After Saturday's eye-opening visit to #Occupy headquarters at Zucotti Park and the protest at Times Square, I've had some time to reflect on the experience and how it has crystallized my thinking about the movement itself.
A lot of folks commented on my original diary, a man-on-the-street writeup of my visit. For the most part, readers from far away were pleased to hear that #OWS is everything the mainstream media says it is NOT. To wit: sophisticated, focused, organized within an inch of its life, and entirely non-violent. Those from NYC (and other #Occupied cities) were pleased I saw the truth they had already seen themselves.
What we have here is a movement that is greater even than the sum of its parts. It's now larger than the people who started it and those who continue helping it grow -- which I would think is the very definition of "revolution." It gets stronger every day, and something tells me history books will look back on this weekend as the end of Phase One for the movement.
This whole #OWS thing is a LOT for many of us to get our heads around. And as I dig deeper, I'm left with questions -- you know, not the worrisome kind like "is this milk spoiled?" but the fun kind, like "that lump in my Christmas stocking is a Slinky, isn't it?"
On principle alone, the #OWS movement is a truly American and democratic phenomenon. And after venturing down to Zucotti to see the operation in action, I just bow before these folks with true, unadorned, worshipful reverence. They are smart, motivated, dogged, and hard-core. HARD. CORE.
But ... and I say this with all due respect: Is there room for improvement? Put another way: What's next for #OWS?
WHEN IS IT TIME FOR A MOVEMENT TO GO MAINSTREAM?
First of all, there's a HUGE difference between going VIRAL and going MAINSTREAM. #Occupy went viral about two weeks ago. And now, one month in, it seems to be transitioning into mainstream territory right before our eyes. This may come as bad news to some participants (like this gentleman below), who think #OWS should NEVER bow to demands that it define itself. It's like when your favorite garage band "crosses over." You're stoked they're selling but bummed they're selling out.
In terms of growth, #OWS is getting more sophisticated by the day. There are daily meetings -- called General Assemblies (GAs) -- with their own truly amazing order and structure (the 8-minute, mind-blowing documentary below spells it all out) -- and more occasional big rallies whenever the mood strikes. The Occupation itself, down at Wall Street proper, continues unabated and has attracted tons of tourist eyeballs. The movement has a bank account with several hundred thousand bucks in it already, its own political structure (called Direct Democracy), a nascent bottom-up style of self-government, rules, partnerships, and a better command of new media than the entire San Fernando Valley.
But here are some things #OWS doesn't have (at least yet):
1) a formal political platform;
2) a written agenda;
3) an OFFICIAL spokesperson or mouthpiece; and
4) representation within the US government.
From what I can tell, the painfully slow but richly rewarding Direct Democracy method does work, but so far the participants are dealing mainly with issues of self-rule: "Can we allocate funds for a LiveStream project?" or "Where will we get fuel for the generator?"
While getting anything done at all with this many voices in the debate is already super-impressive, what's going to be even more fascinating and exciting will be watching #OWS elect an official spokesperson or ratify and put into action a core platform of tenets. The sparks will fly, it will be ugly, but I truly believe they'll get it done.
DOES IT MATTER THAT SOME MESSAGES ARE MORE HELPFUL THAN OTHERS?
Let me drop some ka-nowledge on you from way back in 2001. It was a week after the Twin Towers came down, and like everyone, we New Yorkers were in shock. People didn't know what to do with themselves.
At that time, it was pretty common here in Manhattan to hang out at night in the various parks to just BE TOGETHER. It was comforting having thousands of strangers around you, feeling somehow connected. One night in Union Square Park, someone brought a 100-foot long roll of white craft paper and spread it out on the ground, and people started writing whatever messages they wanted. (I'd love to know where that paper ended up.) Most of the comments were along the lines of: "We're all in this together," and "we're praying for the families." But every ten feet or so, someone wrote "LEGALIZE IT!"
I'm almost smiling now picturing some kid thinking "here's my chance to shine!" But at the time I just thought, "Sorry, not helpful." And really, I don't care how important the cause of medical or recreational marijuana is to you, that moment in Union Square was definitely NOT the time to bring it up. Then again, the First Amendment is a powerful thing and should be treated with care and respect. So, I ask: Is it worth silencing voices to streamline the message? In other words, think how little use that pro-pot kid would've been back in 2001 had some reporter asked him to comment on the 9/11 attacks. He would've totally misrepresented the feelings and message of the vast majority of participants.
I must confess, this question came to mind as the gfriend and I walked around Zucotti park. While most of the signs were "on message," I for one found some to be unhelpful. Some were unnecessarily incendiary and inconsistent with the movement's positivity ("Wall Street bankers are the enemy!") and others just politically infeasible ("dump capitalism").
Even the blandest, most mainstream political gathering is going to have some outliers going rogue. But in the case of #OWS, in the absence of an actual platform, observers are likely to project whatever information they receive into the void. For example, #OWS isn't claiming there was a home-cooked 9/11 conspiracy, but you couldn't be blamed if you suspected they were. Several signs at Zucotti suggested as much.
HOW DOES #OWS PRESERVE ITS UNIQUE OUTSIDER STATUS?
I respect the movement's right to progress at its own pace. I respect the movement's plurality of voices and resistance to censor its diverse participants. I respect the movement's interest in operating outside the established avenues of power and governance at work today. But I also hope that one day -- maybe in the not-too-distant future -- #OWS will see the wisdom in at least engaging with the mainstream, without ever becoming part of the establishment.
It's a fine line to tread. If I ran the zoo, here's how I'd like to see it play out:
1) #OWS continues on its path of self-governance, entirely independent of any mainstream media or political party.
2) As it grows in size, stature, and power (donations are coming in every day), the movement begins to coalesce around a VERY SHORT, simple set of core beliefs, things that can be agreed to by nearly everyone involved (you'll note that "ratification" in the #OWS world does NOT mean unanimity, but a 90-percent plurality of the vote). Any other issues, #OWS would let someone else worry about.
3) #OWS lets its goals be known -- not by decree, not by announcement -- but through the gentle percolation allowed by viral social media.
4) The organization chooses a panel of representatives and spokespersons from its ranks, with frequent turnover.
5) The organization accepts praise (and anonymous donations of any size) from all quarters but refrains ever from supporting a specific political candidate or party.
The problem is, when the mainstream comes calling, as it is right now, you by definition shake hands with the devil. For instance, the #OWS folks are working on hiring an accounting firm to keep their books. At the same time, unofficial spokespersons are talking to the press, giving their positions on the Occupation. These are some strange bedfellows indeed and, it seems to me, some perilous territory.
The #Occupy movement is going mainstream, whether it likes it or not. But maybe they have a way of preventing themselves from becoming entrenched. I hope they do, and I plan on attending my first General Assembly this week to see the process first-hand and help if I can.
I'll let you know how it goes.