Letter to the editor: Writer misses the point
Justine Hecht
As a journalist you have an important responsibility to accurately represent the story you are trying to tell and in particular, the people in that story.
Unfortunately, that is not what occurred when your journalist, Dominic DeCono, interviewed me for his story regarding the Occupy Movement.
Not a single one of the “quotes” he has attributed to me is accurate. While there are too many problems with everything Dominic has stated in the article, let it be clear that I did not say people turned away due to many mixed messages or that I left because it wasn’t addressing my issues
any longer.
I left, and others left as well, because Occupy Phoenix exhibited a serious lack of imagination in creating political actions and awareness.
Further, an unclear understanding of key group principles (which are much different from issues) created disunity and instead of organizing with a group that didn’t have the same principles, people left to work with other people that had found affinity with.
I definitely never attributed Occupy Phoenix to Star Wars in any way, instead I mentioned that movements don’t necessarily die, but they change, morph, and grow over time.
Movements ebb and flow, sometimes presenting huge marches and rallies that the whole world sees, other times organizing to support a local woman who has been targeted by the state for
giving out free food.
Each action may not be the spectacle the public of the United States is used to seeing, but each
is a form of resistance none-theless. I am personally disgusted that DeCono took the time to interview me and then did nothing but turn my words to fit his own agenda.
This is not only ethically and morally reprehensible, but does a disservice to movements for justice
everywhere.
