Civil disobedience

First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

What that means, officer, is that if you silence us, disperse us, kick us out of public space, you are in violation of the law, and your sworn duty to uphold said law. Every citizen of this nation has an obligation and duty, passed down by the founders of this nation two hundred years ago, to keep their government in line. It's not a suggestion, or just some quote that sounds good in the reciting, it is our job. And that job has now become an occupation. In cities across this nation, people are fulfilling their duty as citizens by railing against an oppressor that has stolen the money from their pockets, the food from their plate, the security from their homes.

All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.
-Thomas Jefferson



And we will not. But let me expand further, because I want to make clear that this is not just an American phenomenon. The "Arab Spring" sparked the occupations, and now dissent spreads through the world like a wildfire... Canada stands in solidarity with OccupyWallSt, as do many nations of Europe. New Zealand, South America, cities around the world are lighting up with the spark of dissent and people are raising their voices against their rulers. Here, it is a written duty to dissent; forged in the documents that founded the nation. But the people of the world, the 99%, believe that to be governed fairly is the right of all humans. 

Police forces, elected officials, mayors, governors, politicians of every ilk here in America... you took an oath of office. At the start of your service, you swore to uphold the laws of the nation - to stand by the Constitution as the rule by which all rules are judged. You stand at a crossroads. You can choose to allow the people to peaceably assemble, to freely speak their dissent and let the chips fall where they may. Change will come. Or you can bow to the whims and pressures of your puppet-masters and try to remove us. Try to shut us up. But I can assure you, you would have better luck keeping all the water on one side of a pool. For every protester you arrest, three will replace them. This movement is a living creature now, an idea running rampant whose time has come. You cannot destroy it; you can barely imagine it. The idea is too large... because it is an idea shared by us all. It is the dream of the 99% to live free, and that idea is well on it's way to becoming real. You are the 99% too, and you are welcome to join us.