[Street] May 1 - International General Strike!

trenchesfullofpoets at riseup.net trenchesfullofpoets at riseup.net
Sat Dec 31 15:43:47 EST 2011


*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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