|
Posted on 10/13/2011 11:16:56 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
SolidaritéS (Switzerland) via International Viewpoint -- A handful of young people started Occupy Wall Street in mid-September, as a protest against the banks and corporations that have grown rich while most have grown poorer. Within weeks they had attracted hundreds and then thousands to marches and demonstrations in New York City — one of them leading to the arrest of hundreds on the Brooklyn Bridge. The movement's chant “We are the 99%" rang out not only in the Wall Street canyon but also across the country. Now there are scores of Occupy groups across the United States [and soon across the world] camping out in public places, marching and rallying in cities and towns against corporate greed.
Occupy Wall Street and its offspring, nearly all of which began with white youth, have grown not only larger, but more diverse, attracting people from all walks of life and every segment of the society. They are making real their chant, “This is what democracy looks like". While some of the young people have been inspired by the occupation of Egypt's Tahrir Square and by the indignados of Spain, this is an essentially US movement about US issues. The Occupy folks are furious at the corporations and many are angry at government as well, they are generally hostile to Republican Party and disappointed with the Democrats. Frustrated with the economic and political situation, they want to tax the rich, they want to stop the mortgage foreclosures, they want jobs for themselves and all the other unemployed. Many demand an end to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
An impressive organisation
While most of those down at Zuccotti Park where the occupation is taking place are from New York, others have come in ones and two from around the country to take a stand against corporate greed. Visitors are impressed with the organisation: the kitchen, the medical centre, the media centre, the daily lectures. Intellectual luminaries such as Joseph Stiglitz, former chief economist of the World Bank; Jeffrey Sachs, Harvard professor and special advisor to the United Nations' secretary general; and Barbara Ehrenreich, feminist and author. There is now also a newspaper, The Occupied Wall Street Journal, which plans to go national soon. Tens of thousands of dollars have been raised through small contributions by both Occupy Wall Street and the newspaper.
The peaceful movement has had clashes with the police both in New York City and in other cities and towns, but it has forged ahead. There have been dozens of arrests, not only in New York City but also in Boston, Seattle, Des Moines, and yet this has not deterred the growing movement. The weekend of October 8-9 saw a huge demonstration of 10,000 in Portland and good size protest of 750 in Cincinnati. While, as usual, things may be larger, faster moving and more radical on the coasts, the movement has also touched the “fly-over" country of the Midwest. In Chicago, previously planned protests by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), other unions and community groups brought out thousands in demonstrations against financial institutions that ended up merging with Occupy Chicago, a development that could either strengthen or swamp the Occupy movement there.
Utopian and inspiring
Occupy is in part a coming together of activists. Watching any of the demonstrations in any city on any day one sees pass by on the T-shirts and jackets all the logos of every movement that has touched the country in the last decade: anti-war, LGBTQ, anti-foreclosure and civil rights activists. Walking among them are others new to the movement, blue-collar and white-collar workers, so far without their logos, slogans and banners, carrying their hand-painted signs with slogans like “Create jobs, reform Wall Street, tax the wealthy more" and “The people are too big to fail" (a reference to the argument that the US government had to save the banks because they were “too big to fail"). The sense of hope that the movement is creating was expressed by one sign down at Wall Street that read “This is the first time I've felt hopeful in a very long time".
The movement has a utopian character. Many of those involved in it want not only to overcome the immediate effects of the economic crisis — they want a better life, a better country, a better world. The movement as such has no ideology. This is populism of a left-wing sort: the people versus big business and bad government. Though there are anarchists in it, and they have given it some of their style, it is not an anarchist movement. Though there are some socialists in it, the movement is by no means socialist. What is perhaps best and most exciting about the movement is the confluence of the many social movements with middle-class and working-class people who have come down to Wall Street or in some other town or city down to Main Street to say, “We've had it". The utopianism of the movement has inspired ordinary people to say, “We can live differently, we must, and we will."
A month or so into the Occupy movement, the trade unions began to take an interest. In New York the unions turned out thousands of their members for a major march in October. At about the same time, Richard Trumka, head of the AFL-CIO, spoke out in favour of the movement, as did leaders of various national and local unions. Yet the AFL-CIO and the Occupy movement remain wary of each other. The AFL's principal goal in the next year is to help US President Barack Obama and the Democrats win the November 2012 elections, and both the AFL and the Democrats would love to figure out how to harness Occupy for their political goals. Many in the Occupy movement would love to have more workers involved, the unions involved, but they fear the labour bureaucracy's heavy hand. And, more important for some, they fear losing their political independence to union officials and Democrats.
