Yes Herman Cain, it is my fault I am not rich. And that’s okay. Because I’m not trying to get rich. I’m trying to get a job. I’m trying to support myself and earn a living wage. I’m not trying to make millions of dollars, though I wouldn’t mind it. My current goal however is not so lofty: it’s to just fucking survive.
Just Got Back from Occupy LA
I was only there for a couple of hours. I’m not sure that’s enough to form any kind of real impression on a movement that’s only been going for three days.
Here are my thoughts:
- I took the subway from Los Feliz to City Hall. I’ve probably ridden the subway in Los Angeles more in the last six months than I have in eight years of living here.
- I got off the subway at the Civic Center station. Heading towards downtown I passed by the city courthouse. There were at least ten news teams there with their cameras out and anchors ready to broadcast. I figured it was about Occupy LA (which at City Hall, is just down the street) but as I walked on, I saw a hand painted placard of an angelic Michael Jackson. Turns out the press were their to cover the Michael Jackson trial. Figures.
- When I first arrive outside City Hall, a group is conducting what I assume must be a “General Assembly” meeting. It’s hard to tell. No one really tells you anything actually (more on this later). I’m kind of inspired by the process of the General Assembly meeting. If you haven’t heard, the group discussions involve what’s known as a “Mic Check.” A speaker will scream out “Mic Check” and the listeners will repeat it then proceed to repeat in fragments what the speaker is saying. This is due to a ban on amplified sound and it actually works really well and is incredibly engaging. The listeners also have a variety of hand signals used to encourage or communicate with the speaker, you can read more about them here.
- When I got there the majority of the discussion was focused on whether Occupy LA should support in name an anti-war march run by A.N.S.W.E.R. There was some back and forth, mainly to do with whether that would dilute the Occupy LA message and some questions about A.N.S.W.E.R.’s ethics as a whole in the protest movement. Personally, I have a strong distaste for A.N.S.W.E.R. They’ve been the most vocal left-wing org since 9/11 but they’ve gone a long way in fucking things up. They’re the ones that pass out “Free Mumia” posters at what’s supposed to be an anti-war march. There’s also a strong reason to believe that they are a front for the Workers World Party, a Neo-Stalinist organization that loves everyone from Kim Jong Il to Milosevic.
- I walked around a bit and took in the mini-tent city. It was a nice reminder that this isn’t just pretend (more on this later), there are people here who are living day in and day out on the lawn of City Hall. I wish I could do it.
- The lawn by the Temple St sidewalk was covered in cardboard signs which I thought was really neat. I didn’t bring a sign but if I wanted one all I had to do was pick one up. I stood on the sidewalk for a bit talking to a guy named Josh. After the meeting, when it had more or less concluded and split off into smaller meetings, he had been one of the people to suggest that we stay away from using rhetoric like “revolution” because it has the tendency to make people think we want to take down the government. We spoke for a bit about how Occupy LA needs to brand itself. I personally believe that the Occupy movement really needs to stick core issues and hammer home that is a mainstream cause. This cannot be a movement that positions itself as radical because 1) It isn’t. 2) You want everyone to feel included, not just the kids with bandanas on their faces.
- That said, wow, there was still a lot of protest pageantry. I’m pretty fed up with the bandana on the face, black bloc, bullshit. I understand the point of it, but that dress up stuff dominated the anti-Iraq protests and to the average person it was not appealing, it was alienating. I also saw some InfoWars conspiracy nonsense, not a lot, but there was some. I don’t think it’s enough to really alienate the common person but I think it would be incredibly terrible if anarchists (who seem to be less about actual politics and more about lofty utopian nonsense and lifestyle politics) were to hijack the movement. Not saying they will, and everything coming out of NYC suggests they aren’t, but holy shit, this is not a fucking stage for you to play dress up and talk about revolution. Come down to earth, engage in the process and then we can see where we’re at.
- I wish, wish, wish, there was some kind of greeting booth for newcomers. But if you were to just show up like me and not be that informed, you really would have no idea what was going on. Compound that with the fact that the nascent movement has yet to clearly express itself (which is understandable and fine!) and it really doesn’t make you feel like your a part of something. It would have been nice for there to be “greeters,” people there to clearly and articulately express what the occupation is all about. Hopefully as they develop their strategy and PR something like this can be created.
Ultimately… I’m not sure what Occupy LA is about, I’m not really sure where it’s going. There was much to like, there was much to dislike. It’s nascent after all, no one really knows what it is. I’ll probably go back tomorrow to watch them deliver trash to a bank, which I think is pretty hilarious. Maybe shoot some video too.
