A Few More Thoughts on Occupy

A Few More Thoughts on Occupy

Since I wrote a little on the subject near the anniversary, how about we dive in a bit more. I'm fairly sure that Occupy Wall Street is our equivalent of the polish solidarity movement near the end of the USSR - At best, it played a barometer of things that were to come, but in itself couldn't have the man power to enact any of that change that was needed.

The system clearly is rapidly collapsing and people want it to, but OWS in itself just doesn't have the right form to become the new system. It'll be something else that we haven't even seen coming yet. OWS is just a signifier of a shift of consciousness rather than an alternative model or the revolutionary vanguard, if you will. It isn't the end, but rather the beginning of something else. In short, I would not be banking on it accomplishing anything. So I wouldn't be expecting anything close to a "victory" to come out of it. But it does represent a shit in the socio-political narrative.

I just hope that those involved don't take the same path the 60's movements did, and either get smoked out by the FBI or do a 180 and vote in Reagan a couple of decades later. You have to get them to realize that they sit there in this cage that was made for themselves. Be it the police one they're sitting in or the cold rain surrounded by investment bank skyscrapers, all of which were created by themselves.

 They must realize that the cops aren't people like they are. The bankers aren't people like they are either. They are an entirely separate species with their own reality and their own social constructs and rules for them to follow, the world of the cop is the one where the only law is thou shalt not hurt thy brother.

Your average OWS is disconnected with the average American as it is. The people currently struggling in awful ways, such as the homeless, overworked parents and other poor households aren't going to have as much time to spare for action despite being a good base for radicalization - of course this is dependent on shit like false consciousness, patriarchy and the such. 

People need money and jobs - they can't afford to spend any amount of time standing outside those bankers buildings. Those without work have plenty to worry about than having a cop beat them for essentially pretending to be homeless. They have better shit to do - such as actually attempting to prevent homelessness from setting in.