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An Open Letter to the Broader Occupy Community Regarding Occupy Oakland
Dramatically shrinking numbers reveal that this ideology and organizing style either misreads the real political situation in Oakland, or else underestimates the importance of consolidating and advancing a broad, united and popular front. We all collectively must take responsibility for this “hardening” and shrinking of the OO ranks, and we must recognize that in trying to re-make OO in an ideologically purist vision, we are destroying our ability to garner the wide base of support and goodwill that will be necessary to successfully resist corporate and state domination. Occupiers who have begun to question the decision-making processes involved in recent actions like J28 are being asked, in the name of unity, to maintain silence. We have been told that our concerns will be dealt with, that there’s nothing to worry about, and that we shouldn’t speak publicly about them. Yet we feel that without transparency and open dialogue, the problems will only get worse. We are speaking to everyone who still believes in Occupy Oakland, but especially to those most active in the GA and various committees who have the ability to help us make the kinds of changes that would reassure the larger Bay Area community that Occupy Oakland is still a wise place to invest its energy. The four of us decided to speak out because we have each been pushed to the margins of OO by ugly, ideological purification behavior that often now takes place at the GAs and in groups like the Move-In Committee, where dissenting voices are booed and jeered and “group speak” and in-group relationships now dominate. Please do not mistake our concerns as yet another attack on anarchism or Black Bloc; it’s not about that at all. It’s about the exclusionary strategies and tactics that alienate those of us who are interested in a slower, more solid, more inclusive approach of mass movement building. What we are attacking is the acceptance and even rewarding of undemocratic practices, and the lack of a system to repudiate both these practices and the people who engage in them. It has been clear for some time that a small group of people with similar insurrectionist leanings have been actively manipulating the process and promoting their own agenda. They have previous ties to each other and many have careers in academia which provide them the time and resources to devote their lives to the Occupy movement in Oakland. These academic insurrectionist leaders thrive in a climate of secrecy, and use vanguardist rhetoric and practices to seize control of actions and messages with which OO engages the public. Many of the most divisive and undemocratic actions undertaken in the name of OO can be traced back to this group, including: two non-sanctioned press conferences, including the one for J28 in which outrageous threats and juvenile rants were made in the name of Occupy Oakland; the secretive and exclusionary planning of the strategy for J28 in which community voices were systematically excluded from the inner workings; the hijacking of the General Assembly during the second Port Shut Down; and many smaller examples of non-democratic behavior. The propaganda produced by these insurrectionist leaders reveals a very narrow scope and embarrassingly juvenile self-aggrandizement. They even brag of trashing City Hall in this piece. We strongly believe that the struggle in Oakland should not be used to produce what amounts to riot porn. This only serves to subvert the will of the people here who are spending our time and energy to make OO something that serves the community. It is safe to say that many of us local activists and community members feel a sense of anger and betrayal regarding the continued dominance of the collective agenda by these forces. Many in leadership positions don’t seem to want the discussion about the future of OO or the Occupy movement to be about Black Bloc tactics. We don’t want the discussion to be about some false choice between Gandhian non-violence and “anything goes.” How about if we all agree to change the subject? Let’s talk about our visions of what OO should be. We have one: OO could and should return to its origins as a broad mass of anti-corporate, anti-repression forces. Our vision for the future of Occupy Oakland is one of true radical inclusivity. We should think of creative ways to include, democratically represent, direct the energies of, and, yes, increasingly radicalize this amazingly diverse group. OO could evolve into a coordinating council for autonomous affinity groups, vetting, approving and organizing coordinated actions in OO’s name. This would allow political tendencies to form ideologically pure affinity groups if they wish, and to have a seat at the table. But we should all agree not to try to control the table. We are asking for help from those of you who have been at the center of OO from the beginning and love the potential this movement has to create lasting, real change. We understand that you all played a big role in pitching the Occupy tent, one that is unfortunately smaller now than it should be. Help bring us all back inside. This is not a matter of individual personalities or power trips. This is a profound historical moment in our community. This is a real political and ideological struggle with real consequences. The time has come for us to make choices, make the correct ones and make them now or the moment will pass. We are ready to help bring people back into the OO tent with you. We are excited about this moment, and our future. |
PollThis summer will be called "The Summer of..."
