A people’s takeover
What would a People’s Takeover require of us? Below I share some reflections on a summer of research into the bigger picture. And a few further questions!
Activism
Where did the President’s mojo go?
Increasingly, those of us who were ready to move with President Obama four years ago are deciding to leave normal channels and find new forms of action. Here’s an example: by year’s end the president has said he will make a decision on the Keystone XL pipeline, which would carry crude oil from the tar sands of northern Alberta to the Gulf of Mexico.
The nation’s top climate scientists sent the administration a letter indicating that such a development would be disastrous for the climate. … But every indication from this administration suggests that it is prepared to grant the necessary permission for a project that has the enthusiastic backing of the Chamber of Commerce, and in which the Koch Brothers have a “direct and substantial interest.”
Bill McKibben: “Communities are more important than individuals, and probably more important than states and nations”
In an interview with Rob Hopkins of the Transition Movement, 350.org founder Bill McKibben talks about the importance of community, the XL pipeline and the green movement.
Why the metamovement will ultimately fail
There have been, belatedly, attempts to connect the “We Are the 99%” Occupy Wall Street protests with the protests in the Mideast against anti-democratic regimes and in Europe against unemployment, austerity and government inaction. What is unique about the newest US protests (at least since the ill-fated anti-globalization protests of a decade ago), and perhaps the reason why it took so long for them to get media and public traction, is that they are anti-corporate more than anti-government.
#Occupy – VOICES – Oct 11
– Meet 4 Middle-Class Americans Who’ve Been Politicized by #OccupyWallStree
– Chris Hedges: “Ketchup” describes Occupy experience and group process
– Training video for running an Occupy General Assembly
#Occupy – NEWS & ANALYSIS – Oct 11
– #Occupy summarized in one chart
– WaPo Opinion: A timely call for justice
– Michael Bloomberg: Wall Street Protesters Can Stay Indefinitely
– Occupy protests spread to Ireland
– Citizens of China rally to support the Occupy Wall Street Movement
– Occupy Protests Spread to Britain
#Occupy – Oct 10
– “I have no trouble understanding what OWS are complaining about” – Alan Grayson (former D-FL) smacks down P. J. O’Rourke
– Business Week: Wall Street, Heal Thyself
– Slavoj Žižek Speaks to Occupy Wall Street
– Robert Reich: The Wall Street Occupiers and the Democratic Party
– How #OccupyWallStreet Is Evolving and Gaining Power
– The grievance is having no voice, being invisible
What are your demands?
Now that there is a nascent movement taking form on the streets of American cities, the media are asking, Who are your leaders?, and, What are your demands? The leaders will emerge according to their abilities. The demands will bubble up on their own as well–but here perhaps suggestions are possible.
Occupy everything
All of the action right now has the weird aura of being an overture to the year 2012, fast approaching as we slouch into the potentially demoralizing holidays of the current year. I don’t subscribe to Mayan apocalypse notions, but there’s something creepy about the wendings and tendings of our affairs these days. OWS is nature’s way of telling us to get our shit together, or else.
Since the MSM won’t cover it… Washington DC protests
EB contributor Piyush reports on a Tar Sands rally and Occupy events in Washington DC. He concludes: “I encourage all at post-carbon, energy bulletin to go to their nearest occupation when possible and participate in spreading awareness and contributing in whatever way they can.”
#Occupy – Oct 9
– NY Times gives thumbs up: Protesters Against Wall Street
– Pelosi Supports Occupy Wall Street Movement
– Krugman: Confronting the Malefactors
– Derrick Jensen Speaks To Occupy DC via Skype (audio-video)
– Think Again: The Era of the ‘One Percent’
– Occupy Sesame Street Gets Violent
– #OccupySesameStreet: The Making of a Meme
Occupy Wall Street, a love affair
Like other love affairs, mine with OWS followed the usual trajectory. Admiration from afar. Approach. Gift-giving. Statements of support. Telling my friends how awesome the new love object is. Then, finally, union. At first, I gave money from Rhode Island. Then, I decided to rent a car, fill the trunk, and drive down to deliver it and introduce myself, shyly, tentatively.
The response was emotionally overwhelming — hugs, thanks, joy. For about $600 worth of socks, Neosporin, fleece, tampons. In my work terms, about four or five hours of private SAT tutoring. Good deal.
