Expectations, Clowning and The Crisis of Confidence

Occupy has been a magnet for Crisis since its inception last September.

Of course its predecessor movements in Europe and North Africa, as well as Wisconsin, also focused attention on the Crisis of our times. That Crisis is resolvable into the juggernaut of Neo-Liberalism and aligned dictatorship that are running roughshod over the interests of the People nearly everywhere all around the world. As we've seen in the case of Greece and many other places, it is in essence a neo-colonial enterprise on behalf of a shrinking handful of plutocrats and oligarchs who seek nothing less than to rule the world.

Occupy and its sister rebellions spontaneously arose in opposition to this juggernaut of sadistic cruelty and global exploitation. While there have been several apparent victories, many of us recognize that the struggle has barely been engaged on either side of the yawing gulf between the People and those who have set out to rule them with a rod and staff. The collapse of the Tunisian and Egyptian dictatorships was a step -- but only a step -- toward an eventual resolution of the Crisis that precipitated the rebellions. The root of the problem is still firmly in place, and so far, democratic processes are not able to uproot it.

And the inability to thwart the control of governments by a shadowy international cabal of plutocrats and oligarchs has led to something of a Crisis of Confidence among the many rebel movements around the world aligned to accomplish that thwarting.

In the United States, the pattern of Futility and Failure was set in Wisconsin, where a spectacular and apparently very effective sit in/occupation of the Capitol in Madison, and huge demonstrations in the streets accomplished essentially nothing. Every aspect of the Koch/Walker "reforms" were enacted, no matter what the People had to say about it, and no matter what the People did. The Wisconsin demonstrations were objectively failures.

Not only that, but the follow-up recall elections failed to change the balance of power in the Wisconsin Legislature; whether the current series of recalls slated for this summer will have a more positive effect on behalf of the People remains to be seen. But the lesson here is clear: standard protest and electoral processes don't work any more to change public policies for the better.

The peoples of Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece (among other European nations) learned this bitter lesson some time ago; the peoples of North Africa and the Middle East are learning it now as their victorious rebellions (where they have been victorious) have turned into something less than they bargained for -- and in some places much worse for the masses.

What to do? Can the concerted actions of the People actually thwart the progress of the Juggernaut that is crushing them under its wheels, or is there some way to halt it in its tracks?

No one knows yet, and that uncertainty is part of what gives rise to the exploration of alternatives and the Crisis of Confidence that has been afflicting the many rebel movements and especially the Occupy Movement for months now.

But all is not lost.

Here is a wonderful short video of what happened in Portland, OR, the other day as the People marched in solidarity against he depredations of Our Corporate Overlords and their control of government through ALEC:



Here's a longer one that shows a bit more of what was going on in Portland:



It may look tame -- especially compared to some of the events and street battles in Oakland -- but I think there have been some significant changes in the approach to The Revolution This Year.

Those who relish spreading fear, uncertainty and doubt about Occupy insist the Movement is "dead" and there is no point in bothering with it any more. The cause of its purported "death" is said to be the "violence" precipitated by Occupiers (with special emphasis on Occupy Oakland), which has allegedly alienated the masses from the Movement.

But you can see from these videos -- and I could post many, many more -- that the Occupy Movement is far from "dead." In fact, it has evolved (or metamorphosed) into something quite different than it once was. It still has a very strong mass appeal and Occupy events can still turn out hundreds or thousands of participants on a regular basis, but it is not the same sort of participation -- nor are the actions quite the same -- as was once the case.

We're seeing far more creative involvement and a great deal of mockery for Authority.

The Clown Police have been around for quite a while, but they are now much more apparent in demonstrations, and not solely in Portland. Their mockery of police overkill against the Occupy Movement is devastating in the videos above. It is a very creative way to highlight the nature of what the The Occupy Revolution is fighting. It's not simply ALEC or Corporate Control or what have you, the struggle is also against police who doll themselves up in Robo-Outfits and prance around on horseback to enforce Corporate Control on the rebels.

