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As many doubts as I have about Occupy Wall Street, this is a solid list of demands.
https://occupywallst.org/article/a-m...reet-day-five/
This is the fifth communiqué from the 99 percent. We are occupying Wall Street.
On September 21st, 2011, Troy Davis, an innocent man, was murdered by the state of Georgia. Troy Davis was one of the 99 percent.
Ending capital punishment is our one demand.
On September 21st, 2011, the richest 400 Americans owned more wealth than half of the country's population.
Ending wealth inequality is our one demand.
On September 21st, 2011, four of our members were arrested on baseless charges.
Ending police intimidation is our one demand.
On September 21st, 2011, we determined that Yahoo lied about occupywallst.org being in spam filters.
Ending corporate censorship is our one demand.
On September 21st, 2011, roughly eighty percent of Americans thought the country was on the wrong track.
Ending the modern gilded age is our one demand.
On September 21st, 2011, roughly 15% of Americans approved of the job Congress was doing.
Ending political corruption is our one demand.
On September 21st, 2011, roughly one sixth of Americans did not have work.
Ending joblessness is our one demand.
On September 21st, 2011, roughly one sixth of America lived in poverty.
Ending poverty is our one demand.
On September 21st, 2011, roughly fifty million Americans were without health insurance.
Ending health-profiteering is our one demand.
On September 21st, 2011, America had military bases in around one hundred and thirty out of one hundred and sixty-five countries.
Ending American imperialism is our one demand.
On September 21st, 2011, America was at war with the world.
Ending war is our one demand.
On September 21st, 2011, we stood in solidarity with Madrid, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Madison, Toronto, London, Athens, Sydney, Stuttgart, Tokyo, Milan, Amsterdam, Algiers, Tel Aviv, Portland and Chicago. Soon we will stand with Phoenix, Montreal, Cleveland and Atlanta. We're still here. We are growing. We intend to stay until we see movements toward real change in our country and the world.
You have fought all the wars. You have worked for all the bosses. You have wandered over all the countries. Have you harvested the fruits of your labors, the price of your victories? Does the past comfort you? Does the present smile on you? Does the future promise you anything? Have you found a piece of land where you can live like a human being and die like a human being? On these questions, on this argument, and on this theme, the struggle for existence, the people will speak. Join us.
We speak as one. All of our decisions, from our choice to march on Wall Street to our decision to continue occupying Liberty Square, were decided through a consensus based process by the group, for the group.
However, Doug Henwood of Left Business Observer makes a good point about how much the New Left is obsessed with "ethics." http://lbo-news.com/2011/09/29/the-o...et-non-agenda/
I have to admit that my interest in the movement has increased though. Maybe it's a nothing but a kneejerk healthy optimistic reaction to the fact that something is happening rather than nothing, but I guess we'll have to see where this movement takes us.
For one thing, it definitely needs a bigger working class base.
I want them to ignore an old beaten down, cynical, seen too many years of defeat and too many rearguard defensive battles guy like me. I want them to start fresh, even if that means covering my eyes and ears at the occasional naive or wrong-headed course. If they continue to mature and develop over the next couple of months as they have over the past couple weeks, I'll have no problem standing with them and behind them, my mouth shut but my shoulder to the wheel.
How many people are still in Wall Street?
As of yesterday, the permanent occupying force was about 400. But during the day, you'll find anywhere between two and five thousand people there (estimates I got from friends).
It's more popular than Ground Zero, which is about a block away.
RED DAVE
The should've just condensed all those demands by demanding an end to capitalism.
That's a greater number than I expected, tbh.
Not the smartest thing to do right away in America. It is much smarter just to build a movement and spread ideas that are anti-capitalist so the movement eventually transforms into a direct anti-capitalist movement, without it ever being said out loud.
The movement seems more anti-corruption and anti-"corporate capitalism" to me.
