Tag: Atlee

Exploring #Occupy 2.0 – Part 3 – Initiatives within and inspired by OWS

There is SO much going on in and around the Occupy movement – even in the midst of and aftermath of the many recent evictions – and even as the holiday season gets seriously underway. The diversity of local dynamics and initiatives exceeds my ability to track. But here is another taste of what's going on:

First in this mailing I offer a remarkable movement visioning document from Toronto. Then I share news from two Occupy efforts – one in Atlanta with a variety of initiatives and one in Iowa focusing on the upcoming primary elections. Then I describe three sites where some very intensive thinking is going on about the occupy movement as a whole – one focusing on building the movement's capacity for collective reflection, one providing an online forum for wildly participatory dialogue, and a third combining organized online reflections with sophisticated conference calls with notes made publicly available. I also skimmed a bunch of brainstorming off of that last site to give you a sense of what those folks are considering. Finally, I offer four initiatives inspired by the Occupy movement – a “national general assembly”, a January 20th demonstration at the Supreme Court protesting the Citizen United decision, a bill in Congress to tax the worst Wall Street speculative trading, and some ideas for Occupying the Holidays – including a hilarious/serious video intended to help Occupiers talk with resistant family members at their holiday dinner table.

For better and worse, there's a lot here. Feel free to skim over to what might interest you, and dig in there. I hope you find it useful, informative, and inspiring.

Occupy your holiday with good spirit and expanding awareness and love.

Coheartedly,
Tom

Visit full post with links and abbreviated summaries of each.

What happens now with OWS?

Those who think the Occupy movement will die away just because several encampments in major cities have been evicted are likely to be surprised.

They remind me of people who think that climate change is not going to be such a big deal because the weather in their area has been rather mild. Or the people who thought alcohol use (or drug use) would disappear because it was made illegal (prohibition). Appearances can be deceiving – especially when one only wants to see what's obvious.

I remember how the Great Peace March (which I participated in) fell apart bankrupt in the Mojave Desert two weeks after it launched from Los Angeles in March 1986 with 1200 marchers. The national media reported its demise and moved on to other topics, ignoring the fact that it re-started two weeks later with 400 marchers – still a sizable event – and proceeded to have a profound effect on every community it visited for the next eight months – as well as on the larger society through ongoing reverberations long after it ended in Washington DC in November 1986 with 1200 marchers. Not the least of these was the birth of my own work exploring co-intelligence and wisely self-organizing democracy.

Just because some energy or activity ceases to be clearly and publicly visible, doesn't mean it has died or gone away. Especially when you suppress it with violence, you almost guarantee it will continue, growing and evolving, surfacing with new energy and impacts in new times and places, often to people's great surprise. Addressing symptoms of a disturbance seldom handles the cause, which will soon find other outlets to manifest whatever need is not being met.

Continue reading “Tom Atlee: #Occupy 2.0 Part II – What Happens Now?”

Exploring #Occupy 2.0 – Part 1 – Brilliant #OWS foreclosure activism

Dear friends,

During the next week I'll be reporting on a wide variety of initiatives and inquiries arising among Occupy activists in this transition phase of their movement.  But first I want to share one of the main thrusts of their emerging effort, which is showing up in a variety of forms around the country – foreclosure activism.  This article, in particular, gives a good glimpse into the sophistication of the organizing work being done by these folks.

Blessings on the Journey.

coheartedly,
Tom

Occupy Wall Street on Your Street
Astra Taylor  The Nation December 7, 2011

Sources of the Occupy Movement – Part 4 – Socioeconomic conditions

Coheartedly,
Tom

*** CONSIDERING THE ROLE PLAYED BY THE DESTRUCTION OF THE MIDDLE CLASS, UNEMPLOYMENT, THE TRIALS OF YOUTH, AND THE GENERAL DEGRADATION OF CULTURE ***

Read full post with many links.

PartI   . . .   Part II   . . .    Part III

See Also:

Tom Atlee: Drop-Out Economy Meets Twilight of Elites

Tom Atlee: Three New Potent Occupy Together Resources

Tom Atlee: #OWS Emerging Patterns & Suggestions

Sources of the Occupy Movement: Part Two

Let's take a look at the influence of activist arts and video game culture – and the novel idea that fun and social change are a marriage made in heaven.

One of the trademark characteristics of Occupy is an out-of-the-box, creatively courageous exuberance. The 60s had some of that and there have been flashes of it since, but the Occupy has stood high on the shoulders of its predecessors and taken exuberance and courageous creativity a giant next step, making it a life-affirming leaven for their outrage and a key element in their broad appeal. How can we be light-hearted and serious at the same time? Just look at their signs! Here are three collections (with some obviously popular overlaps)….

http://bit.ly/t34sYt
http://bit.ly/vhD3gs
http://bit.ly/to3T35

These folks are ALIVE!

Check out the articles below…

Coheartedly,
Tom

————-

*** CONSIDERING THE ROLE OF THE EMERGENCE OF STREET THEATER / ART-AND-MUSIC ACTIVISM / IMPROVISATION CULTURE ***

Occupy LAAAAAA: Artists in SolidarityInterview with Elana Mann

Excerpt:

[Much] criticism of the Occupy movement comes from the clashing of staid historical scripts of protest and the current improvisation that is happening on the ground right now. Folks seem to be looking toward each other rather than the political agendas of those already in power. …. The Occupy movement is improvising new relationships to uncertainty and power… The scripts of how past protests operated (particularly protests from the 60s/70s) are clouding people’s minds for how protest should function and operate now…. I am so glad that the members of the Occupy movement try to listen to the people next to them instead of the demands of the media or the politicians…. I see the current improvisational thrust of Occupy to be moving around consciousness-raising on a national and international level, an attempt at deeply listen to the concerns of people who have been silenced for a long time.

My desire is that the improvisational practice of freedom within the Occupy movement continues to grow and expand beyond the confines of the protest. This improvisational way of living creates further flexibilities and responsibilities to change rather than fixed states driven by fear. Echoing this sentiment, artist and mediator Dorit Cypis wrote so beautifully in a recent Facebook post: “So right. Occupy has no one site. Occupy has become a state of mind that we each must take on and spread through individual and collective daily actions. Protest the ‘empire’ while self-witnessing how we each may be colluding in small ways. Live reciprocity and generosity. Listen empathically and choose when to take decisive action to enliven ‘a brave new world’.” Through improvisation, maybe we will discover a way toward a more equal, functional, and just future.

Read full post.