#occupydamestreet 10.11.2011 evening assembly video report

by 2c worth Tue Oct 11, 2011 18:24

The mulling over a list of demands in this video struck me. It is in contrast to the movement in NYC.
In NYC the position seems to be "we don't have demands, we have goals".

NYC don't seem to be petitioning the rich and powerful to do anything for them.
So much of left activism in Ireland, in my experience, seems to be petitioning, demanding, posturing, whining
....Occupy Wall Street seems to be in contrast to this...based on self activity...that one would hope carries on beyond the camping experience.

This movement's suspicion of the organised left groups in Ireland (and elsewehere) comes from people's first hand experience of the power plays and co-option (and later abandonment) that takes place whenever a grassroots campaign tries to get off the ground....the now defunct anti-war movement in Ireland being a good example of that....the doc "Route Irish" being a good analysis of the rise and fall of the issue and the movement....as the wars and Irish complicity continue to rage on.
Route Irish
http://www.dangerousminds.net/comments/eamonn_cruddens_...rish/

With the organised left groups, you always know there is an agenda that transcends any given campaign and that is the building, positioning and milking the phenomenon for however long it lasts to build whatever left group.

On the other extreme, Occupy Dame St needs to be careful not to be a self-isolating subculture.
It needs to be invitational, proactive about reaching out to grassroots organisers/ activists to come and tell their story, sing their song, recite their poetry about how the economy is crushing their community.

Anyways good luck with it, it has been inspring following it on this site

This recently published reflection on Occupy Wall St. is worth a read
The Revolution Started Without Me
by JACK RANDOM
http://www.counterpunch.org/2011/10/11/the-revolution-s...t-me/

an excerpt...
The difference between this movement and the antiwar protests of the Bush era is that the latter had a clearly designated beginning and an end. They were highly organized weekend events, licensed by the authorities and proceeded along a prescribed route. When they were over, the protestors went home. There was no attempt to occupy, no camps and no real opportunity to build relationships on common interests.

In the late sixties, the counter culture occupied People’s Park and Telegraph Avenue. People came to San Francisco and occupied the Haight. Students occupied university buildings and campus grounds. The people built a movement on the grounds where they lived and found a way to survive with underground economies.

The authorities will never be afraid of a movement they can license and control. They will never be afraid of resistance that plays by their rules. They will never be afraid of the Tea Party or an antiwar movement that stages events, that provides portable toilets, that sells tee shirts and hands out pamphlets only to go home at the appointed time.

The Occupy Wall Street movement has the potential to become a living, breathing cultural revolution because it is leaderless and inclusive, because it is creative and diverse, and because it attracts young people and university students who have been betrayed by the economic system they have inherited.

by Trade Union TV Fri Oct 14, 2011 08:42 [email protected]

The video above was filmed at the assembly in the evening and a little at the media group. There are lots of other videos online. This is but a snapshot of what I saw. The event is bigger and wider than this video, Everyone ought be aware of that.

by ? Fri Oct 14, 2011 15:31

''It is in contrast to the movement in NYC''

Thank God. Is what we want, a liberal movement? No thanks!