Let's *Colonize* Wall Street on #S17

DRAFT – This idea is under active development by the OccupyWallSt.org editorial staff.

Notes On Our Use of the Word 'Colonize': Many people have reacted negatively to our choice of the word 'colonize', which has galvanized a passionate Twitter debate. In many ways we're proud to have contributed to raising awareness of the persecution of native and indigenous peoples. We ask our critics to consider: What would happen if the debate escalated to the mainstream media? What if Occupy could galvanize a national debate about the injustices of colonialism and imperialism, while at the same time making the elite know what it feels like?

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Two years ago on September 17th, 2011, we captured the world's attention by occupying a square block of Manhattan next door to Wall Street. But since then the public has become bored with our tactics. If we truly want to sway the masses, we must up the ante. Therefore we propose a colonization of Wall Street.

Yes, we mean colonize literally. As in build permanent physical structures in NYC's financial district. Perhaps starting off with a small soup kitchen on the corner that gives out free hot meals. It should also be built professionally and in compliance with as many health & safety codes as possible.

Fundraising to pay for food and supplies will be easy. Protecting ourselves from police violence won't be easy. Pulling off a stunt like this will require Gandhi-style bravery on the part of each individual. But it can be done if people are willing to take a stand to feed the hungry.

We need a nonviolent army. We'll organize our supporters and train them to be disciplined enough to do peaceful crowd control on the cops. This way when our carpenters come to work, they won't have to worry about being murdered by the NYPD.

The messaging would be:

• Capitalism has failed to provide for the people.
• The government isn't helping.
• So we've decided to help ourselves.
• Even if doing so requires civil disobedience.

Then we tell everyone in America who's been screwed over by capitalism to come down to Wall Street to get a free meal each day from our soup shack. Especially if people decide to show up before/after the trading bells so the financiers going to work can see the faces of people who've been hurt by their careless behavior. Perhaps that human connection will teach them to have a better sense of noblesse oblige.

Except it won't matter because it's too late for apologies. We'll keep colonizing Wall Street by building more permanent structures that provide for the needs of the people. Peacefully and without permission. Things like free housing that are open to anyone, without questions or paperwork, so long as they pose no threat to the safety of others.

Then after several years and enough cities following our model, we might finally have some viable social institutions able to care for the people thrown away by the capitalist economy. A new system that provides for all, without the precondition of servitude to corporations. A system that rises peacefully alongside the power structures of the old. And will ultimately be accepted and embraced by the elite. Why? Because it's a less terrifying alternative to the anarchists and communists who want their blood.

All we want to do is help people.

Programme Rationale

• In order to capture widespread media attention, we must be original and do something no one else has done before.

• In order to challenge Wall Street's power so that it may be slowly dismantled, our actions must be an imposition of popular willpower that defies authority. We need to show the world that it's possible for ordinary people to aggressively face off with some of the most terrifying institutions of power in the world, and actually be a worthy adversary.

• In order to not make things worse, we must do this nonviolently. I believe it is possible to be both militant and nonviolent at the same time. There has also been a historical trend to reduce violence.

• In order to win popular support, we must be effective in our fight. This means we need to get organized and be professional. We need people to know that we're serious, viable, and on their side. People need to think of us as freedom fighters.

• In order to unite the many political factions, we must make this an apolitical movement whose sole mission is to provide for the public good. Such a movement should seek no political power aside from conquering public spaces for the purpose of performing good deeds. If people want to do other things, they can start a different movement in solidarity.

• In order to unite humanity we must:

  • Overcome class distinctions by building these structures in each major city within the neighborhoods populated by the 1%. We shouldn't seek to antagonize them any further than what is necessary to assert our right to live next door.

  • Overcome racial/national distinctions by providing free bedrooms and unrestricted travel of individuals around the world and between nations. The best cure for racism and fascism is to actually meet people from other races, realize we're not so different, and create the material conditions that will allow for the world to become a great melting pot.

Sources of Inspiration

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poor_People's_Campaign