[Street] [Ideas] May 1 - International General Strike!
Daria Casinelli
casinellidaria at gmail.com
Sun Jan 1 12:48:28 EST 2012
Briefly on Nuts and Bolts: a great way to start organizing this now is
to include a line about it on all other fliers; there needs to be a
visible way for people like nurses to display support w/o leaving
work; simultaneously publizing a national follow up meeting---may
15---doubles the impact and finally food for thought: ONLY economic
justice can stop other forms of oppression.
In solidarity,
A.
Sent from my iPhone
On Dec 31, 2011, at 3:44 PM, trenchesfullofpoets at riseup.net wrote:
> *Which way forward for the 99%? *
> *Build Power & Show Power through Mass Participatory Bold Action*
> *By Occupy May 1st*
> http://www.facebook.com/occupymayfirst
> http://www.facebook.com/occupym1 http://www.twitter.com/occupym1
>
>
> There have been a wave of repressive attacks on, and evictions of, various
> Occupy camp sites throughout the country including where the movement
> started in Zucotti (Liberty) Park. But even before the evictions and
> repression escalated to the current levels, questions were being asked:
> what’s the way forward for the movement? Already there have been glimpses
> of organizing and action that are leading the way and shining a light for
> the rest of us to follow: the Oakland General Strike, Occupy Foreclosures,
> and other actions. These actions show that, fundamentally, all of the
> strategic questions revolve around the question of power. The power of
> the 99% vs. the power of the 1%
>
> Although the 99% holds enormous power -all wealth is generated, and the
> current society is built and maintained through, the collective labor
> (paid
> and unpaid) of the 99%-, we do not frequently exercise this collective
> power in our own interests. Too often we fight amongst and scapegoat each
> other as the source of the problem through: racism, patriarchy,
> xenophobia, occupational elitism, geographical prejudice, heterosexism,
> and other forms of division, oppression and prejudice. This is necessary
> for the 1% to maintain control because their power is only exercised by
> different segments of the 99% actively oppressing and working against
> other segments of the 99%, in addition to us neither being fully aware of,
> nor organizing to utilize, the collective power we have. The result is
> that many segments of the the 99%- people of color, women, GLBTQ,
> immigrants, those with less formal educational credentials, those in less
> socially respected occupations or unemployed, the homeless, and others-
> deal with overlapping forms of oppression and societal prejudice; all of
> us remain divided amongst each other; and the 1% continues to increase
> their power and wealth because of this.
>
> Currently, the state of the economy has hit all of us (some facing
> overlapping prejudice and oppression, harder than others). There are too
> many people out of work; our pay has barely or hasn’t kept up with rising
> costs; our social services have continued to be cut; our influence on
> government has eroded; and our civil liberties have been attacked. This
> has been going on while the elites of this country have captured an
> increasing share of wealth; have had the highest decreases in the amount
> of
> taxes they pay; have attacked our social services and organizations of
> popular defense (such as our unions and community organizations); and have
> consolidated to an even greater degree their power over politics. The
> Business Insider- ironically- provides one of the more useful series of
> charts that root the Occupy movement’s concerns in the sobering historical
> fact that we experience.
> [1]<http://?ui=2&view=bsp&ver=ohhl4rw8mbn4#134257149245a29d_1341bd95929f855a_134162e9b5043ee2_1340c6c638b73a44__edn1>
>
>
> <http://?ui=2&view=bsp&ver=ohhl4rw8mbn4#134257149245a29d_1341bd95929f855a_134162e9b5043ee2_1340c6c638b73a44__edn1>
>
> The way forward must involve building and showing our popular power against
> that of the elite. But the form of our power must be different from
> theirs: we must fight fire with water. Where they exercise hierarchical
> power over us to dominate, control, exploit and oppress; we must build and
> exercise horizontal, bottom-up power with each other to cooperate,
> liberate
> and collectively empower each other. We need to organize ourselves
> autonomously from all forms of hierarchical power relations in our
> communities, schools and workplaces to fight collectively for our
> interests. This must include a rejection of attempts to divide and rule
> us; a rejection of racism, patriarchy, xenophobia, elitism and other forms
> of oppression; a rejection of attempts by electoral parties, powerful
> special interest groups and others to co-opt and control our movement.
>
> The camp occupations built the movement and brought global attention to the
> variety of concerns of the 99%. They inspired many; provided a sense of
> hope and solidarity; brought economic justice and the problems of power
> inequality back into spotlight of national conversation; highlighted the
> need for cultures, societies and institutions of direct democracy based on
> "power with"- not "power over"- each other; served as a spaces of
> convergence for sharing ideas and planning action; and in some camps, they
> even provided a temporary space for those who needed a home and a
> community
> where folks could face less harassment than they normally faced. The camp
> occupations have served a fundamental role in the movement; but it’s time
> to move beyond them.
>
> We need to develop the movement beyond the camp because the majority of the
> 99% can’t camp out in a city center. The majority of the 99% have
> obligations and vulnerabilities that prevent them from such
> time-consuming, geographically-specific action including: work, school,
> responsibilities in caring for children or other dependents, particular
> health needs, etc. So in order for us to truly exercise our power as the
> 99% and to truly be participatory, we need to find ways where all of us
> can participate, and be valued, in whatever capacity and with whatever
> time we have to contribute. We need our action to be as participatory,
> diverse and widespread as possible. We must boldly show and build our
> collective power.
>
>
>
> *Show Power*
>
> To show our power, on May 1st, 2012, we will be organizing for such a mass
> participatory and bold collective action: a national general strike, mass
> boycott, student strike/ walk-out and mass day of action. We will be
> organizing within our unions- or informal workplace organizations where
> there’s no union or the union isn’t supportive- to hold a one-day general
> strike. Where a strike is not possible, we will be organizing people to
> call in sick, or take a personal day, as part of a coordinated “sick-out”.
