Part 2 (1/2)
The reflections below are a s over these past six weeks They were all written in the heat of the moun to slon a little and reflect more deeply with others on what has been launched, e are creating, and what it could mean for social and political transformation
Not that we did not intend it-we did of course-but a un that is vaster and deeper than most of us anticipated in such a short time I do not pretend to understand yet why all of this exploded now, and even more, why people around the United States and the world have chosen to coether in directly democratic and horizontal forms I am thrilled-inspired-but still sometimes taken by surprise
Septe day in Liberty Plaza
Today is day five of the occupation Many people did not think it would last this long (myself included) Well, I should restate that-many people, often with lots of political experience in New York, thought it would not last New people, people whose iry and siine restrictions to that neorld, believed that absolutely ould occupy the plaza, and they continue to not only believe it, but feel it will get bigger and broader What is this based on? I aht
Today, day five, the group in the plaza, which really is a core group of a few hundred and many, many hundred more who flow in and out, is much more diverse than the first few days There are people froroups, including not just a few children here with their parents, and a nu people frouards fro by for lunch and chatting with people, as have souards I roup continues and expands, as is happening in Spain
As far as what a day looks like, there are workshops, inforeneral assemblies, and at least two marches Today the marches were rallies for Troy Davis After a spirited roup caot word that there was a stay of execution for Troy Davis People were exuberant There was another an with a song A young wo in the plaza since Saturday, taughtpeople the words-stanza by stanza-to ”We Shall Overcome” There werein loud passionate voices Reflecting again the crowd getting more-not less-diverse When it ca, it was the stay of execution, and it was the co built
More soon With inspiration and freedoed to hear later that night that the state had lifted the stay of execution, killing yet another black man
Between this first e-anization in the plaza becaroups that existed at the ti into dozens, froal, and food, to sanitation, safer spaces, and an elaborate library, to education, press, mediation, and conflict resolution (NYCGAnet has the roups-over thirty-five at the tiroup has also diversified on ins to reflect
September 30, 2011
As soin things with ”iine a few thousand peoplenomore than a fewsix thousand or seven thousand people So e plaza near Wall Street cannot fit them, so they have to overflow onto the corners and sidewalks of the entire perimeter, and corners and sidewalks across the street on every side Iine that all of these people are there because they are fed up and angry with so related to the economic crisis and Wall Street
Why are they there now? Why on this Friday afternoon at 3 pm? Maybe some are there because they heard on the Occupy Wall Street Web site that Radiohead was doing a concert Maybe Or maybe they came because they are members of the Transportation Workers Union, a union of thirty-eight thousand that voted unaniht before to support the occupation of Wall Street Maybe Or ress, the union of teachers, adjuncts, and graduate students froht before to support the occupation Maybe Or, maybe it was people froanizing the later deainst police brutality-a de Maybe Or hbor, or thenear Wall Street And hbor was there She est and by far nant worannies and white beards, and everyone in the middle There were at least four wheelchairs, and all sorts of differently abled people There were people frorounds No question the unions and students were there
Can you now iine the people's roup repeats theht, the people's mic worked for a few hundred people-not ideally, but one can hear With thousands, the people's mic has to be repeated not one ti anotherEach wave of sound representing people actively listening by repeating The facilitators (a teaently touching their arm, that they have to wait for each wave to finish before the next phrase is spoken
I, and the sound of the repetition of the words of the person speaking Ih your body, along with thousands around you I have chills writing this I was
At this point, hoever we are-are too big for the plaza We need to take over more parks, squares, and plazas and facilitate more horizontal discussions about ant and desire About the crisis and our alternatives For me, our deather in our plazas, parks, and squares, in our union halls, schools, universities, churches, synagogues, and mosques, and leave us alone so we can find horizontal, democratic ways to discuss the crisis of our tiether
With the chills of real democracy, Marina
The piece beloritten the day police had been authorized by Mayor Blooal owners of the park, in a ”temporary” eviction of the park so as to ”clean” it
October 14, 2011
Tears again The most beautiful sort of tears Tears of inspiration-created by popular power
The tears began at 6 am at Liberty Plaza, or, better said, with the thousands in and around Liberty Plaza The outpouring of solidarity quite literally filled the plaza to beyond overflowing I am exhausted and overwhelmed with e with it such an overwhel sensation It is a chilla tre one's poith others-and also a little scary, feeling how ether, side by side
