I visited Occupy Oakland earlier this week and approached a woman who looked official. I said, “Hi, are you helping organize this?” I had a few questions and wanted to know how to get involved. I am with the 99% and have been supportive in many ways of the movement. The woman, Sophia, responded “Get out of my face.” I was shocked. I wasn’t the only one that had been treated rudely at Occupy Oakland.
A friend of mine enthusiastically joined in a general assembly and one of the early marches. At the assembly a voice boomed over the microphone about how it was going to be done and if you have a problem with it you should leave. At the march, “fuck the police” was the most common cheer. My friend and others were turned off from the uninclusive nature of both the assembly and the march and walked away, not wanting to associate themselves. It was embarrassing and clearly unaligned with the respectful and dignified way that the Occupy Wall Street movement in NY has been behaving.
Another friend recognized a lot of stigma about being a “visitor” vs. a “resident”, which didn’t seem right to him when he was dropping off a blanket, paper, and $20 bag of earplugs bought with the money he earned for doing his job. Its important that the Occupy Oakland expand its perspective to realize that just as we need folks to hold down the space, we also need people that come sporadically, donate goods, and show other ways of support. We are all in this together.
The behavior described above is not the way to create a strong unified movement. My friends or I could have been journalists, business people, strangers or part of the opposition. Based on our experiences we could easily have written the movement off and painted it as rude, ungrateful, cold and disrespectful. The tree of us are too passionate about the movement to let these experiences keep us from being involved. But, I think Occupy Oakland needs to look at how it is treating people. We must work to unite and not separate. This is a critical time in history and we need to be kind, patient and find a way to create more bonds with each other, not more separations. We need to use our voices to say constructive things, not just “fuck the police.” The movement is so much more than just that!
I understand there is so much anger. I am angry too. But in order for this movement to be more effective and taken seriously we need to channel that anger into more productive ways. We need to be inclusive and democratic and treat others with love and respect. That’s what this is all about right? I hope Occupy Oakland will take this feedback seriously. I am a social and environmental activist. I have been a professional in the non-profit world and am now a social entrepreneur. I have devoted my life to creating positive social change that results in a more just and sustainable world. Let’s make the Occupy movement stronger day by day and not weaker. Lets encourage and embrace people that join and want to participate, not push them away.
I’d like to end with a part of “Occupy Wall Street: The Most Important Thing in the World Now” By Naomi Klein – October 6th, 2011
“A few final thoughts. In this great struggle, here are some things that don’t matter.
– What we wear.
– Whether we shake our fists or make peace signs.
– Whether we can fit our dreams for a better world into a media soundbite.
And here are a few things that do matter.
– Our courage.
– Our moral compass.
– How we treat each other.
We have picked a fight with the most powerful economic and political forces on the planet. That’s frightening. And as this movement grows from strength to strength, it will get more frightening. Always be aware that there will be a temptation to shift to smaller targets – like, say, the person sitting next to you at this meeting. After all, that is a battle that’s easier to win.
Don’t give in to the temptation. I’m not saying don’t call each other on shit. But this time, let’s treat each other as if we plan to work side by side in struggle for many, many years to come. Because the task before will demand nothing less.
Let’s treat this beautiful movement as if it is most important thing in the world. Because it is. It really is. ” http://www.naomiklein.org/articles/2011/10/occupy-wall-street-most-important-thing-world-now
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