[Street] The Meaning of Last Night and Next Steps
Steve Schnapp
sschnapp at faireconomy.org
Mon Dec 12 15:21:41 EST 2011
My arms are raised and my fingers wiggling. Thanks, Chris.
Steve
Steve Schnapp
Senior Education Coordinator
United for a Fair Economy
29 Winter St, 2nd Floor
Boston, MA 02108-4799
857-277-7868
--
on 12/9/11 4:44 PM, chris messinger at chris at bostonmobilization.org wrote:
> Brian, thanks for sharing your thoughts, and for your hard work these past few
> weeks, months and years. Your email sparked me to share some thoughts of my
> own, which have been shaped by many of the discussions I've seen on this list
> - but perhaps more often by conversations held off the lists.
>
> First: I've been down to OB about a dozen times in the last 2 months. I've
> brought groups of teens that I work with (day job) and attended some Free
> School University events. I've brought supplies, attended religious services,
> sat in GA's. And... I've been barely active in one working group. I've never
> washed any dishes. I've never mic-checked. I've never been arrested. I've
> never spent the night in a tent. And last night I went to a bar to celebrate
> my birthday with some friends, rather than head downtown to dance and pack.
>
> I say that because I expect some will write me off as not a "real" occupier.
> And despite all the language I've heard dismissing people like me - this work
> and movement is also mine, and has been all of my adult life. And from that
> staked claim, I offer some feedback based on my experience as a community
> organizer (not a movement organizer - I don't feel there's been effective
> movement in my organizing lifetime - though this feels closer to what I have
> been longing for).
>
> You said that departing Dewey Square had elements of tactical and strategic
> errors in judgement. I would respectfully suggest that it is only the
> previous - and even on that point the jury is still out. Opposing the "powers
> that be" is a tactic that is part of strategies designed to achieve goals that
> have as yet not been agreed upon.
>
> We don't yet have clear goals (that's ok - we're young), which makes it
> difficult to have clear strategies (that's ok -we're young), which makes it
> really really hard to have shared and effective tactics. I think this moment
> could teach us that actions taken in moments of collective indecision and
> disagreement will always be difficult to assess - and that's not a judgment on
> last night or you or on Occupy Boston. I look forward to more clearly defined
> goals and strategies in the months to come - before we can so definitively
> dismiss our tactics as incorrect.
>
> And, for my two cents, partial disbandment (I would push for even more
> significant disbandment of the physical site) seems a smart tactical move at
> this moment (to me) given (my) strategies to achieve (my) goals.
>
> Specifically, I think making the police forcibly remove the encampment is a
> tactic which diminishes the effectiveness of Occupy Boston for several
> reasons:
>
> 1. The police are not who I'm interested in strategizing against right now.
> For example: One of my personal goals (which seems shared by a heck of a lot
> of people) is a more equitable distribution of wealth. If I need to
> strategize about working past the guard dogs of the current unjust system
> (public and private police forces), then so be it. But I'd rather target the
> police who are protecting Bank of America than the ones who are enforcing a
> local mayor's limited authority.
> 2. Police brutality has been well documented on the national stage as part of
> this national movement - and any positive influence that public witness can
> bring to bear has already occurred. Putting our bodies on the line to protect
> a patch of grass that not too many of us have any claim of "ownership" over is
> not likely to add anything to the national conversation about direct action
> tactics. If it's sole purpose is to make us feel good about ourselves and our
> willingness to sacrifice - I think there are other sacrifices we might make
> that would have a greater long-term impact.
> 3. An additional direct altercation/inducement of violence/mass arrests
> simply confirms that Boston is no different than any other City in this
> country. Do we need to spend our social and political resources to prove
> that? The Mayor's commentary makes it crystal clear that Boston will obey the
> Department of Homeland Security's request quite readily. Our most valuable
> resource (as I see it) right now is our time and energy - not our books and
> tents or our bodies in a jail cell.
