“Grass Roots Revolution Gone Worldwide Not a Success?”
Jennifer Lawson-Zepeda
What did the Occupy movement accomplish? This is a question that many across the world are asking now that many of the encampments have been torn down.
Certainly, the opposition loves to quote figures on how much the movement cost taxpayers. They offer escalated figures in lawn replacement (not mentioning the fact that people from the movement volunteered to redo landscaping), garbage collection, even wearing Hazmat uniforms to implant the idea that the people in the movement were subhuman and filthy. This was an excellent propaganda attempt to discredit the OCCUPY movement, but what did this movement really accomplish?Since 2001, it was one of the first movements that unified people worldwide to fight a rather quiet movement of many elite financiers who have created legislation to control the masses. OCCUPY was a grass roots attempt, but it sprung up like wild fire and frightened the social elite throughout the world; enough so that they worked hard to manipulate the press to cover it with some of the dirtiest yellow journalism we’ve seen. The sheer numbers of protesters that turned out influenced some rather positive changes, at least in the U.S.
- In the U.S. banks suddenly withdrew their efforts to add service fees for using debit cards…even Bank of America, who took a hardline until the end.
- In a few cases, home loans were renegotiated when foreclosure seemed eminent, saving one more family from living in the street.
- The homeless suddenly became a part of the political process and had a voice that was heard.
- An entire world woke up and took on the wealthy financiers who are controlling world economies and the financiers heard them.
- And the fact that many countries like the U.S. have become a police state was exposed, when the police came out in droves to hold back the movement at the cost of taxpayers, not the wealthy elite who were pulling the strings.
Inside the U.S. the Tea Party movement was suddenly alive with propaganda that the OCCUPY movement was filled with criminals, homeless people, substance abusers, rapists…you name it. They couldn’t wait to expose the fringe players that joined encampments and brought problems, much as fringe players join NFL football games and get arrested; or join parades and get arrested. Instead of acknowledging the fact that in big cities at all public venues there are always people arrested for an array of things, they made it their focus in an attempt to spread propaganda about the movement. But what about their blue-haired old ladies screaming racist slogans at Obama? What about their fringe rebel rousers carryiing racist literature. Should we judge their entire movement by these people?
The OCCUPY movement also brought out students asking for universities to stop raising their tuition. It brought out the masses who were fed up with the wealthy getting Bush’s tax cuts until 2012. It brought out the silent majority and it brought them out in huge numbers. And the ones that didn’t march showed support by honking their horns or other ways. So is this a success? I would say it is.
When you have countries like the U.S. suddenly working to beef up their police forces in anticipation of riots from unfair taxation and representation by politicians doing the bidding of the wealthy elite instead of the average taxpayer, and the masses move into the streets, you have the beginnings of a revolution.
The U.S. 2012 election will tell the whole story of how fed up America is. And maybe now, the Justice Department will begin arresting some of the key executive players in banks like Citicorp, Bank of America, Lehman Brothers and others who have been instrumental in destroying the U.S. economy by hiding illegal banking practices.
Jennifer Lawson-Zepeda’s focuses her abstract art and writing around cross-border relations, and socio-political stories of Hispanics. Her writing has been published in: Moondance, Boom! For real – Better Non Sequitur, SoMA Literary Review, Events Quarterly, Excess Compassion and Eclectica Magazine. In December of 2010, she published her first novel, “Anastasia and the Cuban” with Siren Bookstrand. http://lawsonzepeda.blogspot.com/
Is grassroots-revolution a failure?
It’s too early to tell.
Thanks for the commentary, Jen. My thoughts on Occupy were shared on Karla’s story.
However, I think that the point is true–that there is no failure, because this movement made people think, it forced the 100% to take note of what was happening. I think it’s a great effort, regardless of whether it produces the effects we want. It’s actually quite inspiring to know that so many Americans actually do care about what’s happening in the world, and are not blind to injustice.
I the “occupy” movement a failure? I say yes.
The reasons:
1. The movement does not address the real problem – that being the existence of a monopoly on force that makes exploitation of a working class possible in the first place.
2. The state has already declared them “terrorists” (see here for details: http://open.salon.com/blog/dennis_loo/2009/06/14/dod_training_manual_protests_are_low-level_terrorism ) – thus the state has no intention of seriously negotiating with these people. It’s just a matter of time before the power monopoly decides that it has tolerated their expressions of dissent long enough and takes the gloves off: it won’t be long until any public protest (“occupy” or otherwise) will be met with a hail of live ammunition from the state’s paramilitaries – after all, they’re “fighting terrorists.”
3. These people are simply not cut out for a prolonged conflict with the state – they have no training in the arts of war and no weapons to fight back. And when all is said and done, the only thing that a monopoly on force understands is force: peaceful demonstrations only go so far by themselves (they lead to temporary modification in the expoiters’ policies at *best*) and elections are rigged to ensure no genuine revolutionary will ever hold office (only the corrupt get anywhere in the world of politics) – thus all revolutions come down to an exchange of blows eventually, and these people don’t have the wherewithall for such an thing.
I agree that the Occupy movement did wake up a lot of awareness to existing problems and create a voice for articulating them. I think it’s far too early to say they will ultimately fail. When you begin drawing in cross-sections of society, you begin seeing a lot of demographic diversity. The seats of power and control are certainly not going to relinquish their thrones without a fight, but other areas still retaining visions of idealistic governance, will. There will probably be a shifting of allies on all levels of public support, which will also be interesting.
Lines are being drawn, but the rest tests haven’t come yet, mainly because all the players in this new era drama haven’t taken their places yet. Prepare for the worst, but hope for the best, because better has been, in fact, envisioned. And that is another thing the Occupy movement has given us; a goal worth striving for.
When something wakes up an entire country and makes them talk about change, it is a public relations success, if not a complete success. The movement has awoken the apathetic of America…and for that alone it was a success. But in revealing that the U.S. has now become a police state? Nothing proved it better. Now, we can vote out legislators that support further police actions against our citizens. It’s on us if we do it or not.
@Jennifer, I agree. Anything that brings attention to a cause is both worthwhile and a success. Even if we don’t like the cause or issue I think we can agree that being aware of it makes the movement successful.
This Occupy movement which we all like to Monday morning Quarterback has gotten our attention, worldwide. If we are thinking of ways to do things better and conversing about it, so much the better.
I just want to point out that many people in this country were happy for years to vote these kind of people in. Now all of a sudden they wake up and see the mess tey themselves hve put themselves in. Stupidity hurts.