Author Archives: keithnakatani

There was no upside to taking over the lot at 19th and Telegraph. (As of early Sun AM) the cops have already easily cleared it. There was no way an encampment could be estabished there (even if a camp could be established and the lot held, it would have been a detriment to the movement, not a benefit).  After a positive peaceful march, OO again short-sightedly undermined itself (it’s a smaller scale version of the great Port march and misguided Traveler’s building takeover). The majority of the area’s residents and small merchants probably supported … Continued

OO has made tremendous accomplishments, but its full-speed ahead approach is sometimes reckless and counterproductive. The 19th/Telegraph occupation is an obvious example. There’s no upside to this frontal assault approach, because: 1) An encampment won’t be established; the police will prevent it. Will that result in a violent confrontation (which hurts growing the movement), or will OO-ers leave peacefully (no benefit to movement building, but may hurt it because the public has turned against encampments)? 2) From the larger movement  perspective, it’s more strategic not to establish a camp, because a) Oakland-ers have turned against encampments … Continued

Overview The outcome of the movement’s fight against the establishment will be determined by whether enough power has been developed, how that power is used, and whether the movement is long-lasting. For Occupy, power is primarily about increasing the number of its supporters and participants far beyond current numbers. This must happen if the movement is to be successful. Success means reversing current trends so that ordinary people are better fed, housed, cared for, educated, and employed. Success ultimately means dismantling plutocracy and cannibalistic capitalism, and building a system based … Continued

The significant amount of discussion about destructive behavior clearly indicates that it’s a critical issue; many of us believe it’s the most critical issue. Yet, I believe the discussion isn’t focused sharply enough on the most important point:: Significantly growing the movement is critical to its success and destructive behavior results in large numbers of people viewing the movement negatively, not getting involved in or dropping out of it, and opposing it (Occupy is losing support: two weeks ago polls showed significantly more support than opposition; a recent poll indicates … Continued

Tonight’s GA should be interesting, the Facilitation Work Group just posted the agenda, apparently proposals will be voted on against destructive actions and for diversity of tactics. The meeting starts at 6, but proposals won’t be heard (they say) until 7 – 7:30. 5079

Tlahtolli’s respectfully stated perspectives are appreciated, but I strongly disagree: destructive behavior IS the “make or break” issue for OO and perhaps for the movement, because growing the movement is the most critical need for success (by success I mean radically changing the economic and political system) and such behavior is the biggest threat to increasing the numbers that we must have (already our support is slipping, latest poll 30% support, 39% oppose; and if OO doesn’t oppose destructive behavior, many people will drop out). I believe Occupy is the last … Continued

Good news: great march on the Port, peaceful, diverse, festive; much thanks to the organizers. Bad news: (mostly) after hours knuckleheads undermine the success of the march. The vast majority of the organizers and participants understand that the greatest threat to the success of Occupy is the knuckleheads. Strongly suggest that Occupy Oakland adopt as a principle, non-violence, and that if anyone refuses to abide by that he (because they’re all young {predominantly white] males) be barred from participating. Allowing anyone to participate is a nice idea, but because of … Continued

Much respect and appreciation to the organizers of Occupy Oakland. I participated in the 10/14 march. Overall, it was well-organized (really good getting two to three hundred people on a late Fri), peaceful, and very spirited. I have three issues, however, which hopefully have already come to your attention and are being addressed: 1. Before the march started, speakers used a bull-horn to pump up the crowd. Most of it was fine. One guy, however, interspersed his comments with “fuck” and “fucking” several times. I use the word in private so have no … Continued