Forum Post: One scenario for how the movement might successfully progress from here
Posted 13 years ago on Oct. 20, 2011, 10:09 p.m. EST by therising
(6643)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
I think this is a three step process. I'm simply stating here in one post what has been said by others on this forum about what steps are required.
Step one is for the 99% to realize they are the 99%. To realize that they have the power. Once we realize that, we will be be making decisions from a position of unified strength rather than demands from a position of divided weakness.
Step two would be for general assemblies to continue to form around the country and then for people to gather in Philadelphia next July for national Gen. assembly. At that national Gen. assembly, 870 representatives would be elected, two for each congressional district in the U.S. (one man, one woman). Then a national Gen. Assembly meeting would determine a list of priorities or goals and these would be presented to Congress with a deadline. If Congress did not pass legislation leading to the achievement of the stated goals of the national Gen. assembly by the stated deadline, the movement would move swiftly to run candidates to oppose any and all existing congresspeople.
If that effort were successful, the people would be in a position of power and would be able to make decisions from a position of unified strength rather than making demands from a position of divided weakness.
However, if our candidates were generally unsuccessful at winning office, we would then have no choice but to move to step three and engage in direct nonviolent action on a massive scale reminiscent of the civil rights movement in the U.S. In that case, the course of action might look something like this:
http://occupywallst.org/forum/proposed-list-of-demands-please-help-editadd-so-th/#comment-148823
I honestly hope that isn't necessarily but believe it will be effective if it comes to that. All other options must first be exhausted.
The key to success in my view is to keep the energy level up during the whole process by finding new and creative places to protest and join together in solidarity and peace. As long as our hearts are open and accepting and we protest in the spirit of love, we will most certainly succeed.
Nice post.
I enjoy reading your stuff as well. My aim is to help spread the word that it will take a while to do this right but it's worth it. We have a tremendous opportunity here and I really hope we use it to effect lasting and meaningful change. My head and my heart are both excited to live in this new community.
therising,
Great stuff, I agree, we need to keep this thing rolling, the issue is too important, and the energy and focus is occurring right now. We cannot let this opportunity slip away.
Here's what I think should happen. First, this thing needs to formalize into some sort of real organization, with actual leadership. Then there has to be a single, concise message, vision and goal. So long as this thing remains all over the place it's in danger of fizzling out. Too many issues creates division and distraction, and if we don't take this beyond protests, people will eventually lose interest. This needs to keep moving forward or it will lose steam and just go away.
I'm for promoting a single issue and vision on this web site. Not sure how to do it. any ideas?
I agree completely that the energy and anger of our movement needs to be harnessed for real, tangible progress.
For that, yes we do need some sort of structure (if not a hierarchy then at the very least an organizing committee to oversee and direct the movement).
One thing I somewhat disagree with is that we need to promote a single issue; we simply need to articulate individual plans of action for each issue, and then to focus, one-by-one.
IF we need to focus on a single grievance, to my understanding, the bulk of the mistrust and corruption involved in the American Election process can be traced to one fundamental flaw: there is little, or no, accountability in campaign finance.
Politicians don't get elected without owing something to different corporations and special interests groups; once elected, our representatives answer first to their corporate sponsors and second to the American people.
As for how to turn the momentum of the 99% into real action, I hate to say "Tea Party Movement" BUT the Occupy Wall Street Movement COULD learn a lot from their strategies and success in turning their protest movement into a real political force.
I agree with pretty much everything you said, but i still think we need to focus on a single issue, and it's because it really is a single issue, the
The 99% is diverse by nature of course, and if we focus on other issues that can be categorized as being conservative, liberal, environmental, social, etc... we run the risk of alienating some percentage of the 99%. The single issue the 99% can get behind is the fact that the other 1% have purchased direct power over us.
One of my main sticking points is that we should avoid everything and anything that can be views as Rep, Dem, Con, Lib, etc... Because this isn't about, 40%, or 35%, it's about the 99%.
Just my opinion.
I feel very strongly that if we focus on a single issue, the "single issue" should be the one that prompted this movement in the first place - Get The Money Out Of Politics. That is something I think the entire political spectrum of the USA can relate to, and support.
Personally I think a national petition is a good first start, as well as a coordinated letter campaign (ask every supporter of The Occupy Movement to write one-letter a month to their congress representative/senators/and President Obama). That ends up being four letters a month (4 stamps) PER PERSON which is extremely doable and would be a constant reminder to our elected representatives that we are still here, still focused, and still committed to forcing change. Your thoughts?
I agree that getting the money out of politics is the best first step.
