Occupy Movement: We’re Here To Stay In 2012
WASHINGTON, D.C. (CBS Washington) – The Occupy movement has taken a backseat in the national spotlight after a controversial rise to prominence last year as protesters clashed with police and stayed in public parks across the nation for months.
But while it might be all quiet on the Occupy front for now, that doesn’t mean the group won’t make its voice heard once again in 2012.
“In 2012, we’re going to transition into having more events that are actually designed to show people how to occupy and organize within their communities, to improve situations on a day-to-day basis,” Mark Bray, a member of the Occupy Wall Street press team, told CBS Washington.
The movement began on Sept. 17 of last year, with roots in New York City’s Financial District. The location was chosen for maximum impact, to get the attention of Wall Street by occupying nearby Zuccotti Park. From there, the movement spread, and occupations sprang up throughout the United States, as well as internationally.
“For the first three months, our actions were designed to raise awareness of economic injustice and inequality … poverty and so forth. In my opinion, we saw a good amount of success,” Bray said, adding that this foundation allows the movement to morph and change into something that is simultaneously more motivational and less sensational. “In the long run, we want the movement to have less to do with what’s going on in lower Manhattan, to be less about the big, catchy things.”
One of the more headline-grabbing elements of the Occupy movement was the gradual increase in tension between protesters and local law enforcement agencies, with protesters decrying brutality while police officers defended their actions.
An especially notable and visually recognizable example occurred Nov. 18 during an Occupy protest at the University of California, Davis when an officer was photographed and videotaped using pepper spray on a line of seated protesters.
The incident became something of a defining moment for the movement as documentation of it quickly went viral, aiding in giving Occupy new life despite widespread encampment evictions and arrests.
Occupy Wall Street hopes to cultivate branch initiatives, such as Occupy Our Homes and Occupy Student Debt, as well as to create new niche activist groups that focus on economic issues such as labor union organization.
“We want to make Occupy something where people don’t feel passive, to get engaged and to work with (government),” Bray said, alluding to more visual, public demonstrations in the future and adding that he hopes these models will promote proactive citizenry and hyper-localized applications.
The Occupy movement is also looking to makes its voice heard leading up to the 2012 election.
Occupy D.C. is starting the election year by organizing a D.C.-based movement called Occupy Congress. The group says it wants to teach Congress “a lesson in what democracy looks like” when members return from recess.
“Though our grievances are many, the common theme that runs through them will be amplified on the steps of Capitol Hill: corporations, special interests and money from the autocratic elite has created a government that is unwilling to govern for the people,” a release on the movement’s website states. “Activists who cannot join us will occupy Congress’ phone lines and email inboxes [sic], making sure their representatives hear their voices.”
Bray concurred with the movement’s frustration with government, but was also quick to stress the non-partisan nature of their frustration.
“We see ourselves as a social movement, not a political party or advocacy group,” he said, adding that people who participate in Occupy bring to the table a wide range of political views and backgrounds. “People can vote, or not vote, for whomever they want. We’re not trying to tell people what to do about that. We’re trying to organize people around the issues.”
Though the movement is staying neutral, prominent figures in the election have publicly offered their opinions.
President Barack Obama lent a safe measure of support to the Occupy movement in its early days.
Meanwhile, prominent figures in the GOP presidential primary race have also weighed in on the Occupy movement, their reactions ranging from politically correct disapproval to flagrant castigation.
Perhaps most memorable was the response from GOP presidential candidate and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, who was quoted as saying that protesters should “go get a job right after (they) take a bath” during the Thanksgiving Family Forum, a GOP candidate roundtable held late last year.
Bray also noted the economic implications of elections themselves, stating that it’s “the nature of the game” to play ball with large corporations and fiscally powerful entities to add clout and power to election campaigns.
“If you really look at the history of American social movement, when an outside group leverages a politician, that’s when you get change,” Bray stated. “Government wasn’t falling over itself to enact civil rights legislation in the 1960s.”
Occupy Movement: We’re Here To Stay In 2012 « CBS Washington
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