In a different way, the Clown Police are as effective in delegitimizing the Authority of the police and the Overlords they serve as the remarkable Shield Wall in Oakland was on January 28:



But there was more going on in Portland. During the march some people stood their ground and refused to be intimidated or moved by The Tsar's Cossacks:



This is another very effective way of delegitimizing the Authority of the Overlords and their Police. For many people, it's very disturbing to witness something like this. It is a completely nonviolent action that asserts the People's authority against the authority of the State -- and the People win. Of course, in Portland and elsewhere you have to be leery of these "wins," because the Tsar's Cossacks are liable to return by stealth after being thwarted (as they did after tens of thousands of Portland's People initially thwarted the eviction of Occupy Portland from their encampment last November). You never know.

Delegitimation of Authority is the principal Occupy strategy for the moment. It works, but it is also frightening to many people, especially if they can't see beyond the delegitimation to what comes next. So far, what comes next is vague at best. What does the Better World we're supposedly intent on building look like?

Delegitimization works, but what then? Until that question can be answered clearly and forcefully with ample demonstrations of Things to Come, the Crisis of Confidence that now afflicts parts of the Occupy Movement will continue.

In some ways it's appropriate and productive because it leads more people to consider, really deeply, what all this hoo-hah is for.

[Note: this video shows a lot more of the Portland F29 actions. Note the presence of a completely nonviolent Black Bloc. Just saying...)

The Matter of Trust

Now hold on.

This is the Open Letter from Occupy Portland expressing dismay at their treatment by the police and the mayor:

15 November 2011

An Open Letter to Mayor Sam Adams:

We, as members of the Occupy Portland Liaison Team, are officially resigning from our roles as city and police liaisons for the Occupy Portland movement. This is in direct response to the deplorable police actions of this past weekend and your refusal to communicate clearly with us during that time.

We were specifically asked by City Hall to create this Liaison Team, for the purpose of facilitating clear communication between city government, police and the Occupy Portland movement. We worked hard to assemble a capable team of activists to act as a conduit of information as agreed upon by our General Assembly.

Initial meetings were amiable and seemingly productive, as your staff was able to express concerns, some of which we shared, about conditions within the encampment. We facilitated communication and followed up by working closely with city employees and our own volunteers to address issues relevant to camp safety.

Despite our efforts, over the weekend, you decided to cave to pressure from your friends at the Portland Business Alliance, the Police Association and other groups interested in maintaining the status quo of economic injustice and issued us an eviction notice. Instead of allowing us to address conditions within our encampment in a transparent and democratic way you chose to enlist the full apparatus of police repression to destroy our encampment.

There's more. A great deal more. But you get the idea.

I'm concerned that our friends in Portland don't have The Idea, and this may be a reason why there has been such despondence in Portland after The Raid, while there is such jubilation and even celebration elsewhere (New York and Oakland come to mind) after their camps were raided.

Our friends in Portland say they "trusted" the Mayor and the police.

My question is simply, "Why?"

Why does anyone involved with the Occupy Movement-Becoming-Revolution "trust" or "want to work with" or in any other way express unity or a desire for unity with the Powers That Be, whoever they may be?

Listen to Mario again:



That was the whole December 2, 1964, speech on the steps of Sproul Hall that led directly to the "Occupation" of Sproul Hall -- which in turn triggered all sorts of student rebellion and response through the remainder of the 1960's.

A couple of things must be noted: the protesters were IN active negotiations with the University administration when this Occupation took place. The Occupation of Sproul Hall was due to the betrayal by the administration and the University regents of the basic principles of fairness and good will with which the student protesters had approached the problem of Free Speech on and near the campus.

Note what Mario says about "liberals."

Today, we would refer to them as "progressives." '

In other words, in 1964, the progressive administration of the University was actively negotiating with and betraying the good will and trust of the students; this was quite a revelation at the time. People -- not just students -- who had been brought up in a "liberal" or what is now known as "progressive" environment all their lives were discovering a horrible truth: these people lie, they're violent, and they serve the interests of the corporatist war machine first and foremost. Their mission is to provide endless fodder for the machine they serve, forever, world without end, amen.

THIS WAS IN 1964.

It hasn't changed.

