As "Occupy" borders have blurred, the movement has continued through various working groups, and throuh forming coalitions--probably the most promising way to bring in new people and reach out to the wider community.
The GA became a useless appendage for a number of reasons... but not to be overlooked, that it's function as a central 'branding tool' was no longer relevant or needed. There are aspects of the dispersal of energy that I think are more a sign of health than not--that "Occupy" was NOT going to be institutionalized, not going to be co-opted, but has continued to manifest itself as a MOVEMENT evolving into its changing identities, rather than clinging to any one definition--which is how institutions both PRESERVE themselves... and cease to be other than institutions contained within the framework of the established order.... DEAD as movements. Fund raising being one of the most deadly infections in that process.
I find it noteworthy that just at the point when Occupy Philly was on the edge of most needing to raise money to carry out working group projects, secure bail funds, etc--the very working groups that would have benefited from a more centralized structure--struck out on their own paths. Those we have lost along the way have been, for the most part, those most wedded to a belief in reform, to the usefulness of influencing electoral politics, to concerns about image and the media & approval by authority--and who were not yet comfortable with any kind of vision that could see PAST existing structures of power.
So, in terms of numbers, we've been reduced to a core... but a very active and dedicated core, still using consensus, still non-violent in the broader sense (another group lost--those with a residual 'pacifist' notion of non-violence, who were uncomfortable with militant, deliberate confrontation)... and, like I said--forging all kinds of new alliances.
Lets build on what maybe we didn't plan on, but holds its own kind of promise. I love the idea of 'vision' but vision needs to be evolutionary, constantly changing, not a template to be nailed down to.
The GA became a useless appendage for a number of reasons... but not to be overlooked, that it's function as a central 'branding tool' was no longer relevant or needed. There are aspects of the dispersal of energy that I think are more a sign of health than not--that "Occupy" was NOT going to be institutionalized, not going to be co-opted, but has continued to manifest itself as a MOVEMENT evolving into its changing identities, rather than clinging to any one definition--which is how institutions both PRESERVE themselves... and cease to be other than institutions contained within the framework of the established order.... DEAD as movements. Fund raising being one of the most deadly infections in that process.
I find it noteworthy that just at the point when Occupy Philly was on the edge of most needing to raise money to carry out working group projects, secure bail funds, etc--the very working groups that would have benefited from a more centralized structure--struck out on their own paths. Those we have lost along the way have been, for the most part, those most wedded to a belief in reform, to the usefulness of influencing electoral politics, to concerns about image and the media & approval by authority--and who were not yet comfortable with any kind of vision that could see PAST existing structures of power.
So, in terms of numbers, we've been reduced to a core... but a very active and dedicated core, still using consensus, still non-violent in the broader sense (another group lost--those with a residual 'pacifist' notion of non-violence, who were uncomfortable with militant, deliberate confrontation)... and, like I said--forging all kinds of new alliances.
Lets build on what maybe we didn't plan on, but holds its own kind of promise. I love the idea of 'vision' but vision needs to be evolutionary, constantly changing, not a template to be nailed down to.
