plants nationwide and laying off 35,000 workers won’t solve this structural problem.

Moving from one-day delivery of local mail to two- to three-day delivery of local mail (as proposed by the USPS) won’t make the postal service more competitive; it will further decrease the use of first class mail and could lead to more calls for privatization.

Trucking mail from the city of origin to a regional processing plant and back again isn’t environmentally friendly and could be cost-prohibitive in the future.

For more details on the meeting and background on the postal service’s financial woes, check out my article in the Huffington Post: Occupy the Post Office? Tucson Postal Workers, Supporters, Fight Back Against Threatened Job Cuts.

Tucson Occupiers discuss nest steps on Dec. 22, 2011 after their eviction from Veinte de Agosto Park. (Image Credit: Pamela Powers Hannley)

Although it has been nearly a week since Tucson Police evicted Occupy Tucson from their Veinte de Agosto Park encampment, Occupiers have not folded up their tents and disappeared into the night. They continue to meet, organize, protest, and solidify the movement for 99% and against corporate takeover of our country.

Tomorrow– Dec. 28– will be a busy day of action for Occupy Tucson and its supporters.

Community Food Drive

From 7 a.m. – 4 p.m., Occupiers will be accepting people and pet food donations at Veinte de Agosto (Congress and Church) or DeAnza Park (Stone and Speedway).

From the Occupy Tucson facebook page…

In support of Shaun McClusky’s upcoming “Take Care of Tucson” food drive to feed the hungry, Occupy Tucson announces a companion event to help him boost donations.

McClusky, who has called Occupy Tucson a “smelly stinky presence” and has said he hopes “TPD takes their unemployed asses to jail,” has been awarded permits by the City of Tucson to occupy Veinte de Agosto Park and De Anza Park on December 28.

McClusky is the founder of Rincon Ventures, a real estate company that acquires foreclosed homes at public auction. For the past several weeks, members of Occupy Tucson have been disrupting these auctions, held at the Pima County Courthouse. In November, Occupy activists held a competing event, auctioning off donut holes to the public. The boisterous presence of Occupy Tucson at these auctions has become an impediment to McClusky’s ability to do business.

So we are particularly pleased that Mr. McClusky is spearheading this community food drive, in that it demonstrates his solidarity with the hungry and homeless of our community, the segment of the 99 percent most severely impacted by corporate greed and corruption. Although Occupy Tucson does puzzle over the efficacy of evicting homeless people from their tents in order to make their lives better, we applaud McClusky’s good intentions and pledge to join him on December 28 to raise contributions for the four organizations he has designated as recipients: The Tucson Community Food Bank, the Humane Society, Cold Wet Noses, and the Hermitage Shelter.

Occupy Tucson invites its supporters to engage in a friendly hometown rivalry. Help us answer the question: which group of Occupiers will gather more food? Foreclosure profiteer Shaun McClusky, or the 99 percent?

Occupy Tucson urges our supporters to bring donations to Veinte de Agosto Park or De Anza Park from 7am to 4pm on December 28. Occupy Tucson activists will have a visible presence nearby to greet community members and accept donations.

Occupy the holidays!

Political Action Supporting Postal Workers

Following the food drive, Occupy Tucson, Jobs with Justice, and their supporters will gather at Veinte de Agosto Park at 4:30 p.m. for a rally to keep the Tucson Mail Processing Plant, which is threatened with closure. The rally will be from 4:30 – 5:15, followed by a march to the Leo Rich Theater, in the Tucson Convention Center complex, where there will be a 6 p.m. public hearing about the proposed closure. Closure of the Cherrybell facility will not only mean the loss of 400 good-paying jobs, it will mean dramatically reduced mail service for Tucson.

From Jobs with Justice and Tucson Area Local American Postal Workers Union…

The Postmaster General is considering eliminating Tucson’s postal sorting station at Cherrybell Stravenue.

This would mean all mail would be routed through Phoenix, even if it is going elsewhere in Tucson. It would also mean the end of overnight service from Tucson.