> Those who are students will be walking-out of their schools (or not
> showing up in the first place). In the community, we will be holding a
> mass boycott and refusing to make any purchase on that day.
>
> This action will necessarily be a symbolic show of power because any
> decrease in economic activity that day will likely be compensated for by
> purchases and extra work activity the days before and after May 1st. But
> it will be symbolic in the way a cannon shot across the bow of a ship is
> symbolic: it doesn’t do any damage; but it warns our opponent that we are
> willing and able to damage their boat if necessary. And perhaps just as
> important as the day itself, the massive organizing and outreach efforts
> in
> the months leading up to May 1st will allow us the opportunity to talk to
> our co-workers, families, neighbors, communities, and friends about the
> issues of the 99%, the source of our power, the need for us to stand up to
> the attacks we are facing, the need to confront the various oppressions
> that keep most of us down in one way or another (some of especially so)
> and
> all of us divided, and the need for us to stand in solidarity with each
> other to fight for our collective interests, which is structurally, and
> therefore inherently, against the interests of the 1%. We can build our
> collective consciousness, capacity, and confidence through this process;
> and come out stronger because of it.
>
>
> *Build Power*
>
> In addition to showing our power on May 1st, we need to build bases of
> popular, bottom-up, collective, anti-oppressive and anti-hierarchical
> power
> in our workplaces, communities, and schools. So we will be doing a variety
> of workshops, building a variety of organizing campaigns, and engaging a
> variety of actions on the local level to contribute to the building of
> such
> collective power. Some of the workshops, campaigns and actions that we
> will develop and engage in include: organizing new unions, becoming more
> active in participatory unions; making our hierarchical unions more
> participatory; occupying foreclosures; building tenant unions; blocking
> evictions; preventing foreclosures; and creating solidarity networks, to
> name a few. We will not be co-opted by electoral parties, or hierarchical
> organizations looking to use the movement to serve their interest while
> diffusing our power. Instead we will organize, educate, and agitate where
> we are at to build power with each other and to fight directly for our
> interests: the interests of popular power against the interests of elite
> power. All of us must contribute for this effort to be effective; but, to
> the greatest degree possible, those contributions must be collective in
> nature because our true power is in our solidarity with each other.
>
>
>
> Through this effort we are looking to offer real solutions to addressing
> issues of immediate concern where each of us is at, through direct
> collective action from the bottom-up. The goal is to continue the ongoing
> shift currently happening within the movement from just mobilizing, to
> organizing (or to move from mobilization, to massification [2]
> <http://?ui=2&view=bsp&ver=ohhl4rw8mbn4#134257149245a29d_1341bd95929f855a_134162e9b5043ee2_1340c6c638b73a44__edn2>).
> Mobilizing is necessary, but it is not enough. We can’t just call people
> out to engage in action. We need to build the networks, organizations and
> campaigns that provide the opportunities for an ever greater number of
> people to participate in the decision-making process and functioning of
> the autonomous popular organizations we are creating. Our movement is
> leaderless, which also means that we all must be leaders. But the
> leadership we build is again, *with, *not *over*, others. We need to all
> truly listen to and support each other in developing our consciousness,
> capacities and confidence. We need to see the fights against the various
> oppressions which keep folks down and divide the 99% against itself, as
> central to, not distractions from, the effectiveness of our struggle. We
> must discourage and isolate egotistical, self-serving and movement-killing
> tendencies we encounter while encouraging and developing collective,
> liberatory and movement-building tendencies. Our participatory, bottom-up
> networks, organizations and campaigns will be the way through which we
> build our power and make small gains in the medium term. But they will
> also serve as the basis for a new world that we are building toward.
>
> This new world in our hearts that we are building and showing, within the
> shell of the old one that we are confronting, is one in which people share
> power with, not over, each other. It's where workers themselves
> democratically control their workplaces; where everyone can find
> meaningful, socially-useful and balanced work that is carried out in
> comfortable conditions. It's where those who aren't able to work (or who
> have put in their share of their lifetime) are taken care of by society;
> where we abolish rulers over us and instead societies directly decide for
> themselves how to live, develop and grow. It's where our environments are
> healthy, beautiful and sustainable; where we all have the educational and
> social opportunities to develop and contribute our full capacities to our
> families and societies. It's where people can live in nice homes and safe
> communities, get their health needs fully taken care of, eat healthy and
> well, and not have to worry about meeting their needs or the needs of
> their
> families; where we can all have time and resources to enjoy life; and where
> the global human society is driven not by competition, oppression,
> exploitation, domination and war; but by love, freedom and solidarity.
> We,
> the 99%, will build our power and show our power until we've occupied our
> workplaces, our communities, our schools, our lives, our world... until
> we've occupied everything!
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> [1]<http://?ui=2&view=bsp&ver=ohhl4rw8mbn4#134257149245a29d_1341bd95929f855a_134162e9b5043ee2_1340c6c638b73a44__ednref>
> http://www.businessinsider.com/what-wall-street-protesters-are-so-angry-about-2011-10?op=1
>
> [2]<http://?ui=2&view=bsp&ver=ohhl4rw8mbn4#134257149245a29d_1341bd95929f855a_134162e9b5043ee2_1340c6c638b73a44__ednref>
> http://libcom.org/library/mobilisation-massification
>
> http://www.facebook.com/occupymayfirst
> http://www.facebook.com/occupym1 http://www.twitter.com/occupym1
>
>
>
>
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