A hundred general strikes
13%
Occupy harder, faster, better
12%
Effective organzing & praxis
12%
Four more years
30%
Total Anarchist Triumph!
33%
Total votes: 527
Recent comments
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Comments
Clearly written by
Clearly written by vanguardists that are unhappy that they missed the Occupy train when it left the station.
Although this dud confirmed my suspicions that insurrectos are closet academic masturbators.
So because vanguardists say
So because vanguardists say that IAs are lead by academics it must be true? Or maybe it could be true that the academics like to put themselves front and center. hmmmmmmmm... I'll take the latter
yes, it's because academics
yes, it's because academics think they're fucking everyone's god and savior. it's how the state keep them happy with little pay. also, they're trained to be reptilic capitalist competitors. fighting for their tiny little fame in the various "radical fileds"...but we "trust" them bc they're "so so smart"!!!! smart people are never wrong! neither are famous people!!!!!!!
*fields
*fields
That radical inclusivity
That radical inclusivity shit's working out real good for burning man this year.
That's probably because
That's probably because radical exclusivity NEVER WORKED at any point in History, you fool.
I will fuck you in the ass in
I will fuck you in the ass in front of everybody like DJ Hi-tek. You couldn't last 5 minutes in my world.
lol
lol
Actually, that entire bit is
Actually, that entire bit is a composition of quotes from Mike Tyson, repeated by DJ Hi-Tek.
Irresponsible sourcing, you need academics!
when you watch me smash
when you watch me smash someone's skull, you enjoy it
yeah NEVER WORK!
yeah NEVER WORK!
CoMB vs Anti-democrats, NICE!
CoMB vs Anti-democrats, NICE!
Yeah, because our numbers are
Yeah, because our numbers are so much smaller than the other Occupy camps around the country.
O WAIT LOL
Are these the same "Oakland
Are these the same "Oakland Radicals" that made tshirts with "Oakland Radical" on the front and ISO logos on the back?
First, the whole "occupy"
First, the whole "occupy" thing is waning because we live in a culture where short attention spans are waning. Adding to this is likely a lack of desire to sit around and wait for a bunch of a jackbooted thugs to beat people up (stealing phrasing from right-white-wing reactionaries).
Second, have you ever considered that there may not be one big, all-loving, umbrella organization under which everyone can be controlled. Isn't that what you're looking for? To control everyone who might want to identify with your little movement? Let's discuss it and approve it? Nobody needs your bleeding heart, liberal bullshit. Each group can do what they want. Each individual can do what they want. If you want your lovey-dovey, Kumbaya, all-encompassing occupy group, accepting this fact seems to be a fairly obvious prerequisite.
P.S. All of the academics ought to be excluded simply because they obviously lack the knowledge, insight and wisdom to be taken seriously. If they possessed these qualities, they wouldn't be in academia.
The word "short" should have
The word "short" should have been omitted from the first sentence. Sorry about that. I really should proofread before hitting save.
"everyone who disagrees with
"everyone who disagrees with me is a liberal!!!"
in a country founded on a
in a country founded on a liberalist revolution, there are bound to be a lot of fucking liberals around.
ahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahah
In the writers' defense, they
In the writers' defense, they don't seem to be arguing against insurrectionary action full stop, but rather arguing that these specific insurrectionists are acting undemocratically so as to marginalize others - in other words that the consensus basis of OO has been betrayed. I cannot verify this as I'm not from Oakland.
