Yesterday I briefly mentioned a new movement called Occupy Baltimore. This local movement is one of many popping up in cities across the country that are trying to build off of the ongoing Occupy Wall Street situation in New York. Occupy Baltimore is holding a planning event tonight according to this Facebook event page.
I hope the Occupy Baltimore participants keep their demands, messages, and goals simple and local. They should be persistent and not only occupy a space. Marches around Baltimore to various spots would also be effective. On a Google group I suggested that they demand open Baltimore City primary elections and an end to the Baltimore Development Corporation (the BDC). Open primaries and the absence of a BDC dictated development agenda would weaken the corporate power over the political process in Baltimore and give more political say to all voters of Baltimore no matter what their party affiliation is. They should use 13th district councilman Warren Branch as the prototypical Baltimore political corporate shill that is financed and influenced by corporate entities and desires instead of the people of Baltimore. This Baltimore Brew article could be used as a rallying point for those who want election/BDC reform in Baltimore
Filed in: Uncategorized.
Tags: BDC, elections, Occupy Baltimore, Shannon Sneed, Warren Branch, young people
Adam is the most recognizable face of the recent resurgence in Reservoir Hill. He has appeared on many national and local radio shows, in several news publications, and at numerous events discussing his innovative urban redevelopment ideas and his unique lifestyle. Adam is a successful entrepreneur, community activist, and a local political guru who ran for city council in 2007. He is the founder and director of the TechBalt.com Buy a Block Project and BaltimoreHourly.com. His fearless local political commentary has rocked the local blog scene for most of this decade and he plans to take it to the next level in the next decade here on Charm City Current.
The OccupyBaltimore group wants to be a part of the larger movement and many great people are working very hard to make that happen. There is also a small mob within the group that includes a member of the security team that seeks violence and has already turned on one woman in a verbally and physically abusive manner. A mostly young male environment – again, most of whom are wonderful folks – that allows a small mob to exhibit violence against one of it’s own, in addition to their stated desire to engage in altercations with the police (despite the non-violent rhetoric bantered about)will not last long. I hope they can pull together and meet the potential that exists there.
I agree that we need to focus on the pain and blight the city has faced for decades, while all the development money pours into a half mile downtown area. We should be talking about how everyone wants to cut taxes, but nobody talks about how that affects the poor people who make up 1/4 of the city’s population.
I,probably with many others, am starting to get confused. how many different startups are there going to be? we’re off to a bad start already, let’s get together and get our shit together. We appreciate everyones efforts but we’ll never get anywhere going off on tangents. SOLIDARITY!