Yes, then we agree, the single issue is getting the money out of Washington, and yes, I believe we should do everything in our power to ensure that change occurs. Everything you state above should happen. This needs to be a full court press, all resources at our disposal and all tactics, so long as they are non-violent, should be employed. And it has to be sustained over a long period of time. Change of this kind will not happen overnight, and they will fight it to the bitter end.
Also, because the problem is in Washington, I believe all the Occupy groups around the country should organize a march on Washington, one that would eclipse all others that have come before.
Besides this forum, what other tools do we have to coordinate these plans (its not a rhetorical question - I honestly would like to know)?
I'd don't know either. It's why I feel this thing has to get more organized and have some sort of leadership group. There has to be some sort of plan devised, something with a clear vision, objective, goals, and one that ensures that this thing continues to progress, and move in the right direction. Someone has to be in charge of controlling the message, they need PR, logistics, planning, a strategy for achieving an end.
I think a leadership group could figure this out and answer these questions and formulate a plan. But that's not me.
I'm as ready for action as you are. I think we should work to channel all that energy and intelligence into the General Assembly meetings around the country. That's how this gets huge and solid. Then we have national assembly in July and elect 2 people from each congressional district to represent the 99%. Then proceed as above. It's the only way this change will be solid and lasting.
However, I still think each week we should march and/ or sit in at a different corporation to build the case for why this is all so important. DC protests too. Huge. MASSIVE. And we must, above all, remain non-violent at all times. Provocateurs will attempt to incite violence. Of this happens, we should immediately sit down and say "This person is not with us. We are non-violent. Then the nightly news image will be this one lone jerk and even more people will support our non- violent movement.
I do agree that the protests must continue, and should always be part of the program. But other efforts need to be made. Just hope this continues. This problem is real, and it won't fix itself. We have to fix it ourselves.
There is no question we have to fix it ourselves. No individual president can do it. He can do it with us though.
Not sure if any one man, even if he is the most powerful man in the world, can reign in the congress. Plus, the Pres also needs to take contributions. It's not like he doesn't owe anyone either.
If we have one demand as I believe that is all we can afford; It has to be Amend the Constitution for government ONLY financing of elections, no contributions, from anyone; rendering Citizens United a moot point. Its the only piece of this that resonates with the anti-establishment left, the anti-establishment right and everyone in between. Including many who make 350k+ believe me its great to make that kind of money but that doesn't mean you want to spend it on some ones (or even your own) campaign where the mega-corps and uber-unions are going to drown you out anyway. Oh, and its spin-proof. The logical contortions involved in trying to spin this would only push people to us.
What you're saying makes total sense. I'm completely behind you. How do we spread the word?
Note: we really need some good catch phrases to describe this in super simple terms. I realize this seems petty and minor but just thinking practically here. One obvious example of an effective phrase that makes its own argument is "the death tax". As much as it bugs the $@&$ out of me, I have to admit it works. I realize it may be controversial to say this. but there is a marketing / presentation aspect to this movement that is essential. King and Gandhi understood that very very well, of course.
Good criticism, I'll have to think on it. In the meantime I'm rewriting this as I go and troll-blasting the forum with it.
Maybe we will eventually need something similar to this http://occupywallst.org/forum/our-turn/ in order to give context to people for whom this is all new. We obviously definitely need them.
You're a good person. Rock n roll :)
That's exactly what I think. The only question is how?
By making that the only "demand" of the movement. By that I don't mean the only goal or conversation or action. But the rallying cry, the public face and the emphasis. I've expanded on it some, but its still a little pretentious:
This thing of ours, if it gets even a little further than it has already the disinformation campaign is going to go into overdrive (if it hasn’t already, other repressions to follow)? We have a difficult task, an awesome duty to awaken people; startle them without scaring them. We need a non-divisive, internally consistent, easily discernible and relate-able narrative. Our one goal, as I believe that is all we can afford without division, needs to be: Amend the Constitution for government ONLY financing of elections, no contributions, from anyone; rendering Citizens United a moot point. It’s the only piece of this that resonates with the anti-establishment left, the anti-establishment right and everyone in between, including many of those who make 350k+. Sure It’s great to make that kind of money but that doesn't mean you want to spend it on some one's (or even your own) campaign. There, your tiny breath will be drowned by the deafening wind of the mega-corps, the uber-unions, and by treacherous and selfish interests of all types, to the detriment of society.
