Why We Occupy

Appendix A: Distribution

The People’s Mic is based on a simple principle: If you copy, say again. Relay the message so that everyone can hear it. Accordingly, Why We Occupy is free literature—free as in freedom, that is, as stipulated in the GNU Free Documentation License. Everyone is free to read and redistribute this book. The License guarantees that all copies of the book and all derived versions remain freely redistributable in the same way.

Consequently, if you have access to Why We Occupy in any format, you are free to make copies of it by any means and give them to anyone. What the license says is that you do not need permission to share this work. You are even free to charge money for reproductions that you create, regardless of motive.

The License also gives you the right to make modifications. One might object to this freedom on the grounds that it encourages vandalism, but since the original remains freely available, marks of defacement are easy to identify, and reflect wholly on the vandal.

Of greater importance is what we have to gain by encouraging openness, trust and dialogue. Public space, a resource that is as vital as it is difficult to cultivate, depends upon the willingness of the people to use their voices. The occupiers put themselves into many hostile situations to make their voices heard; we couldn’t presume to now contain them. No one can claim ownership over the conversations that happened in Liberty Plaza in the fall of 2011. Occupy Wall Street was and is all about free conversation, free as in freedom. ❖