PS- "Each group can do what it want" is not an appropriate anarchist statement. "Do what you want" is the creed of the status quo, legitimizing as it does the capitalists who "want" to extract surplus value from their wage slaves. Emancipation will (paradoxically) require a reassertion of moral normativity.
no, each group do what you
no, each group do what you want is called AUTONOMY and it is very anarchist.
do what you want is not the credo of today's society at all, have you ever seen a cop or a prison? you can only do what you want if you have the money to pay for it. otherwise, it's an authoritarian nightmare: see the Jim Crow prison system.
autonomy works well for occupations, much more than centralized decision-making which allows petty politicians the chance to argue for enforcement/control of other by the decision-making body: http://www.crimethinc.com/blog/2011/06/08/barcelona-the-plaza-occupation...
I agree. But whats up with
I agree.
But whats up with the "Jim Crow prison system" ?
Is the prison system acceptable to you when it's not engaged in systemic racist behavior? (I'm sure it's not, no offense is intended)
I only ask cuz it's a pet peeve of mine when people heap unnecessary adjectives on words that should be able to stand alone on their own wickedness?
"colonial US military policy"
"fascist cop"
"racist judge"
"heartless capitalist"
Are any of these phrases any more or less true without the accompanying adjectives? It's my understanding that we've long since lost the propaganda war, and won't make any headway until we lose the emotionally charged and universally hated "pc" or morally superior language. Just explain to people that our system is evil not because of what it does to poor black lesbian proliterians or whomever, but because it enables a privileged minority the POWER to do so. Whether or not they abuse that POWER is beside the point.
-alligator
sure but i use it because it
sure but i use it because it more accurately describes the reality of the prison system.
cliched choice of adjectives
cliched choice of adjectives aside, whether or not they abuse the power is Certainly Not beside the point. to most people 'judge' or 'cop' is not going to automatically be "wicked". only to a few anarchists (not even all of them!) - so who's being purist and "morally superior"?
"All of the academics ought
"All of the academics ought to be excluded simply because they obviously lack the knowledge, insight and wisdom to be taken seriously. If they possessed these qualities, they wouldn't be in academia."
Does it still count as a fallacy when it doesn't even begin to look like an argument to begin with?
The dismissal of this letter
The dismissal of this letter is indicative of a serious problem among IAs.
Please take this letter seriously, folks. It warrants a critique for its uncritical embrace of democratic process and the idea of a popular front, but it should not be ignored or dismissed. Insurrectionists can also become vanguardists. Don't pull another Weathermen, folks.
In solidarity, an IA
^this. i was excited about
^this. i was excited about the letter until the last couple paragraphs, but just because we don't like what the authors are proposing doesn't mean we should ignore their worthwhile critique.
Anarchists and other political parties basically play out the exact same script with every movement that appears. I'm so goddamn bored with the predictable actions and reactions and responses. Nothing about the anarchist programme has changed since antiglob.
Numbers are dwindling for a variety of reasons, but the one important for us is that anarchists have contributed almost nothing new or interesting to most occupy whatevers.
Aside from building takeovers, which could be cool and should happen everywhere all the time.
yeah. a lot of those
yeah. a lot of those academic, "anti-state communists" that bay of rage represents may be nominally anti-state, yet anything but anti-authoritarian. and there has been a very worrying overlap with some people who get away with calling themselves anti-authoritarians. i'm sure a few of us remember the mayday smashings in sf a few years ago, the march 4 freeway kamikazes, the attack on the ucb chancellors house, etc, and other clandestinely organized 'spontaneous' events in which some people made the plans and others got left holding the bag...
March 4 was lame, but all the
March 4 was lame, but all the other stuff didn't really have many people "holding the bag." From your perspective, the only way to organize is "transparently," and you know that's dumb. don't be a wiener. Get organized with your friends and intervene if you want things to do a different way.
hey guise, fun fact. lying to
hey guise, fun fact. lying to women and getting all your friends to lie to them too is anarchy, or something else kind of radically political. anonymity, you know...it's also like a social rupture or something for your other "friends" to stalk and harass people - for years! ( & not to mention all the gossip and lies spread- some of it publsihed by universities!) because, like, violating other people is anarchy because I think Novatore said something that sounds cool about that and because they deserved to be violated if they are like weak sissies and barely human.
it's totally social rupture. yep.
all hail aleister crowley
anyways, most of the women are liberals or cops and they deserve it. except whoever is currently sucking my dick.
