Read on Twitter
With everyone talking about Wall Street, it seems like a good moment to talk about the Occupy Wall Street movement, which happened 10 years ago this year! I spent weeks there, and it was incredibly instructive both in State violence in the US and how movements fall apart 
First, quick refresher. In 2011, securities traders nearly burned down the global economy. The response of the US gov to the crisis was the "too big to fail" bailouts. This pissed off a lot of ppl who felt they were being rewarded for predatory behavior while the poor suffered
I lived in Brooklyn and was interested in protests generally (always have been!). So when Adbusters (love that org) and some other groups announced a protest in Zuccoti Park, I went down to check it out and brought along a case of water to donate
Not expecting much, went down w a "I guess we will see" attitude.. But it was extremely apparent, even then that this would be different. Protesters were occupying Zuccotti park and the air was electric. The anger in the US was palpable, and it translated into the movement
In the beginning, it was kids. Typical street fighter/activist types. And it was beautiful. So I went back. Before long, marchers took over the Brooklyn Bridge. Paddywagons rolled up. I remember people saying "they can't arrest us all". I remember thinking, "pretty sure they can"
Turns out they could arrest almost everyone. hahaha. Luckily someone pulled me out of a kettle the police were using to detain onlookers. But the arrests didn't stop the movement- the contrary- protests started springing up in dozens of movements around the US,and later the globe
At Zuccoti, we were all organized into "working groups" in an attempt at a leaderless horizontal power structure. In practice it didn't really work out that way (more on that in a bit). I was assigned to a group that did graphic design for the camp (pictured here bottom left)
In the beginning, we had support from the biggest unions in NYC and THAT made us untouchables. In NYC unions still have power. At one point police tried to raid the camp. Organizers sent out text bombs and union workers descended on the camp like guardian angels. Police retreated
But as I spent more time at the protests I started to get frustrated with infighting. Working groups competed for influence as well as decision making over what to do with crowd-sourced donations pouring in. It was a power competition for some personalities (def not all)
Meanwhile, due to police aggression, the protests were becoming increasingly anti-police, and the Financial District wasn't happy that the movement dragged on. A few things made me start to lose hope tho, particularly due to bad actors from within the movement itself
Some working groups were frustrated and felt the camp was being led by a few personalities. One group calling itself "OWS tactics" if I remember correctly, even wanted to use donation money to go to Egypt to "instruct" protesters there- a ridiculous idea reeking of privilege
My gf at the time was a writer and ended up in a photography working group. She was the only girl. She didn't stay long despite making some great contacts because she felt her role in the group was mostly to be hit on by cocky photogs. So it goes. Around this same time...
We were slowly bleeding Union support. I dont know what happened behind the scenes, but part of it was bad optics. There were accusations of sexual harrasment and even a case of assault in the camp. Meanwhile, fighting over the money and influence intensified
We were becoming increasingly fractured and isolated from other civil groups in NYC. I largely quit engaging w the politics. I left my working group but still participated in actions and marches. I believed in the movement even if I thought some participants were problematic
Fast forward a few weeks. As part of its defense system, the camp had mass-texts, a huge twitter account and a lot of ways to call for help if they were attacked again. I recieved a text around 11 at night, that riot police were surrounding Zuccoti. My gf and I went immediately
We arrived on the last train before authorities shut down the subway. I had no cell service. All was suspended in lower Manhattan. The streets were chaos. Police were beating people as they made systematic sweeps with their organized lines through the Financial District
I remember throwing myself into a group of police who were beating a teenage girl in an attempt to knock them away from her. It didn't work and I took a baton to the face before someone in the crowd pulled me away from certain arrest. When the tear gas finally cleared...
There was no more camp. The lessons I drew were this: there is zero doubt that the failure of the movement was multi-fold, from infiltration, to personalities trying to use the moment to seize clout, to problematic actors, to a lack of long-term strategy, even to bad tactics
These are lessons that protest movements must learn to avoid in the future. But the experience also sparked hope in me. Despite all the problems, OWS resonated globally. It showed that the idea we are defined by a financial system that seems rigged against us resonates
So, I was a baby as far as violent response to protests go. But the real lesson is this: there is nothing entrenched power fears more than a united citizenry bent on achieving change. They will always try to divide and conquer. And today seems like an extension of that idea
I will leave the final thought, however with señor Orwell
"When I see a policeman with a club beating a man on the ground, I don't have to ask whose side I'm on.”
"When I see a policeman with a club beating a man on the ground, I don't have to ask whose side I'm on.”
