Occupy The Rainbow (Toronto)

We’re still meeting this Saturday! 11 AM at Moss Park, prior to the giant Occupy Toronto rally!

The Faces of Eviction

To our supporters,

As many of you have heard by now, Occupy Toronto was served an eviction notice at approximately 10AM this morning. Though vague, the notice has been interpreted to mean that we have until midnight to get ourselves sorted out.

Occupy Toronto has officially called for people to head down to the park now.

It is unclear how by-laws can trump the Charter, and this may be an illegal eviction, but we must plan for it and act on it with the knowledge that the City and police intend to act on it, too.

A call has been put out for queer and trans advocates to act as observers, and we are looking for a way to identify ourselves as such (observers or advocates).

In light of the eviction notice, and the fact that many people have jobs and have class, we call on all queer and trans supporters of the movement to meet at 6PM by the gazebo. There, we will plan immediate actions in conjunction with Occupy Toronto’s actions. This would be a good time for us to work as a team and secure any of our belongings which need to be moved for safe-keeping.

There will be a rally/dance party at 11pm tonight, and we will stand ready to non-violently fight for our rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms at midnight.

If you cannot make it for 6pm, please email us at occupytherainbowto at gmail dot com.

Regardless of what happens in the next few hours, and whether we find each other tonight, know that we are all part of the same movement. Whether we can be at the park or not, we are all facing eviction tonight, and don’t hesitate to believe that we stand together, as one, in the face of this eviction.

Please remember to stay peaceful, keep your eyes open, your cameras on and your friends by your side.

In solidarity,

Occupy The Rainbow TO

A Call to Engage + Sissy Stroll!

We started up as a working group three weeks ago and, so far, we’ve had anything between three and twenty people at our meetings since then. We know there are more people in the Occupy Toronto community who haven’t been able to attend meetings because of scheduling conflicts. We also know that Occupy Toronto is bigger than just those of us camping in St. James’ Park. We know there are supporters of the movement who aren’t able to join us, and we, as Occupy The Rainbow know there are members of the broader queer and trans community who support us too. We know that, as a community, we are all the letters of LGBTQ2S+++, we are all the letters of the alphabet, we are people of colour, we are natives, we are unemployed, we are artists, we are working for not-for-profits, we are working for independent businesses. We know that we are as diverse as the world around us, and as diverse as the rest of the 99%. Statistics have said that ten percent of Canadians are queer or trans identified. If that’s true, we are 9.9% of the 99 percentile that everyone’s been talking about. We want that number to be on the tip of everyone’s tongue, and we want to make sure that that number is represented.
We are mobilizing to create representation of ourselves at Occupy Toronto. But we can’t do that alone. We want you to see yourselves in us, and to help with that, we’re inviting any and all members of our community (& communities) to come down to St. James’ Park this Sunday at 3pm for a historical queer walking tour of the area, followed by a campfire chat and treats to mark one month of Toronto’s occupation, and one month of queer and trans folks’ participation.
If you, or anyone this message reaches, are interested in getting involved with us, but can’t come down on Sunday, we meet weekly on Saturdays at 11 at the Rainbow tent (which Info can direct you to!).
We can be found on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Occupy-the-Rainbow-TO/185623434850809) and Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/occupyrainbowto/) and by email, too: occupytherainbowto@gmail.com
We’re also planning a Teach-In about why this movement, and the current economic situation, matters to queers. If you know anyone who’d like to come teach, or can recommend anyone you think would be a star, please drop us a line!
Solidarity.

Our first event!

We’ve Got A Mailing List!

Send us an email with “Subscribe” in the subject and we’ll add you to our list for news! If you’ve come down to a meeting, say so in the message and we’ll add you to the working group list instead so you can help participate in the movement!

occupytherainbowto@gmail.com

First Event!

Our First Event : A “Sissy Stroll” walking tour of Queer history around Occupy, followed by a discussion and community building in the Free Skool - delicious hot cocoa, fantastic queer folks and fun times will be there!

3-6 next Sunday, more details to follow!

Saturday Meeting!

Our next meeting is this Saturday at 11 AM! We’re located on the north-west side of the park, across from the INFO booth, and behind the Free School. We’ll have our pride flag visible, and we’ll have someone (hopefully with a sign or else looking “very queer”) standing by INFO at about 10:50 to guide any lost newcomers over to us at 11!

In fact, no less than a week after the movement appeared in Toronto, Occupy the Rainbow Toronto, a queer and trans working group was struck to ensure not only that Occupy Toronto is a safe space for LGBTQ communities, but that our issues and perspectives are brought to the table.

The ACT UP slogan from the 1990s, ‘Silence = Death’ has taken on a new meaning for me at Occupy Toronto. Silence is consent, and personally, I am no longer consenting. I want something better, and I now know many of us do. That’s a pretty exciting feeling, and I hope more of us jump in and add your thoughts to the ongoing dialogue at the Occupation. Oh, and by the way, all the cuties are at the Occupation, so if you can’t bring yourself down for economics and justice, there are other perks to living in the tents!

This blog post at Aids Action Now!

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