Forum Post: Occupy already won
Posted 11 years ago on Nov. 12, 2012, 11:45 a.m. EST by richardkentgates
(3269)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
I see a lot of questioning the movement, the idea that it still could succeed or fail, what it's doing wrong, ect. The truth is, inequality is part of the media cycle. Economic oppression and political corruption is part of the media cycle. If this forum were taken down today and not another march held, it wouldn't matter. Occupy has already done more than any other movement since the 60s to address the wrongs in society. Occupy may not have control of the conversation but we are having the conversation and Occupy has provided the narrative on which The People can take control of the conversation. Occupy has already succeeded.
And Occupy Sandy is doing amazing work too!
I watched the clip from the news here on the forum and was nothing less than impressed. No better way to lead than to set the example and they are doing that with gusto.
Jubilee gets some good circulation by Care2 :
Occupy Wall Street Is Buying And Paying The 99%’s Debt Occupy Wall Street is using the system against itself to provide real relief to real people who are really suffering because of this unnecessary debt. read more
TWEETED
Jubilee!
http://strikedebt.org/
TWEETED http://strikedebt.org/
Debt relief for the people by the people.
Thank you very much.!
agreed,. OWS was and is a TAZ [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temporary_Autonomous_Zone ] of political action. It formed it marched it changed the debt, it shrunk, it grew, it feeds those without housing when they need help.., This is the way government should operate, AS NEEDED! Not as a monolithic hungry beast that needs tax dollars to grow,. e n d l e s s l y , . .
As a founding member of a Food Not Bombs chapter, I am in full accord with this approach, to working in groups for social betterfication, as needed and voluntarily.
I agree but I can see what's developing among the dems and it's business as usual. They want to maintain the status quo for 2016. All eyes are on Hillary and Rice/Kerry are possibilities for SOS. The dem establishment won't miss a beat. So much for reform.
I will not vote for a Clinton. Just putting that out there.
I'll pass on her too. She has the best resume ever but she's been too close to corruption for a long time. I'm hoping Baldwin gives it a shot.
We need a thinker in the seat. An economics professor maybe. Someone from the middle to upper middle class.
Baldwin- double major math and poly sci. She could appease the status quo just enough to be a player. Not tons of experience but not too young either. She's solid. And, she'd get a big piece of the single vote.
Oh, okay. Go home now. (Not)
You call ows a movement?? it needs members before that happens. ows was in trouble since the onslaught and this site is about all it has left
I am a member of 2 OWS working groups in NYC
and we did succeed in some ways, but our obsession with consensus and process and apoliticalness IS KILLING US
we had the perfect lesson from the tea potty -
how to convert a movement to power -
but we chose not to learn.
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I agree boss. I know 1st hand, you certainly had excellent ideas. We will have to accept slow progress and continue fighting for change that benefits the 99%.
There's always next time.
Next time is quickly becoming the edge of a cliff. When it comes to the survival and well-being of humanity i think if you don't know when too late is that it might as well be right now.
It seems like the people in power are taking this time to position themselves to inherit the Earth even more. Did you see the movie Swimming to Cambodia? It reminds me of that for some reason.
I think we need change that is unprecedented. A champion that can demand the government to respond, not according to their rules, but as an emergency. This is an emergency.
What is it called when a single family controls the world, and their kids inherit that power whether or not they deserve it? I think it is called royalty but it should be called a tragedy, like Hamlet.
Ok. Well we SHOULD agitate for unprecedented change from our govt as if it is an emergency. It IS an emergency.
Did not see Swimming to Cambodia.
I can't resign to the "cliff metaphor" cause I avoid the fear tactics frequently used to push people towards conservativism and support for a selfish agenda. (not thatthat is what you are pushing)
Things are bad, but they will get better. And we can make 'em better if we get in the street and force change that benefits the 99%.
Yeah i know, everything helps. I just can't stand letting something we know is wrong continue when we don't even know how bad it can be. It's sketchy.
I suppose if they knew it were going to be okey and the government was doing good things they would be showing us, but they're not. It's creepy.
Besides voting (and we know the effectiveness of THAT in a broken system) Our best tool (the people) is massive protests, street action. We CAN influence the course of events if we can grow this movement and focus our energy on forcing change that benefits the 99%.
I don't think that will work. Most people are never going to join a protest. Most people actually feel embarrassed when they see protesters. But most people can participate in something on the internet, which fortunately is the most powerful tool for connecting people. Once we actually have something people can pay attention to, then, carefully, we can do anything.
Yeah Riiiiiight! The guy spewing anti socialist, anti healthcare, pro austerity, pro Papa jihns, is gonna advice OWS the best way to achieve progress.