This proposal would cost the community approximately 400 (union) jobs, hurt local businesses that rely on the postal service, and harm seniors who receive Social Security checks and medication by mail. It would also put the kybash on those last-minute runs to Cherrybell Station to meet those midnight deadlines!

Tucson is the 33rd largest metro area in the country.

Even though the USPS has agreed to hold off until 5/15/12 for any more closures studies are continuing as well as public hearings. This is our only chance to make an impact. Even if you don’t want to go to the microphone we need to fill 511 seats.

Written comments can also be submitted (by post, not email!) to: Management,Consumer and Industry Contact, Arizona
District, P.O. Box, 21628, Phoenix, Arizona 85036-1628. [Emphasis added.]

Occupy Tucson showing solidarity upon their eviction from Veinte de Agosto Park on Dec. 21. 2011. (Image Credit: Alex Maldonado)

Throughout the day yesterday, Occupy Tucson posted calls to action on its  facebook page alerting supporters to a possible eviction that evening.

For a little more than two months, Occupy Tucson has maintained a continuous encampment downtown– first at Armory Park and then at Veinte de Agosto Park, after their first eviction by the Tucson Police Department (TPD). The Occupiers have never wavered in their demands for free speech and in their fight for the 99% and against the corporate takeover of the US.

Despite being one of the smaller Occupations in the US, Tucson Occupiers have suffered more police harassment than other Occupations. To the credit of the police and the Occupiers, there have been no violent clashes, but the Tucson Occupiers have received a disproportionate number of citations. Occupy Tucson citations are second only to Occupy Wall Street (1,359), according to the Occupy Tucson legal team, quoting data from St. Pete for Peace, an independent group that has verified (with two reliable sources) 5,425 Occupy arrests nationwide. Tucson has had 455 arrests according to St. Pete for Peace, but TPD has reported more than 700 arrests.

Occupy Tucson disappeared from downtown last night. Homeless but undaunted, what will be the next steps for Occupy Tucson?

UPDATE: Occupy Tucson will hold a noon meeting today (December 22, 2011) in Presidio Park in downtown Tucson to discuss next steps.

UPDATE 2: MoveOn.org sent out a message that there will be an Occupy Tucson General Assembly in Armory Park tonight (December 22, 2011) at 6 p.m.

Here is an eye-witness account of the eviction by Alex Maldonado, Veteran for Peace and Tucson Occupier.

On Wednesday evening [Dec. 21, 2011] at 7 p.m., during Occupy Tucson’s General Assembly, Tucson Police Department (TPD) Chief Villasenor interrupted the GA to announce that TPD would close Veinte de Agosto Park at 10:30pm tonight and wanted all occupiers out of the park.

A few minutes later, two TPD cruisers shut down Broadway and Church, followed by over a dozen TPD vehicles that encircled the encampment.

Flood lights were then set-up to give light to the entire park as occupiers began a second bug-out since the start of the occupation on October 15th.

Vehicles appeared, helping occupiers pack and move every item from the encampment to a safe location elsewhere.

The Veterans For Peace flag which has been flying over the encampment since the beginning of the occupation was lowered from the flagpole, yet a second time, but was promised to fly over the next encampment by the Veterans For Peace, who lowered the flag.

The TPD presence grew again at 10pm, when more TPD vehicles arrived with lights flashing. TPD cruisers, SUV’s, motorcycles and one pick-up truck had the park surrounded. Occupiers were finishing the bug-out and were, yet again, picking any and all trash from the park, leaving it better than when the occupation found it.

At one point, the occupiers stormed back into the park as TPD watched helplessly, and took some group photos with the statue of Pancho Villa in the background. Just as fast as the group rushed in, the group returned back to the “safe zone” which was the sidewalk.

Melissa Tibbals-Gribbin made a stand of her own, as she marched back into the park, stood atop a rock formation and held her hand in the air until TPD circled her, handcuffed her and took her into custody.

Occupiers then decided to sleep on the sidewalk but only after TPD imposed “a sleeping bag and covers only” policy for those few brave souls.

