Blogs

Freedom From Covert Harassment and Surveillance

from Derrick Robinson 

Occupation Events in New York and Washington, DC

accounts by Targeted Individual (TI)

Community Participants of Last Week's Demonstrations

Introduction

Thanks to all of you who attended and are attending the Occupation events in New York, Washington, DC and other cities.  This is a historic occasion and an opportunity our community cannot afford to miss!  Wherever you are, there is an occupation event nearby.  They are happening in all of the major and mid-sized metro areas, and in many small cities and towns. The TI's that participated often spoke of receptive audiences to our issues by event attendees. These people are keenly attuned to government abuses and seem to listen to us with an open mind. 

According to information from JoJo: OccupyTogether.org is the main contact point for demonstrations in now 1,018 cities and towns.  Look up the nearest demonstration near you. 

Below are accounts from Sandy Fields, Marc Burnell, Cynthia L., Karen S., and Max Williams. The place where they "occupied" is listed beside their name. Due to privacy concerns, I've used the last initial for some of the TI's here.

Really enjoyed the demonstration. There was a lot of energy in the air. People were very serious. I spoke to a lot people while handing out flyers. A lot of them seemed really smart. Weather was perfect. The artists were better than people thought. Great speeches. The walk to the Chamber Of Commerce was great. They were playing the drums, chanting, singing, etc. Loved the costumes they were wearing throughout the demonstration.

Sandy Fields, New York City

Occupy NYC accumulated...over 130,000 people from all over the country who want to eliminate Wall Street greed, but its focus is beginning to become real society-changing to meet the needs of 99% of the people, a need to update an obsolete society. We came together and spent hours deciding on forming groups of interest. We currently have a legal group-(high powered legal attorneys) currently suing Mayor Bloomberg, NYPD, and others, for the pepper spraying of people on the Brooklyn Bridge last week.

There is a Community Group, a Media Group, and almost every type of group forming that will serve as a new type of way of reformatting our government and addressing the issues we have not been able to address- like better education, ways of creating more jobs, and ways of living and working communities, utilizing newer money exchanges, and ways of housing homeless. The group has people of all ages and all are very passionate about really making this effort grow and change our society.  We have outgrown our laws.

Everyone asked me about gangstalking and I reached hundreds of thousands of people. There was media coverage and very concerned people about this crime. Media people were all over. The sign was photographed and distributed all around on the Internet, in the media, and by reporters who were writing about issues of grievances.

There will be growing groups of people assembling in many more cities, and it's free advertising and getting the word out about our issues to hundreds of thousands of people. 

Derrick, you need to get people to other cities tomorrow and every day to educate the public on our issues. We cannot let this opportunity pass us by. I will be going back tomorrow and all weekend with flyers and my sign.  There will be food for all and people will make signs for you. All of this is much better than anything else we tried to do. All targeted individuals need to get out to these meetings Now! We can stop this crime.  Media people are listening and taping segments for news casts. We will be heard. 

Cynthia L., Washington, DC

There was a cross-section of America at the "October 2011" rally and "occupation," people of all ages and races and from several geographic areas.  I shared photos with Derrick taken from my cell phone and called Derrick and Cassandra a few times during the day to share what was happening and our progress in talking to people.  It was enlightening to me to see so many people who are committed to changing the economic and social justice conditions in our country.  This was the first time I have attended such an event (except many years ago when there was a movement to make Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday a national holiday).  There were young people in their twenties, middle-aged follks, Baby Boomers, and seniors.  There were veterans, mothers with their children, organizations, and private citizens.  People held up large banners to protest the economic condition in the United States.  Others held up modest signs and walked throughout Freedom Plaza to display their message.  There was an air of mutual tolerance and solidarity. 

It was encouraging to be with other TIs, meet them in person, and share our experiences.  This is an important aspect of working together to achieve our mutual goal.  As we work together, we learn more about how to deal with the targeting and recognize that together we can make a difference to end the system of directed energy weapons.  The opportunity to meet in person is especially helpful.

Lessons Learned

Others probably already know these steps.  If we ever gather as a group at an event like this in the future, we could:

- Wear the same tee shirt or other identifying clothing to help us stand out

- Prepare signs in advance to help people know our issue

- Have business cards for Derrick or have his contact information pre-printed on hand-outs

Freedom Plaza

The location of the protest is situated on Pennsylvania Avenue, the corridor between the Capitol building and the White House and the route of many protests and demonstrations throughout the history of the United States.  Freedom Plaza is a broad open area with quotes enscribed in the walkways that reflect the importance of democracy and citizenship.  A stage was set up at one end of the plaza.  The backdrop on the stage was a huge replica of the Declaration of Independence with the words "We the People" emblazoned in large letters.  Music and song was woven throughout the day with recorded protest music, and people with banjos, guitars and other instruments who sang and played their songs.  A huge drum was surrounded by at least a half dozen people who beat the drum to call attention to this social justice movement.

