The 99%: Occupy and You (and Me)

Faces of the 99%: whether we know it or not, we've all got skin in this game. #Occupy

This entry is on how/if the #OCCUPY movement is relevant to non-hippie-radicals who are non-college-students and Not Camping in Dewey Square (short answer: Yes). On hands-on/nuts-bolts ORIENTATION/information: "#OccupyBoston: a beginner's guide by a beginner."   On the POLITICAL aims/critiques: "Occupy Wall Street : "What's it all about?" .

I've been thinking a lot about the Occupy movement and what it means and what it can/might become. Polling indicates that there is widespread support for the movement right now (more polling). This makes a lot of sense to me; the message at the heart of the movement--that our economy is broken and serves the interest of a very few with money to rig the political system--is a true fact that indeed affects almost all Americans (99%!).

But as the #Occupy protests (encampments on Wall Street, Dewey Square in Boston and all across the nation) go on longer, public opinion may not stay with the movement. Because the central message IS so important and real (and resonant), it matters whether or not Occupy can sustain (indeed, build on) support.

Faces of the 99%: this man's name is Mark; he was at Occupy Boston the first day I went. I talked with him a while. He's going to school for a trade up here in Boston (electrician? can't remember) but lives in New York state. He's a life-long registered Republican.

This will depend in large part on whether the usually complacent (not in Needham, and not everyone!) members of the middle-class suburbs are willing to not only tacitly support the precepts of Occupy, but also amplify and add to the "argument" with their own voices and perspectives.

So how does the movement grow? Where does it productively go? And who's "in charge" of that when the encampments themselves are so rigorously horizontal, leaderless? As with most things, I believe everything depends on who shows up and speaks up and who's willing to organize. It doesn't mean the Suburbs needs to start camping in the snow, or hold signs while naked (click carefully!). It can be quieter, it just has to be real.

I want to help make this happen so that we are building for real change in our politics. Because no true change will come without a massive groundswell, and massive groundswells means the complacent and the busy and the apathetic need to start mobilizing. Who has ideas on how to do this? Let me know.

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COVERAGE/UPDATES: moved the full/running list to a new/separate post, trying to keep things organized)

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Some Great Viewing that hit on these topics, worth the watch: 

the Daily Show, 10/18/2011, John Oliver on "The 99%". Must watch til end.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
The 99%
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog The Daily Show on Facebook

On hippies (Bill Maher, Real Time, 10/21/2011, New rules)

Some further reading:

• It seems Another in Needham has been thinking along the same lines!: Occupy Suburbia? | A Free Faith (minister at First Parish) (10/2011)
• Goerge Lakoff, A Framing Memo for Occupy Wall Street (10/2011):
  

  We Love America. We're Here to Fix ItI see OWS as a patriotic movement, based on a deep and abiding love of country - a patriotism that it is not just about the self-interests of individuals, but about what the country is and is to be. Do Americans care about other citizens, or mainly just about themselves? That's what love of America is about. I therefore think it is important to be positive, to be clear about loving America, seeing it in need of fixing, and not just being willing to fix it, but being willing to take to the streets to fix it. A populist movement starts with the people seeing that they are all in the same boat and being ready to come together to fix the leaks.

  worth reading the whole thing. 
• The Livestream Ended: How I Got Off My Computer And Onto The Street At Occupy Oakland | The Awl (10/28/2011)