As much as a like to see a list of demands like that coming from a protest movement that I originally believed wouldn't succeed, some of the demands seem to be more in the abstract than concrete goals. "Ending wealth inequality" wouldn't be possible under capitalism, unless they favor every person receiving the same wage (I doubt they do). I understand the sentiment, but these aren't things that can be realistically fought for. Hopefully the movement can morph into one single demand: abolish capitalism, replace it with socialism.
"If those in charge of our society — politicians, corporate executives, and owners of press and television — can dominate our ideas, they will be secure in their power. They will not need soldiers patrolling the streets. We will control ourselves."
-Howard Zinn
This is true, but at this very early stage in the game, this is to be expected.
RED DAVE
I think it varies from place to place. My university just had a walk out and we went to the place that will be occupied and had an open mic and the speakers were pretty anti-capitalists and there was only one or two that were outright advocating the small business buy local bs. But like RED DAVE said it's still early on and if there is no one their advocating revolutionary/socialist politics, then we only have ourselves to blame for not speaking up.
I am giving this movement the benefit of the doubt. I know in the States being anti-capitalist is a sure fire way to lose credibility from the get-go. Which explains why public intellectuals like Chomsky and David Harvey aren't anti-capitalist when interviewed by mainstream media.
Has anyone from Revleft been down to the protests? I'm meaning to get down there within the month, but I'd like to know if anyone here has been trying to see if there is a major anti-capitalist sentiment, or if not, trying to spread the message.
"If those in charge of our society — politicians, corporate executives, and owners of press and television — can dominate our ideas, they will be secure in their power. They will not need soldiers patrolling the streets. We will control ourselves."
-Howard Zinn
We are not just inspired by what happened in the Arab Spring recently, we are students of the Situationist movement. Those are the people who gave birth to what many people think was the first global revolution back in 1968 when some uprisings in Paris suddenly inspired uprisings all over the world. All of a sudden universities and cities were exploding. This was done by a small group of people, the Situationists, who were like the philosophical backbone of the movement. One of the key guys was Guy Debord, who wrote The Society of The Spectacle. The idea is that if you have a very powerful meme — a very powerful idea — and the moment is ripe, then that is enough to ignite a revolution. This is the background that we come out of.
1968 was more of a cultural kind of revolution. This time I think it’s much more serious. We’re in an economic crisis, an ecological crisis, living in a sort of apocalyptic world, and the young people realize they don’t really have a viable future to look forward to. This movement that’s beginning now could well be the second global revolution that we’ve been dreaming about for the last half a century.
http://politics.salon.com/2011/10/04..._st/singleton/
My town is having one, I'm going to create a thread about it after the first general assembly tonight.
I think its a very important movement, we shouldn't dismiss it. At an initial stage of development and in a brainwashed country like the US one can only expect them to be the way there at the moment.
And yet standing by their side and helping them see things as they are would be very good. We should bring them closer to us not shun them away into the arms of libertarianism(right wing) and reformism.
Of course it isn't easy but...how easy it is to create mass movements and revolutions?
This is the best post I have read so far on the occupation, it seems everybody wants to push their own agenda, this from people who initially ridiculed the protesters as being naive and uninformed or insisting that this movement would never amount to anything, now everybody wants to join in and impose their views, from Ron Paul libertarians to Marxist Leninist, what arrogance!!!
Let's give these people our support but let's also refrain from trying to lead them around, they know better than we do what needs to be done.
There is no need for that right now.
Why not "we seek to end capitalism"? I see and have seen a lot of the protestors dancing around the elephant in the room, as it were, all this talk of greed, corrupt corporations, etc. etc. but no out right address of the fundamental issue; capitalism.
And if he start to scream, BAWM BAWM, have a nice dream, a true mothafucka going out for the loot.
"People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones."-Col. Gaddafi.
"Damnation seize my soul if I give you quarters or take any from you."-Edward Teach.
That will happen in due time, don't worry.
