Turbulent times

It's been a moment since my last post, as I've been involve with local activities and when I'm home, frankly, I'm lazy. But this isn't to say things have been quiet; both nationally and locally things have been going on. The NDAA is still looming large in the minds of many Americans, as it seems it will be signed into law any day now to strip us all of our rights. A decision about the Keystone XL pipeline is being pushed back as much as political pressure will allow, and we can only hope that's for the purpose of gather more scientific data on the havoc it would wreak rather than gathering more campaign dollars from lobbyists. Meanwhile the Occupiers around the country still face terrible violence as a response to their peaceful methods.
Locally, a new Occupation has been formed in response to the last Occupation's eviction; this time in a town much more sympathetic to the cause. Networking has become a main priority, with the goal of unifying our region and informing and educating the public about the movement. Winter, it seems, will be quiet.. but make no mistake; this is not the quiet of a still, frozen lake. This is the quiet of a smoldering ember waiting for the warm gusts of spring to rejuvenate it, blazing, into a bonfire of activity. Do not fear, Occupiers, that mass media's predictions of the death of our movement have come to pass... they absolutely have not. We are a flourish of activity behind the scenes. Remember the chant: we are unstoppable, another world is possible. To remind everyone, email me at wulfgraphics@aim.com to let me know where you think this thing is going.  

making progress

When you do what you love, things fall into place.

I believe that, but sometimes they fall quickly enough to surprise you. I rededicated this blog just last week to gather opinion on what the movement's next step should be. Here at our local occupation (www.occupypoughkeepsie.org) we held a regional meeting last Saturday in an effort to bring all local interested parties in under the umbrella of OccupyHudsonValley (www.occupyhudsonvalley.org) to streamline things and generally make operations more efficient. Not a moment too soon, as OccupyPoughkeepsie was raided last night (early morning, Dec. 7th). But the mission remains; joining the full-time occupiers of OPK with groups of occupiers and supporters in the region. I feel this is an extremely important step in both spreading the word of the movement and getting actions done quicker by creating an Occupy network we can all utilize. The first meeting for my region took place last night, and where I thought there would be four of us, there were nearly twenty. Veterans and the curious alike were in attendance, and the meeting went on for over three hours. We educated people about GA procedures and consensus, and everyone exhibited excited anticipation for what's to come. We will approach this Thursday's conference call prepared and ready, and our growth is assured.
If you're taking part in a similar action, or have ideas or questions, feel free to email me at wulfgraphics@aim.com. I look forward to hearing from all of you.

Our First Outside Submission

       This is the first submission I received, from Jeremy Russell up here in Saugerties, NY (near my neck of the woods). He addresses some ways we can reach out to the populace at large, as well as obstacles to that happening. I've edited it for length, with the author's permission. 


        I'd been voicing my apprehension for the future of this country among my former co-workers, whom were less informed about topics occurring outside their homes, specifically when the issues in Wisconsin were taking place.  This probably took place for all of 2010 and 2011.   You couldn't imagine how elated I was on September 17, when OWS formally commenced, because I personally couldn't brainstorm any other plausible, seemingly unattainable solution.  Although it was quite possibly the worst time in the world for me to quit my two jobs, I did so anyway, because I was overworked and unhappy, and had no real possibility to work on anything of redeeming or fulfilling value. So, in August, I quit anyway, moved back in with my Dad, and began writing and blogging.  Suffice to say, I've been consumed by the happenings of OWS.

        My idea has not been to try fixing or proposing solutions right away.  This is because there are too many people that are against OWS altogether.  Because I believe in power in numbers, I've thought it'd be better to try and figure out what the issues are that keep people in disagreement.  There are many levels of dissenters, from the completely aloof, to the misinformed, to the ardent detractor.  There are some people, similar to what politicians term "swing-voters," that the movement could easily pull in.  There are some that will take a lot of work.  There are some that may be impossible...but I try not to think about them, 'cause Times They are a Changin', and on one can predict the outcome of all this.  Therefore, in general, my idea is to keep building on our power in numbers.

        What I'm finding (because I frequent the opposition message boards and so on) is that those against the movement are so because the "movement stands for nothing," and  "it's a bunch of sex-crazed drug-addled people looking for handouts."  These are a higher percentage of dissenters, and this is due to misinformation.  This is something that could be an easy fix, depending on the situation of these people.  This may take some urging, but my suggestion is to canvass those that don't identify with the movement, and encourage them to try a visit with their local chapter...so that they could voice their problems, how they're being hurt, and see that they aren't so different from the rest of us hurting, and how welcoming the communal aspect is...as it is with all other organizations designed to help others. This is the easiest part.

