[Street] Half-Windsors for the 99%!
Eli Cohen
elcoh002 at mail.goucher.edu
Tue Nov 15 13:44:39 EST 2011
Hi Reed,
It sounds like there are actually two mini-proposals in what you're talking
about, and I want to separate them out slightly. The first point you made
was about taking over the nomination process. As you mentioned, many at
camp are opposed to being involved in electoral politics or supporting
individual candidates because of concerns that it would weaken our message
rather than strengthening it. I see both sides of that issue, and I am not
going to weigh in on it here.
But then you brought up a second idea: mic checking politicians. It's a
tactic that has already been used by other Occupy groups, and which I think
many in Boston would support. That sort of direct action doesn't actually
constitute direct involvement in the electoral process nor endorsement of a
candidate. It's simply a way of saying that politicians haven't been doing
their job, which is a message I think people can get behind.
If you're interested in organizing something like that, this may not be the
right e-mail list. But I absolutely encourage you to talk to Direct Action,
and try to get in touch with folks who have organized similar actions in
other cities. They'll have lots of tactical advice.
Good luck!
-Eli
On Tue, Nov 15, 2011 at 8:55 AM, Reed Underwood <fb at occupyboston.org> wrote:
> From Bill Moyers (a liberal of the LBJ era, which may rub some the wrong
> way):
>
> "I don't think Occupy Wall Street will have the influence they want unless
> they
> do what the tea party did and take over the nominating process. Unless
> they do,
> they will never have the satisfaction that they want and that the civil
> rights
> movement, say, had back in the 1950s and '60s. These people are not going
> to have
> long-ranging effect unless they have a party to act on their interests.
> They need
> to become a political movement instead of a grievance committee."
>
> Though there is a great deal of hand-wringing about being co-opted by a
> political
> party or special interest group, it remains a plain fact that people who
> win elections
> make the decisions. A failure of people in and sympathetic to the Occupy
> movement
> to engage politicians and voters isn't a sign of purity. It's
> self-limiting and
> defeatist. One thing Occupy has proven is that direct action can't be
> ignored.
> So, is this the place to talk about mic checking politicians/CEOs at town
> halls and other
> public appearances?
>
> Scott Walker
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oHRdiklTlU
> Eric Cantor
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7i-nCqINfAI
> Blue Cross Chief
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJ1_Pebu5Tc
>
> No more nice dinners or folksy glad-handing until the theft and fraud
> stop. I have
> a nice suit all pressed and ready to go. And it has several pockets in
> which I
> can stuff print-outs of prepared statements to recite with compatriots.
>
> Half-windsors for the 99%!
>
> -R.
>
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