Five hours since the first two TPD cruisers shut down Broadway and Church, TPD finally left with only a small token crew to watch over the park for the remainder of the night.

Even though the occupiers were evicted yet again, spirits were high and a GA was already being planned for the next day. Occupy Tucson may be homeless tonight but tomorrow always brings hope for the movement and a new location to be determined.

The eviction of Occupy Tucson by Tucson Police. (Image credit: Alex Maldonado)

Occupy Tucson encampment at Veinte de Agosto Park. (Image Credit: Pamela Powers Hannley)

Tucson City Attorney Mike Rankin offered Tucson Occupiers a plea bargain recently. At a legal meeting last week, we defendants heard the details of the plea bargain (which wasn’t much of a bargain). It included multiple levels of monetary penalties and community service depending upon how many tickets a person had garnered. With over 700 citations issued to fewer than 200 people, many Occupiers are facing serious financial and legal burden for camping in the name of free speech for the 99%. The defendants in attendance decided the city’s offer was not a good deal.

Occupy Tucson protesters during rush hour. (Image Credit: Pamela Powers Hannley)

Our legal team read a draft proposal as a counter offer. The Occupiers’ offer to the city included dismissal of citations and establishment free office space downtown for Occupy Tucson for one year in exchange for dismantling the encampment and dropping the federal lawsuit against the City of Tucson and city officials (plus other details outlined below). I spoke in favor of this proposal last week because I believe that the Occupy movement nationwide has to decide on next steps. Office space gives the Occupiers a place to organize and move forward with the causes that are important to the 99%– like fighting foreclosures and fighting against the corporate takeover of our government.

This is not the end of Occupy; it is the next phase.

Below is Occupy Tucson’s counter offer to the city. If you support Occupy, please call the Mayor and City Council members now. Here is a link to their contact information.

BY CONSENSUS OF THE OCCUPY TUCSON GENERAL ASSEMBLY, DECEMBER 18 2011:

Mr. Rankin,

The Occupy Tucson legal team has had an opportunity to review the City’s plea offer with some, but not all, of the Occupy Tucson defendants. [1] The majority of them have rejected the plea upon our advice, and have asked us to present a counter-offer.

Before we get to details, however, we’d like to say a few words about the unique situation facing both the City and the Occupy Tucson movement. Our clients are not the typical “vagrants” the underlying ordinance was intended to address. They have intentionally violated the applicable ordinance(s) in an earnest and righteous exercise of their First Amendment rights. They are extremely principled and dedicated to the ideals of the Occupy movement, as evidenced by the many who have volunteered night after night to receive a citation (some of whom have even go so far as to drive to the park at “ticket time” each night to receive a citation before returning home). With few exceptions, our clients have chosen to stand together as a group in solidarity and as members of a political association.

Our clients represent a true cross section of Americans – homeowners and the homeless (either recently due to foreclosure or chronic), employed and unemployed, highly educated and less so: doctors, short order cooks, grandmothers from Green Valley, students from the UA, Democrats, Republicans – you get the point. Few of them knew each other prior to the first day of the Occupation on October 15th, yet found themselves inextricably drawn to the Occupy Wall Street movement which seemed a beacon of hope for the 99% of Americans affected by an economic crisis brought on by corporate greed and government corruption that had trickled down over the last several years to affect all but the wealthy 1%.

The people of Occupy Tucson found it necessary to make a courageous statement by occupying government land vis a vis camping statement in public parks in a pure expression of free speech. It was imperative to them to exercise their constitutional rights 24 hours a day. Because there is no provision within the City code to allow its residents to do so, the City chose to penalize its citizens by imposing criminal citations carrying maximum penalties of $1,000 and six months in jail. While certainly justified by the laws on the books, the City failed and made a dishonorable choice.

