this just in from the OO events committee:
You are cordially invited to Occupy Oakland’s one month birthday celebration!
Thursday November 10, 2011
5-10pm in the Amphitheater of Oscar Grant Plaza
Music, Dancing, Retrospective Slide Show & much more!
please bring donations of cakes, sweets & party favors!
SHOW HELLA LOVE FOR OCCUPY OAKLAND!!!!!
4981
Is this still happening in light of the shooting?
Good morning David,
I don’t regard a lack of demands as a failure at this point. In the civil rights movement, it took years of protesting before the country was brought to a mental place where the Civil Rights Act was passed.
A protest is not the same thing as a campaign. That’s for representative government and legislators. We have things to fix in our country that are about the social problems of isolation and unhealthy views about wealth and poverty.
Right now, it’s about being visible, and inspiring the conversation that will bring the country to a place where these changes can be made democratically. The Civil Rights Act was really a declaration of a change that had already begun to take place: a general realization that society at large had been wrong on race. The law would have been unenforceable if the majority of people had no undergone the change that only a social movement can bring about.
As a social movement, Occupy is working, and working by being a visible stimulus for discourse. All of the major social movements of the 20th century were unpopular at the beginning, and had unresolved issues, like how to deal with violence, but they were still successful! According to Reuters, Occupy has 43% national approval, and in places like New York 81% approval from liberals and an astounding 35% approval from conservatives.
Sunni, you win the internet today. Congrats.
Just wanted to amend this post… first of all I think that my language was way too confrontational here, and I want to apologize for that. I’m just very frustrated by this like a lot of people are. I do want to celebrate the life of our movement, but I’m very worried. I saw tonight at the GA, all the lights have already been shut down in the plaza that they used to leave on. So Oakland city government is making the situation at Oscar Grant/Frank Ogawa plaza far more dangerous. I wish that we could have had a real vote on non-violence tonight…as it was, pro-violence and anti-violence votes were cast mostly in the same pile because the proposal was so confused and contradictory. It talked about “diversity of tactics” and how there is “a time and a place” for violence, and then encouraged pacifists to fully dedicate themselves to spreading the philosophy of non-violence. And so we didn’t really get a chance to vote on the issue tonight, and we’re supposed to celebrate a movement that has so far accomplished some wonderful things generally but not actually done anything to benefit Oakland. I say that as a longtime Oakland resident. The General Strike didn’t fulfill any demands, so it is seen by most people here in Oakland as a show of force without any purpose. If we were doing more outreach than we are, to actually do things for the people in the City whose homes have been foreclosed on, that would be a more positive message to send than to march around disrupting and destroying businesses. And so, again, part of me loves Occupy Oakland and wants to celebrate with you folks but part of me is feeling very turned off by the element that advocates violence and property damage. Occupy Oakland is failing me and my fellow citizens here in Oakland. It is becoming embarrassing and even dangerous to be an open member of the group here. I say these things with a heavy heart but I will be coming out to take part in discussions and to talk about more positive action in the future with people.
I will not celebrate when we have not even decided if this is a violent or non-violent movement. This is killing us every day. Mayor Quan is preparing another raid for next week, using our lack of commitment to non-violence as an excuse. WAKE THE FUCK UP PEOPLE!!! We can make all the arguments we want about how we are “mostly non-violent”, but the word that there are pro-violence voices who are prominent in our own camp is slowly destroying Occupy Oakland and poisoning the entire Occupy Wall Street movement. We must pass resolution against vandalism and violence before we celebrate. We are going to be raided next week people.
Bring donuts in case we have to negotiate with the police.