Forum Post: Here is an article reflecting public opinion, please read first! Shall continue with posting "Novanglus continues!!"
Posted 12 years ago on Nov. 11, 2011, 4:50 p.m. EST by Novanglus
(58)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
Taken from wnyc, a local radio station....
http://www.wnyc.org/blogs/its-free-blog/2011/nov/11/opinion-occupy-tactics-weakening-its-message/
I know the rule is to have a leaderless movement-that is great if you want to obfuscate and confuse things for the press (they are masters at hyperfocusing in on a leader, isolating him/her from his movement, and ultimately killing the movement by ignoring the people involved and their message: look what happened to some in the Tea Party.) Being leaderless has worked so far. But right now looking at Google, there have been in the past 2 1/2 weeks some nasty stories surrounding OWS in several cities: there was a suicide in Vermont today, just for starters. There have been rumors of rape, theft, and drug dealing spreading all over the internet, a forum, while powerful, that is easily able to sway the minds of millions in a very short time. Inviting the homeless in, while a kind gesture, might not have been the smartest public relations move if they are simply taking advantage and have no real commitment to the cause. (Others may also be mentally unstable and thus a hazard to public image AND the safety of all involved.)
I think it might be time to consider some changes in tactics, for example, reorganize the way things are run a tiny bit, just a simple tiny tweak. Currently, we have a Congress full of elected officials that work on committees that do nothing for the public good and often couldn't find consensus if the word stared at them from the morning newspaper while they each sat on the toilet. I think it would be an excellent slap in the face of Congress to formally elect members to committees and have these committee members form a representative body at the General Assembly where ideas can be debated on the "floor" and where there is an overseeing committee or organization of sorts that acts in a leaderlike capacity, something along the lines of the organizers acting like the Vice President is supposed to do as President of the Senate.
I know this shall not be popular, but it shall do some good things that are going to be needed, and soon, because although it is a good principle to have everybody be a speaker, it is getting difficult to carry it off in a group and movement that has gotten so large. Resolutions will come through faster in a mini representative government rather than everyone shouting at once or taking hours at the General Assembly to get every last person heard. I know everyone is tired of not being heard by government, and is reluctant to give any quarter to any kind of representative democracy AT ALL, but there are differences for the OWS version i1) elections remain direct and 2) originally the US Congress was supposed to read proposals for bills and laws sent directly from CITIZENS. If anyone can send proposed resolutions to a committee member to be presented and voted upon at the Assembly, the principle of allowing everyone to be heard is not violated as everyone gets the chance to be heard (and yes, you can still speak at the Assembly itself if you have questions.) Being organized is not a crime. Even the unions who stand in solidarity with OWS have a similar system and they sure as heck aren't the worse for it.
Other than that, it is probably time to run offense on public perception. From what I can see, a lot of folks are rather enamored with their self perception as patriots, but remember, what others think of you, even your enemies, IS important. You don't have to agree with what they think of you, but if you want to win them over, they can't think poorly of you. You have to convince them you are worth their time or eventually they shall ignore you and your movement dies. Older people (including those in power) are going to have a difficult time listening to what a 21 year old pot fiend has to say with a joint hanging out of his mouth: it didn't work in the Vietnam era or during the early 90s with Gen X, and it gave people an excuse to not take seriously the pothead's thoughts on politics. A clean and sober young fella with few piercings and a bong in the trashcan, well, that is a step in the right direction. (This is not a criticism of pot itself, but more a tip on public relations, because there are people outside the protest who see us as a bunch of druggies.) OWS needs to be seen in a better light right now. It needs to add other things to its repertoire. It needs to make a public campaign where delegations to speak in churches and synagogues at Christmas, pointing out how poverty has increased in 10 years, income inequality reigns, and why it is so. (MLK did this constantly.) Just shouting in the streets should no longer be the chief tactic. It loses its punch after a while and people's attention spans are short. Some form of escalation is necessary as well because bluntly OWS is no longer on the front page of Google News and is fading in most major television networks. (I am stating fact, not criticizing.) Without any change it is going to get easier for the enemy to win-and this must be avoided at all costs.
