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Occupy Wall Street Meets Occupy Detroit
Blog
By Tommy Nugent for Occupy Detroit Media OWS Represented at Occupy Detroit
OWS members came from New York on a solidarity tour that will roll through Cleveland and Pittsburgh later this week. Credit: Diara Lo
Representatives from Occupy Wall Street were introduced to the Saturday Occupy Detroit General Assembly. Detroit is the first stop on the inaugural OWS Solidarity Tour, which will roll through the Cleveland and Pittsburgh Occupies on its way back to NYC later this week.
After the noon General Assembly, three of the four visitors sat down in L.A.X. with about a dozen Occupy Detroiters for a conversation. Justin (originally from Royal Oak), Preach, and George discussed similarities and differences between the occupations in New York City and Detroit, offering encouragement and food for thought.
Aside from the size of the two occupations, perhaps the biggest difference has been the interaction between protestors and the police. While Detroit police have essentially left the local movement alone, more than 700 New York protestors were famously arrested during the October 1 march across the Brooklyn Bridge.
That action was a deliberate “agitation” that successfully broke through the media blackout that had been in place. “We forced them to confront us. We welcome the confrontation, that’s when people will listen,” Preach explained. “An occupation is not a permitted picnic. It’s the taking of something that should be yours,” Justin added along with the caveat that “confrontation is not the same thing as escalation.”
The visitors listed Unity, Communication, and Strategy as the keys to building a successful movement. Justin believes “the only thing that can tear apart this movement is itself.” He also stressed the importance of “creating compelling narratives” and sharing stories and interviews through twitter, videos and print. George emphasized the need to be strategic, warning, “You will get destroyed moving haphazardly.”
The friendly back and forth lasted more than an hour, touching upon many subjects.
Preach explained the importance of Detroit to the global movement – “when they saw they could [destabilize unions] in Detroit, they started doing it everywhere!”
George closed the meeting letting us know, “You are on the map. People are looking at your city, people are paying attention. Detroit is the Mecca of the American work force. If it ain’t coming back here, everybody else is gonna get the signal. And now they know it. They’re listening. Trust me. I just want to encourage you – you have tons of friends and family all around the country.”