Misleading journalism

As an individual affiliated with the Occupy KC movement, I would like to point out that the headline of the article stating that Occupy KC has been infiltrated (Anti-Semitic propaganda infiltrates Occupy Kansas City Movement, March 15) is representative of misleading journalism.

Occupy KC General Assembly has passed a proposal denouncing hate speech of all kinds, including speech directed against different religious and racial backgrounds, against LGBTQ individuals and other groups. As the article stated, Occupy KC did not produce and certainly does not endorse the hate-filled material that is in question.

Another error in the article, which may not be the fault of the editor or your publication, is that “leaders” of the Occupy KC movement have denounced this broadsheet and website. Although, as I mentioned, Occupy KC has spoken out against hate speech, the statement was issued through General Assembly through a horizontal leaderless consensus-based process. Although some individuals assume leadership roles based on intrinsic traits and influenced by sociological constructs, we remain a leaderless horizontal movement with no individual voice having more power than another. To speak of leaders and referencing traditional vertical organizational structures is to thwart the spirit of the movement as a whole.

Please visit occupykc.net for additional information, as this represents a record of our local Kansas City movement and is endorsed by Occupy KC General Assembly.

Anthony Cage
Kansas City, Mo.