In C.T.’s Words…
Suddenly, consensus is on the world stage. The worldwide Occupy movement is committed to the process of consensus decisionmaking. The use of consensus at the regular General Assembly (GA) is widespread. While the degree of consistency varies from Occupy to Occupy, generally, there is a deep and lasting commitment to the democratic ideal that “all voices may be heard”.
Wren's consensus-based Open Classroom at Heathcote Community
Wren Tuatha and I have 45 years experience between us in consensus process. I’ve has written two books on the topic and taught over 100 workshops on a philosophy of consensus I developed. Wren has practiced consensus 24/7 living in an Intentional Community and she organized & facilitated an educational environment for children for 8 years operated by consensus.
Since the beginning of the Occupy movement, I have been inundated with calls from the press inquiring about consensus. At the same time, I was inundated by email requests from Occupys all over North America asking for assistance with their consensus process. In response to these requests, on October 30th, we hit the road, traveling to several Occupys on both the East & West coasts. The experience so far has been exhilarating.
CT & Starhawk recall activist ol' days in San Francisco
We have a dream. We would like to acquire a bio-diesel bus that could take three to four trainers across the land stopping at each Occupy as we go. We would spend two to four days at each teaching consensus & facilitation and sharing best practices we learn from each Occupy we visit along the way. Our vision is long-distance. We would revisit each Occupy repeatedly, every couple of months, to support and deepen the consensus process over the next year.
This is what direct democracy looks like! It is not easy. It starts out messy. With training and practice, people can learn to use consensus in a way that significantly reduces the use of power to dominate, stops privileged behavior that tends to oppress others and truly allows for all voices to be heard in a safe, meaningful environment. It is worth struggling for in these early stages of development. We would like to have the opportunity to support this effort.
—C.T. Lawrence Butler
In Wren’s Words…
We’re home at Heathcote for a few days, doing back office work after another thrilling trip to Occupy Wall Street. OWS is struggling to find its legs with its new affinity group/spokescouncil model, alternating spokescouncils with GA’s. First thing to get about spokescouncils—You can set them up to be open to the public if you want, but ONLY THE SPOKES SPEAK!!! If you’re not a spokesperson, don’t get on stack or shout out!!!
Ah, direct democracy in its infancy is cute, but it shits a lot.
Thanks so much to our friends Jerry and Jenny who opened their Long Island home to us, and to Melanie, Shana, Nikki, Rabbi David and many other friends who helped us hold two heavily attended teach ins.
We will soon be announcing the dates and location of our three day Consensus: Body and Soul workshop for OWS. In the meantime, we have two Consensus: Body and Soul workshops coming up:
- York, Pennsylvania, January 6th through 8th,
- Baltimore, Maryland on January 13th through 15th.
Locations to be announced. These will be free to Occupy participants, so we need those donations to make it all possible!
How to Support Us in Teaching Consensus and Process Skills
within the Occupy Movement
We are a project of Fusion Partnerships, our fiscal sponsor. You can mail a tax-deductible contribution to:
Fusion Partnerships
1601 Guilford Ave, 2 South
Baltimore, MD 21202
( Be sure to make check out to Fusion Partnerships and write “for Fiopa Consensus Collective” on the memo line)
If you don’t desire a tax deduction, send your contribution to:
C.T. Lawrence Butler
7304 Carroll Ave, #136
Takoma Park, MD 20912
Creative Ideas for Contributing
Switch to CREDO mobile before 12/31/11 and say C.T. Lawrence Butler sent you! Ask click on this link for details.
Host a fundraising house party while we’re in your area! Call Wren for more information: 410-458-2310
Introduce us to major donors in your area. Call Wren at the above number!
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Donate $100 by Switching to CREDO Before Dec. 31!
Everyone we meet wants to support our work, bringing consensus training to the Occupys, but times are hard. So we’re always on the look out for creative ways that people can donate.
House parties are a great way to multiply your donation times the number of friends who gather together on short notice. This usually involves [...]
Flavors of a Flash Tour
I wish I had the time and energy for a proper post. There is so much to share of our tour of Boston, Philadelphia and Wall Street Occupys. But I have a raging sinus infection and we’re on a plane at 6 a.m. for Chico, California!
So let a few random pictures stand in for now. [...]
Unions Tell City Hands Off Occupy Baltimore
Cheers to the unions for stepping up in strong support of Occupy Baltimore in the face of the city’s plans to clear our encampment! Note that the Fraternal Order of Police are among the signatories:
“Dear Mayor Rawlings-Blake:
We have been made aware of the city of Baltimore’s intention to close down the Occupy Baltimore [...]
How Did Hippie Chick Diaries Become Occupy Diaries? (Part One)
I’m on quite a magic carpet ride, I have to say. Three weeks ago, my partner C.T. Butler and I were quietly working from home. We were assembling a book proposal for C.T.’s memoir of the early years of Food Not Bombs. We had hopes that such a book could help us promote the historic [...]
Updated Press Release
*****FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*****
UPDATE: CITY DEFERS OCCUPY BALTIMORE PERMIT REQUEST, SUGGESTS
COMPROMISE; OCCUPATION CALLS FOR PUBLIC SUPPORT
Occupy Baltimore has been peacefully gathering in McKeldin Square on
the corner of Pratt & Light Streets since October 4th, 2011. Today
marks the start of the fourth week of the encampment. Early last week,
after pressure from the Baltimore City police department and [...]
Urgent Call to Solidarity: Join Occupy Baltimore This Wednesday, October 26, 2011
From Wren:
Occupy Baltimore has received an ironically named “permission document” from the city. It seeks to end our occupy presence by essentially prohibiting tents and overnight camping, and by squeezing all our functions into a little seen corner of the park.
To show our true numbers, Occupy Baltimore urgently calls on all of our supporters [...]
A Polyamory Pioneer
Part of the Occupy meme is its holistic nature. C.T. has been living this by being on the cutting edge of many cultural changes, including redefining family and love in the modern era. Identifying as polyamorous before the word existed, C.T. did a thoughtful, informative podcast interview with writer/journalist Eric Francis [...]
C.T. and Wren at Occupy Boston: A Food Not Bombs Homecoming!
The Boston Phoenix feature on C.T. Butler is live here:
http://thephoenix.com/Boston/news/128671-ct-butler-is-back-on-the-fro…
and hitting newsstands Thursday. I’ve copied it below and added some pics. I’m just thrilled at how the writer captured C.T.’s exuberance toward the movement. It’s a beautiful thing! Please share the above link with friends in other occupys so they can know that C.T. is [...]
Associated Press Quotes C.T. Butler on Occupy Movement and Diversity
Here’s a link to an article,
Occupy protesters eye diversity as movement grows
On Saturday, C.T. Lawrence Butler was interviewed by an Associated Press reporter collecting background on the Occupy Movement. C.T., co-founder of the worldwide movement Food Not Bombs, has been writing about and teaching values-based consensus decisionmaking for thirty years. For a little over a [...]
