[WS:] This is very encouraging indeed. This is what I learned when I was a "dissident in training" in the network associated with the Workers' Defence Committee (KOR) in Poland http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workers%27_Defence_Committee . One of the biggest obstacle for the opposition movement at that time was a distrust between intelligentsia and workers. The distrust was of course socially rooted, as most members of the intelligentsia resented to be put on an equal footing with "the proles" - but it was fueled by the government use of goon squads (members were recruited mainly from the working class) to beat back student protesters in 1968. I distinctly remember many students and intellectuals failing to join the 1971 protest (based in the working class) and saying "you should have joined us in 1968." However, after 1976 protests (again based in the working class) prominent dissident intellectuals "connected" to the working class movement by forming KOR, which basically provided legal and social assistance to workers persecuted for their protest activities, and quickly grew in size and scope thus initiating a much larger "Solidarity" movement.
One of my biggest surprises after getting off the boat on this side of the pond was the fragmentation and factionalism of social movements here. After talking talking about 15 minutes to some dissident figure, I could generally expect to buy subscription to some obscure publication which, I was told, was closer to the revolutionary truth than other similar looking publications. At the same time, college protest actions focused on revealing 'stream of consciousness," staging demos in front of local politician offices, and refusing to engage in anything that smacked of joining a labor action. Granted, this was Santa Cruz, CA - but I suspect things were not than much different elsewhere.
My ex, who was far more radical than I and eventually went into union organizing for a while, complained about the same thing - albeit her beef was mainly with AFL-CIO "male dinosaur" types who offender her feminist sensibilities. I had high hopes that Tony Mazzochi's Labor Party would break the impasse, but it fizzled out quite quickly.
As I said time and again on this list, I became quire weary of protest actions aimed at the state (from peace to police brutality) which I see as an idée fixe of the American public discourse. in fact, as i was checking out for Occupy activities in DC and found that one of central themes was some anti-war crap, I lost interest.
So to sum it up, I am not very much interested in any movement that does not embody a unity of action between organized labor and "civil society" groups (movements, progressive organizations, etc.) and focusing primarily on economic and work-related issues. The anarchists and their talk about non-hierarchical forms of organization may be a good subject of after dinner talks, but it don't think this has much relevance to the real life issues facing by the great majority of people who work for a living. And anti-statist rants really turn me off. So the development you report in Detroit is is an encouraging sign, indeed. I sincerely hope this trend continues.
Wojtek
On Thu, Nov 17, 2011 at 12:31 PM, c b <cb31450 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Nicholas Roberts
>
>
> the Occupy movement needs to get organized, needs to connect with
> existing movements that could do with a jolt of energy and new people,
> some risk takers
>
> ^^^
> CB: This is exactly what the Occupation did in Detroit. It provided
> fresh troops and energy for our standing Left activist movements.
> First demo was with our longstanding "Moratorium on Foreclosures" at
> Bank of America. Then weekly demos with Welfare Rights against recent
> Tea Party cuts to welfare. Then they joined a local protest against
> lacking bus service, right there with the bottom of the 99%. For me
> it has been like a reunion seeing some activists I haven't seen for
> years at demos. These Occupation people are highly organized. They
> were feeding the homeless three meals a day and had a standing medical
> tent, all the while holding dozens of working group meetings and
> actions on progressive issues. It has been like the US Social Forum (
> which was last held in Detroit) moving from theoretical discussion to
> action, action, action based on theory. Who said without
> revolutionary theory there can be no revolutionary movement ( smiles).
> They got revolutionary theory. All hail the Occupation !
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