I believe in the right to protest. I believe in the right to assemble. I believe in having a goal, organizing to meet that goal and reaching it thru peaceful nonresistance. I don't endorse authorities using violence against it's citizens and I do not believe in suppression. I have marched against the wars, and I have signed petitions, I have marched for labour rights, and for Healthcare reform. I have walked with people for a fair immigration policy in this country. I have lain down on the streets of NYC so the government would acknowledge HIV/AIDS. I have marched for Marriage Equality. In many cases, I have met people responsible for organizing these marches and protests, and knew what they were trying to achieve. I became involved after becoming aware of how the goals would be achieved.

This brings me to the Occupy Wall Street movement. I have been watching it with curiosity, and wondering where this is going. According to their website: This is a leaderless movement asking for donations to a cause that has no definable end goal. I can understand the symbolic comparisons to other countries, and I agree that something must be done about the oligarchy that we are seeing in our nation.

What I believe, though, is that in order to have a movement, there must be leaders. Otherwise it's rudderless, and I think without a way to steer that energy well, it's bound to fail. Leaders are necessary to organizing social change, whether it be protest, boycotts, civil lawsuits and/or addressing elected officials. The Montgomery Bus Boycott was organized with people who helped to guide them. That boycott was not born in a vacuum. Rosa Parks didn't just sit on a bus that day.

When the Southern Christian Leadership Conference was founded after the Montgomery Bus Boycotts, it's goal was still evolving: The Civil Rights movement was a bloody and violent time for this nation nonetheless. It was done through organization and with clear goals set to be met. Slowly, change happened. Once one goal was set, another was put in place. To this day, the struggle for equality continues. A lot has changed, we now have internet, social media and ways to communicate instantly. Much of it is for the better, but sometimes, I wonder about the instant gratification people expect when trying to make change in this country - in our present time.

And that brings me back to Occupy Wall Street. On Friday, the NYT published a very interesting article that contrasts with the pictures and videos from the Occupy Wall Street (dot) org website. Read the whole article, It's not a slam on what is happening there, it a reflection actually of what isn't. Occupy Wall Street is leaderless, and this is the result.

The sentiment of what is happening in NYC is commendable, but I do not know what the goal is. To protest is fine, but there must be a way to achieve that goal, and I am not seeing how this is going to end well. Just take a look at an 'Anonymous' twitter feed: There have been many many calls as to why the media isn't covering what is happening in NYC. I have my very personal opinion, that like most protests of this nature -- the corporately controlled media is very uncomfortable with that. This is where I actually agree with this movement: It should be covered. They cover the Tea Party right? Of course they did. The Tea party had a face: Sarah Palin. Hell, they even had a network: Fox News.

The Tea Party was energized as a result. guess what happened? The Tea party made serious gains in Congress. The one thing I am seeing here is that the OWS movement is targeting the wrong -- people? Wall Street as a whole isn't feeling ANY effect of what the protesters are doing. None. The Tea Party people infiltrated town halls and Capitol Hill. They MADE people feel uncomfortable. Granted, there are many variables that we have discussed before on the blog, such as the FreedomWorks funding -- but the reality is -- they showed up at town halls. As I mentioned above, during the Civil rights movement, the SCLC organized and made themselves seen and heard by the people who could actually work with them to make the change.

Right now, what I see happening is is too disorganized to make a difference. I hope that can change, but until Anonymous comes forward and someone gives a face to this movement, they will, sadly, only be met with resistance. As one floor trader said: Until we can get the corporatists out of Congress, this is not a battle that I hold high hopes for. Voter suppression laws are being passed all over the United States (particularly in GOP-led States). These are REAL issues that we can solve, even thru protest. Wisconsin and Ohio are very good examples that are solved. They are also critical to what it seems the Wall Street protesters need in order for lobbyists to lose the stranglehold they have on Washington DC.

This movement needs People or an organization who can address the very people who can help to make the change that they want, but even before that, they must have a clear vision of what their goal is. Then they must make sure Americans VOTE -- including themselves. Protesting in this day and age is not enough. Organization is critical. It makes the message much more serious. The media has been around these protests, but I don't think they know what exactly the message is, and thus -- it's hard to report about. If the end game is to only show what is perceived to be police brutality (as it appears at the website,) then I honestly have to say -- is this what they want? I would present that this might make people less inclined to join the movement.

It is because of these questions I have, I won't be joining in the protests when they come to DC.If I am going to stand up for something, I want to know specifically what it is we are trying to change; the movement hasn't specified that. I don't stand behind anonymous faces in a crowd. I don't wear masks. I don't wear bandanas..

No leader of a social change movement in this country ever hid in anonymity. Not the civil rights movement, not the equality movement, not abolitionists or suffragettes. Even the founding of our nation had names and faces to the social change -- and ultimately the revolution. They had faces and names and a goal.

I want people to know who I am when I stand and protest against what I see as an injustice. AND -- When I do, I just want to know what the endgame is. I don't know what this occupation is or what they plan to to do with it.

and
Raine

UPDATE 9/27/2011: A day after I wrote this blog, Mother Jones has this article: Why #occupywallstreet Isn't Working

I'd like to clarify something I perhaps did not make clear when I wrote this blog entry: I am not hoping that this movement fails. It's quite the opposite. I want it to succeed. I am questioning how it is going to happen. It seems that I am not alone in pondering this.

Today activist Susan Sarandon came to the Wall Street protests and stated: 'You have to make the message clear and the plan doable so you can't be dismissed.'

I believe that these issues must be addressed in order to make this movement undismissable.