In these past few months, I've been pondering what Occupy is really about. AdBusters sparked a movement with a simple call to Occupy Wall Street. In the wake of big, predatory banks jumping the "free market" shark and getting bailed out by all of us, while they continued to screw us over, it struck a nerve. Tens of thousands of us poured into the streets around the country to cry out that we get it: "Banks got bailed out. We got sold out!"
There has been a bit of awakening regarding the oppressive nature of capitalism. The insidious corruption of everything by a power elite. There are Owners and the rest of us are livestock.
It has been like this forever. So, why now? The answer to that may inform whether the movement is sustainable. Or what we need to do to make it so.
As I think about what's happening, this well-known, but barely-carried, quote keeps coming to mind:
First they came for the communists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me
Europeans landed on these "American" shores and committed genocide for their own prosperity. While some engaged the Revolution to break out from the oppression of King George, those who took over establishing what this new government would be like were the owner class, with an agenda to protect themselves and gain as much worldly power as they could.
To profit is to exploit. You are demanding more for something than it really cost. You are inherently saying, "I am worth more than you." It doesn't matter how it impacts the buyer's ability to thrive. Profit is god in the religion of capitalism. Consideration for people does not enter into the equation. (I earned an MBA and not once, in any of my classes, was the health of a business or the economy discussed in terms of the health and welfare of people.)
So, why now? Well, who poured into those Occupations? Predominantly white, predominantly male people did. And across the nation, in almost every Occupation, we see fewer and fewer people of color, fewer women, fewer non-heterosexuals, fewer non-gender-normative people participating. I believe many in those demographics are still hoping that this is the moment when we'll all come together, rise up and figure out how to transform ourselves into a just and sustainable society where all can thrive.
But, right now, it's still a predominantly white male movement. Because they/we (I'm female, but "white") were finally feeling the effects a system that we had bought into for so long. The tsunami of oppression was touching upon our own shores. Our homes are now under water. We been whisked away in the current and bashed up the rocks. We're standing in the demolished ruins of our American Dream and the rescue crew passed us over to help the very banks who generated the deep water earthquake which generated the tsunami.
And the banks didn't change one thing about how they do business.
We were supposed to have access to the American Dream. We were able to tell ourselves that everyone had that access if they just followed the rules. We bought into the idea that if anyone was struggling, it was their own fault. We turned a blind eye to how the game is really played rigged. Now, that we've felt its destructive power, we think we get it. We think we're ready to push back.
Only, we don't really get it. We prove that every time another group of people walks away from us.
The system we have enabled, that one in which we were pawns in our own demise, is not just about the money. Its about deeply rooted ways of being in which we establish power for ourselves by wielding it over others rather than with them.
Everything we've been taught, every way we've learned to be, the very way we speak and carry our bodies is all about wielding power. Its all about being "strong", being "competent", being "competitive". Survival of the fittest. (Who defines "fit"?) We haven't the slightest clue how to do anything any differently.
From the get go, this movement has an aspect to it which could spell its own doom: it is self-interested. It has emerged only because "then they came for me."
Self-interest isn't inherently a bad thing. It can be a motivator. One needs self-interest to make sure one does survive. So, perhaps we can thank self-interest for jumpstarting the generators we needed to get going when the rescue crew passed us by.
However, it is not enough. We need to look around and ask, "what have I done for others who have suffered before me?" We need to ask those who have suffered the most, "what can we do for you, with you?"
Why? Because that is the single biggest change we could make in our society. If we want to generate something new, something transformative, something sustainable, we need to figure out what defines the system we now realize is so destructive. Greed, bullying, rape culture, misogyny, imperialism, profiteering; the common factor in all these things is selfishness. To redefine ourselves, we must operate with a different paradigm.
Being of service to others is not without self-interest. Martin Niemöller captured that in his quote. Ultimately, if we don't speak out for others, there will be no one there to speak out for us when we need it. And let's face it, it so much more powerful when an ally, particularly one who is a peer to the oppressor, speaks on behalf of the oppressed.
If I am accused of lying, it is nearly impossible for me to convince people I have not lied. There is a sort of social status consciousness we have wherein the accuser, unless already seen as below me on the power hierarchy, is seen as powerful. His accusation will carry a weight I cannot push against. Facts will not matter. My vulnerability will not matter. How it might effect my life will not matter. No one will listen to me because the socially superior voice will embed itself in their psyches and they will believe him. This happens because social survival can depend upon it.
But, if one of his peers stands up and speaks for me, people will listen. They will now hear those voices with equal weight and give them equal consideration. Now, facts and data and consideration of my character may actually have a chance at entering the equation.
