[Street] Action goals - a brainstorm

Aria Littlhous aria at littlhous.net
Thu Dec 8 08:04:28 EST 2011


Stated functional goals for actions are almost as good mission goals. For
instance: our goal is to increase the number of people at our actions until
we cannot be ignored/our goal is to increase the size of the Occupation as
a whole.

I hope a plan for 36 Hours after (possible) Eviction is first on the agenda
on Sunday, with the first decision being: move as whole, federate/atomize,
or disband? Deciding where to go, if anywhere will be much easier once that
decision is made. It's a very tricky facilitation question since it is
connected to the question of permanency and mission goal. I hope the
facilitator is really good and has some ideas about how to frame things.

I think with planning an eviction can be a win-win situation, that is a PR
win and further some of the goals that have already been generally agreed
upon. An open letter to 21 big, indoor spaces that wouldn't, might, and
could host the entire camp could pump up the volume on message, and turn up
some real possible hosts---most likely churches with large naves that would
agree to host the entire camp for the winter. One idea is to become a
permanent or semi permanent commun-ish. I'd argue that the tasks associated
with such a move would draw even more energy away from action than running
a camp, and that action is a functional and mission central goal.

Thanks for listening.

A>

On Thu, Dec 8, 2011 at 7:33 AM, Ridgely Fuller <ridgelyfuller at gmail.com>wrote:

>
> I really like all the goals for actions that folks have outlined
> ..especially clear messaging, fun, and bringing folks in to the Occupy
> movement,and that Katie has given us a time line (Sunday around 2 Encuentro
> 5) for us to come up with more ideas..is the mtg tonight still devoted to
> Star Wars for Sat?..I have to work til around 8 tonight so please keep me
> posted. Meet Sat night to brainstorm for Sunday mtg? with media?..feels to
> me that the court stuff makes this weekends planning really key
> Ridgely
>
> On Wed, Dec 7, 2011 at 12:35 AM, Ravi Mishra <ravi at occupyboston.org>wrote:
>
>> Hi all,
>>
>> Writing that last email made me think that it might be fun (and useful)
>> to have a theoretical discussion of what various goals of action should be?
>> In my mind (please chime in here), a valid goal for an action is any
>> ideal/value or outcome that aids our overall movement. For example,
>> education is a very obvious goal - if people know more about the issues,
>> they're more likely to support our cause, which makes it easier for us to
>> change the status quo. Conversely (and this could be controversial, again
>> please chime in), something like "agitation" if often thought of as a goal
>> in of itself, but I think it probably needs more qualification to be truly
>> accepted as a goal. Shutting down a street in a financial district could
>> definitely be a goal because it hurts the operations of those who are
>> behind the problems that plague our society
>>
>> Anyway, without further ado, some goals off the top of my head - please
>> discuss and add yours!
>>
>> 1) Education - teaching people about the issues and what is going on
>> today, for example
>> 2) Fun! We're not going to be here in the long run if we're not enjoying
>> ourselves. :)
>> 3) Targeted systems disruption - making it harder for the opposition to
>> do stuff in a manner that helps our cause
>>
>> Any particular action can aim to achieve one, some, or all of these
>> goals. The point of this thread is to create a list of what action goals
>> should be, and the hope is that we can use these later to more effectively
>> analyze actions and their efficacy.
>>
>> Finally. this article by author John Robb frames some basic Conflict
>> Theory quite well and could serve as a framework to think about what goals
>> of actions should be.<http://globalguerrillas.typepad.com/globalguerrillas/2011/11/how-to-win-a-modern-conflict.html>
>>
>> Thoughts?
>>
>> --
>> Ravi
>>
>>
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-- 
'A coalition is not a family. It's not where you feel comfortable or where
you go to see people you like; it's where your boundaries are tested. It's
where you get work done." Barbara Smith, African American feminist
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