I’ve got to thinking lately…. Occupy Wall St. definitely started as an urban movement, I mean right there in NYC in the shadow of Wall St. itself. And then we started to spring up all over the place; here the SF group came first but then we started up in Oakland soon after, and eventually in San Jose and in Santa Rosa and in Berkeley, and then the really incredible group at UC Berkeley that stood like we did in the face of a riot squad attack. But at this point it does seem like — I only say “seem like” because I’m talking about the world of appearances, not necessarily reality — this is strictly an urban/university phenomenon. I’m wondering — where is the voice of the countryside? The people are spread thinner out there — they cannot really build up a big camp in the middle of some sparsely populated area. I hope that we develop tactics other than mass marches and sit-ins, perhaps digital tactics, that these brothers and sisters can join in with.
Our farmlands and our countryside are most devastatingly hit and endangered also by the 1%. They are sitting on the brink of mono-cropping and mining techniques that provide temporary jobs while they literally blow the top off of mountains and suck the life out of them, leaving a scarred landscape all over the Appalachians and perhaps soon the Rockies. And I suspect these will be the communities hit the hardest by the practices of hydro-fracking, which will again be sold to the people as a “job-creation” energy technology. We need to stand against this — and we need to find ways for the people in the 99% out there spread so thinly in the regions hit hardest by these abuses are able to band together and form a decisive response. Let’s begin the conversation now, shall we?
Rural Oregon is Occupying! http://www.rop.org/resources-for-small-town-occupations
http://www.rop.org/99-occupy-oregon
Thanks, but could you explain what you mean by that? Any evidence? For all I know, Pachón is Santa Claus.
I agree, I’m mostly focused on things like reversing Citizens United, restoring the people’s voice to democracy, and bringing back Glass Steagall. Let’s start with real change.
“The attention does not belong on the so called victims of the 1%, which are legion, but on the 1%, which is the last thing “they” want.”
so true, thank you! this speaks to controling our “pet peeve” reactions. we’re getting lost in indigenous rights, police brutality, my neighborhood’s underrepresentation, etc etc etc. these problems are plentiful. getting angry about them is like me getting angry that i had a shit childhood. it’s old news, and it distracts and holds back. thanks again for that very wise comment!
It’s not about speaking “for” anyone (though many are quick to speak for me). The point is speaking “to” someone and not “for” someone.
Dedicated to what, focused on what? More importantly, bring the heat onto whom? And once these questions are answered, why then should we not attempt to achieve something?
I agree that Occupy is not a panacea. All the more reason to purge the distractions and try to achieve one thing (or at least less than four things). If you people could come up with an achievable mission, I might help you to achieve it.
And by the way, a contrarian is not a troll and a troll is not a contrarian. You’re all so hell-bent on making professional, organized enemies (the police, the local government, local merchants, et al) that you call any one an enemy who disagrees with you (collectively, that is).
Some here assert that I cannot be right leaning and be in tne 99%. I haven’t decided to vote for Ron Paul, but it’s nice to know that my vote wouldn’t count at the GA if I vote against the current POTUS.
“The Very Reverend” Adolfo Nicolás Pachón is the current Black Pope.
on the one hand it is easy to dismiss “Rebel Slave Princess” as a troll. She seems to be a contrarian who is taking pot shots at Occupy from the comfort of her Macbook Pro.
On the other hand, the openness of Occupy and it’s democratic consensus means that it is vulnerable to being exploited by outside actors that mean to co-opt its political capital. (I am not calling anyone out here, I have thought this since I went to my first GA).
This can be unions, struggling/failed Left political parties and movements, religions or even just strong personalities.
Occupy is not a panacea. Merely because it has the attention of the media and the police does not mean it can do a damn thing to fix anything. I do not think it ever will fix anything and we should stop pretending that Occupy is going to end discrimination, house the homeless or put us all back to work. It can certainly bring the heat if we remain dedicated, focussed and I think above all irreverent. Let’s not become a bunch of gloomy Trotskyite defeatists.
Why? How many kids’ innocence did he take?
I should say this was a response to Rebel Slave Princess (awesome handle….)
I live in Halfway – a tiny town in Eastern Oregon…There are rural groups popping up all over the country and tons in Oregon. How we work and what we work on is in process…. But it would be a mistake to call this “an urban movement”….It is a global movement and it includes small town America.
If anyone is inclined to speak “for” rural occupiers…they should refrain. If anyone is inclined to discount our issues as “not central to occupy”… You will meet with resistance from those of us who do not live in cities.
We will be speaking for ourselves.
One issue we have is the way urban populations tend to be confident in making decisions which highly impact rural communities..without understanding the needs and differences of rural communities. It’s not a red/blue split – It’s a city/country split.
Occupy Rural will be doing it’s damndest to bring city folks up to speed. We have less population … So we hope you will make a special effort to listen. We are outnumbered but deeply impacted by this disconnect when you implement policies which impact us.
I say this as a person who grew up in the Bay Area and lived in NYC for ten years. I benefit from the experience of living all over the country.
Here’s what our first event looked like. There were many more of us, but not everyone was comfortable getting on camera.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqoL-897UP4
#occupyrural is a hashtag you can check out if you are interested in getting a sense of what’s happening.
Thanks! And keep on!
Take it from the Rebel Slave Princess, if you’re looking for the Dark Lord of the Sith, Adolfo Nicolás Pachón is your man.
First we’ll need an army of 12-year-old boys.
Seriously, it’s about high time the Church started feeling some of the heat.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled” (Matthew 5:6)
Occupy the Vatican!
Occupy the Hamptons.
I’ll tell you what. I was in the Oregon countryside the past few weeks. People talk about Occupy, but for now it’s just another thing that’s happening. It’s not an imperative. People’s daily lives are the imperative. It’s actually quite humbling to step outside the busy-ness of the city and into the vast expanse of the rest of the country. Kind of puts things into perspective.
I’m sure you’re not, but consider the implication, the precedent.
If you make it whatever you want it to be, and Sally does likewise, and Jeff does likewise, and Bill does likewise, and Eloise does likewise, and Pat does likewise, you (collectively) will have lost focus.
The attention does not belong on the so called victims of the 1%, which are legion, but on the 1%, which is the last thing “they” want.
I’m not talking about “anyone and everyone”, I’m talking about the whole concern of a big part of the country that isn’t just focused around city plazas and squares. I’m not trying to shift our focus over there, I’m just trying to put that into the conversation.
Is Occupy simply a platform for complaint? A third party? (The pity party). I don’t see a connection. What’s next, Occupy the ionosphere? There is no strategic advantage to a “rural” Occupy …
… unless you Occupy San Joaquin Valley and ensure that no produce gets out of California.
THAT would get the attention of the PTB, though it would invite reprisals. To wish what is best for our farmlands is good. To add yet another front line to the campaign may be as senseless as adding yet another committee.
If, by focusing on what was once the kernel of the struggle, the real ends are realized, the benefits will trickle up, down or sideways as needed. The temptation to make Occupy a voice for anything and everything that bothers anyone and everyone is to risk distraction and initiative.
K-I-S-S