Surviving Capitalism (Not) : Occupy Homes lauds a radical new phase for the movement

We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Occupy Homes lauds a radical new phase for the movement

Click here to access article by Jérôme E. Roos from Reflections on a Revolution.

...this Tuesday activists all over the United States will be taking the struggle indoors: to the homes of poor families who are under threat of being evicted by large and powerful Wall Street banks. The move from occupying public space to reclaiming private property marks a radical escalation of civil disobedience, striking the capitalist system right at its institutional heart.

Outside of New York City or San Francisco Bay Area, I am not sure that other Occupier activists are ready for this stage of activism--but, we shall see. It has to start sometime and somewhere in the US. On the other hand, we could just "throw in the towel", and pledge allegiance to the Empire and its global financial ruling class.

I am proud to report that Occupiers here in the Seattle area seem to be ready for this phase of the revolution. Read this piece entitled, "Occupied Warehouse on Capitol Hill!".

Let us be clear: this is only the beginning, a hint of what might come. If we are arrested, if we are removed from this building with guns in our faces and our hands bound behind our backs, it is neither unexpected nor a sign of failure. It is instead a sign that we constitute a real threat to capitalism and to the very concept of private property. There is no other option left but to recognize which side we are on. We say this not as martyrs, but as those who have chosen to live.