         Another high-percentage group are those that are doing relatively well for themselves...and disagree with the movement, because, for them, life may not be so bad.  Some of those people did work very hard for themselves, and see this movement as a means to denigrate the work that they've put in.  I see a reflexive reaction because of this...which I don't necessarily blame.  However, although these people haven't been affected yet, they are very likely to in the future.  Those of us involved know it isn't just about wanting a handout.  I am doing this for the future of this country as much as I am my own future.  I'll even one-up myself...if more than one person can benefit from anything unfavorable that happens to me, I'm all for it.  As long as the message is delivered.  We need to advise to these people that their future may not seem perilous now, but the domino effect is very powerful, and eventually, they will be affected just the same.

         Another group, which may be a mixture of the previous two, are those that have likened OWS as a movement by the Democrats, which they see as an assault on their Republican beliefs.  This is a little bit confounding...but I have had some success in neutralizing this temperament.  The beginning of the Tea Party movement Did have some very basic parallels.  I think it's best to recruit the original Tea Partiers, because they too should have a voice.  We know that the Tea Party wasn't a party concerned with electing legislators until after it was adopted by Americans for Prosperity.  Those identifying with the Tea Party movement before (that started in 2006/ the Bush years) the hijacking had virtually the same outlook - problems in government.  The movement picked up about 75% of its supporters later, once it was attached the Republican Party.  That's the unfortunate part...those that have that outlook but refuse to support OWS believe that OWS should focus on Obama, Fannie and Freddie, and all the other Republican talking points.  Because we transcend party lines, some of that has already been taken care of.  For the rest though, we have to convince them that it's about the future, not the past...we need to focus on the most pressing flaws...Citizens United, the internet suppression bills, and that taxes need to be raised, and jobs created. and that the student loan bubble is set to burst.  It's really difficult to find someone in the true 99% that these aren't mostly matters worth fighting for.  And lastly, the message needs to be disseminated that this is not a Democratic Party function.   This is solely an altruistic function.

       The last and smallest group are the wealthy that are fighting, with their money, to suppress the movement. These are also the people with the most power. These people can be convinced, but it's obviously the hardest group.  I think this will best be attained by picking a date, using the numbers, and descending on Congress to petition our government.  We need to focus on strengthening our local groups.  As we grow, we should choose a date, far into the future, and we try to amass all the local movements we can, and protest at the most symbolic landmark we can.  The Statue of Liberty crossed my mind, but I don't think the logistics would work...I think the US Congress building in DC would be the most accessible by the majority. 

        Politicians aren't stupid.  They know what we want.  They are just finding ways to avoid, deter, and combat it.  The only way we'll really begin to see change, is if the rest of us stop being lazy, get out, and show how large the number of angry people are.  If we could get millions to Washington, the rest of the world will see, and more pressure will be applied.  It won't work now.  Remember, this will be a slow process.  Work on the population, discover what deters people from OWS, and try to include everyone.  If we show our true numbers, Congress just won't be able to ignore millions.  I think the one-year anniversary, Sept. 17, would give ample time to plan this out.  We need to find solidarity.

Thanks,

Jeremy Russell

- One point I forgot:  I think there are some things that turn non-supporters off.  The mic-checks are invigorating to us, but turn those "swing" people off.  They are effective at speeches involving the cronyism we want to end, but not things that have more than one side.  I'm not suggesting it end, but it needs to be more effectively propagated.  If I am in an argument with someone, and they choose to yell over me, or get louder and louder,  and interrupt, I'm inclined to feel that this person can't effectively engage in proper discourse.  Sometimes, they can...sometimes they can't.  Violence instinctively turns people off.  Unfortunately, so does being unkempt, or exceedingly unruly, and all the other unfair aesthetic elements people use to be judgmental about.  It's a fact of life.  Organization and careful planning help.  Let's face it, there are a lot of stupid people out there, but we need to identify the best ways possible to convince everyone that we're here to help...hopefully we can once again be United.

A new direction

I haven't done anything with this blog in a while, and I felt it had become redundant in the meantime, as OccupyPoughkeepsie has created it's own page (www.occupypoughkeepsie.org) and this blog hasn't had much traffic. So I'm changing direction yet again. I'd like to pose a question to everyone involved in the Occupy movement; where do we go from here?

Every day brings fresh news of police violence, evictions, or some public response to the occupation. As you read this, a bill is being reviewed in the Senate (S.1867, the National Defense Authorization Act bill) that could give the US military the ability to act on US soil to arrest and detain Americans without trial. The Occupation has done more in two months than movements before have accomplished in years; it has changed the conversation in America. 

People never before interested in politics are become aware of the trouble our nation is in. 

