Who Is Behind Occupy Ann Arbor’s Unity Group?

Does what it says.

Have you been curious about the Occupy Movement but hesitant to show up for meetings or events because you’re not sure if your concerns fit in? Or because you’ve read about the elaborate assembly procedures and the set of hand signals you have to learn? Well you’re a prime candidate to join us for this Sunday’s Unity Group meeting, at noon at Espresso Royale on Main (map here). It’s an open forum, and anyone is welcome. And twinkle fingers are definitely optional. One thing that we all tend to forget is that a meeting is only the people who actually show up for it. And in this case – a gathering devoted specifically to building connections both within the local movement AND with other groups or individuals – this is even MORE the case. This is only the group’s second meeting, and if the first was an indication of things to come, this may turn out to be one of the most effective launchpads locally for actually getting things done on a larger scale. At the first meeting, there were people present who in other settings might have been engaged in shouting matches, sitting side by side, discovering a common aim. The same thing that one could argue has “plagued” the occupy movement since the outset – the diversity of concerns and grassroots organizational approach – could actually be its greatest strength. If interested citizens gather together, set their egos and pet projects aside for a moment, and zero in on common goals, they can actually get to work on them, and make positive change. And this is what the Sunday Unity Group is all about. Unifying! Join us this Sunday if you can, and if you can’t, the group meets on alternating Sundays to coordinate with Occupy Ann Arbor’s General Assembly, so try again on March 25.