It's interesting that depending on who you read, Occupy is either in complete disarray or on the cusp of some triumphant resurgence. I would guess that the truth is somewhere in the middle.
Democracy Now! had some good coverage of Occupy Wall Street's one year anniversary in today's episode. Below is just the last couple of minutes of the show, but the rest will be waiting here when people come home: http://www.democracynow.org/2012/9/17/stream
Sadly, it's probably closer to disarray. A successful reoccupation or day of protest could/should/would have involved tens of thousands of protestors, union supporters and veteran activists. Not to mention some targeted, effective direct action that significantly impacted the stock exchange, banks, or at least the streets in the financial district.
Trying to be neutral here. But so far, it looks like Occupy's ability to protest effectively has been shut down hard by militarized police forces pretty much everywhere, especially outside Wall Street. The numbers and actions in the street show that pretty clearly to me.
I think a lot of veteran activists and union folk are focused on the election (both Obama and various local races). Occupy seems uninterested in electoral politics. Which is a shame, because you would think in some cities they would have had a chance at getting some of their own people elected to city government. A lot of the activists I work with have faded away from the occupy movement for various reasons.
We've still got a long way to go. It doesn't matter what the movement is called, as long as people are still out in the streets protesting and organizing. It's easy to beat down an encampment, but it's not so easy to beat down revolutionary thought, even with all the propaganda we're fed every day by the corporate media.
It is actually kind of funny. Some people thinks it's revolutionary to expect representative democracy, progressive taxation, aid for the poor, affordable education, and single payer health care from our government.
Of course, these aren't really revolutionary ideas at all. You shouldn't have to be dubbed a radical if you choose to push for any and/or all of the above.
But here we are. Bishops are being arrested for protesting the wars and social injustice, retired officers are going to jail because they think the system has been so deeply corrupted, veterans are coming home from the war only to be be permanently brain-damaged and beaten by local police forces, and 700 peaceful protesters are arrested in one day for marching in opposition to America's evergrowing income disparity gap.
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Trying to be neutral here. But so far, it looks like Occupy's ability to protest effectively has been shut down hard by militarized police forces pretty much everywhere, especially outside Wall Street. The numbers and actions in the street show that pretty clearly to me.
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Of course, these aren't really revolutionary ideas at all. You shouldn't have to be dubbed a radical if you choose to push for any and/or all of the above.
But here we are. Bishops are being arrested for protesting the wars and social injustice, retired officers are going to jail because they think the system has been so deeply corrupted, veterans are coming home from the war only to be be permanently brain-damaged and beaten by local police forces, and 700 peaceful protesters are arrested in one day for marching in opposition to America's evergrowing income disparity gap.
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