Its not "fair". It's not "right". It's not "just". But, we all know its true. How many times have you stepped up for someone lower in the pecking than you in your peer group, your office, your school? Anywhere? Its so rare that we hail people who do such things as extraordinary. As heroes.
So, when the system is rigged against people of color, they can have the dignity to stand up for themselves. They can try to cry out. They can resist by creating a parallel culture, a sub-economy. They can try to avoid getting caught in the trap of the dominant oppressor system. But, they can't muster enough power to upend that system. All the resources are in the hands of the Power Elite. The predominantly white Ruling Class.
The Indigenous Peoples of this land have been subject to genocide and continued abuse for centuries. They are supposed to have autonomy in the lands we deemed to be sovereign. Yet, we breach treaties constantly, exploit their natural resources, poison their water, deny them the resources to thrive.
Africans were dragged to this country in chains. Sold as chattel. Brutally enslaved. De-humanized, de-animated to such a point that white people treated them worse than animals. To this day, the mainstream culture depicts people of color as inherently bad, scary, dangerous. How many times has a country of people with dark skin invaded a country of people with light skin? How many times have dark-skinned people enslaved light-skinned people? How many genocides have been committed against Europeans which weren't perpetrated by other Europeans?
We're the predators. We're the scary ones.
Here's the thing: the system of the Ruling Class finally came for us and there is no one left to speak for us. Why should they?
What we need to do is speak for them. If we want to enact real change, if we want to get everyone to rise up together, we need to take political action for the sake of others. Our focus needs to be on the things which have more disproportionately impacted people in demographic groups that we are not in.
What do I mean? Here's a starter list:
- White people need to be persistently protesting the Prison Industrial Complex. How? Pick a jail, a prison, a courthouse. Sleep there. Picket there every day. Hand out flyers sharing information about how horrendous the system is. Spread the word about jury nullification. We the people have the power to stop the system from sending people into this slave system. Just don't find them "guilty". Bring the system to a halt and demand a new one. Stand outside of police stations in neighborhoods where the residents are predominantly of color. Take photographs. Report every incident of a police officer harassing or abusing people. Don't leave until it stops.
- White people need to stand at the borders of tribal lands and block corporations and US agents from entering. Make it known that it is not a boundary we will allow to be breached. Stay there. Ask the people of those lands what they need. Help get resources to them. Put ourselves between them and our abusively militant government. Demand that corporations and the US government remediate the damage they've done to these lands. Learn. There are culture in this country far older than this American one. Try to understand how they have sustained themselves and what we can adopt with them. Don't leave until those lands are restored and the people feel safe.
- Men, particularly white men, need to plant themselves outside of family planning centers. Demand that women have control over their own bodies. Be a protective force against the violent hatred directed at women and doctors. Don't leave until women are respected.
- Heterosexual people need to persistently protest at City Halls around the country. Demand that love is a higher calling than hate. That anyone who wants to commit to a loving relationship should be encouraged to do so. That marriage is determined by the people in that relationship and no one else. Anyone who wants a marriage certificate and the legal benefits we give for that has the right to one. Don't leave until every state acknowledges that it is an abuse of human rights to deny people a declaration of marriage. Straight people need to make every prom safe for everyone to attend.
- Gender normative people need to take a stand at every public bathroom, every prison, every public space and protect those who express their gender differently. Demand respect for each person's right to express their gender as they see fit. Celebrate the creativity, the exploration, the freedom to be whomever you feel you are. Don't stop celebrating & protecting them until they can all walk without fear.
I could go on. There are so many avenues of oppression in our society. The point here is twofold: it is incumbent for us to speak out for others. It is an ethical crime to demand that those who are victims must fight for themselves. Those of us with relatively more power around a particular issue must push back against systemic oppression. The deepest form being simply acculturation. We have to tell each other to cut it out. More important, though, is that we're telling the victims that we see them. We see what is happening. We refuse to be silently complicit. We are connecting to them. This is where solidarity will come from.
When a man loses his job and then his home because the "economy" is so bad that even he can't survive anymore, sure, I feel badly for him. I can see why he'd be angry and take to the streets. But, I don't trust him. I don't trust that he won't just fight for getting back what he needs and leave women exactly where they've always been. Where was he when we complained about getting 70¢ to a man's dollar? Where was he when single women couldn't get mortgages? Where was he when single mothers weren't given the flexibility to care for their children while earning a living? Where was he when rape culture engendered a society where one in four women are raped and relatively few men are made accountable for that?
