This is the script for the street theater production that was performed tonight to kick off Occupy Toledo‘s May Day Fest week’s worth of events:
May Day Eve Celebration
Occupy Toledo
April 30, 2012
“The Corporate Zombies vs. The Village People”
Gather around, friends, and hear a story as old as humankind; or rather, hear a story as old as human unkind. The story is of the many versus the few. The players names may change, but the plot is the same. The few have grabbed power for themselves, while the many suffer. Sometimes it is the peasants versus the Lords of the land. Other times it is simply the 99% versus the 1%.
In today’s scene, in this land called the United States of America, once again, the land is divided, and power is not shared equally. The few, the 1%, have shielded themselves from accountability, by hiding behind non-living corporate entities, a phantom called “corporate personhood.” The few, the 1%, have become corporate zombies themselves, disconnected from humanity, unable to act justly and with compassion. In this pathetic state, the corporate zombies have managed to distract, divide, and simply overrun the will of the people. The corporate zombies have even managed to infect many of the people into believing that rampant injustice, economic slavery, and environmental destruction is the best that we can do. The corporate zombies have convinced many that corporate rule is too big to fail. The corporate zombies have convinced many that we the people are too small to make a difference.
The corporate zombies mock economic fairness.
The corporate zombies mock democracy.
The corporate zombies mock equal justice.
The corporate zombies mock environmental stewardship.
The corporate zombies mock human rights of all kinds.
The corporate zombies mock accountability, responsibility for their own actions.
But, alas, there is always a plot twist. Every time that the few, the 1%, grab power for themselves and bring suffering to the many, people arise to expose the absurdities of rampant injustice, to throw off the chains of economic slavery, and reclaim the earth as the home of all, not a place to be raped for the wealth of a few. In today’s scene, a group of villagers arise (that would be us). This group of villagers can see past the propaganda of the few, and boldly declare, “The Emperor has no clothes!”
The corporate zombies may mock economic fairness; they may mock democracy; they may mock equal justice; they may mock environmental stewardship; they may mock human rights of all kinds; they may mock accountability. BUT, the people of this village, Toledo, Ohio; the people of this village, the United States of America; the people of this village, planet Earth, will arise and declare, at first softly, but then, louder and louder:
We will, we will mock you. Mock you.
We will, we will mock you.
We will, we will mock you!
Let the games begin!
But first, a message from our un-corporate sponsors:
Do you, or someone you know, suffer from Corporatitis, an inflammation of corporate power in your life? Do you, or someone you know, suffer from low wages, poor working conditions, and crappy benefits? If so, you may have Corporatitis.
Do you, or someone you know, suffer from lack of health insurance, access to needed health care, and an over-exposure to for-profit health care? If so, you may have Corporatitis.
Do you, or someone you know, suffer from trillion dollar corporate bailouts, costing trillions of dollars, destroying the economy and mortgaging your future? If so, you may have Corporatitis.
Do you, or someone you know, suffer from greedy money changers, taking kick-backs on every economic transaction you make, and then reducing your life to a credit score? If so, you may have Corporatitis.
Do you, or someone you know, suffer from greed-induced environmental destruction, having to live with poisoned air, water, land, homes and bodies? If so, you may have Corporatitis.
Do you, or someone you know, suffer from dependency on energy and utility companies who are the most profitable companies in human history, yet cry poverty when asked to invest in alternative and renewable energy sources? If so, you may have Corporatitis.
Do you, or someone you know, suffer from greed-induced wars destroying countless lives around the globe? If so, you may have Corporatitis.
Do you, or someone you know, suffer from an industrial agricultural food system that produces less and less nutritious foods, while destroying local farmers and our environment? If so, you may have Corporatitis.
Do you, or someone you know, suffer from a political system where so-called democracy is bought and sold to the highest bidder, and you are left with false choices, where true change is not an option. If so, you may have Corporatitis.
Do you, or someone you know, suffer from a small cabal of media conglomerates who spoon-feed you crap, hoping to convince you, or at least scare you, that you can’t afford justice, economic fairness, or a livable planet, so you had better just get yours while you can? If so, you may have Corporatitis.
Corporatitis, an inflammation of corporate power, affects tens of millions of people, and it can be debilitating. However, most people suffer from Corporatitis Minor. While Corporatitis Minor is a serious condition, and should never be left untreated, Corporatitis Minor is much more treatable than the dreaded Corporatitis Major. Corporatitis in its worst form, Corporatitis Major, can consume one’s very soul, leaving only a shell of a human being, unable to accept accountability for one’s actions, or to demonstrate compassion to others. These ghoulish creatures become known by many titles, sometimes “CEO”, “Public Relations Manager”, or “Security Trader.”