We would like to propose what we believe is a win-win situation. For the purpose of clarity, however, be advised that the Occupy Tucson legal team does not represent every single person who identifies as an Occupy Tucson member. We have no control over splinter groups or rogue individuals who adamantly disregard our legal advice. This is the nature of the beast, and must be taken into account as a reality by which we are all limited to a certain degree. We can, however, provide a roster of those people who are either on board with being represented as part of a group or are interested in accepting the existing plea in whole or in part.We will do our best to insure that the majority of people with citations will accept a plea, and will withdraw from the cases of those people not on the roster because they are not acting in a manner consistent with their best interest.

Our counter proposal is as follows.

1. Our clients will agree to:
A. Decampment of Viente de Agosto[2] park by a date certain if the following conditions can be met. Decampment is meant to include removal of all semi-permanent structures including tents, camping equipment, tables, chairs, IT equipment, remaining kitchen items (the kitchen was voluntarily removed two weeks ago).
B. Our clients will agree not to “re-occupy” Viente de Agosto park, Armory Park or the main library grounds for a period of one (1) year.
C. We shall suspend the federal civil rights lawsuit currently pending in U. S. District Court, Occupy Tucson v. City of Tucson, cause number 4:11-CV-00699-TUC-CJK, for a period of one (1) year at which time it shall be dismissed with prejudice.
D. We shall dismiss the special action in Pima County Superior Court, Occupy Tucson v. Riojas and State of Arizona, cause number C20118136.

5. In exchange, the City shall:
A. Dismiss all citations issued from October 15 to the present for violation of any park-after-hours ordinances including violations of Tucson City Code Sec. 21-3(7)(3), as well as “interfering with judicial order” violations resulting from said park-after-hours restrictions.
B. Will provide suitable office space in the downtown area for the purpose of Occupy Tucson headquarters, to be used for meetings, public interface including education, workshops and information, and offices. The space shall be for the period of one (1) year, free of charge, at street level, not less than 1,000 square feet, and shall include utilities, internet access and telephone.
C. Lastly, the City shall agree to coordinate efforts with Occupy Tucson to relocate each of the homeless-identified/SMI/substance abuse affected who currently camp at the park into appropriate social services.

For purposes of logistics, i.e., a timely decampment coordinated with moving into a new headquarters, we would accept a commitment from the City to work with OT to reach this goal.

In conclusion, we realize that this is not a standard plea offer, but neither is this a standard criminal prosecution. We are certain that despite the additions/changes from your original plea that it is in the best interest of both the City and Occupy Tucson to come to a mutual resolution of this situation. Our clients are not the only ones with a lot at stake if the prosecution continues. While you stated on Arizona Illustrated television show that the 700 citations were not a burden to your office or the Court, we think your statements were primarily for public consumption. We are both aware it will take considerable resources from both the prosecution and defense to merely review the deluge of disclosure that will be involved in a trial of thee charges. In addition, we cannot even estimate the expense in time and money of the number of police interviews that must be done before trial; suffice it to say that we would insist on interviewing all three officers the City felt obliged to put on each cited person (700 x 3 = 2,100 hours of police interviews). And lastly, we assume that even in groupings of defendants the actual trials in this case will be a logistical and resource nightmare; even so, many of our clients have indicated they would insist on individual trials. I am positive that the price of a one year lease on some modest store front office or commercial property would be far less costly to the City than having to produce police officers for interviews and trial testimony.

Of course there is also the added incentive of resolving this situation without the rancor, expense and additional litigation that will result from law enforcement action to end the Occupy Tucson camp. The City has been very reasonable and accommodating up to this point and we would certainly be willing to let the public know about how Tucson would be one of the few cities with an Occupy camp to resolve the situation in a principled and peaceful manner.

We are ready to move immediately. We await your response.

[1] Because our client roster exceeds 130 people, we are not able to contact all our clients easily. Sixty-one percent (61%) can be contacted instantly via email; the rest can only be contacted by phone and/or email.

[2] Any activity which may or may not occur at any other park including DeAnza is not under the control or supervision of Occupy Tucson proper. For instance, Occupy Public Lands is an autonomous offshoot and while we are supportive of their efforts and goals we are not representing anyone who may have or will receive a ticket at that location.