I tend to agree with you, but please remember that it hasn't even been two months.
Look on the home page for how much education is going on at the Park. That's the start right there.
You still there?
I know, Jono, but unfortunately you have to remember the golden rule of the American media: they've conditioned the public to have very short attention spans. They've done it for 40 years. So this may mean many of the reforms I speak of might need to happen sooner rather than later or else the whole thing could fizzle by Chinese New Year and not make it to Spring. And if that doesn't happen, I am very worried that the everybody-talking-at-once ethos emanating from a lot of the camps will ultimately cause chaos and breakdown because nothing actually can get solved in a timely manner, and it might actually cause discord (noting the postion of the finance committee. Throw money into the equation and we could have a very nasty situation indeed that could come to blows.)
I am also worried that not voting on all the messages in the manner I illustrated that want to be sent out into the world will actually make things more difficult: the public will still not understand what OWS is about (and trust me, I looked, many still are totally nonplussed or misinformed) and and inside the camps you might attract people who really should not be present (remember in the 60s when the hippies hired the Hells Angels at Altamont? -Could just as easily happen on Wall Street or any of the other affiliates in other cities.)
Did I mention that OWS tends not to be on the front page of Google News, CNN, or MSNBC? Loathesome conglomerates though indeed they are, they are also each major funnels of news. Maw and Paw Average tend to look at the front page and browse for the stories they want to read, and if we aren't on there, we might get skipped over (Google News doesn't have a page two.)
PS-Education in books is one thing: paying attention to what is happening online and on tv is another. So too is understanding how representative democracy is supposed to function (as opposed to its perverted form currently active in Washington) and implementing it for pragmatic reasons. Time is not always on your side, and given the current way OWS is charting, I'd say its time to whip it up a little.
Just wait. There's an election coming up. There's currently a march going on. People keep asking "What's this about." Well, wait until the politicians start campaigning. You'll find out very quickly.
My fear is that this all might not last that long without taking care of what needs to be done NOW, before heading into the lion's den.
The political kabuki that is going to start up in January is going to be ugly. Real ugly. In one corner you have Mitt "I pretty much did nothing as MA Governor " Romney and in the other you've got Barack "No We Can't Because I Didn't" Obama. The media is already revving their engines for it because they know it is going to bring in huge ratings. Ratings=money. I would not be surprised if they are already ratcheting down their coverage of OWS on purpose because they see no point in covering it when the big show is achingly so close. That, and these news shows are constantly angling for "narrative." When OWS didn't give them one, they were totally thrown for a loop on what to do , and otherwise they seem to like the narrative they're forming right now as we speak: its a convocation of losers, overly idealistic/spoiled college kids, a gathering of the Juggalos for fools not smart enough to organize themselves better (and they feed this to the public, too.) By the time we get through Christmas, MSNBC, CNN, and all the other outlets shall have had about 6 or 7 weeks either ignoring or downplaying OWS. That is a 6 or 7 week headstart on the court of public opinion and by then it could be too late to launch whatever is being cooked up right now.
That's why OWS protesters need to show up wherever these people go to speak. Debates, Campaign Trail, Everywhere.
People in the media will decry the tactic, but it's what needs to happen.
I wrote this earlier today. You are right that OWS is imploding. And you're right that the NYC GA process is failing. But like the politicians we see around the world, there doesn't seem to be anyone there that can take the bulls by the horns. The 99% Declaration should have been the center of every discussion but, no, it didn't suit a tiny number of people running the show. Irony of ironies, the media center of OWS needs to be occupied! But time is very much against this movement now...
https://sites.google.com/site/the99percentdeclaration/
The occupation of land is a very powerful statement, right up there with hostage taking. There comes a point where it becomes counter-productive and it should be obvious that OWS is pretty much at that point now. Soldiers occupying a foreign land through the depths of winter will resent the generals that "demand" they remain at the outposts. They just want to go home. Hostage takers in time must grow weary too. These actions aren't supposed to last forever, they are designed to affect change.