So you're saying "you don't think" protesting will work?
WRONG. It WILL work. It HAS worked. Along with the internet, petitions, letter writing, voting and every other tool at our disposal.
"don't think it will work"? LOL that's funny. 'Don't think' is more like it!
Anti healthcare? What?
Protesting is not going to inspire the self appointed kings to dethrone themselves, or will it connect all of these people. You're welcome to disagree with me, but try not being a dick.
Name calling just shows the weakness of your position. If I mistook you for another user here this morning I apologize.
Protesting is a powerful tool to affect change. "Dethrone"? I can't expect the impossible. I gotta fight for progress, for change that will benefit the 99%.
TPTB are too strong to dethrone in one election cycle or through street protest. My goal is moving forward. Not tilting at windmills.
Peace!
Man, you totallty went dick on me and are twisting it. Just have a conversation. We're trying to do good and figure things out, right?
So we should deal with emergency by giving the problem all the time it needs, playing the games and distractions they set before us?
The people in power are making fools of us, like pacifying livestock, pulling every string to groom and enhance their monopoly.
I don't really know what's true, and nobody else does either, but the secrets they keep go to show, and so does the situation.
Nothing is impossible, and i'm not saying that protesting is pointless.
I thought OWS would save our government. I hate to discredit good things but at this rate it will become another Green Peace.
Solve a problem at the root, before too late is apparent. We shouldn't give them the time they need because it's exactly what they want.
I think we want the same things.
I think after one year we've done great things. We must accept all progress we get & build on it, Because TPTB are so powerful & entrenched we should expect that this will take years of hard work, out in the street & inside the political system.
We can't be discouraged at the slow progress, or setbacks. The forces against us are more powerful than any in all of human history.
And if we could be as successful as Greenpeace I wouldtake it. I've been a member for many years.
Peace, & Solidarity
Cool, i think we do too, and Represent.Us looks really good.
Some people who were cia, or deliberately wanted me to think they were, entered my life and messed with my head. They had a way of talking to each other that was disguised (they could talk about the weather, but you knew they were talking about something else). They made it clear i could be killed but it really made clear how deeply rooted all this corruption is, if ordinary people, living normal lives, were secretly planted. Any person pretending to do good could actually be aiming for something else.
Sorry if i'm desperate now. I'm terrorfied of slow progress in this situation because it has so much potential to be manipulated. You're right though, fighting the good fight is at least progress.
We can't do much more than that.
Hang in there
For people who were ready to hear a message, it was heard and understood.
For people accustomed to their mind set and worldviews, the vast majority of the population, the image portrayed of and by Ows was not one that was clear or purposeful. It seems we are still striving to identify a way forward. Maybe will have to enter political mainstream to be taken seriously by the people. That was not encouraged by Ows in past.
http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/one-year-later-the-failure-of-occupy-wall-street-is-apparent/
Sorry to be bearer of bad news. I couldn't find any positive news.
http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/one-year-later-the-failure-of-occupy-wall-street-is-apparent/
OTB is a libertarian site.
A quick scan of the comments on OTB reveals much support for #ows, and I particularly liked this one.
michael reynolds says: Monday, September 17, 2012 at 14:39
They changed the framing. That’s what I wanted them to do. They redefined the country to an extent as the 1% vs. the 99%. They only failed if you were expecting them to launch a revolution.
They changed my attitude, they changed a lot of people’s attitudes. And you saw it at the DNC where Democrats who had been cowering earlier launched a full-throated defense of progressive taxation and Obamacare.
If you don’t think some of the voter skepticism and resistance to rich trust fund baby Mitt Romney is a product of OWS, I think you’re kidding yourself. If you don’t think OWS stiffened Democrat spines, you are likewise mistaken.
As for the Tea Party, you’ll notice it’s the Democrats willing to talk about the future while the Republicans desperately try to conceal their plans from the voters.
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NO WAR
I think many within look at it as a failure becuase of the drastic drop in numbers. The causes of that are anyone's guess, but I know it is very disheartening to go to GA's with 5 people when there were thousands last year.
Are they still doing mic check at GAs?
All I can speak for is Tampa, and there arent enough people to worry about it anymore.
Perhaps what is needed is an actual cause, like occupy Sandy, to rally the people to action again. Not saying I'm wishing for natural disasters,(or manmade ones, for that matter) just saying that the original impetus (wall street fraud) has been exposed, and banks are under the spotlight. You're aware of the bankster in charge of Bank of England attending an #ows street protest, and agreeing with the original premise of #ows?
Perhaps join an org that is actually still doing their stuff actively, like 99Rise.
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