For years, it seemed like news from across the pond was going from bad to worse, but as protests began springing up in the US, it became clear that the Americans were out-doing us. We caught up soon enough, and the movement went global, but many of our tactics (such as mic checks) were born in the US. Among countries we once called Western democracies, and which we might do again in the future, the battle rages hottest in the US – with nearly 6,000 arrests, media blackouts, and an armoury of non-lethal weapons deployed. So what do the Americans have to say for themselves?
BILLY AT THE OAKLAND PORT BLOCKADE: “I think what is going to happen is all the connections that formed at the occupation are going to explode, creating a chain reaction in their own neighborhoods, directing it in their own way, utilising this concept throughout the city, and eventually the entire world.
There were 100,000 people easily at the first port occupation. The reaction has been a lot of fear from the 1%. We scared them so much that they had to have a backup plan. They shifted to smaller ports, and were shipping extra heavy beforehand. The second one doesn’t have as strong ground support, as it wasn’t technically backed by the labour unions. It does wind up saying that we’re here to stay, and that there are many of us, about 25,000, and they seem to be all Occupy supporters, not other groups. This is Occupy, shutting down your port.”
NICK IN SAN FRANCISCO: “My name is Former Corporal Nick Antony Shaw. I am now a veteran for peace. Today is Bradley Manning’s birthday. He was unfairly incarcerated overseas, and he is one of the heroes of Occupy, one of the reasons why this started. He was tortured and abused, and we are fighting for his release. We took his birthday as reoccupation day, and set up 20 tents in this park.
The police said at 8pm they were going to raid us. A lot of people who have had their tents torn down before removed their tents, in fear or obedience to the police. My tent stood and I stood by it. It is our tent, and the tent of the 99%, and we held our banner over it. Not just till 8, but till 9, when they gave us another hour, till 10 when they said they would take me or the tent, till 10.15 when they said, “We’re supposed to be patrolling the city, we should go.” And the tent stands.
CORY IN LONDON: “I would guess that the difference between the homeless community in the UK and the US is at least fivefold. You have those who have let their lives be destroyed by any number of circumstances, but what is growing is those people whose lives haven’t been destroyed. They don’t choose that lifestyle, but can’t afford anything else. As foreclosures continue to rise, as rent keeps going up, families continue to lose places to live. I also believe, as this movement keeps growing, we give people another option.”
There is a woman in New York known as Queen Mother, who has been doing activism for about 40 years now, and her whole apartment building got evicted. Through her actions – in solidarity with Occupy – they were able to get heat, and get the families back into that apartment, and that had been going for 2 months before I left. (ed. Occupy 477 had an eviction order on January 11th)
And in East New York, there was a family that had been evicted, and Occupy helped them get them back in, with the supplies they needed. The community shut down and threw them a huge block party, and even the kids at the elementary school were yelling and cheering out the windows, because this family was able to get back into their home. This community was so grateful for the actions that the Occupy movement were involved with, standing in solidarity with this family.
You know, the police, all these officials, whatever they want to do, if they want to take a park, I say let them have it. Because there is no way that any one location represents the Occupy movement as a whole. It turns us into a mobile Occupy. It gives us the opportunity to reach out and do other actions, to attack on other fronts. We just keep growing. This is not a movement that is going away.”
By Danny Nemu