These ghoulish creatures are doomed to walk the earth in a non-living state, like zombies, walking the earth, mindlessly and heartlessly feeding on the flesh of the living, in their vain attempts to satisfy their endless need for more and more profits. Entombed within the phantom of “corporate personhood”, their only hope is to be stripped of the mythical powers that imprison them, which are typically represented by “Logos.” We the people will strip these corporate “logos,” these “marks of the beast,” from these corporate zombies. By stripping these corporate logos, we will help free those suffering from Corporatitis Minor, and offer some hope, some possibility, that those suffering from Corporatitis Major can return to the land of the living, and reclaim their place in humanity.
To all those suffering from Corporatitis, there is something we can do about it. First, we start with a week of daily occupy movements, to purge ourselves of these corporate parasites and phantom persons. Occupy Toledo’s May Day Fest is just such a remedy. Though, be warned: treatment for Corporatitis may result in an increase in economic fairness, blossoming democracy, a return to equal justice, a reclamation of environmental health, burgeoning human rights, and a natural inclination to take responsibility for one’s own actions.
Do not be afraid, surround these corporate zombies with the power of the people. Without their corporate bank accounts; without their league of lawyers and lobbyists; without their private security and control over the security state, they are really quite helpless — even pathetic.
Feel free to run circles around them if you like!
And what do we say in response to the Corporate Zombies mocking justice and democracy for real persons:
We will, we will mock you. Mock you.
We will, we will mock you.
So, let us begin by stripping these corporate zombies of their corporate logos.
Let us line up and take turns, one by one, take a logo, strip it from the corporate zombie, and place the logo in the dustbin of history.
First up, we have The Banking and Finance Industry, aka, “The Money Changers”
The Money Changers mock economic fairness.
The Money Changers insist on reaping huge profits on financial transactions while producing little of real value.
The Money Changers have created a casino economy where they are the house that doesn’t lose, taking their cut whether their gambles with other people’s money wins or loses.
The Money Changers drain off hundreds of billions of tax dollars as a reward for crashing our economy and creating the largest recession since the Great Depression.
The Money Changers then have the nerve to try to reduce the meaning of human life down to a credit score.
And what do we say in response to the Money Changers mocking economic fairness:
We will, we will mock you, mock you.
We will, we will mock you.
Strip a logo, read the corporate name, place it in the dustbin of history, and declare:
We the people will take back our economy.
Next up, we have the Military-Industrial Complex, aka “The War Profiteers”
The War Profiteers represent one of the most profitable businesses on Earth.
The War Profiteers literally make a killing, and people are dying for their business.
In our most recent wars, tens of thousands of Americans have been killed and maimed; and over one million Iraqis and Afghanis have been killed.
This corporate zombie feeds off the flesh of the dead.
The War Profiteers mock the value of human life.
And what do we say in response to The War Profiteers mocking the value of human life:
We will, we will mock you.
We will, we will mock you.
Strip a logo, read the corporate name, place it in the dustbin of history, and declare:
We will inspire human life, not kill it.
Next up, we have the Energy Industry Profiteers, a.k.a., The Billionaire Polluters
The Billionaire Polluters are addicted to petroleum, coal, natural gas, and nuclear energy sources which cannot be sustained, and are destroying the planet.
The Billionaire Polluters resist alternative and renewable energy sources, willing to sell their Mother Earth for a buck.
And what do we say in response to The Billionaire Polluters who mock Mother Earth:
We will, we will mock you.
We will, we will mock you.
Strip a logo, read the corporate name, place it in the dustbin of history, and declare:
You may have the energy, but we have the power!
Next up, we have the Media and Communications Moguls, aka “The Propaganda Profiteers”
The Propaganda Profiteers dominate the news industry, silencing diverse voices, and silencing dissent.
The Propaganda Profiteers sellout democracy by pandering to unlimited corporate campaign contributions.
The Propaganda Profiteers dominate our entertainment industry, distracting us with inane entertainment, and cramming advertisements down our throats any time and any place they can, gladly taking the hugely profitable role of shill for consumerism.
The Propaganda Profiteers sell a cheap imitation of the truth while justice is denied.
And what do we say in response to The Propaganda Profiteers mocking truth and justice:
We will, we will mock you.
We will, we will mock you.
Strip a logo, read the corporate name, place it in the dustbin of history, and declare:
We the people are the medium for change.
Next up, we have the Industrial Food Profiteers
The Industrial Food Profiteers are much more interested in producing food products that can be genetically modified, recombined, packaged, and marketed for maximum profit than they are interested in nourishing humankind.
The Industrial Food Profiteers destroy the livelihoods of small, local, and family-owned farms.
The Industrial Food Profiteers erode topsoil like crack from a crack pipe, and pollute our environment and food with toxins.
And what do we say in response to the Industrial Food Profiteers for making a mockery of one of the most basic human needs — the need for nutritious food:
We will, we will mock you.
We will, we will mock you.
Strip a logo, read the corporate name, place it in the dustbin of history, and declare:
We will nourish a food system that nourishes people.