This is the banner under which we can unite, indeed must unite. We must amend, then we can debate what kind of society we want, which policies, parties, or politicians, or ideologies to endorse. Until democracy is unleashed and the republic restored there is no way forward. The pulse of this movement endlessly uniting and growing, immune to their false discourse will so tremble those who cannot be won, they will proactively try to appease us. Won't that be nice? They will try to buy our petty differences and desires, preying anew on the weary and the wavering. But we, the proud children of a free nation will not be appeased by half measures, promises and lies. We want what we deserve, that which is ours by moral right, paid for by the spirit of our martyrs, a meaningful say in the matters that properly concern us.
While I like your initiative, you're proposing yet another republic form of government that has already proven to be a manipulative failure in the pocket of the 1%. Consequently, consider our group's alternative direct democracy government at
http://getsatisfaction.com/americanselect/topics/on_strategically_weighted_policies_organizational_operating_structures_tactical_investment_procedures-448eo
and then direct comments to our group's 19 members committed to that plan at:
http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/StrategicInternationalSystems/
I'll check out what you have here. Not sure though why having 99% of population backing something would lead to failure. When was that previously tried?
Our current government is a republic organized similar to what you have described. That form of government has already failed, for it is in the pocket of the 1%, so we need direct democracy, agreed?
Mmmmmm....not sure A + B necessarily = C there. But I need to investigate more. I think we have a great system if we put up some permanent guardrails to keep corporations from rigging it. We have the power to do this as soon as we RECOGNIZE we have the power to do this.
Agreed, but give our proposal a thoughtful and critical read first, and then we'll talk some more.
I agree that the movement needs better organization and leadership, and without a list of demands, the movement will stagnate and die out. I also believe that the movement needs to express some ideas that will capture the public’s attention in a big way. Personally, I believe that the ultimate goal should be to get corporations to weigh profit equally with the human element. Right now, their only goal is maximizing profit, and when considering how unstable the human element can be, not taking it into consideration is not rational. Capitalism in its current form will eventually cause more inequality, and will ultimately undermine the middle class in America. What do these executes believe will happen when the Middle class evaporates, and employment reaches 20% and beyond. I have conceived of a new idea that I think some of you may find interesting. It’s called Utilitarian Capitalism. The system is designed so that Corporations would have to weigh profit equally with the human element. If utilized, I believe I could be an effective job creating tool, and could spread prosperity far more extensively. You can visit my Forum post called, Utilitarian Capitalism an appeal to Rationalism, or just check out this link. https://viewer.zoho.com/docs/bdbPRg. In any regard, keep the ideas coming, and someone please get the movement more organized.
I like your idea. You could call it the Double Bottom Line model. Where tere is value placed on human happiness and well being. Similar to carbon credits.
My colleagues and I have met with ranking members of Congress about the abuse and corruption on Wall Street, and we were rudely ignored.
5 demands Occupy Wall Street protesters should make:
1) Independent verification that the Federal Reserve, Department of the Treasury, Office of the Comptroller of Currency (OCC), FDIC, FHFA, FTC, NCUA, SEC and CFTC are ethical, effective and efficient banking and market regulators.
2) A public record system that discloses ethical breaches and conflicts of interest at all federal banking and market regulators, and includes, at a minimum, a) Ethics Code Certifications; b) Ethics Reporting; and, c) culture assessments on an ongoing basis.
3) FINRA and PCAOB subject to Freedom of Information Act, with absolutely NO exemptions.
4) A stock exchange that prohibits hedging, high frequency trading and short selling. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other US banking and market regulators lack the competence (Boston Consulting Group, 2011) to protect investors from fraud stemming from the abuse of hedging, high frequency trading and short selling.
5) Responsible fiscal and monetary policies
I think it's really important that we do weekly marches, shining the light on a different corporation each week that is doing wrong. Need to build the case in the Maerican psyche that has been barraged for decades with Madison Avenue marketing.
Have you gotten any positive response?
I'm just a person reporting what I'm reading on this forum...just assembling it in one spot. So I don't expect or merit positive response to what I'm posting.
However I can tell you that the people who have posted things like those I mention seem to have gotten huge positive response. I'm only one person so what I think doesn't mean much. The General Assembly will, of course, be the entity that sets the agenda and I feel totally comfortable with that.
I'm excited for the future in our soon-to-be democratic country, a country connected to others around the world in a new and special way. We'll be making decisions from a position of unified strength rather than demands from a position of divided weakness.
Yes! I love what I'm seeing and hope I can contribute to its success in a substantial way.
Just by paying attention and talking with friends and neighbors each of us makes a huge contribution. Encourage others to see the film Inside Job. It kind of sums up what's wrong and how we fix it.
Thanks! I just moved Inside Job to the top of my Netflix Queue. By the way, have you checked out the Zeitgeist Movement? What are your thoughts?
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3932487043163636261