But we need more. 

We need to take the next step.

What I ask of you is simple. 

What, in your opinion, is the next step?

Email me at wulfgraphics@aim.com and share your idea. Provided it's legible, understandable, and not burdened with excessive profanity (hey, some is fine, but be reasonable) I'll post it here along with whatever contact info you're comfortable with me posting. It can be a huge idea (my own is about the size of a town) or an idea on a direct action that would be helpful. Maybe together we can build the community we hope to see Occupy become. It doesn't matter if you formally occupy, support and spend time at your local Occupy (as I do), or just want to do  your part to help. This is a place where all voices can be heard, and constructive criticism can mold simple ideas into plans of action.

Email me your name, whatever info you feel we need to have, and your idea... and let's start the change we want to see.

The only thing that will lead to censorship is what would get you censored everywhere else: abusive or defamatory language, spamming, attacking others ideas, things that fall under the category of trolling. I am very lenient in this regard, I just ask that you respect others. 

moving forward

This is my contribution to get the ball rolling. I don't expect everyone's post to be of the same scope; some people's ideas are larger and of a much broader reach, some are going to be smaller ideas perhaps about direct actions or town-specific events. All are welcome, and all are taken seriously.

The Next Step (or, How Serious Are We?)

                There’s been a lot of talk about demands. The general public outside the Occupy movement seems to be of the mindset that a revolution can only be taken seriously, only be considered legitimate, if they have a concrete list of demands. We, not being terrorists or hostage-takers, have trouble with the logic there; nevertheless, we must strive to reach an understanding. We must find a way to reach those that would be sympathetic to the cause, by using methods they fully comprehend.

                It’s no secret the current system is unsustainable. A person need only read a newspaper or watch the news to see that our empire is crumbling. Unemployment stays stagnant or rises, food prices and fuel prices skyrocket, homes are foreclosed, workers laid off, companies downsized… and many say the worst is still to come. The school loan bubble will rival the housing bubble before it, some experts say (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brett-greene/robert-applebaum-student-loan-forgiveness_b_1084979.html  http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-215_162-57319349/is-student-loan-education-bubble-next  ). And yet there are some that are not just weathering the storm, but profiting from it. How does that work?

                The people that make money in crisis situations (the 1% we refer to) HAD money to begin with. Their wealth not only made them immune to the population’s hardships, but put them in a position to profit from them. Their wealth puts them outside the system. This is the part where you roll your eyes. “Well of course it does,” you think, “wealth does that.” It’s the golden rule; “he who has the gold makes the rules.” They influence lawmakers, hire excellent lawyers to find loopholes in the rules they can’t bend, make nice with politicians, etc. Just the Citizens United v. FEC decision alone practically insures that the wealthy are heard and accounted for by saying the money corporations spend on lobbying and contribution = speech and thereby assures their dominance. It’s what we rail against and sacrifice to end.

                But why does it make such a difference that they are outside the system? Because they are not dependent on the system. If things go bad, they hop a flight out of the country and let the power-lawyers battle it out. You’ve seen it on the news; some politician, celebrity, CEO does something terrible and gets a slap on the wrist at best. We’ve all stood around the water cooler with friends lamenting “if that were you or me, they would have locked us up and thrown away the key.” But here’s an obvious fact that you must understand: their independence from the system is their power.

                That leads to the main point; you cannot change a system you are dependent on. Seems logical, but it bears stating in very blunt language. If you depend on a system for your information, your sustenance, your education, your survival… that system will do as it was designed to do with or without your approval. If you attempt to steer that system, all the things you rely on that system to provide you with will be taken away, or at the very least the threat will be made. The system does not need you; you need it. And as long as you do, you can scream “but the Constitution!!” as loud as you like, and all you’ll get for your troubles is a sore throat.

                I see it in your eyes… some of you are about to mention revolutions past to prove me wrong. Great, wonderful struggles of bygone eras when the peasants, the down-trodden workers rose up and demanded equality, and won. Without bloodshed? Oh, that wasn’t a defining point in my argument? Certainly it was. The moment you conspire to murder the members of another class you put yourself outside their system; personally abolishing their laws and deciding to find sustenance and survival elsewhere. The leaders of the American Revolution were great men, but they were also murderers, traitors and terrorists, depending on who you asked. If you’re skeptical, consider for a moment the Red Army Faction of Germany (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Army_Faction ) and think about what the “fathers of our nation” might have been called had they failed.