> 4. And many others have said this elsewhere - it will be important in coming
> weeks and months to figure out how to support this movement growing back into
> the public sphere and public conversation. This, for me, is where the jury is
> still out. Can this movement transition beyond a group of tents and into a
> temporary (or sustained) force for change? Without Dewey Square - perhaps not
> - but I certainly hope so. Disbanding the camp will force the answer to this
> question sooner than later. But to answer that question, we need to
> articulate some more clear goals and strategies - then our tactical choices
> can be better evaluated.
>
> I want to offer that I feel just as connected as I did - and will be just as
> committed if the tents all disappear and Dewey becomes a space for direct
> democracy rather than ideal community.
>
> At the same time, I appreciate your continued amazing hard work, and your
> tireless efforts. I hope you're getting some sleep for tonight and beyond.
> In peace, with love and community,
> --Chris Messinger
>
> On Fri, Dec 9, 2011 at 1:08 PM, Allison Nevitt <asnevitt at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Thank you for this, Brian.
>>
>> I'm sorry I cannot be there today to "rebuild". I have vast appreciation for
>> those of you with the stamina and the wisdom to do that work this morning. I
>> will be there as soon as I am able.
>>
>> I hope we can all remember that what we're standing up for - to demand the
>> end of profound corruption of democracy and the beginning of true democracy
>> for the first time in this nation's history - is far more important than a
>> pristine encampment which meets codes. As adults, we can make a choice to
>> take more risks than we would normally take because we find it worthwhile.
>> The city stops us from having sanitation, lowering fire hazards, etc. and
>> still we stay because this is about something bigger: a just and sustainable
>> society for all.
>>
>> No one here complained that Egyptians didn't have permits or weren't meeting
>> safety codes when they occupied Tahrir Square. I bet their tents got dirty,
>> too! We encouraged them to stand up to bullets and fire hoses and tear gas,
>> even though there was trash on the ground. They did the best they could to
>> manage it while they were protesting and we do, too.
>>
>> We, the 99%, have had enough of the oppression of the 1%. We will stand until
>> they forcibly remove us. Then we will stand again.
>>
>> - Allison
>> Una at DailyKos <http://www.dailykos.com/user/UnaSpenser>
>> <http://bostonlyme.blogspot.com/>
>>
>> <http://kossacksnetworking.ning.com>
>>
>>
>> On Fri, Dec 9, 2011 at 7:00 AM, Brian K <bdubkwob at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> Brothers and sisters,
>>>
>>> I just got home after spending over 2 hours cleaning and renovating the
>>> occupation in Dewey Square AFTER all the events of the night, so sorry if
>>> this email isn't totally clear....
>>>
>>> Last night was a major moment in the development of our movement. It is ripe
>>> with tactical and strategic lessons, and we must understand and act on them
>>> IMMEDIATELY. What follows is my assessment of what we got right, what we got
>>> wrong, and what the next steps are.
>>>
>>> What we got right:
>>>
>>> Sensing a major threat to our movement, we mobilized the masses to defend
>>> us! We must have had a thousand people come and rally to support of our
>>> movement. There were tons of people following the marching band, tons more
>>> in a state of perma-rally by the north wall, tons more practicing civil
>>> disobedience, and tons more just milling around, talking, sharing ideas, and
>>> showing their solidarity in many ways.
>>> We ended up taking the streets and shutting down Atlalntic ave. We had only
>>> 2 arrests (that I know of), and everything was peaceful, jubliant, and
>>> energizing. People of all kinds, young, old, abled and disabled, people of
>>> color, students, union and non-union workers, and all segments of the 99%
>>> all came out for unity and solidarity with Occupy Boston. Mobilizing our
>>> social base all-out like this was the right thing to do and that is (in
>>> part) why it was so successful.
>>>
>>>
>>> What we got wrong:
>>> As painful as this truth may be, we have to face it squarely and honestly:
>>> we dismantled most of our own occupation without a fight. In this sense we
>>> really punched ourselves in the face. Needlessly.
>>>
>>> By 4 am, Dewey Square had only about 30% of the tents it did 24 hours
>>> previously. There was trash and debris strewn on the sidewalks
>>> and perimeter. And there were only about 30-40 people left from the 1,000+
>>> who had been there at some point earlier. In other words, we weren't raided
>>> by the police, but by 3:30 am, it looked like we had been.
