[lbo-talk] New issue of Jacobin out

[shag carpet bomb]

SA's article presents a different understanding of OWS in NYC than
I've read. From the beginning, according to a number of accounts
already posted here, there were union activists involved during the
summer planning, and one of the first working groups was outreach,
which cultivated ties with Verizon workers, nurse's unions, pilot's
union, etc. I have a friend from high school, belongs to a union and
has some rather staid, conservative ideas most things. HE's been all
for Occupy Wall St since Sept 22. I asked him why and he said that it
was because of the outreach OWSers had been doing. They sent
emissaries to explain what they were doing and to forge alliances from
the beginning and the union helped push the line that they should
support OWS, much as they push the line about who to vote for.

Certainly there are anti-union activisits and many are anti-union
(especially hierarchical unions) but it seems unusual to paint them
this way, as if the union members just showed up the night Bloomie
Blinked because they were simply being good sports. They came out
because of the active work of OWS activists who cultivated that
support.

Also, why an article that doesn't mention the General Strikes in
Oakland where, reading Boots Riley and others involved, the point of
the GS was to revive a tradition that existed prior to Taft-Hartley.
That's been central to the story, the raison d'etre of organizing it
to begin with.

Relatedly, the strand of West Coast thought on Occupations is
precisely an argument about defying norms and laws regarding what
counts as property - how we use it property and the social relations
surrounding it. So I guess I'm doubly not getting the charge that
Occupations don't understand the need to challenge private property.

Indeed, if I'm remembering correctly, wasn't the the whole point of
the occupation at Zuccotti in the first place? There was a recent
article posted here or in N+1 perhaps, detailing the activities of the
guy who scouted the property in the first place? They wanted to do
something defiantly different with public property which is no small
task, as we know. But they can hardly be faulted for electing not to
occupy private property (like a mall or a walmart)  to disrupt
production when they started out with about 60 people. You have to
build support first, which they did and continue to do.

http://jacobinmag.com/winter-2012/the-strike-and-its-enemies/

<> Is it on the newstand in DC because, really, I'd love to go get it at
<> a newsstand. Even better than getting a copy in my hands via mail.
<> Just something about, to me, buying it on the stand. It always meant
<> luxury, that I had enough to buy rather than read it at the library.
<>
<>
<> <> Bhaskar Sunkara <bhaskar.sunkara at gmail.com> writes:
<> <>
<> <>> The new issue of *Jacobin *is out. Most of the essays are
<> available
<> <>> online,
<> <>> but if you're feeling especially cheap and really want to read
<> <>> something
<> <>> that's not, hit me up and I'll send you the .pdf...
<> <>
<> <> I prefer the newsstand version, but I'd like to take a look at the
<> <> PDF.
<> <>
<> <> Solid,
<> <> Billy
<> <> ___________________________________
<> <> http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk
<> <>
<>
<>
<> --
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<> Wear Clean Draws
<> ('coz there's 5 million ways to kill a CEO)
<>
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<>

-- 
http://cleandraws.com
Wear Clean Draws
('coz there's 5 million ways to kill a CEO)