If a man wants my solidarity, he owes me some first. Of course, not every male is guilty of ignoring the plight of women. But, the vast majority are and there is a need for demographic accountability and trust building. So, the good guys needs to reform the bad guys. And they all need to be marching in the streets about women's rights. They all need to standing up in public meetings speaking out against misogynistic legislation. They all need to be lining up at family planning clinics and facing down the hateful bullies who harass women there. When we see that happening, we'll start feeling the solidarity. Until then, when we experience the same gender dynamics in Occupy meetings that we've been experiencing all our lives; when we're asked to "explain" rather than being asked "show us a new way", we aren't feeling it.
If I'm feeling this as a woman and someone with a disability, I can only imagine how it feels for people of color, immigrants, transsexuals, indigenous peoples, queers, etc. We have so many categories of "other" which we use as an excuse for bigotry and violent oppression it boggles the mind.
So, here's the thing. If the movement is just about banks, it won't be very profound. Sure, we might cause some banks to go out of business. We might even get some kind of regulations which make us feel better about banking in this country. But, really, nothing will change. The mechanisms for exploitation may shift a bit. The Ruling Class may realize they have to be a little less blatant. But everything will be the same.
Unless we stop trying to co-opt a mechanism of imperialism - Occupy - and start engaging in the mechanism of sustainability - Decolonize. Our focus needs to be anti-oppression. We must start with ourselves. And the way to do that is to shift from protesting that which most impacted us toward standing up for the rights of others.
Occupy Anti-Oppression and become Decolonizers.
I'm in the midst of organizing a persistent protest of a bank. So, here I am thinking about all this stuff and I'm mobilizing people for the very thing I'm now thinking is backward thinking. Yikes.
It's not that I don't see the value in protesting the bank. We need to bring them down. Its more that I see a more sustainable approach in a different tack. The type of protest I'm helping to organize can be effective on a modular basis. That is, with groups of about 30-50 people who coordinate and commit to a persistent action. So, I'm not going to suggest to this group that they stop. I'll keep putting this together.
I'm going to see it as a beta test for this tactic. We can learn how to do it well. Then, we'll go for wellness. My next focus will be the Prison Industrial Complex. We need to shut that down. Moreover, we white folk need to let the people of color see that we care. That we'll stand up for them. That we'll take risks for them.
Once we've had a little street cred, maybe they'll feel trusting enough to see how we might work together.
I can only hope. Because the future of humanity is dependent upon us working together. I can't expect, though, that just because that's what is needed, that those whom they came for before me would have any reason to pin their futures on working with me. I must recognize the reality of the relationship. I must do something to make amends. I have had decades of realizations about this society and how it works. Studying for that MBA was a real wake up call. I graduated with highest honors. I then flatly rejected the capitalist way of being. I refused to be introduced to the venture capital firm which had ties to my school. I refused to interview with banks. I did not seek money for myself. I was determined to be of service. I was introduced to the notion of Servant Leadership.
"The servant-leader is servant first… It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions…The leader-first and the servant-first are two extreme types. Between them there are shadings and blends that are part of the infinite variety of human nature."
"The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant-first to make sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being served. The best test, and difficult to administer, is: Do those served grow as persons? Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? And, what is the effect on the least privileged in society? Will they benefit or at least not be further deprived?"
I set myself on a different track from many I knew. Yes, I was involved in businesses. But my concern was not money. My concern was being of service. I ran the first urban composting company in the US. Our mission was to restore the soils in the most environmentally blighted areas of the city. Those areas were, of course, the most economically disadvantaged. Our way of being was to operate on a human scale. As much as possible we avoided huge pieces of equipment and huge industrial-sized piles. It was a challenge and a blast. I still mourn the fact that the business is no more. Politics at play.
I owned a yarn store which I ran as a fiber arts community center. My goal was to convert it to a cooperatively owned enterprise connecting urban crafter to rural farmers and artisan producers. It was a space where people could come, sit, craft together, talk. A safe space of co-creativity. Unfortunately, I became too ill to maintain it. As I was getting sicker I wasn't myself. I lost hold of what I had set out to do. I still mourn that, too.
Still, while I was generating a different lifestyle, trying to instill different priorities in myself and those around me, I wasn't proactively speaking for those more oppressed than myself. I must always realize that nothing can make up for that silence. That it will always be my burden to be sensitive to the tentative bonds of any relationship we start to build; that as long as I am in a relatively more powerful demographic, I must bear relatively more responsibility. I must lay whatever sword I have at their feet and say, "tell me how to use this. Or show me another way." And take the blows which may come.
This is how the Occupy movement will go from flash in the pan to profound. Don't get out on the streets for yourself or your kin. Get out there for the sake of others. People you don't know. People who seem so different. The opposite of the bullying culture we have is one where we stand up for others. Nothing will build solidarity as quickly.
Who will you stand up for?
12:53 PM PT: PS: Will you vote for me to receive a scholarship to NN12?