I am a supporter of Occupy Oakland and an Oakland native, and I attended the marches at the general strike. We all know that some property destruction to corporations was almost inevitable given the energy, mass and enthusiasm of the general strike, but I have a question, and forgive my ignorance. Who are these kids in black? Clearly they are not real anarchists, because they seemed to lack an informed and intelligent argument during the strike. Are they plants or were some of them plants by police or the authorities in an attempt to ruin a peaceful and historical movement (not that they did)? I stood next to them in solidarity of being open-minded to different views and tactics of protest even though I did not partake in property damage. And I understand and feel the overwhelming anger towards banks and corporations enough that I would even like to smash up the banks. But the fact of the matter is, this group was unsympathetic to other protesters’ views, yelling things like, “Get that hippie shit outta here, go back to the 60’s if you don’t want real change, we will continue to be oppressed without doing this.” I respectfully said that they sounded like the 1%. The kids in black chanted, “property damage is not violence.” True, property damage doesn’t harm humans physically, and I understand the significance of property damage. However, it gives the corporate media leverage against the movement, leverage that we don’t want them to have. And of course, most photos online were of property damage, not of the constructive and beautiful parts of the protest, but of the damage, making it seem as if this was what the general strike was about. I know, what else is new, right? But to the kids in black I ask, who are you really? Whose side are you on really? Do you believe in different points of view and tactics or only your own? Were you paid off by right wing nut jobs to try and sabotage our movement? Take off your mask and answer me. If you really want to shut down the banks, we have to work on pamphlets encouraging an educational boycott of big banks (I know about Bank Transfer Day, I have already switched to a credit union), because many Americans are still ignorant to the evil doings of big banks, although we know the truth.
On a tangent and a different note. I am the 99%. I was there because I believe in shutting down capitalism, making education free and affordable, making health care universal, abolishing an electorate system that allows for ignorant, unqualified politicians to buy their way into office, I believe in shutting down big banks and corporations, and stopping the attacks on public education and the mass of the American people. I was also at the general strike for personal reasons. My mother has faced declining mental and physical health over the last ten years or so, due to the corrupt health care system and prescription pill industry. She has back problems, she lost her job, she can’t work, and on top of that she has a two year old son and a seven year old son, my little brothers who I love and care for as sons. They have been homeless for over a year now, and currently are living on her ex-husband’s living room floor. I am 25 years old, a UC Berkeley graduate, with few job options except for the one I have which cannot support a family. But now I am faced with housing and caring for a sick mother and my little brothers when my rental lease is up in February. But we are still blessed and grateful that my family is not living in the ghetto parks of east and west Oakland as many families are and have been for a long time. My brother has served in the bullshit wars our government has waged on innocent nations, and even he (now an army recruiter) is now questioning the government and military about their corrupt and illogical tactics, especially since the brutalization of Scott Olsen by Oakland police. This is not my pity party Occupy Oakland post. It is truth. The lack of social infrastructure, the stripping of social welfare programs, the abundance of money-mongering pill corporations and doctors who hand out morphine, Xanax and Prozac like candy to silence and dumb down the oppressed, all this and many other forces worked to make my mom sick, ignorant, and unable to care for her family. I and everyone else have felt first hand the recession and this corrupt system that was made to trample on the lives of the masses.
I and many others know the blinding anger and frustration of being the oppressed. But smashing property just makes us look stupid in the media. I would love to smash up corporate property, because I am angry. But I am also aware and sympathetic of the fact that many rely on shit-pay jobs with big banks and corporations to feed their families and survive, and fucking up their workplaces isn’t going to give them or the mass of Americans a clear and intelligent message about the movement. I think it is heinous that people even have to depend on work from evil banks and corporations, that many feel they have no choice but to take what they’re given. But I think we should work on educating the employees of big banks and corporations as to why people are against the banks, and why the employees of banks and corporations should be aware of corruption in their workplaces, and why they should strike and join Occupy Oakland. Believe it or not, many of them do not know, and the ones that do know just need more education and constructive discussion on big bank corruption.
The purpose of this post is to generate discussion about those who caused the property damage during the general strike, sorry if I rambled. I just wanted to be clear about the fact that I am angry, furious and for fighting the banks, but I am against anyone who attempts to sabotage a peaceful and historical movement.
Love,
Jenny
Hey maxr, I hate to break it to you but quite a lot of people who are taking part in and/or supporting Occupy movements are not trying to pose any “existential threat to capitalism.” We think the system is broken, but we’re still trying to fix it, not to scrap it.
Notice how the various Communist Parties in America have never gained any traction. Neither will Occupy Wall Street, if you try to exclude everybody who still believes in Capitalism and the Constitution.
They should be indentified and isolated!
Jenny, it seems like you agree with the politics of the anarchists in black about all but one thing: smashing windows. However, your only reason for being against property destruction is because of its coverage by corporate media. Corporate media is not a neutral force. It is motivated by its need to make a profit, and therefore perpetuate the existence of capitalism.
Anything covered positively by corporate media is only covered positively because it lacks a real threat to corporate power. If a prerequisite for an action is that it will be covered positively by the corporate media then it is likewise a prerequisite for this action that it poses no material threat to the existence of capitalism.
Please do not be fooled by the corporate media coverage of these events. The destruction of corporate property is necessary to the abolition of corporate power. This is a critical juncture in this movement when the question arises “we now know that we are against the banks, how might we then go about disassembling them?”
Please be part of the material movement to disassemble the banks if you are really opposed to them. All tactics can be useful. I support your boycott idea. Let’s organize in multiple directions simultaneously and act in solidarity with one another.