[lbo-talk] State of the Occupations

[Carrol Cox]

I was one of many who on this list and elsewhere who proclaimed loudly
within weeks of the first Occupation that already at that time, whether or
not the Occupations fizzled out, they were already a complete and
unqualified victory for left causes. (I had also claimed, and would repeat
now, that Wisconsin was also a victory.) Working-class movements are
episodic, they never proceed smoothly with a progressive unfolding of the
initial expression. Who could predict that the Montgomery Bus Boycott would
produce the Free Speech Movement, the giant anti-war demos in D.C., and the
Gay Revolt, and the drive for an ERA? Clearly no connection among these
events. Hah.

OWS has had and continues to have world-wide reverberations, most of which
are visible only to the local activists building on the opening created. No
one can predict (or even try to predict) what will be the next highly
visible 'event' or campaign with its roots in Wisconsin and/or OWS.

The East Remains Red.

Carrol

-----Original Message-----
From: lbo-talk-bounces at lbo-talk.org [mailto:lbo-talk-bounces at lbo-talk.org]
On Behalf Of Jordan Carroll
Sent: Thursday, February 09, 2012 10:42 AM
To: lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org
Subject: [lbo-talk] State of the Occupations

There seems to be a disconnect between the current conversation and what's
going on right now within the occupations. Or, at least, the conversation
seems to be looking backward, toward the initial flourishing of the
occupations. I can't speak for what's happening for all of the occupies,
but I know that Occupy Sacramento abandoned any sustained presence at Cesar
Chavez park a long time ago and still holds a sizable contingent of
libertarian capitalists, while Occupy UC Davis only boasts a few tents and
seems to have fractured after a particularly contentious, autonomous
action. The occupations aren't as cohesive or well-attended as they were in
the fall, despite fairly warm weather, a massive outpouring of support and
the non-interference of the police after the pepper spray incident.* Am I
correct in my assessment? Why is this the case and what should be done? It
seems like these are maybe more critical questions than whether
Marxist-Leninists on the Internet are "just jealous" of anarchists'
unqualified success.

We can say that this the natural progression of the movement, but we've yet
to see an organizational form, anarchist or otherwise, that can hold a
public space in the face of consistent police repression or even,
apparently, hold the dispersed constituents of the movement together in
long-term collective struggle. While we might pretend that these aren't
necessary - that whatever atomized and dispersed groupuscles that come
after this are somehow carrying out the spirit of occupation -- occupying
space and bringing disparate groups together under "the 99%" are what set
Occupy apart from previous protests.

* Though there is good news: the Occupiers here have shut down US Bank
everyday for weeks with no one stopping them!

-- 
Best,

Jordan
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