OWS is a "shot across the bow", a warning shot. A ship that sits firing repeated warning shots loses credibility. The crew will mutiny. Remaining in the camp/occupy mode is destined to fail, which would be a failure of epic proportions considering how successful the action has been.
OWS needs to take the bull by the horns, and quickly. (today would have been ideal 11/11/11 for symbolism) NYC needs to Declare the Occupation over. It needs to explain to it's supporters why it's the right thing to do. It needs to explain that this is not the end, it's the beginning. Imagine the shock waves around the world, respect +1 and the collective sigh of relief for the 99% It's the 1% that isn't going to like the sounds of this... Here's where i disagree with you.Victory is to the #occcupy movement, but this is not the time to go "home". Now it's time to get to work. It's time to pound the pavement announcing the coming National General Assembly July 4th, 2012 in Philadelphia and what the significance of that is.
Finally, the occupiers need to help clean up and demand that the cities deploy resources to assist the homeless. In solidarity,Fare well, OWS
so this is a proposal for a representative government at OWS GA ?
No, in general, preferably with the NYC branch.
sounds good
er
recent crime events are because OWS has no leader ?!?
You there, fella? Was it something I said? Have I made a faux pas?
druggies cannot be considered second class citizens
stop saying it is the only and most important issue
Uhhh, Matt, can you read? Point to the paragraph.
sorry
that was a "faux pas" I saw in other presentations not this one
That is not what I said. I said that public perception of the movement is not going well right now and it has to be countered, and fast. Right now, going through Google, I found stories on theft, vandalism, violence, and drug use attributed in some way to the OWS movement. Whether or not they are true is irrelevant, because it boils down to public opinion: if they think you are a bunch of violent drug addicted goons, they won't take you seriously, won't donate money, eventually ignore you, and you can no longer claim to be of the 99%. The whole thing goes to pieces.
I suggested that while it is admirable to be leaderless because of the principle of having everyone able to talk at once, it may no longer be practical to do so-the Wall Street branch of this movement alone has at least 500 people in that park overnight and the crowd can swell to thousands. Public perception is also not going well on this matter as people are very confused as to what OWS wants-I am reminded of something a friend of mine told me when he tried to teach in an inner city school in Philly: they all got in his face all at once and started shouting and as a result nobody was happy because nobody could hear themselves think. (He eventually gave up and quit, I might add, because nobody was willing to listen to him when he shouted, "shut up!!") Personally, I don't want the public to give up on OWS because, to their point of view, all they hear is noise. I also don't want OWS to give up its stance on multiple issues, but allowing for public debate in the General Assembly using a representative democratic system might be useful because 1) it clarifies what everyone wants once and for all 2) it can accomplish this much faster than going through every individual guy there and thereby slowing down the progress of the movement in general since (ironically, just like the current Congress) anything that gets done happens at a snail's pace, General Assembly lasting hours and hours.
I also said the principle of democracy is preserved if those elected to speak at assembly are presented directly with the concerns and questions of the people they represent. This does not happen currently in Congress and would be a huge bitch slap at Congress's inability to do much of anything and showing how we can do it better. The principle is equally preserved if everyone gets a vote still and votes directly.
Read me read me I wrote my butt off man, give me a break, not trying to be a troll, just want to be read really badly
I am a loser. I know it. Nobody wants to read. I am a loser responding to her own posts because nobody shall read. I promise I would shut up with just one reader, and I won't come back for some time if I just get read.....mope.....mope...
Please read this I put time into it!!!!
Consider some changes in tactics
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"Click find Fucking Canadians" Maybe this gets people to respond. Trolls like it... eh? Yes I liked it, just like a message I sent to you.