Marching

One of the first events of the day was the entry of the parade of veterans into Freedom Plaza.  They had special flags to announce they were veterans and chanted slogans to call for change now.  The assembly welcomed them with applause.  Various stations were set up around Freedom Plaza -- a truth-telling area to video-record people who wished to tell their stories, a "soapbox" area for any who wanted to command the attention of an audience, the Legal Table, and the Registration Table for volunteers to help with logistics.  Reporters and cameras moved throughout the area to ask people what they expected to achieve from the protest.  They were from U.S. media outlets and several from other countries.  In the afternoon, many people in the assembly paraded along Pennsylvania Avenue throughout a route in downtown Washington, DC to the Chamber of Commerce.  Marc was among the marchers.  Max, Karen, and I continued to pass out flyers and talk to people who remained at Freedom Plaza.  The large parade group returned to Freedom Plaza clapping and shouting slogans accompanied by the beating of the large drum.

Outreach to Educate About Our Issues

Max, Marc, Karen, and I distributed about 100 copies of a flyer to ask people to sign the "We the People" petition at the White House website.  We talked to people to introduce them to, or in many instances remind them of, the Church Committee and the excesses of government that were investigated in that era.  Virtually everyone was receptive to listening to us as we discussed this infringement of human rights.  This was in keeping with the tenor of the day and the commitment of the protestors.  We asked them to share the petition with their family members and in their communities.  Many said they had heard about the technologies and the effect they could have on human beings.  They assured us that they would visit the website and sign the petition and share the information.  Others said they would consider our request.  The more we talked with people, the easier it was to approach them and explain our issue.  I think we raised the awareness of many people from all over the country.  We talked to people from Texas, Wisconsin, Illinois, and I'm sure many other places.  It was a rewarding experience to connect with so many people for this cause.  Our conversations included members of "The Raging Grannies," an organization of older women who dress in outrageously-colored outfits with straw hats filled with flowers to draw attention to their work for social justice.  We chatted with women from Code Pink, another grassroots human rights activist group.

Talking to Media Representatives

We gave out flyers to several reporters and shared the contact information for FFCHS.  We talked to them about directed energy weapons and the fact that they are being used against Americans and people around the world.  Some of them found what we were saying was credible.  All of the media we talked to said they would look into the information we presented to them.  I think they were at "October 2011" because they are interested in this protest movement and want to know the issues and what people want to achieve by their presence.  Hopefully, the Media Committee will identify what follow-up we will have with these reporters to share more resources with them and attempt to develop a relationship with them.

Additional lessons learned that I would like to add are as follows: 1) We need to develop a personal brand for the organization. As Cynthia stated, most of the organizations had banners, similar clothing, signs with slogans, etc. Within the branding we need to identify specific communities of people that would be more open to sympathizing and supporting our organization. For instance, I noticed women over 50, (Raging Grannies), were open-minded and very sympathetic. Also, the young, motivated, and zealous men of the Media Research Center were also open.

The commonality between these two groups is that they were not representative of mainstream media.

2)  We need to develop a canned, credible script which TI's can utilize when explaining their circumstances. We need to keep it simple in laymen's terms so that most people can understand it.

I drove to Houston on Sunday October 2, visited with relatives, and flew from there to Washington, DC on Tuesday October 4. On the morning of October 6, I took the metro to downtown Washington. It was 9:00am when I set foot on Freedom Plaza, and people were arriving to join those who had spent the night there. By mid-morning, a large crowd had gathered, and organizers were using a public address system to warm up the group. One of the speakers was an organizer by the name of Kevin Zeese, a very articulate spokesperson who I saw being interviewed later that evening on a couple of local TV channels.

Around noon, Cynthia, Karen, and I met and went to a nearby eatery to have lunch together, where we compared many of the effects that we get from the electronic attackers. Both Cynthia and Karen had taken annual leave from their government jobs to take part in the demonstration. Afterward, we met Marc Burnell, and the four of us “worked” the crowd. Cynthia had reproduced copies of our FFCHS petition, so we fanned out to distribute the petitions and attempt to convince others to sign it. Cynthia and Karen were remarkable in being able to spot reporters to whom to tell about our targeting. Several of the reporters took notes and gave us their cards for further contact.

The four of us became separated as we sought petition signers and listeners. In mid-afternoon, I found myself on the far edge of the crowd on the plaza toward the White House side. When the crowd started moving toward the White House, I joined the march, inadvertently marching with the Occupy Washington group. Walking behind people in the first row, who were carrying a banner that stretched from one side of the street to the other, I later found myself replacing somebody in that row and helping carry the banner. We marched up Pennsylvania Avenue toward the White House, took the right on Thirteenth Street and back to the left on H street, where we ended up in front of the Chamber of Commerce building. The crowd stood chanting in front of the entrance, which was guarded by policemen who videotaped the group through lenses contained in their dark sunglasses. The 'We the People' group later arrived. I left after about an hour at that site.

In all, I was very encouraged by the enthusiasm and the sincerity of the attendees of October2011, who, as Cynthia said, represented almost the entire American population and many of their complaints. I even met a young Palestinian student who had come all the way from Texas to expose the systematic human rights abuses committed against Palestinians and demonstrate for Palestinian statehood. I was pleased that every person with whom I spoke seemingly found my story of targeting credible. However, among all the positive points of my participation, getting to know Cynthia, Karen, and Mark stands out as the highlight of that event.