                So how hopeless is all this, if the only ways out of the system are to become wealthy or become a criminal? Perhaps there’s a third path. Many people in America are familiar with a cultural movement called the Maker Culture. For those of you unaware of this, I’ll try a brief description. The maker culture is a reaction to the pervasive consumer culture most of us find ourselves in; it is a culture made up of hobbyists, backyard engineers, and genuine professionals that prefer to meet their own needs by making their own functional devices rather than buying them. They make small items, yes, but also large machines for farming, metalworking, and industrial applications (http://opensourceecology.org  , http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2010/02/why-i-believe-in-maker-culture.html ). People from all over are coming together to declare an independence from consumerism.

                With traditional systems failing so many families, living off-the-grid has become an attractive concept for many as well. “Off-the-grid” is the idea that people can produce their own energy, food, sustenance items, without relying on electric companies, water services, traditional infrastructure (http://www.livingoffgrid.org  ). The combination of these two similar ideas leads to an interesting prospect; is it possible to create an independent community? Homes and other buildings are currently being built that produce their own power, treat their own water, dispose of waste responsibly, and even grow food, all while being built from natural or recycled materials (http://earthship.com ). People are living off the grid now, independent of any services most people take for granted.

                So here’s where I finally reach my point. I call for us; the occupiers, the counter-culture, the civilly disobedient, the non-violent resistors to come together to show the people what we want. Let’s stand up and build our society from scratch. The tools and resources are at our disposal, the time is at hand to make our active list of demands in the flesh. We start with a community, one town where there was no town before. Sustainable, independent, harming neither the environment nor the communities around it. We govern it ourselves, based on the principals of consensus and direct democracy. We look out for each other, provide for each other, and exist as a family of equal people in a community, for the first time. And when it is built, and when it works, we show the world what can be done.

                “Yes”, I hear you say, “but it will be hard.” Of course it will. Everything worth doing is. We will still be dependant, for a time, on existing systems until we find ways to produce those goods and services for ourselves. How long was a fledgling America dependent on its European parents? Was it not four hundred years from the time the first Europeans came to the American continent to the time the first shots rang out in the Revolutionary War? The people of the United States have relied on their system for but half that long, and can do it without bloodshed.

                This movement has its share of teachers and educators. We have our farmers and truck drivers, as well. We have laborers and supervisors, engineers and builders, nurses, EMTs, and firefighters, brave men and women young and old who are willing to sacrifice for a better future. Yes, the movement will continue beyond this project; it has to. But this project, this experiment may be just what this movement needs to capture the imagination of the people. “We are the 99%” is a brilliant ideal, but to bring all 99% together we need to be heard above the scream of pop culture. The endless stream of commercials and rhetoric and propaganda has made the movement little more than a footnote in the wasteland that is mainstream media. Be not afraid; in a short two months we have changed the conversation about politics at dinner tables, in college dorms, and in factory break rooms across the country. From Smalltown, USA to Tahrir Square in Egypt, people are expressing support and a resolve to change things.

                Now we need act on our beliefs. If this experiment succeeds in showing the nation what democracy should look like, it changes how things are done… it fixes things. If it fails at awakening the populace, it stills serves as a template for those who would build such a community around the country and even the world and remove themselves from a society they can no longer support. The only way the experiment achieves nothing greater is if we don’t try it. The worst that can happen is that we build something together we can be proud of, and live in it among an indifferent society. We live in an indifferent society now, on its own terms.

                                                For the hope of a better world. OccupyCommunity. 

The movement grows

Yesterday was a wonderful day for OccupyPoughkeepsie. The crowd was the largest yet for the march at noon, which proceeded first to the post office building. (watch the video here) The crowd remained exuberant as we marched up Main St. to protest at Chase Bank and back down Main through Market back to the camp at Hulme Park. In a welcome twist, after mentioning the Poughkeepsie Journal at the post office, they published a story today about our march. (read the article here) OccupyPoughkeepsie held a General Assembly immediately after the march, discussing pertinent issues like the petition to allow OPK to stay in Hulme Park after the 11pm closing time. Incidentally, if anyone would like to support their efforts to stay in the park, please email me with your full name and town of residence and I'll make sure to pass the message along. Also, more than anything, the movement needs people. If you can make it to Hulme Park for a few hours, for a day, or to camp out and occupy with them, please do. If you can't make it, inform your friends. Also, if you can't stay but would like to help, they could use supplies. Water, clean clothes, blankets, warm food, anything you can to to help the OccupyPoughkeepsie community will be met with the warmest and sincerest thanks. It it a system, a way of thinking, a global history of oppression we are trying to change, one town at a time. Help us, please.

flyers

In honor of my rededication of this page (narrowing its focus from all of OWS and beyond to OccupyPoughkeepsie) I've added the two posters. Print 'em out and cover your neighborhood. If you need a different size, email me.
In love and solidarity -Craig