December 5, 2011 - Daily Blog (#OWS)

Occupy Wall Street Sign of the Day:

12:05 AM: New David Graeber piece - Situating Occupy:

Of course this could be the first moment in yet another round of recuperation and defeat. But if we are witnessing another 1789, a moment where our most basic assumptions about politics, economics, society, are about to be transformed – this is precisely how it would have to begin.

A bunch of great pieces emailed by friend of the blog, rjs:

12:12 AM: A timeline of #OWS, very cool (h/t rjs)...

12:16 AM: The Untouchables of Zuccotti (h/t rjs)...

12:25 AM: Angry Bear Blog on the cost of occupation is crushing opportunity (h/t rjs).

12:32 AM: Jane Mayer piece from last week.

12:43 PM: At the Occupy DC raid, a white shirt ordered a blue shirt to tase a protester and the blue shirt disboyed, refusing to use the taser.

1:02 AM: Super interesting article on the history of debt slavery....

1:10 AM: December 12th - West Coast port shutdown (this is a MUST watch - I LOVE Boots Riley)....



1:14 AM: This is old, but I just came across it and I LOVE Chris Hedges....





12:24 PM: From Rortybomb, excerpted:

It looks like the previously successful tactic - occupying public spaces across the nation - is starting to collapse. Local cities have cracked down on occupations, and that battle looks to be over. New fronts are opening up though, from universities to foreclosed homes.

This is how it is supposed to go. Economist and friend of the blog Suresh Naidu sent me the following chart, and it's a good one. The evolution of different tactics during the civil rights movement, 1955-1962, charted by frequency of occurrences:

[CHART at Rortybomb]


This chart is taken from Tactical Innovation and the Pace of Insurgency by the sociologist Doug McAdam, who summarizes it as follows:

Given a political system vulnerable to challenge and strong internal organization the main challenge confronting insurgents is a preeminently tactical one. Lacking institutionalized power, challengers must devise protest techniques that offset their powerlessness. This is referred to as a process of tactical innovation. Such innovations, however, only temporarily afford challengers increased bargaining leverage. In chess-like fashion, movement opponents can be expected...to neutralize the new tactic, thereby reinstituting the power disparty...

As these figures show, peaks in movement activity tend to correspond to the introduction and spread of new protest techniques. The pattern is a consistent one. The pace of insurgency jumps sharply following the introduction of a new tactical form, remains high for a period of time, and then begins to decline until another tactical innovation sets the pattern in motion again....

the sheer number of actions is highest immediately following the introduction of a new protest form, as is the proportion of all actions attributed to the new technique. Thus, tactical innovation appears to trigger a period of heightened protest activity dominated by the recently introduced protest technique...tactical innovation seems to stimulate the renewed usage of all tactical forms. Thus, for example, the economic boycott, largely abandoned after the bus boycotts, was often revived in the wake of the sit-in demonstrations as a means of intensifying the pressure...

It's a game between power and resistance. A strategy is innovation, to which institutionalized power reacts to counter. Power uses a variety of counter-innovations from co-option, discouragement to outright repression, which reduces the efficiency of that strategy. Because the tactic has used up its initial usefulness and because power has become adapt at countering it, new tactics have to be innovated.

Thus the advantages of the the Occupy movement - the creativity and energy of the participants, the permeability of the infrastructure in place - works towards this always evolving battle. I'd also argue that the lack of hierarchy, the regional and local characteristics of the movements and the lack of a platform help. If there's a specific policy goal and it collapses, it's harder to innovate a new front. Power is rigid and can control the framework of what is considered possible - the resistance has to be fluid and create a bigger vision than what is immediately doable.

Interesting note: future innovations raise the usage of all tactical forms - so if history is any guide, future innovations from Occupy can redouble efforts at previous ones, say public occupations.

Here's to many more tactical innovations.

1:13 PM: Occupy Homes - 12/6:


#OCCUPYOURHOMES #OWS #DECEMBER6 #D6 - GET THE WORD OUT from Rhodes Pictures on Vimeo.

2:01 PM: The salt march (They are not in control; we are) - h/t to my Mom:



2:08 PM: New Chris Hedges:

Let me tell you on this first Sunday in Advent, when we celebrate hope, when we remember in the church how Mary and Joseph left Nazareth for Bethlehem, why I am in Liberty Square. I am here because I have tried, however imperfectly, to live by the radical message of the Gospel. I am here because I know that it is not what we say or profess but what we do. I am here because I have seen in my many years overseas as a foreign correspondent that great men and women of moral probity arise in all cultures and all religions to fight the oppressor on behalf of the oppressed. I am here because I have seen that it is possible to be a Jew, a Buddhist, a Muslim, a Christian, a Hindu or an atheist and carry the cross. The words are different but the self-sacrifice and thirst for justice are the same. And these men and women, who may not profess what I profess or believe what I believe, are my brothers and sisters. And I stand with them honoring and respecting our differences and finding hope and strength and love in our common commitment.

2:28 PM: Police brutality resulting from Occupy LA eviction....

2:32 PM: A few items from Democracy Now!:

Police Arrest 31 at Occupy D.C.

Thirty-one people were arrested at the Occupy site in Washington, D.C., on Sunday after police dismantled a structure erected by protesters. Scuffles broke out after officers moved in on the structure while protesters remained on top, refusing to move. A demonstrator criticized the arrests.
Protester: "This should be a non-issue. Five people shouldn’t have been arrested already. What should have happened is they should have said, 'You know, this is larger than we intended when we gave you permission to build the structure.' They should have changed the stipulations on their rules, and then they should have come back in three days. But there’s no reason for this to be happening right now at all."

25 Killed in Syria; U.N. Human Rights Council Condemns Crackdown

At least 25 people were killed in Syria over the weekend in the ongoing crackdown on the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad. The clashes follow a vote on Friday by the United Nations Human Rights Council to condemn Syria for what it called "widespread, systematic and gross violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms."

British Court Rules Julian Assange Can Challenge Extradition

Britain’s Supreme Court has ruled WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange can appeal a lower court decision allowing his extradition to Sweden. Swedish authorities are seeking to question Assange about claims of rape and sexual assault, though he has not been formally charged.

Bradley Manning Attorneys Accuse U.S. of Withholding Key Evidence

Defense lawyers for the alleged U.S. Army whistleblower Private Bradley Manning are accusing the U.S. government of withholding key evidence that could help Manning’s defense at a pretrial hearing next week. Manning’s attorneys say U.S. officials are refusing to hand over internal government documents that assessed the impact of the release of thousands of diplomatic cables that Manning allegedly passed on to WikiLeaks. The U.S. government’s own analysts reportedly concluded the leaking of the cables posed little or no threat to national security. Manning’s hearing is set for December 16.

6:22 PM: At the 16:00 or so minute mark, Spencer (@OakFoSho) interviews the tree people, the last people to hold Occupy LA (police subsequently shoot them with bean bag rounds). I love the part where Spencer a/k/a @OakFoSho explains what they're saying and @OccupyFreedomLA says: "Is he wearing a crown?" (I just interviewed Spencer today and may try to expedite getting the interview posted because I'd like to get it up before the West Coast port shut down 12/12).



Quote of the Day

In due time the hour will strike and this great cause triumphant — the greatest in history — will proclaim the emancipation of the working class and the brotherhood of all mankind.
~ Eugene V. Debs