Winter is upon us. I live in the north country. Canada in my neighbor. Today, we had snow squalls accompanied by piercing cold winds. It was impossible not to think: While I respect the dedication of all the Occupiers in their encampments coast-to-coast, how can those outposts be sustained through the oncoming winter, especially in colder latitudes?
And that led to some larger questions: Winter or no winter, are the encampments worth sustaining? Or are there other places where Occupiers can make their presence felt and other means for flexing their activist muscles that deliver the message even more directly to the One Percent and their minions?
Surely, there must be.
It's worth stating from the get-go: I am a big fan of the Occupy movement. It is one of the most encouraging developments in the last decade.
But I've learned enough about direct-action efforts in my day to know this: they are hard to sustain in any season. It's hard enough to get people just to turn out, much less chant and march. Couch-bound inertia is hard to overcome. Now, add to that reality the terrible conditions of ongoing winter encampments and, well, we can count on limited turnout and participation. Even hardy, youthful souls will eventually drift away if simply squatting in a frozen city park is all there is to do.
Not only are the encampments hard to sustain, but they're beginning to lead in the wrong direction, or at least become a distraction. Municipal governments and police are not our problem, not our target -- in fact, they should be the Occupy movement's allies. Battles to remain in camps, along with unfortunate incidents of vandalism and violence, are beginning to dominate news coverage of the Occupy movement. Is this the coverage we want and deserve?
The encampments have achieved a great thing by putting the One Percent on notice and grabbing the Village Pundits by the ears -- nothing less than changing the national dialogue. Mission Accomplished in Phase One.
So, what does Phase Two look like? Should we move out of the camps and into something else? I think so.
Were any of you inspired when activists pulled off the 'mic checks' at public events featuring Rep. Michele Bachmann and Gov. Scott Walker? I was! Brilliant and effective headline-grabbing, and delivering a message right where it most needs to be heard.
Why not greatly step up such incursions? Why should any defender-of-Kochs ever again have an uninterrupted opportunity in a public forum to spread their hypocrisy and propaganda?
Why not occupy the establishment-enthralled media? It's time that FOX News and the Washington Post and NPR got a 'mic check', too! Imagine the consternation of the comfortable, self-referential tut-tuts of Sunday-morning talking head TV if massive crowds surrounded their studios demanding more coverage of Main Street issues. Sen. John McCain might be late for his 2,369th appearance this year on Meet the Press!
The NYPD has locked down Wall Street -- and I mean the actual street and the area around the New York Stock Exchange -- but "Wall Street" is everywhere. Offices of the big banks, hedge funds and brokerages are all over the place in Manhattan and in every major city. Why not take over the sidewalks outside these offices on occasional, unannounced days throughout the winter? Imagine: twice-weekly flash mobs peacefully filling the public sidewalks at entrances to a random selection of these institutions. If our government won't stop the Banksters, we can at least get in their way, make it harder for them to do their dirty work.
How about appearing en mass at the White House to let President Obama know we want the Banksters held accountable, not a sham 'settlement' that lets them off the hook? And we could show up in several state capitals to thank and encourage those state attorneys general who are actually fighting for greater accountability.
How about marching down K Street in Washington, where the tassel-loafered mercenaries check their family values and patriotism at the door before helping the One Percent grab ever more? Imagine weekly 'crosswalk marches' -- 500 people slow-walking the crosswalks for 15 minutes at rush hour could snarl K Street traffic enough to send a message, then disperse into side streets before the cops could round them up.
Or maybe we can greatly expand our efforts to help people facing foreclosure, a move that Chris Bowers reportsis a growing effort.
These are mostly ideas off the top of my head -- they may not be worth pursuing in this crude form or in any form. But you get the idea.
Actions like these beat segregating ourselves in any cold, dreary, energy-sapping Valley Forge of our own making. They would create energy -- this is a MOVEMENT, after all, so let's move, not hunker.
What do YOU think? What should Phase Two look like?