Forum Post: Get direction or get lost!
Posted 13 years ago on Nov. 5, 2011, 11:28 a.m. EST by LaBruja
(8)
from Larose, LA
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
I 'm in awe of the growth of the movement, and in full support, but am concerned by it's lack of direction! May I suggest a discussion on the "goals" of the movement. If everyone knows "where" we are going, the collective knowledge of the movement will make it easier to find the path needed to be taken. This is my first post so please pardon me for suggesting such a lofty goal! Goal #1: Reclaiming our government "Of the People, By the People, and For the People", and dislodging the current system of "Of the Party, By the Party, and For the Corporations (and 1%)"! Wow, but how do you wrist control from such a powerful foe, you may ask! My response, by disarming them! Well not really disarming, let them keep the guns, just take away the bullets, metaphorically speaking. Think about it. What's their greatest weapon,... MONEY, "The Gun"! We can't take that, that's wealth redistribution and goes against everything that made US what we are! So let's pay attention to the "Bullets"! First there is the standard issue rounds, everyone can get thier hands on, known as campaign contributions. Then there are the armor piercing rounds, prefered by corporations and the 1%, commonly known as lobbyist! Might I suggest that the path to attaining Goal #1, is to demand the banishment of all lobbyist from our system of government! I know, only half of the map, but the answer to campaign reform I must leave for greater minds than mine. I don't have the answer, but believe, WE DO!!!!
Very, very few people are absolute pacifists. Right now OWS has correctly decided that in our culture it makes most sense, for movement building, to have a primary commitment to nonviolence. I find it really remarkable how well this value has been internalized and how we are learning to use it in our day to day interactions. That said, I think most people would agree that in some instances some surgical interventions of violence may be unavoidable.
Eliminate all forms of Lobbying.
Revoke Corporate Personhood.
Limit political campaign contributions to no more than $2500 per citizen.
Shorter term limits for Senators.
Mandatory rotation of committee members in congress to limit power broking.
Allow more than two parties into our political process. From left to right and back again just leads us in a circle.
Just a few ideas I'd like to see discussed. I'm willing to add my voice but as of now there is nothing to add it to.
Why are you concerned at the lack of direction of an anarchic movement? The point of anarchy is to breed chaos. I am in awe of OWS precisely for their organization. I don't think history has ever seen such a well planned anarchy. The people behind this movement are geniuses as far as I am concerned. And, I say this even if I don't agree with the idea of using an anarchy to solve the current problems in American or Canadian politics.
This is true. By not setting goals it allows everyone to imagine their own. Once you set an initiative you lose support from those who disagree. That part of it is brilliant. Is it sustainable though?
The point is to create as much confusion as possible. There are Occupy factions in many cities all around the world, and they are mostly independent of each other. This enhances chaos. Each faction uses direct democracy to make their decisions. This also enhances chaos because direct democracy does not scale. As the factions gets bigger, they will each fracture into many subgroups as the protesters won't be able to agree with each other on the demands and goals that should be tabled. The plan is to keep it fuzzy as long as possible so these Occupy mushrooms can grow as big as possible before they explode. When they do explode into subgroups, the types of subgroups will depend on the cultures of the cities in which they are. Some factions will burst before others. Some subgroups will be violent, others not. This will increase chaos because the authorities will have to deal with each subgroup differently. The coming of winter is perfect for OWS as sleeping in the cold will increase the confusion of the protesters, thereby increasing chaos. You can't think too well when you shiver, never mind when you've been camping in a commune for months. OWS has been designed very well, and I'm sure it's getting a lot of money from various shadow groups. You don't create a movement in many cities around the world inside a month by fluke. This is the biggest anarchic movement the world has ever seen.
As for sustainability, that is not the point of an anarchy. I'm sure the anarchists behind this know that anarchies can never be sustained. They don't want to gain power, they just want to dismantle the government. Once this is done, someone else will pick up the pieces and put something up in its place. Their belief is that the system cannot be fixed and could not be worse. So, the best way is to dismantle it before starting anew.
Yes - the well written letter below lends credence to your statement and your viewpoint supports what I've dug up on my own; although primarily about the Oakland segment.
http://www.occupyoakland.org/2011/11/open-letter-from-anarchist-participant-in-the-general-strike/
Thanks for the link. It was interesting, but scary at the same time. Certainly, there will be another Oakland sooner than later. Let's just hope it does not escalate into a war of some kind.
I wouldn't be surprised if the Oakland Liberation Front is inspired by the front de libération du Québec.
I totally agree with your view
I find it quite interesting that you make violent analogies.