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Okay, I have to get this out
I read the Occupy TO Twitter feed and immediately felt like an irrelevant old fogey.
Part of it is because I'm in an extraordinarily bad mood, compounded by the fact that sickness and circumstances are preventing me from participating as much as I'd like. But part of it is attributable to a hipster mindset of hearing things that I and fellow windmill-tilters have been saying for years. Today, for example, is the 10th anniversary of another Bay Street occupation in Toronto, after which we were derided as anarchists and terrorists for making the same critiques as Occupy Together is mostly lauded for.
And part of it is just that there's so much self-congratulation and so little analysis. For example, most of the Twitter feed is people talking about love, but then there's this:
O RLY? Because here's what a Metis activist on Facebook had to say:
I'm almost positive that these were the guys that I mentioned in my public post about the march. (I saw very few First Nations people at the march and occupation; two small groups had flags, but the one guy had a megaphone.) They had valuable contributions that were shut down in the name of symbolism. So much love and multiculturalism!
Another exchange between long-time activists:
Which was the problem, too, back when I used to be involved in anarchist groups. Like Occupy, we were primarily white, privileged, and young. We did a terrible job of engaging marginalized communities or supporting their frequently less glamorous struggle, even while we paid them lip service. We were students of history, emulating the methods and imagery of turn-of-the-century movements, but we had little connection with older generations of activists, who we tended to deride as sectarian and irrelevant. Now I feel like one of those old sectarians myself, though, of course, I will continue to participate, and my criticisms will be kept private to avoid detracting from the people actually putting their bodies on the line.
Don't get me wrong. I'm so glad Occupy is happening. Even if I have critiques, it's already so much more than I ever imagined I'd see in my lifetime. But if it's going to work, there has to be linkages made between existing social movements, especially the struggles of people of colour and immigrant communities, First Nations, and stodgy boring old labour. Until that happens, it might look like a revolution, but it's still a protest that stayed up past its bedtime.
Part of it is because I'm in an extraordinarily bad mood, compounded by the fact that sickness and circumstances are preventing me from participating as much as I'd like. But part of it is attributable to a hipster mindset of hearing things that I and fellow windmill-tilters have been saying for years. Today, for example, is the 10th anniversary of another Bay Street occupation in Toronto, after which we were derided as anarchists and terrorists for making the same critiques as Occupy Together is mostly lauded for.
And part of it is just that there's so much self-congratulation and so little analysis. For example, most of the Twitter feed is people talking about love, but then there's this:
For the first time in #CanadianHistory, the different cultures off this nation (incl. 1st nations ppl) found a common voice in #SOLIDARITY
O RLY? Because here's what a Metis activist on Facebook had to say:
I was disgusted 5 minutes after I showed up to Occupy. Some "marshall" walked up to a Native warrior group that had brought a flag and megaphone to speak and the fellow demanded that they do the "people's mic" nonsense. I have no idea what my cousins wanted to say but they had no chance to say it. I tried to catch up so I could film or ask them but I couldn't walk fast enough and they left before the march began. I suspect they wanted to talk about "de-colonizing" and what's wrong with occupying occupied land. I'm not impressed.
I'm almost positive that these were the guys that I mentioned in my public post about the march. (I saw very few First Nations people at the march and occupation; two small groups had flags, but the one guy had a megaphone.) They had valuable contributions that were shut down in the name of symbolism. So much love and multiculturalism!
Another exchange between long-time activists:
M: "its like every time new people join the movement they have to go through the same dumb stages. They seem to be learning fairly quickly ."
A: "why wouldn't you expect new people to go through the learning process?"
M: "I would expect them too. But reading a book or maybe talking to someone experienced would help them get through a lot quicker. or thinking for a second- 100% consensus is clearly never going to happen, which would be obvious is someone thought about it in detail for a few minutes"
Which was the problem, too, back when I used to be involved in anarchist groups. Like Occupy, we were primarily white, privileged, and young. We did a terrible job of engaging marginalized communities or supporting their frequently less glamorous struggle, even while we paid them lip service. We were students of history, emulating the methods and imagery of turn-of-the-century movements, but we had little connection with older generations of activists, who we tended to deride as sectarian and irrelevant. Now I feel like one of those old sectarians myself, though, of course, I will continue to participate, and my criticisms will be kept private to avoid detracting from the people actually putting their bodies on the line.
Don't get me wrong. I'm so glad Occupy is happening. Even if I have critiques, it's already so much more than I ever imagined I'd see in my lifetime. But if it's going to work, there has to be linkages made between existing social movements, especially the struggles of people of colour and immigrant communities, First Nations, and stodgy boring old labour. Until that happens, it might look like a revolution, but it's still a protest that stayed up past its bedtime.
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I've been an activist for a long time (but also been out of it a long time and just started the process of getting back into being truly active in an activist and community organizing sense) but I can never truly get over the way that a kind of arrogance, impatience, impertinence and all around ableism affects our movement (did I just use the bloody phrase "our movement? Rly?)
I'm not sure I'm expressing it well Sabs but I know that a lot of mentally and emotionally diverse people I know have a lot to share. They have ideas of making a beautiful and just world but just communicate differently(which I'm told is also very true of a whole bunch of different cultural backgrounds and upbringings where communication happens so very differently and on different levels etc). It makes me wonder why and how (in a bad sense) all our cycles are so reinforcing.
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