Let me urge the occupiers to ignore the usual carping that besets powerful social movements in their earliest phases. Yes, you could be better organised, your demands more focused, your priorities clearer. All true, but in this moment, mostly irrelevant. Here is the key: if we want a mass and deep-rooted social movement of the left to re-emerge and transform the United States, we must welcome the many different streams, needs, desires, goals, energies and enthusiasms that inspire and sustain social movements. Now is the time to invite, welcome and gather them, in all their profusion and confusion.
Having just heard an NPR interviewer try to force the protesters to make a “simple” demand that can be spectacularized, I'm happy to read this.
3 comments:
I'll be there, trumpet in hand. I want to see if we can do a nice version of "Joshua at the battle of Jericho. . . and the walls came tumbling down." Also, "Get up, stand up . . . "
I absolutely agree that we can't alienate too much too quickly. We need them to feel welcome, because they are. It would be fool-hardy though to put off this alienation for too long, because then we (maybe not you or me) begin to argue for how things really aren't that bad (if it weren't for those BAD APPLES "corrupting" government) and turn regular people's expressions of alienation around against them and make them personal (i.e. envy).
Ross, dude--your twitter account is compromised by some kind of bot.
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