Comments on: Occupy Has Generated a Multitude of Activist Networks

By: ORSANS

ORSANS — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 17:05:58 +0000

Yes this happened in North Africa, Spain and globally after occupy. I think these new experiences just added on the Zapatista and social forum experiences. What is really good is that the course of things has changes. Every body knows now that there is almost 100% certainty about something big is coming up. 15M and Occupy was just the tip of the iceberg. This thing, what ever it is evolving into, is growing and spreading. With the awakening of Zapatista and giant indigenous movement Idle No More, Yo Soy 132 in Mexico we can expect to see something shocking and awing in a positive sense, horrifying for the 1%. This call for European Spring (http://www.facebook.com/events/149675178522571/?notif_t=plan_user_invited) and the form it will take, and this gathering of all horizontal new movements towards, around and beyond the World Social Forum in Tunis in March (http://www.global-square.net/about/) might be giving the signals of what is ahead of us! Again it doesn’t matter what is looks like or called, what is important that it is coming and every body know it is coming. More the 1%…

By: Markus Petz

Markus Petz — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 05:36:32 +0000

Interesting that it is seen to have achieved something. Over here in Europe the main thing it seems to have done is to become an internet meme that people used to highlight there was an issue. SO stick the word Occupy in front of something.

Occupy yourself, Occupy reality and occupy X!

It does not seem to have achieved anything else. Sure there are some people that came into activism – as there will always be new people at any event or happening that has a lot of commitment (its a moot point if they would not have come in anyway through Rainbows, Cultural Creative type societal shifts or Stop the War movements in the case of Occupy). But real change? Nope I can see all these things about the movement in the Alterglobalization, the works of Negri, Klein, Hawken and others years ago where there was a talk of the Movement of Movememts.

As for now I see what happened in the Arab Spring, the Indignantes in Spain or protest movements in Greece as predating the Occupy brand and doing pretty much the same thing. If not deeper and more connected.

The only 2 things that might be significant are this homeless rights and less frisking by the police. And I would want to wait maybe a year and see if things REALLY changed on that score.

TO my mind if Occupy is to be successful they must move the Overton Window or at least prompt a different solution than was being conceived by the political elites.

Perhaps that is a too harsh view? I do think activism is important and have been very engaged in actions for well over a decade. The USA has a long history of spawing movements that have been instrumental in world change making: Rainbow Family of Living Light, Friends of the Earth being 2 I have interacted with, BUT as of yet I do not see Occupy transforming in the way these or others have.

By: Ree

Ree — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 05:02:23 +0000

As being an activist of Occupy Houston, I can confirm that other activist groups have been created from different arms of Occupy. For example, Occupy Houston, along with other activist groups in Houston have created a group called the Peaceful Street Project-Houston. Which this group goes out once a month and ensures that various citizens are not violated, harassed or brutalized by Houston police. This being done because Houston Police have been under fire for randomly shooting different citizens for little to no good reason-bottom line, it’s a result of being trigger happy. This is just one example of groups branching out of Occupy. There are hundreds more across the nation. So while the gov’t might assume Occupy is dead, we’re not. We’ve woven our way into other groups including Occupy that allow us more power to fight this corrupted system.