Occupy Wall Street and politics
The Republican Party, of course, loathes the politics of Occupy. US House of Representatives majority leader Eric Cantor referred to the occupiers as “mobs". Alluding to Obama he said, “Some in this town condone 'pitting Americans against Americans'". Mitt Romney, the leading contender for the Republican presidential nomination, said, “I think it's dangerous, this class warfare." Whatever they may say to the media, the Republicans' real fear is that Occupy Wall Street could buoy up the Democrats, while their hope that the movement's radicalism will blow their opponents to the left, costing them votes in the centre.
The Democratic Party Congressional Campaign Committee and the think-tank Center for American Program would like to bind the Democratic ties to Occupy Wall Street, believing that the movement could put wind in the party's sails for the 2012. Other party leaders fear that the identification with the movement would move the party toward the left and away from the centre where they believe the voters are. Even more important, some Democratic Party leaders argue, supporting a group that is attacking Wall Street could result in fewer donations from the banks and corporations that fund the Democrats. Bernie Sanders, the only independent in the US Senate who calls himself a socialist (though he caucuses with the Democrats), spoke to the Occupy movement with an op-ed piece calling upon the government to break up the banks, support small business and stop speculation in the oil industry. That was the Progressive Party program of 1912, the traditional program of US populism, but it misses completely the radical spirit of this movement.
Some Democrats would like to see Occupy Wall Street become their Tea Party, the rightwing group that brought new vitality to the Republicans. But Occupy Wall Street activists have kept their distance from the Democrats refusing to provide them a platform for their candidates. For example, when Representative John Lewis, a legend of the civil right movement and liberal African-American congress member from Georgia appeared at Occupy Atlanta, he was not permitted to speak. Apparently, so far, the movement is committed to defending its independence.
Many of us are working to nurture this movement, to build it, and to help its potentially radical implications emerge.
[This article will be published in the bimonthly Swiss socialist newspaper SolidaritéS (n°196). Dan La Botz is a teacher, writer and activist currently involved in Occupy Cincinnati. In 2010, Dan La Botz stood as the Socialist Party (USA) candidate for the US Senate in Ohio.]
Occupy Together reports from on the ground Reports from Solidarity members across the United States
October 11, 2011 -- If there was any doubt just one week ago, it is now abundantly clear that the Occupy Wall Street movement is not an isolated phenomenon. It has reached towns large and small and has proven to resonate with individuals from a variety of backgrounds – from the politicised "usual suspects" to those previously reluctant to participate in any such demonstration – who are recognising the criminality driving the financial services industry and connecting their concerns to a broader anti-capitalist politics. Though it may be too soon to speculate about OWS's long-term prospects, it is safe to say that this is one of the most encouraging developments our side has made in recent years. Here are some on the ground reports from comrades across the country.
* * *
Portland, Oregon
By Bill Resnick and Johanna Brenner
Occupy Portland’s march on Thursday October 6 was huge—over 10,000 people jammed Portland’s central square after marching through downtown. The participants were an extremely diverse group of white people -- all ages-- though best represented by the 20-30 somethings many on bicycles. Several drumming bands and music groups kept us all moving.
There were mostly home-made signs and the overwhelming message was “we are the 99%”, but lots of other ideas got expressed—from stop Israeli apartheid, to “They call it the American dream because you have to be asleep to believe it.”
Marchers called for an end to corporate greed and corporate personhood, getting big money out of elections, jobs, debt relief, health care. One of the advantages of a middle of the week, mid-afternoon march through the central retail/office district was that the streets were full of people and office workers hung out the windows many with thumbs up, and some dropping confetti.
At the last general assembly before the march, the organising group was very concerned about keeping everything legal; they advocated getting a permit, but participants at the assembly refused to consent. Ultimately, the city was told we’re marching without a permit; the organisers gave the police the route the morning of the march. At the beginning of the march, the organisers tried to keep the crowd on the sidewalks but the crowd was so large and so ready to begin that they swarmed into the street.
The mayor agreed to allow people to camp out in two parks next to each other downtown—and the police closed off the street so people could flow between them. The huge size of the march encouraged the police to take a laid back position. Police allowed the group to set up tents even though tents are illegal in city parks—an ordinance that targets homeless people.
A test of this movement’s momentum will be this coming Saturday at an anti-war and labour march, planned many months in advance. Until now, Occupy Portland has been consumed by the details of setting up and protecting the encampment with the police hovering, and no one is venturing proposals for what will happen next. But all kinds of organisations and organisers are engaging with the encampment and the huge turnout for the march has energised everyone.
Salt Lake City, Utah
By Dayne Goodwin
Occupy Salt Lake had been coming together for over a week before it was launched on October 6. Leading up to the event, open daily discussions were held at the public library about OWS and the economic and political difficulties experienced by "the 99%”. About 250 people rallied on the morning of Thursday, October 6 at the State Capitol in about the worst weather possible in Salt Lake City (SLC) - an early winter storm with heavy rain in cold and windy thirty-degree weather. Numbers grew during the march, which stopped for brief protests at the Federal Reserve and major banks along the way.
