Paulina Gonzalez has an interesting and timely piece up at the LA Progressive urging the Occupy Los Angeles group to adopt a more coherent strategy in the face of its impending eviction by the City. She begins by congratulating OWS and OLA on the achievements that they've had to date, as evidenced by the "offer" (in quotes, because it hasn't been confirmed by the City Council) by the City of office space, farmland and housing for the homeless in return for a peaceful evacuation of the emcampment in front of City Hall. But she notes that few leaders from the low-income communties of color that surround downtown Los Angeles have so far joined forces with OLA, and, when asked why not, volunteer fundamental questions its goals. She urges OLA to move to formulate a strategy that will allow it to effectively confront the problems that are have been highlighted:
Now imagine if Occupy formulated a demand that could leverage its power to not only protect thousands of Los Angeles residents from unjust evictions, but also force the city to take a concrete stance against the banks. What if Occupy locked arms with community groups and announced its refusal to move unless the city extends and agrees to enforce the moratorium (set to expire at year’s end) on the eviction of tenants in bank-controlled foreclosed properties? Hundreds of Los Angeles residents, most of them low-income people of color – as well as the community organizations that represent them – would stand with you.
Imagine the power of this demand, not only for those who stand to benefit from such a moratorium, but for the strength and expansion of the Occupy movement. Let’s play out the scenario: If the city doesn’t grant your demand, it (a) is forced to evict Occupy, (b) looks unreasonable and unfair, and (c) will have publicly sided with banks instead of the 99%. If it grants your demand, you will have just leveraged a victory that protected thousands of families from being thrown out on the street – and joined forces with organized community groups working in low-income communities of color.
. . . .
So where do we go from here? It’s time to occupy a strategy, and occupy organizing and movement-building. A golden opportunity has been laid at your feet. You should take it.
http://www.laprogressive.com/...
In my opinion, this is the most coherent suggestion of a concrete demand for OWS/OLA that I've yet seen. It's dramatic, significant and directly on-point to what has motivated the movement from the start, yet very achievable. Worth a look.