Joanne (@Sabzbrach) and I are leaving New York City today on the Chinatown bus to Philly - with the exception of a two day hiatus at my parents' home in Alabama, we have been at Liberty and on the march since the 17. I will only speak for myself from here on out (as if I'm ever speaking for anyone else), names may or may not be changed in the interest of privacy. You'll know me, for the most part, by the green hat.
I feel like there has been a good deal missed in the coverage of the demonstration and encampment. Media attention was finally garnered in the wake of the Incident at Union Square (with the photo-ops of girls sprayed with mace, straight out of a 1960's Selma tableau); and of course the mass arrests and suspicious circumstances on the Brooklyn Bridge were widely reported and read.
There is a lot to tell about what happened in Manhattan this September (and there continues to be emergent news which requires attention), so this will be by necessity a serial retrospective (Speak, Memory is the title of Vladimir Nabokov's memoirs).
But before we get to recounting, a forward-thinking statement is in order:
Forget issuing concrete demands
It is first of all a basic misunderstanding of our condition to demand concessions; taking the Square is an assertion that it is ALREADY OURS, our city, our street, our World. It must be kept, defended against petty law enforcement antagonism and political co-opting, but it is already ours.
Discrete demands also create the problem of having one's bluff called.
I'm packing for Washington DC - for now I leave you with some memories.
Don't allow that first week's fear and uncertainty become an anecdote.
Love
Kenneth
(if slideshow doesn't run, click this direct link to view)