As I sloeavedatthrough groups of very young people, easily in their teens and early twenties,to work soon, sorandparents, and so many of us in between All differently dressed and of ether, but most it seemed came as individuals, or with a friend or two There were many union meh they did not see on their own, asevery day
I saw lots of old friends and companerossort of like a reunion, only ere all there to use our bodies to prevent the eviction of our plaza Our plaza A place that has now been claimed by tens of thousands of New Yorkers and people froanized with direct de A plaza that we have held and opened to people for three weeks today
As I wandered on the outside of the plaza, the inside being i with people as it was, I would listen on and off to the general assembly There were a few opportunities since the people's mic was now on four and even five waves The number of waves (tiroup is Most nights we have taves, which is around five hundred people Three waves is more like a thousand And four waves, at least fifteen hundred
This , the waves of people repeated the invitation fro ar applause There was no discussion, debate, or hesitation Not only did people agree with shouts, whistles, and their fingers twinkling in the air, but with their bodies As 7 am approached, the time the mayor and Brookfield Properties said they would come into the plaza with the police and move people out, the people did not move
There, with at least five thousand others, aited to see ould happen We were ready for whatever that htPeople stayed in the plaza People stayed around the plaza Our plaza
And then, with the people's , just before 7 am, the announcement came They backed down We won! Popular power!
Marina Sitrin is the author of Horizontalis, Everyday Revolutions: Horizontalisentina This chapter first appeared on MarinaSitrincom between September 17 and October 14, 2011
CHAPTER 5
CLAIMING spacE FOR DIVERSITY AT OCCUPY WALL STREET
HENA ASHRAF
When I arrived at Occupy Wall Street on September 29, a document called ”The Declaration of the Occupation of New York City” was being introduced at the general assembly The facilitator announced that this document would be disseminated to the media, to the Internet, and to everyone who planned to occupy other cities This docueneral asseether, line by line ForThen I turned and joined my friends, Thanu and Sonny, ith two people I hadn't met before named Manissa and Natasha They all had just returned fro of South Asians for Justice
Withoutto do so, we had foreneral asserown a lot over the past few days and was noticeably an to discuss the document and our issues with it We weren't the only ones with concerns; nues The facilitators wanted to go back to the agenda items, but I felt that if people wanted to discuss this document now, then that e should do
Thanu, Sonny, Manissa, Natasha, and I felt that so with the line that read: ”As one people, forender, sexual orientation, religion, or lack thereof, political party, and cultural background, we acknowledge the reality: that there is only one race, the human race, and our survival requires the cooperation of its members”
Our first concern was that the phrase ”formerly divided by” was unrealistic and erased histories of oppression that inalized coe about ”the human race” felt out of touch
We debated about whether to speak up The facilitators requested that we e-es to thehts needed to be shared with the general asseanizers over e- me to speak up So I did
To take the floor, a person would shout, ”Mic check!” and others would repeat this back until they had the attention of the whole general assembly Then the speaker would speak their mind in phrases of a feords at a tie was coot the crowd's attention, and said I felt the phrase erased histories of oppression Unfortunately, even though four or five presues, a facilitator as a man of color told es to the docu shut down
The main facilitator, a white raph was meant to reflect the future that anted, and that the phrase ”forain shouted, ”Mic check!” and our spontaneous Broer crew again repeatederased much history and was idealistic and unrealistic At this point I looked around and realized everyone was staring ata change
The protesters at Occupy Wall Street had been saying that they would reach out to people of color in order to have thee, because, let's face it, the protests had been very white and people of color needed to be present and to speak up I realized that ere helping to e happen
The facilitators asked if our issue was an ethical concern and said that if it was, then it would have to be addressed I said yes, thereby blocking the docu forward Manissa thanked the crowd and facilitators for working with us, then explained that anted to replace the phrase ”formerly divided by” with ”despite” or ”despite the divisions of”
The change was accepted by the general assembly Our impromptu crew turned to each other to discuss what had happened, and people expressed their agreement e had done However, we still felt that the paragraph as a whole needed to be changed Sonny pointed out that the language still left invisible, or atte that was extre to address the so-called 99