Occupy Plays Jazz
SERGEY KUKOTA
This week, a federal judge praised Occupy’s “troublemakers” as our global movement continues to innovate spontaneously towards a hot summer.
“What a huge debt this nation owes to its ‘troublemakers,’” writes federal Judge Rakoff. “From Thomas Paine to Martin Luther King Jr., they have forced us to focus on problems we would prefer to downplay or ignore. Yet it is often only with hindsight that we can distinguish those troublemakers who brought us to our senses from those who are simply troublemakers. Prudence, and respect for the constitutional rights to free speech and free association, therefore dictate that the legal system cut all nonviolent protesters a fair amount of slack.”
Meanwhile in Seattle charges against 16 occupiers were dropped after a judge ruled that they were not trespassing when they occupied an abandoned building last December. Charges against jammers who occupied a Seattle Chase Bank were similarly dropped in March. And in Asheville, North Carolina a jury acquitted an occupier who was arrested in November. Numerous cases across the nation have shown that the police crackdown on Occupy is unconstitutional which will surely embolden us all in the weeks ahead.
A round-up of Occupy actions shows that our movement is innovating furiously. In Mexico, under the banner of #YOSOY132, and Quebec, where an “infinite strike” has been raging for weeks, students are rising up in unprecedented numbers. In Moscow, a real challenge to autocratic Putin is gathering momentum despite draconian new anti-Occupy laws. Similarly, in Egypt, a second Tahrir Uprising is revving up as the people try to shake off the military government. And across the world, local militant actions that show a growing rage among people are flaring up: in Seattle 50 black bloc anarchists attacked police this week; in Spain striking miners blockaded roads; in Portland a molotov was thrown through a bank window. Check out the Occupied Wall Street Journal and Dissident Voice for a rundown of what’s happening.
If the global economy keeps tanking then campuses, cities and whole nations could suddenly explode this Summer in a way we have not seen since the wildcat general strike of 1968.
Stay loose, play jazz, keep the faith … capitalism is in terminal crisis and our movement has just begun.
48 comments on the article “Occupy Plays Jazz”
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Anonymous
Better than praising the violence and vandalism committed by corporations, the military, the police, etc... which is entirely socially acceptable. Indeed, to stand against this, non-violently or otherwise, is condemned regardless of the tactics employed. I guess bank windows and pigs are just what the American people cares about.
the time
Glad this federal judge feel this way. Refreshing.
Unfortunate the judge in our case did not throw it out. We were 'trespassing' by protesting a situation of eminant domain abuse... at least the cops locked themselves out of their paddy wagon.
God works in mysterious ways.
GOOD LUCK 2 ALL YOU BUSTERS>
<3 ashli
Anonymous
Tough luck about your case, but laughing about the dumbshit cops. Merci!
Sampler
Good job from everyone involved. The only question - where are the leaders of the movement?
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Anonymous
What are you? FBI?
Anonymous
THE GRAND
UNIFIED STRATEGY
Suggested Next Steps For Occupy Wall Street To Stir The Debate For New Ideas At The National Gathering
Proposed By Zevin X. Cruz
The following is an integral approach to art, activism and fundamental social change partially co-created with and/or for Occupy Wall Street (OWS), the Transition Movement and the Ron Paul Libertarian faction of the Tea Party. This groundbreaking strategy has been in the works for at least 12 years since the 1999 “The Battle In Seattle”—the trigger event of the Economic Justice / Anti-Corporate Globalization Movement—which has its modern roots to Martin Luther King’s 1968 Poor People’s Campaign . It offers what’s been missing from activism for decades—Foundational Framework (The SUM: The Ten Philosophical Pillars of Neo-Transcendentalism), Integral Theory of Activism (The Grand Continuum Theory of Evolutionary Transfor-mation) Cohesive Vision (The Society of the Third Millennium), Coherent Strategy (The Grand Unified Strategy) to rally around One Global Demand (The Grand Imperative)—“Abolish Empire & Establish Earth Community!”—The Ultimate Goal. It succinctly synthesizes what we are against and what we are for in one short, six-word, uncomplicated yet all-encompassing sentence that is big enough to encapsulate the millennial magnitude of the times.
Within The SUM, is the Grand Unified Strategy (GUS) consisting of “Seven Strategic & Interdependent Initiatives for the Massive Mobilization of Civil Society.” 1) Create Counter-Institutions by assisting OWS through Bill Moyers’ Movement Action Plan (MAP). 2) Build Alternative Institutions by participating in the Transition Movement’s efforts of community resiliency through the revolutionary act of relocalization. 3) Create A Parallel Government cabinet, new President, Supreme Court and Congress consisting of 535 nationally elected citi-zen legislators that pledge to end the infinite growth paradigm and get money out of politics. 4) Convene Second Constitutional Convention or National Occupy Gathering to propose new amendments, like The Second Bill of (Economic) Rights, draft a new Declaration of Re-Independence this time from the corporate tyranny of the economic oligarchy and a Common Ground Agenda for the people to publicly proclaim it on July 5, 2012, as the symbolic start of this nonviolent, non-cooperation Second American Revolution. 5) The Grand Ultimatum is publicly presented to launch a “Massive Mobilization of Civil Society” on the same day by “Drawing-A-Line-In-The-Sand,” once and for all, as our ultimate political leverage of government accountability through a “National Unifying Purpose” by creating a sense of urgency to accelerate all relocalization efforts in preparation for the possibility of a sustained, nationwide, general strike by November 5, 2012, (Guy Fawkes Day), and one day before the U.S. Presidential Election to unplug the machinery of the system, where our true, collective, people power lies. 6) The Cultural Creatives’ Convergence Quest (C3Q) is launch to promote a profound paradigm shift required to trigger a tipping point in this 50-project, 50-state, 5-month, cross-country, site-specific, outdoor, guerrilla art installations as a live Reality TV show of a change of consciousness campaign. When a critical mass is created and if the government still refuses to comply with the people’s last plea for comprehensive change than the greatest and most powerful unified mega-movement campaign of civil disobedience begins based on Gene Sharp’s methods of nonviolent action like: 7) The Nationwide General Strike that countdowns in a strategically staggered withdrawal of the system in the following proposed manner:
MON, NOV. 5, 2012—Day 1: SOCIAL Noncooperation (school strikes, boycott of sport events); TUES, NOV. 6—Day 2: POLITICAL Noncooperation (withdraw consent to demonstrate the illegitimacy of government authority by boycotting the U.S. Presidential Election); WED, NOV. 7—DAY 3: ECONOMIC Noncooperation (withholding of labor and non-essential services)—all done until the government complies with our demands or forced to relinquish their power in a peaceful political purge of Congress, the Presidency and the Supreme Court that finally commences the creation of Earth Community but in order to coalesce all of the fragmented alternatives into a unified vision we need to give it a name to solidify this new sub-culture and that under-scores sustainability in a new post-carbon era, one suggestion is the Society of the Third Millennium (S3K).
Anonymous
There was a time in humans' not too distant past when if a people got tired of their leaders' and their guards' shit the people would just overwhelm them and make them split. Or worse. I vote for worse.
tropik2K
I support reform, and I realize enormous reform is necessary, I don't support the elimination of government and anarchy because I am rational enough to see that pure anarchy wouldn't be the best thing for the world, mainly because it will only create another system with even more corruption than the one we have now.
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