According to reports in the media, local and state government officials were saying that an 'occupation' would not be allowed since overnight camping is illegal on public property. US Senator Orrin Hatch said, "We are going to have riots in this country because of what these people are doing." But the city and police authorities were cooperative as several hundred people built a tent city in Pioneer Park and prepared to stay around-the-clock indefinitely. Congressman Jason Chaffetz, who had openly considered challenging Hatch in the Republican primary election, visited the encampment October 7 morning and expressed solidarity with Occupy SLC's right to protest. Democratic SLC mayor Ralph Becker put out a statement saying he supports "residents' rights to peaceful protest and free speech." This variegated support corresponds with the wide political diversity from right to left now participating in Occupy SLC.
Madison, Wisconsin
Colin Gillis
In the early afternoon on Friday, October 7, a small group of activists gathered in Reynolds Park for Occupy Madison, bringing the nationwide #occupy movement to the site of the 2011 Wisconsin Uprising. Hourly informational meetings commenced at 1:00 pm, and, as the afternoon carried on, the crowd grew. Over 150 people attended the first general assembly, where the group began to establish a procedure for self-governance, plan future actions, and discuss their reasons for joining the #Occupy movement. The event received extensive local media coverage.
The size of the occupation fluctuated during the weekend, and early attempts to organize events have met with uneven results. Many of the lead organizers have little experience with political organizing and some do not live in Madison. As a result, the occupation was initially disconnected from the local activist community. Meetings and organizational strategies have improved as local activists joined the occupation. Its future is unclear. Madison Police have set a firm end-date for the occupation and while the first deadline, set for Sunday, was extended to Monday evening they likely could end the occupation whenever they wish. The survival of Madison's fledgling occupation will depend on its ability to establish solidarity with other local organizations, especially unions.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Paul Prescod
Tuesday, October 4th was the second general meeting for OccupyPhilly. This second meeting had, to my great surprise, over 1,000 people in attendance, up from 200 at the first meeting. It was overwhelmingly young people, mostly white, with a decent gender balance. Many different organizations were represented, including the Green Party, Socialist Action, DSA, Philly Jobs with Justice, and some others.
There was a very strong energy in the room. Despite how skeptical I was about everything, I could not help but get a little excited about it. The most positive thing about this meeting was the amount of people I saw who are not part of the Philly activist scene or involved much in politics. I saw many students from Temple University who were not in any student organizations or involved politically, and even some old friends from high school turned up.
The point of this meeting was to decide on a place, date, and time to start the occupation. Consensus process was used, and it was effective enough at helping us to decide that we would occupy starting at 9am on Thursday, October 6th. There were no concrete demands or goals discussed, as seems to be the case in many other cities. After this was decided (it took about two hours) we broke up into committees: education, labor, arts and entertainment, medical, legal, and sports and recreation were just some of them.
Oct. 6th was the first day of the occupation. When I arrived there were a few hundred people there, mostly young and white. There was a decent amount of creative, homemade signs. At the general assembly, introductory remarks were made, and they began explain the different committees. This took a long time because there are so many different committees and everything had to be repeated twice so everyone could hear. They were not finished with this process yet when I had to leave two hours on.
One thing I find troubling is that there has been no attempt yet to reach out to the many devastated African American communities in Philadelphia, those getting hit the hardest. However many comrades have suggested that we should not just stand on the sidelines and criticize this. We should be participating, helping to build it and learn from it, despite all the weaknesses. It is generating excitement, and people are acting outside the traditional political parties. In the Philly branch most of us agree with this assessment and have been plugging into different committees, doing what we can.
Yeah right. I would love to see your lily white college punks in Philly head out to Ridge and Sedgley to rally those blacks. I suspect 15% of you would come back alive.
|
This is what Astroturf looks like.
There is no “mass” movement. Most of the gatherings are very small, in some areas as small as 50 people. This is the MSMs attempt to portray a huge uprising against capitalism. it isn’t working, it is going to bite them in the butt big time.
|
Theses people occupy a few square blocks ...
Jeez, will the nitwitted propaganda never cease? these guys are so 20th century. I think I'll get some batteries for my bullhorn and go downtown monday for a biting harangue. Maybe I'll go picket "International Answer HQ" or the Institute for Social Justice or the Wobblies. Maybe do some performance art too, since I took the day off for my birthday.
I have every other Friday off, and this is one. I think I’ll bicycle to downtown Houston to tell the Romper Room Revolutionaries that they are racist because they disagree with the Dear Leader.
A bunch of creaky old Leninists farting in the wind, hoping hobody can smell the stink.
We are anachronisms! Long live 1917!
Hey, Vladimir, why aren’t the middle class bourgeois dragging the kulaks into the streets and killing them?
Boris, you commie schmuck! The kulaks are the middle class in America.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