thank you for the FUN FACT. i
thank you for the FUN FACT. i am a stirnerite and just wanted to add that women can also be OF USE in other ways besides dick-sucking. some of them have impressive media connections!
yeah, but otherwise theyre
yeah, but otherwise theyre snitches
-anarcho-juggalist
there is an egoist newspaper
there is an egoist newspaper
show where any of that has
show where any of that has even been remotely insinuated...
sounds like you are having a problem with an abusive person, why don't you out them? stalking people is not cool, here is what (insurrectionary) anarchists can do about it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ES7z1PNK6tA
violating other people is most certainly not anarchist in any way.
-an IA
you're the abusive person.
you're the abusive person.
but you can keep on trying to
but you can keep on trying to be the macho misogynist hero. good job.
i saw identity politics drain
i saw identity politics drain all the fighting life out of the anti-globalization movement. i saw people begin to attack each other instead of the IMF, bankers, capitalists, politicians, etc... and I saw that movement crumble in on itself because of it.
and right on queue, another movement springs up, and more attacking each other comes out of the woodwork.
this has got to be a psy-ops strategy.
either way, HATERS GONNA HATE.
you don't need some
you don't need some sophisticated psyops strategy to disrupt things along those lines. all you need is some true believers in the power of words to injure, a couple of people who like to play Oppression Olympics, and others who are too afraid to question the politics of appearance, and voila! identity politicians! they disrupt all on their own.
this has nothing to do with
this has nothing to do with identity, it has to do with behavior - the 'macho man' is a fucking woman, for instance...must have mistook you...i thought that 'stalker action' was lame...
"i thought that 'stalker
"i thought that 'stalker action' was lame..." tell that to the woman who was being stalked you fucking piece of shit
sucks the woman was being
sucks the woman was being stalked...the action was still lame..& spare me any self-righteous bullshit, i've had to deal with two stalkers in the last few years
yeah, and ppl wonder why i've
yeah, and ppl wonder why i've avoided visibility...
telling people how to deal
telling people how to deal with their oppressors is the entire problem here.
they can do what they want,
they can do what they want, and i can think it's fucking lame. capiche?
for someone who has been
for someone who has been stalked, you sure treat other survivors in a fucked up unsupportive way. capiche?
spare me your bullshitting
spare me your bullshitting
sometimes stalking isn't
sometimes stalking isn't violent. it's just depressing. voyeuristic, not physically confronting. it's not cool. but, i mean, it's mostly just pathetic.
happy valentine's day
People who act like you can
People who act like you can just label someone an oppressor and DICTATE how the world should act, according to you as the all-knowing AUTHORITY on oppresion, are the problem.
For every little tender emotional cupcake who was scared off from the anarchy scene cuz it wasn't accommodating enough to their real and imagined oppression, there are precisely 1372.5 people whose class interests are completely aligned with anarchist ideology, who walked away from yer identity distopia , never to be heard from again.
And yes, if there's an active cointel program, they are most def pimping yer authoritarian noble-victim personas, not throwing shit in the street or breaking windows.
-alligator
PS, If you march yer dumb asses, deep as hell, to the house of some evil stalker,rapist,cat torturer, etc , and you don't have the common courtesy to beat the shit out of said villain, or at least throw a newspaper box in his front lawn. Please at least have the honor not to post it on youtube as though you accomplished anything. k?
I was trollin, but I don't
I was trollin, but I don't know what you're talking about. Yalls shit might be real, and even resonate else where. But its sort of out of left field, certainly out of the persepctive of my cheerleader booth. All I'm saying is the way you phrased your comment that I responded to was in a way that made an agrument for transparent organization, and even if the alternative can create problems for the flow on comunication, its the only reasonable option available to us. Those problems can be worked through, but I think in the framework of anonymity and opacity.
actually both of those other
actually both of those other actions mentioned led to a bunch of immediate arbitrary arrests of people in the vicinity, while someone or other who was already in the know ran back to their ivory tower or something i can only imagine