Next up, we have The Health Care Profiteers
The Health Care Profiteers purport to run a health-care system. However, we know that this so-called health care system is neither healthy, caring, nor a system.
Each year The Health Care Profiteers kill over 20,000 Americans each year because of the lack of health insurance.
This Corporate Zombie literally feeds on the sick and injured, the most vulnerable in society.
The Health Care Profiteers mock health care as a human right, denying sick and injured people help that they need, all in the name of profit.
And what do we say in response to The Health Care Profiteers mocking health care as a human right:
We will, we will mock you.
We will, we will mock you.
Strip a logo, read the corporate name, place it in the dustbin of history, and declare:
We the people demand universal health care now.
Last but not least, we have a potpourri of purveyors of personhood of corporations over human personhood — enough corporate misrule to piss off real persons of most any variety. This is a cabal of Sweat Shop Operators, Environment Destroyers, Labor Rights abusers.
These corporate mis-rulers mock labor rights.
These corporate mis-rulers mock making a decent, honest living.
These corporate mis-rulers mock environmental responsibility.
These corporate mis-rulers mock human values, in order to make a buck.
And what do we say in response to these Corporate Mis-Rulers mocking laborers and mocking the planet in which we all must all live:
We will, we will mock you.
We will, we will mock you.
Strip a logo, read the corporate name, place it in the dustbin of history, and declare:
We the people will end corporate mis-rule.
Now that we have stripped these corporate zombies of their “logos” and placed them in the dustbin of history, we offer these logos up as symbols of the oppression of the people.
[Take DUSTBIN OF HISTORY and place in front of wall (with flame symbols)]
During May Day Fest Week, we will add to this wall symbols representing oppression and barriers to justice and democracy.
[Phoenix egg piñata arises from behind wall.]
We the people, though beaten down, will rise from the ashes, like a phoenix.
We the people will rise above the forces of oppression and the barriers to justice and democracy.
We the people, will end corporate mis-rule!
Let us break open the Phoenix egg piñata to launch Occupy Toledo’s May Day Fest, as we join millions of people around the world in celebrating where true value comes from in our economy, that is, from the honest labors of real people, not from corporate shenanigans, accounting tricks, money changing, or raping Mother Earth. Let the people rule! Let May Day Fest begin!
[The Village People take turns hitting piñata until it breaks open, spilling goodies for all]
Protest the NATO/G8 Summit taking place in Chicago
The Poor Have Suffered Enough
The Poor Have Suffered Enough-POLITICAL BUTTON
The Poor Have Suffered Enough-POLITICAL BUTTON
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To even have to say that the poor have suffered enough saddens me. I would have to rate compassion as one of the top characteristics of what it means to be human. Unfortunately, the predilection to cause or allow to continue suffering as a way of learning seems to be commonplace. I’ll be the first one to say that you can learn a lot from suffering. If you smacked me in the side of the head with a 2 x 4, I suspect that I would probably learn something. However, that is a crappy reason for smacking somebody on the side of the head with a 2 x 4! Suffering happens. I suspect that enough suffering happens that we don’t need to cause it, get in the way of alleviating it, or ignore it for there to be plenty of raw experience of suffering to learn the particular lessons that suffering has to teach. Like many things in life, I suspect that our attraction to suffering as a means to teach people is closely related to our desire to control other people. Compassion short-circuits the desire to control other people through suffering, because compassion links others’ suffering to our own suffering. I think that most people would agree that wanting suffering for oneself is not healthy. Unfortunately, many fewer people would agree that wanting suffering or others is not healthy. The idea that people should suffer for their own good is commonplace. I think this actually means that other people should suffer for our own concept of what is good. But, how can suffering be not good for ourselves yet good for others? It strikes me that lack of compassion is the true poverty. Although quite conveniently, many people might even be willing to tolerate that as long as it doesn’t involve financial poverty. The simple reality is that many people would gladly trade their spiritual health for financial health. When asked the proverbial question, “your money or your life?” most people would probably have to think about it for a while. However, I don’t want to get caught in the either/or thinking that spiritual health is necessarily in conflict with financial well-being. If we took care of first things first, our spiritual health, which is a communal project, treating one another with love and respect, then we should experience community in such a way that our financial well-being is not threatened. There is plenty of resources on the planet for the need of all. There are not enough resources on the planet for the greed of all! Now, in the rough-and-tumble world that we live in, I believe that those who are spiritually healthy do not generally end up materially wealthy. I believe that this is due to the simple fact that spiritually healthy people, that is compassionate people, do not commandeer a lot of material resources for themselves in a world where people are starving to death and don’t have the basic necessities of life. It seems inescapable to me that the only way to get around this reality is to somehow believe that poor people deserve to suffer. Thus, I pose the simple statement, the poor have suffered enough. I’d like to think that this is not a question, but a fact.