Forum Post: Your next move
Posted 12 years ago on Dec. 1, 2011, 12:15 p.m. EST by freshStart
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Occupiers,
I've been reading the news about what is your next move. I would like to add my suggestions to the list.
Voter registration: Politicians engage in what is called "gerrymandering" or redistricting for the purposes of ensuring relection. What this means is they redefine the lines of their district to incorporate as many of their parties voters as possible. They use the voters registration information to determine where those lines should be drawn.
If everybody were to update your voters registration and select under Party the option "None", it would make it very difficult for politicians to engage in redistricting.
Anti-Incumbency: Let's face it, we are all disillusioned with our political system. Both parties are only working for one side -- the wealthy. And as we all know it is Congress that is the REAL problem. Not the President. And lets face it, it is very difficult to choose a good candidate unless you know that candidate personally.
The solution - Vote out the incumbent. We might be throwing the baby out with the bathwater. But until Washington gets the hint, we need to keep the flow of politicians circulating.
Get serious. All the evidence suggests that the whole system is collapsing and the solution is ---voter registration? I don't think so. A systemic crisis requires systemic solutions, which means it's up to us, not looking for some "condescending savior." We need to build the movement to the point where it is sooo big that not only does it not need to make demands, but the making of demands would look ridiculous. When an organized opposition is actually larger than the state it seeks to challenge, asking that state for favors in the form of demands would look ridiculous. We would then be in a position to begin reorganizing society democratically from below in the interests of the vast majority.
If you believe the road to real change starts anywhere else but the voting booth you're sadly mistaken. The main goal of the OWS should be to get people sympathetic to our cause in to elected office both on the local and federal levels. We can sit here until the second coming and protest and get our collective asses beaten by the police but until we get a foothold in our local and federal legislative bodies this movement will not be taken as seriously as it should be.
what about norman solomon ??
Well the fact is the vast majority of OWS activists (activists, not mere supporters) don't see voting as especially relevant given the scope and nature of the present crisis, which, in agreement with many economists, they tend to see as much more profound and systemic.
If you disagree with that approach and still support OWS, the problem for you is how to change the direction of OWS given its present decision making process and an overwhelming indifference or opposition to your point of view.
The fact is the movement is growing all the time. It may be loosing pollable popular support but its activist base, which is much harder to quantify, is growing all the time.
I've thought of making ows and other movements unite we should even have a day every year for global activism !! A 24 hour period every year .. Where we could unitedly start activism around the world !! The piquentos holiday !!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Z9WVZddH9w
Politically, I haven't seen OWS make a first move.
The working group on the 99% Declaration has been working since the October 15th NYCGA and is still gathering momentum:
https://sites.google.com/site/the99percentdeclaration/
I've been following this movement pretty closely for the past month and this is the first I've heard of a declaration
the geniuses on this website removed it then tried to arrange something together but the eviction happened
It kind of sounds like a dumb plan. Why not just try to get the beginnings of a new party now than sometime in late 2012 or early 2013?
it's like finding a gold mine in the middle of nowhere. it takes time to build the infrastructure to get the equipment in so that the mining can occur so that the gold can come out. And remember, the people going after the gold know what it takes. They aren't dumb. And, they attract investors to build the mine by putting a value on the motherlode and laying out their plans to get it! You wanna invest??? Read the 'prospectus' VERY carefully and ask your friends and family to read it too. They might want to get in on the action ; )
Harvesting gold and starting a political movement are two different things. Why would you wait to start a political party if you're upset about the movement now?
It's an analogy. If you remember Ross Perot, there's a lot involved in starting a political party.
My reasoning for supporting the Declaration and the NGA concept goes like this: The occupations gave birth to the movement and was tremendously successful. The NYCGA led the way and like it or not, they are the de-facto leaders. (Here's the test: If Occupy DenverGA announced that there was going to be an NGA in July in Philly, who would notice? If the NYCGA made the same announcement every media outlet in the world would be on the story.) So the rebel leaders do the democratic thing and call an election so there is a process to divest themselves of their untenable dictatorship. They would and should welcome this relief.
The NGA effectively puts the Republican and Democratic parties between a rock and a hard place. Delivering the List of Grievances as the two campaigns are in full swing means candidates are going to have to start answering hard questions. Thus, in order to attract the 99r votes, they are going to have to start competing with each other. OWS will have a profound impact on the 2012 election, and the NGA establishes the framework to keep that pressure on. If promises are broken, if The List is ignored, the NGA reconvenes and moves OWS/99% to the next level, the independent third party.
And if an ART V Convention is required, 100% of Americans will know about it through the voice of the NGA.
Would someone care to explain to me why this is a bad idea?
Its not necessarily a bad idea to hold politicians accountable, in fact its welcomed. but things aren't going to go the way you've planned. Watch the news, nobody cares.
Maybe not politically, but they've made themselves known. The attention is definitely not all good, but it's better than being unknown. A movement that nobody's heard of won't get anything done (legally). That, I think, was their first step.
Well, the problem is lack of direction, which needed to be hashed out at the beginning. Without specific policy ideas, all you have is generalized rhetoric. You need specific and direct rhetoric to cut through the noise in politics. General anger fizzles out after a while.
Yeah. A political presence with a specific purpose would serve us best now. If we stop doing the "occupy <public service>" things, the public's attitude will improve, too. Now that we're out there, it's time to get to work.
Of course, I'm (unfortunately) too busy to protest, as HW and school take up too much time. When I say "we" and "us", take it with a grain of salt.
I think your situation is a great example of why this movement is fading.
Yeah, but we don't really have a choice, do we? As it is, we go with the system or wreck. But my situation isn't all that common- I'm in High School. As far as I know, college schedule is more flexible, right? But then if you're taking a lot of classes, you're right. Not much we can do, though, but try and contribute as much as we can through the site.
If you're so for revolution and changing the system, you would leave it and fight for the system you want. You do have a choice but it's more important to you do work within the current system. Your choices reflect what you truly want and you're not choosing OWS right now.
And as long as OWS is still just loitering around and losing public standing? They're going to fail, plain and simple. Unless the public view improves and they get a political presence, they movement is going to die a slow, humiliating death. My presence will not change that. That is why I'm trying to help here- if the movement improves, I'll do what I can for it.
That, and (being 15 and an hour away from the nearest Occupy movement) I can't get to one.
This is pretty off topic. Let's get back on track. Yes, I'm changing the subject, but for the reason of focus. I'm sure the other readers don't want to hear us whine. Message me if you feel you've got a point to prove.