Occupy

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Ioz has a reply to the anti-black-bloc trend...


http://whoisioz.blogspot.com/2012/02/keep-off-grass.html

I have noticed a distinctive tut-tutting beat emanating from the lofty lefty backline--beware the black bloc, whatever that is.  The formulation is telling:

By renouncing violence against persons or property, Occupy would enhance its appeal to the disabled and people of color, who have good reason to stay away from volatile confrontations. By isolating those who seize the spotlight by smashing things, it can prevent them from trampling the ethos of a brilliantly leaderless movement.

Did you notice that neat pirouette from persons to property, from volatile confrontations (oh my!) to the smashing of mere things.  Lemme axe you: how does a movement with an ethos of occupation not enact violence against property?

Violence is the tool of the CoN.  If you resort to violence, you're playing on THEIR terms, on THEIR turf.  You are as likely to win at that, as you are at a game of Three Card Monty.

THIS.

[Cramulus]

I can dig it, violence is definitely the wrong way to incentivize positive change. I can't help but taste the subtle tang of irony though... because the ultimate aims of occupy are to do violence to a system, to smash a hierarchy, to overthrow archons, to strain and twist the existing relationships of power... Just, you know, conceptually violent, not physically violent.

[Chairman Risus]

I can dig it, violence is definitely the wrong way to incentivize positive change. I can't help but taste the subtle tang of irony though... because the ultimate aims of occupy are to do violence to a system, to smash a hierarchy, to overthrow archons, to strain and twist the existing relationships of power... Just, you know, conceptually violent, not physically violent.

So would this be right? The aim is to disrupt the game, not be a disruption within it. Something like streakers, as opposed to someone playing who could be penalized. (Feel free to improve on the metaphor.)
I'm strained to think of some thing that was inherently important to such a system that could be destroyed that would have a serious effect of said system.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

incentivize positive change.

ATTN, BOSS:

STOP POSSESSING CRAM.

THANKS.

[Rococo Modem Basilisk]

Thoughts on occupation as a tactic: it started out great because it's confusing and difficult to counter in the way the best neosituationist fucking-with-the-squares tactics initially were (putting flowers in guns, etc). It was clearly intended to say something, but at the same time it wasn't something that justified violent closures. (Some of the current crop of neosituationist protest mechanisms fail to grasp that not getting arrested -- or at least making it so that if you are arrested very few people will think it's justified -- is a big part of the draw) However, I think it's ceased to be useful as a tactic on account of being internalized and categorized (just like drum circles did).

On the other hand, the tent city in New Haven just celebrated its fourth month of existence. It's been below freezing all day, and there's been some snowfall in the past few months. It looks like they aren't going anywhere, but they haven't really been protesting either: I think they're just turning into an intentional community sitting there on the green.

Tangentially related to the talk of 'working class versus middle class' in american political speech

[Cain]

Agreed.  It's a good solid opening tactic, but occupation is not a strategy (as the Bush administration found out to their dismay, pwn3d!121! etc).

What is a strategy?  I'm not sure.  Most of the tactics I find interesting are undoubtedly within a very gray area when it comes to legality, even if ethically they're pretty sound.  I know I bang on about this all the time, but systems disruption is the way to go.  The "1%" used the Occupy protests as a way to show their indifference - recall the champagne swilling finance workers mocking the Chicago protests from their office windows.  So something has to be done which actually affects them, personally, or at least on an institutional leve.

Which is why I think "occupying" vital economic centres, like airports or major financial institutions and making it impossible to actually do anything there is the next step.  Or, alternatively, occupying the offices of politicians either associated with such groups, or those who keep pledging to work against them, only to cry at the first show of resistance and back down.  Both would be ideal.

I mean, it's either that, or it's Baader-Meinhof time.  Which is somewhat like Hammer time, only with machine guns and semtex.  Which would be bad.

[Cain]

That said, Chinese citizens are now Occuping Obama.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

That said, Chinese citizens are now Occuping Obama.

That's awesome!

I want to go to China so bad.

[ñͤͣ̄ͦ̌̑͗͊͛͂͗ ̸̨̨̣̺̼̣̜͙͈͕̮̊̈́̈͂͛̽͊ͭ̓͆ͅé ̰̓̓́ͯ́́͞]

DEAR OCCUPY MOVEMENT: Your New Message Sucks

Dubbed the "Shut Down the Corporations" rally, protesters will chant, shout and march in unison in more than 70 cities to bring attention to corporate power and greed. The so-called "National Day of Action" zeroes in on corporations that are members of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).

I <3 U ALEC.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Oh, Business Insider sides with ALEC.

SURPRISE! 

Sounds like they might be feeling a little threatened by having a light shone down their nasty little hole.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Astroturfers all over the comments, too.

[Pope Hobohemian]

Hi everybody -- I just joined this forum; my wife and I are dischordians (I'm a Pope; she was a Pope until she excommunicated herself) and we have been involved with Occupy Oakland since basically day one.  Only recently, due to some magnification of traditional religious language within our movement here, have I begun to think that some form of dischordianism and/or a somewhat more oganized framework for culture jamming might be beneficial or even crucial in our ongoing efforts to fuck up the system at Occupy Oakland.  I don't really know what is happening at all these other "occupy" groups, but I can tell you that in Oakland we have not backed down and we have not co-operated with the city or the paramilitary police in the OPD.  I want to start a group to spread Operation Mindfuck at Occupy Oakland, and I'm soliciting advice and/or warnings from the group.  Thanks in advance,

[Don Coyote]

dischordians? are you somekind of muscians?

[Freeky]

Hi everybody -- I just joined this forum; my wife and I are dischordians (I'm a Pope; she was a Pope until she excommunicated herself) and we have been involved with Occupy Oakland since basically day one.  Only recently, due to some magnification of traditional religious language within our movement here, have I begun to think that some form of dischordianism and/or a somewhat more oganized framework for culture jamming might be beneficial or even crucial in our ongoing efforts to fuck up the system at Occupy Oakland.  I don't really know what is happening at all these other "occupy" groups, but I can tell you that in Oakland we have not backed down and we have not co-operated with the city or the paramilitary police in the OPD.  I want to start a group to spread Operation Mindfuck at Occupy Oakland, and I'm soliciting advice and/or warnings from the group.  Thanks in advance,

1. Wall o' text is hard to read.
2. Are you european?  I don't think I've ever seen discord spelled with an "h".
3. Why would you want to fuck with the Occupiers?  They've got enough to deal with without assholes like you causing more po-po sticks raining down on their heads.
4.

[Oysters Rockefeller]

Hi everybody -- I just joined this forum; my wife and I are dischordians (I'm a Pope; she was a Pope until she excommunicated herself) and we have been involved with Occupy Oakland since basically day one.  Only recently, due to some magnification of traditional religious language within our movement here, have I begun to think that some form of dischordianism and/or a somewhat more oganized framework for culture jamming might be beneficial or even crucial in our ongoing efforts to fuck up the system at Occupy Oakland.  I don't really know what is happening at all these other "occupy" groups, but I can tell you that in Oakland we have not backed down and we have not co-operated with the city or the paramilitary police in the OPD.  I want to start a group to spread Operation Mindfuck at Occupy Oakland, and I'm soliciting advice and/or warnings from the group.  Thanks in advance,

1. Wall o' text is hard to read.
2. Are you european?  I don't think I've ever seen discord spelled with an "h".
3. Why would you want to fuck with the Occupiers?  They've got enough to deal with without assholes like you causing more po-po sticks raining down on their heads.
4.

Agree, and also
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dischord
Eh?