America has been occupied by a hostile force. Thousands of angry, fed-up citizens have taken to the streets, not just to protest and go home, but to stay and demand that their voices be heard. Even as temperatures drop and the weather begins to turn nasty, the occupations continue. In the face of police resistance, arrest and assault, the occupiers stay the course. It is heartening to see the protests grow, city by city, throughout the United States and around the world. People are pissed off on a scale that hasn't been witnessed since the Vietnam War. Citizens, young and old, blue collar, white collar and retired, black, white and hispanic are taking over their cities to make their voices heard. Day by day the movement grows! What started off as a simple protest on Wall Street by a few hundred people has now empowered tens of thousands. In spite of all this, I must ask one question:
Are the occupations effective? Are they doing any good?
Some say yes while others have their doubts. On the positive side, the occupations are bringing attention to an issue that Americans have willfully ignored for far too long, the ever increasing wealth gap and the rapidly vanishing Middle Class. As more people are forced to discuss this issue, whether they are for the occupations or against them, they are participating in a dialog that is long overdue. The occupation of Wall Street and its supporting occupations in over 100 other locations has increased the volume on a story the mainstream media would prefer not to discuss, primarily because they have played such a large role in the creation of this problem. Much of the blood is on their hands and they know they will be held accountable if this movement continues. They will continue to call the protesters criminals and low-lifes, trustafarians and hippies, and use every method at their disposal to discredit the occupiers and their cause.
As long as the occupiers only occupy, the media will win. In some cities, too much time is being spent arguing in General Assembly meetings and trying to reach consensus on every point and issue and not enough time is actually being spent taking specific action. Members are quick to point out that the movement is leaderless and have been known to publicly challenge those who appear to be taking any sort of leadership role. In my own city I have seen a great deal of this pointless bickering and it has disheartened quite a few. To continue down this path will surely mean the death of the movement and victory for the 1%!
I am reminded of another "movement" when I think of this, one that is not a movement or a group or an organization in any way. Something that is really more of a meme than anything, and an often incoherent meme at that! I refer of course to Anonymous. Called "hacktivists" by some, including many in its own ranks, Anonymous began on the online site 4chan.org, a site where everyone is anonymous. From there it began attacking the Church of Scientology, something that is always best done anonymously due to that organization's zealously litigious nature and its tendency to pursue its detractors with a rather psychotic tenacity.
Anonymous has grown to be far bigger than this now however (much to the chagrin of many "old fags," as early members like to call themselves). In late 2010 and early 2011, when "Arab Spring" began and people in Egypt and other middle eastern countries took to their streets demanding justice, freedom and democracy, many of those aligned with Anonymous began staging DDoS attacks against various corporate and government entities. It was then that people began to wake up. Common citizens, even those without the expertise to fully understand computer hacking, could download an LOIC program and join in these attacks. The effect was empowering, as regular people who had always felt so powerless against the system suddenly began to realize that they weren't as powerless as they had thought. They began to realize that they could have a hand in taking down corporate giants like Visa, Paypal and others, even if only temporarily. They looked overseas at the inspirational stories unfolding as regular people just like them stood up to their governments and made change happen. They began to look for a way to make it happen here.
And then came Wall Street.
Perhaps one of the biggest strengths of Anonymous is, like the occupation movement currently spreading around the world, it is leaderless. Go arrest 5 or 15 or 50 members and they are instantly replaced by more. There is no head to cut off. There is no single plan of action. With Anonymous, you never know where they will strike. It might be here, it might be there, it might be in several places at once. The attacks are not necessarily coordinated either. Just individuals taking individual actions, with others joining in on the actions of their choice. Like the saying goes, "We are Legion. Expect us." That's about all you can do, just hold your breath and wait. That is precisely what makes the power brokers so damn nervous!
The most effective thing the occupation movement can do at this point is to emulate this characteristic as much as it can. So you've occupied your town? Great. That's a start. But this is no party, this is no camping trip. This is Revolution! It is imperative that attacks are planned and performed every single day! Hold your GA meetings if you absolutely must but get out there and do something! Surround headquarters and corporate offices of major banks and hand out information on credit unions. Protest the media by showing up at their studios - especially those who like to show the crowd in the street behind them - with signs listing their crimes of complacency and misinformation. Stage sit-ins at the State Capitol. You cannot be afraid to be arrested, this is going to be necessary. Don't be violent, don't vandalize. Be peaceful and law abiding but be out there every day!
You don't have to all agree on where to strike. You don't need 1000 people to protest. A handful of people handing out flyers in front of a bank can thoroughly get the point across! Plan several actions every day, get a few people for each one and do it! When you are suddenly appearing in 5 places at once, you will have a much greater impact. Sure, it's a kick when 5-10,000 people show up to march through the streets on a Saturday afternoon but the rest of the week needs to be just as effective as well. For that, you don't need numbers. You only need direction, will and courage.Take a tip from the kids in the masks. When you are effective, the movement will continue to grow. The movement will have power. The numbers will increase and the true Revolution will begin. It will be then that we will see things begin to truly change.