>>>
>>> This was demoralizing because it looked like a post-apocalyptic occupy that
>>> I saw in Denver, after they had been raided twice. But we did it to
>>> ourselves. The Mayor/City/BPD/RKG achieved much of their desired outcome
>>> basically WITHOUT LIFTING A FINGER.
>>>
>>> This was a strategic mistake. Period. Things like this sometimes are only
>>> clear after the fact: the Mayor said "jump" and we jumped as high as we
>>> could. This contrary to the very essence of the movement insofar we are
>>> occupying to STAND UP and OPPOSE the dictates of the powerful, not tremble
>>> in fear before them...
>>>
>>> Next steps:
>>> Luckily, there were about 5-10 of us who were able to salvage the situation
>>> a bit. We moved a bunch of tents on "weird street" that had been left for
>>> destruction by the (non-existent) police raid, and moved them into the main
>>> square to fill in some of the gaping (and depressing) holes. Another 5-10 of
>>> us cleaned up the sidewalks, swept, and restored some semblance of order to
>>> the outward appearance.
>>>
>>> But there is more work to be done. This means anyone who can needs to return
>>> to the Square ASAP to help re-organize the space, re-purpose the tents,
>>> re-allocate the pallets and walkway planks. Not for permanent occupation,
>>> but for the next 24 to 48 hours of the struggle. Yes, the cops can come
>>> Friday night (tonight) or Saturday night or Sunday night. We should be ready
>>> for them to come on any one of these nights, but we can sit on our hands and
>>> wait; we have to keep struggling, keep assembling and keep speaking out
>>> against injustice.
>>>
>>> I'm not saying we need to bring back everything to the square. We can do
>>> without the library books and other valuables in Dewey. But we need to
>>> CONTINUE occupying until some decisive event that forces us into another
>>> space. Otherwise they can effectively shut down our occupation with merely
>>> the ever-present threat of shutting it down. Let us not allow ourselves to
>>> be paralyzed with fear like that.
>>>
>>>
>>> Why we messed up:
>>> Part of the problem is that strategically, many of us were thinking in
>>> "post-Dewey" mode, yet we were not (and are not) yet there. We are still in
>>> Dewey Square. And we must defend it.
>>>
>>> By dismantling our occupation, we essentially tried to shortcut the
>>> difficult and painful midwife between where we are now and the birth of our
>>> next phase: the police raid. This reminds me of a quote from Hagakure, the
>>> book of the samurai from feudal-era Japan:
>>>
>>> "There is something to be learned from a rainstorm. When meeting with a
>>> sudden shower, you try not to get wet and run quickly along the road. By
>>> doing such things as passing under the eaves of houses, you still get wet.
>>> When you are resolved from the beginning, you will not be perplexed, though
>>> you will still get the same soaking. This understanding extends to all
>>> things."
>>>
>>> Pick up on that. By trying to avoid the police raid, we ended up doing it to
>>> ourselves. This had the desired outcome of our enemies (a massive
>>> dismantling in Dewey), but we got nothing to show for it. Many of us may
>>> feel "perplexed," but need not be if we "are resolved from the beginning" to
>>> stand our ground.
>>>
>>> Just like the first raid on us, and so many other raids happening around the
>>> country, raids are not pleasant, but they are a necessary part of being an
>>> occupation that does NOT jump when the powers that be tell us to. Otherwise
>>> we might as go home now.
>>>
>>> Remember: when people see the violence of the police officers arresting
>>> veterans, manhandling priests, hog-tying peaceful 99%ers, this rightly
>>> causes OUTRAGE. And it is that outrage that can help feed our movement for
>>> the next phase. We must not evict ourselves; make them do it.
>>>
>>> As of now, we have a damaged (but not un-salvagable) occupation. Please go
>>> to Dewey Square ASAP and see why. Especially Logistics and Food. We need
>>> your insight, experience, and steady hands the MOST during the day. Today.
>>>
>>> As for everyone else, see you at tonight's GA...in Dewey Square.
>>>
>>> Revolutionary love and solidarity,
>>> and now sleep.
>>>
>>> Brian
>>>
>>> p.s. please forward this to any groups/lists/folks I left out.
>>
>
>
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