Marisa Muro of Occupy Tucson was taken into custody on Nov. 30, 2011. (Image Credit: Alex Maldonado)

As police and local governments begin major crackdowns across the US, the Tucson Police Department and Occupy Tucson continue their nightly dance of citations, arrests, and resistance at Veinte de Agosto Park downtown.

From Alex Maldonado, Occupy Tucson Peacekeeper and Veteran For Peace…

Tonight [Wednesday, Nov. 30], eight Tucson Police Department cruisers, one SUV and another unmarked SUV encircled Veinte de Agosto Park for the nightly issuing of citations for staying in the park after hours for Occupy Tucson.

As citations were being issued, Marisa Muro, peacefully refused her citation and was taken into custody without incident.  Muro is basically deaf with only 20% hearing in each ear.

Since Thanksgiving evening, nine occupiers have been taken into custody for refusing their citations.  Occupiers spend the night at the Pima County Adult Detention Center, have their arraignment hearing in the morning and are then released.

Tucson’s newly-elected Mayor Jonathan Rothschild will be sworn in next Monday, Dec. 5, 2011. Will the police change their tactics then? Only time will tell.

Tucson Occupier in tree. (Image Credit: Alex Maldonado)

Several Tucson Occupiers climbed the large trees at Veinte de Agosto Park after 10 p.m. on November 28. The Tucson Police, which had been citing protesters nightly for six weeks, issued no citations, made no arrests, and left at approximately 11 p.m.

Since Occupy Wall Street started on September 17, 2011, more than 4,000 Americans in 65 cities have been arrested. In Tucson, more than 700 people have been cited and/or physically arrested.

Joan Zatorski Puca was arrested by Tucson Police on Friday, November 25, 2011. Above is the video of the arrest. Her powerful statement below details her rational for submitting to arrest at Occupy Tucson.

This statement below, is read in the video by Joan’s husband Dr. Christopher Puca as she is being dragged into a TPD cruiser.

Friday, Nov. 25, 2011

After much personal introspection, I came to the decision today that this evening I will place myself in position to be arrested at Pancho Villa Park downtown (Veinte de Agosto Park) and jailed in relation to my involvement in the OCCUPY MOVEMENT in Tucson.

I’ve been carefully studying and meditating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s most erudite essay, his “Letter from Birmingham Jail (1963)” this past week. I am convinced that it is essential for deliberate, immediate attention be refocused on the issues of economic injustice which initially galvanized the OCCUPY MOVEMENT world-wide (as opposed to issues related to local city curfew, park ordinances, or even this issue of First Amendment Rights).

I have come to this conclusion not as a leader of any movement or group but as a singular individual desperately concerned about the profound suffering presently experienced by millions of human beings across every economic and social class, generation, gender, sexual orientation, political persuasion, religious or spiritual belief.

In good conscience, I simply cannot let Mary DeCamp (recent Mayoral candidate, Tucson Peace Activist) be the lone Tucsonan willing to enter jail (as she did in the wee hours of November 25th) as a means of drawing attention to our country’s blatant issues regarding economic injustice.

As an educated white woman, legally disabled by illness, a civil servant with almost 20 years of service to children who were living at or below the poverty line, a mother, grandmother, spouse, avowed Christian, registered and consistently-participating voter, American citizen by birthright, granddaughter of immigrants, who has never been arrested, much less walked into a jail, I believe I am the most “common” example of the “common person” impacted by the devastatingly serious economic issues that thousands upon thousands of people are demanding be addressed.

I am you… we are all one and we are suffering. Only by uniting with one another can our most egregious issues be solved.

Look in my eyes and see the reflection of your own face, your own pain… Look again and see, as well, the possibility for redemption, for resolution, for renewal of all that is good within the soul of America.

In closing, I ask you to surround me with your personal prayers this evening. That I may stay committed to my decision to display non-violent behavior, speech, and attitude in the face of (what may be) a physically and medically challenging experience for me tonight (and beyond).

Joan Zatorski Puca
Tucson, Arizona