Forum Post: We are undermining our own movement!!
Posted 12 years ago on Nov. 3, 2011, 12:42 p.m. EST by barko777
(3)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
While all of our desires and agendas need to be heard, the problem at the core is that we need to GET MONEY OUT OF POLITICS! We need to stay unified in our point and agenda. We are being split into segments with multiple agendas by the media because we fail to stay on point. "DEMOCRACY NOT CORPORATOCRACY!!" should be our central battlecry. If OUR views are to finally represented in Washington, instead of whoever donates the most money, it will be because politicians can no longer be bought. This would make Washington accountable only to us. If you read the site where this movement began, http://www.adbusters.org/blogs/adbusters-blog/occupywallstreet.html, then you'll understand the need for a central focus, and why it's important to this strategy of activism. DEMOCRACY NOT CORPORATOCRACY!!
I didn't say that they speak for anybody. I think the entire movement is being undermined and portrayed as a fractured one with no clear purpose in the media largely because everyone has there own specific complaints. I think the success that we've seen with these kinds of protests in places like Egypt was due to the huge crowd of people having a singular voice. I dunno. This is of course just my two cents, but I feel like "The Corporate State" is truly at the heart of most of the issues I've heard occupiers talking about on tv and the like. If we take months to form some sort of consensus that everyone will agree on, one filled with multiple grievances instead of one singular goal, it probably won't happen. I was under the impression that this idea to organize on Wall St. was started by ADBusters originally, and that it just caught on. While this doesn't give them any authority to speak for anyone involved, it certainly seems prudent to keep in line with there original intent, because the success of the thing ultimately depends on that. The argument to get Corporate influence out of Washington is one that practically ANYONE can get behind, except of course corporate CEO's and the like, which is why it was such a good choice as a central rallying cry to begin with. I think that more harm is being done by the media showing protesters with completely different reasons for being there. It makes it look more like a mob than an organized protest and it is quickly losing the battle of public perception for the entire movement.
So Adbusters is the authority to speak for OWS? That's news to me, but thanks for the heads up.
Thank you for the link. That's the first I've read about a formal Declaration, or a National General Assembly. It's good to see that being worked on.
Item 1 on the List Of Grievances is "Elimination of the Corporate State" 99% Declaration outlines the legal process of achieving this. It's a lot of work, not rocket science. your ideas are contained within the 99% Declaration, a roadmap to achieving these goals. Modelled on the Suffolk Resolves of 1774. https://sites.google.com/site/the99percentdeclaration/?tmpl=%2Fsystem%2Fapp%2Ftemplates%2Fprint%2F&showPrintDialog=1
Thanks for responding to this. I really wish there was a way to get more people to read this and follow it. I love that this shows how much power we really have to organize and effect change, but really to do it best we need to be unified with a clear message that will get everyone behind it. I think getting money and lobbyists out of politics is the only true first step for resolving virtually everyone's grievances. DEMOCRACY NOT CORPORATOCRACY!!
Here here. Sectarianism and personal crusades will be the end of this. Single issue cause; get money out of politics.
www.getmoneyout.com
If success is a goal, authority for meeting an agenda is needed.
barko777 wrote: We need to stay unified in our point and agenda.END-----
This is going to take more authority than congress and corporations.
barko777 wrote: GET MONEY OUT OF POLITICS!END-----
This will require the citizens use of article 5 of their constitution action in their states, demanding their legislations apply to congress for an article 5 convention, the ultimate democratic action in America.
Lessig power point on article V http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gpbfY-atMk
Without a clear goal that can rally at least 51% of the people, OWS will accomplish nothing worth a spit. Money out of politics is universal among the left and right leaning voting population. The hard left are trying to drive this into something tainted and will damage the movement just as the hard right damaged the TEA Party message.
Sorry, the Tea Party was bought out by the Koch brothers. But otherwise I agree with you. Getting money out of politics might be possible with campaign finance reform. But the Supreme Court has sold out the country on that...