After numerous protests and sit-in/occupations and a good deal of violence by police toward the student protesters -- violence that would escalate, not just on campuses but in many cities and their segregated ghettos -- negotiations continued and a sort of ad hoc agreement was reached that more or less defused some of the immediate rationale for protest over "Free Speech" for a time.

In other words, Authority Pretended to Yield, students got some of what they wanted, things calmed down. Somewhat. For a while.

But we've seen -- haven't we? -- that the argument over Free Speech that began at Berkeley in September of 1964, when the University decided to enforce a prohibition on political action and speech on and near the campus (actually, there were precursors, but I won't get into those here, though I have posted on some of it previously), has by no means ended.

Nor did it end at Berkeley when the administration was forced to make some concessions back in 1964 and 1965.

"Power concedes nothing" and all of that, but there is more to it than that. "Power" can be "liberal" or "conservative" or something else, it doesn't matter. You cannot trust Power under any circumstances. Except to trust that Power will be abused and that abuse will be directed at you.

That's it. Period. The Ideology of Power is always the same. It is in favor of itself and opposed to you. It doesn't matter -- at all -- what the political party designation of Power is, and it doesn't matter at all what superficial "agreements" are made. It is always the same: if you insist on being in the way, you will be crushed. Your only options are to stifle yourself or become absorbed by the Borg.

When you take that insight to heart -- and I've never been sure Mario ever did, or if he did, then I guess he was comfortable being "absorbed" -- it doesn't matter what Power does; everything Power does merely reinforces the point of the protest.

Power does not negotiate in good faith.

Ever.

You cannot trust Power. Ever.

The point of a Revolution is to replace Power -- not to become part of it and not to negotiate with it.

And this is the tough part, the hardest part of all. It's been done many times in the past, but how to do it is never known in advance.

Whether to do it at all is still part of the internal struggle of the Movement.

David Graeber may have some useful insights.

But it's tough. Mario ultimately couldn't do what was really necessary, nor were most of the Revolutionary Upstarts of My Day really up to the challenge they set for themselves. Most were either absorbed -- or paid for their fervor with their lives.

I don't know how far the current Revolutionaries are prepared to go, and I don't think the answer will be found in this country. Americans are the followers in this Revolutionary Era not the leaders.

Aggro

It's impossible to keep up with everything that's going on in these Revolutionary Times.

So I'm just coming across these videos that come from Way Back When: November 2.

Seattle; Direct Action at Bank:





In these videos, we see the extraordinary aggression of the Seattle Police in not only clearing a path through the demonstrators at the bank, but they continue their confrontation and aggression against the demonstrators to the point of absurdity. And they use pepper spray.

De-escalation is not in their play book, and it is obvious from these videos that the Seattle Police enjoy being aggressive with the people they are supposedly there to serve and protect. They like getting in their faces and acting like roided-up pigs.

In the comments to the video of the pepper spraying of the demonstrators in the previous post, note is taken of glee with which at least one of the officers is spraying everyone in the vicinity, even though the demonstrators are already in compliance with those all-important Police Orders. It doesn't matter. The police want to provoke mayhem.

In the Mayor's statement about that incident, he mentions the WTO protests of 1999 (and Mardi Gras in 2001) as excuses for the behavior of the Seattle police in 2011, but anyone who has followed those incidents knows that there is a strong suspicion of plainclothes police provocation. Whether it's true or not, I don't think we'll ever know, but at least the retired Seattle Police Chief who was in charge at that time knows and has clearly stated that it was the aggressive actions of the police that precipitated the destruction that took place during the WTO protests.

Escalation not de-escalation is their motto. Not for the purpose of arrest, mind you. Look at what happens in the second video above. There is a man who repeatedly confronts police -- one officer in particular -- and it's a pissing contest, mano-a-mano throughout. No arrest.

In the following video which was taken in Portland on November 7 or 8 by an outspoken opponent of the Occupy Movement -- someone who apparently thinks it discredits the Movement -- a demonstrator (whether with Occupy Portland or not, it's impossible to say) -- confronts a news crew:



This is textbook anarchist aggro, and really well done, though it's obvious the videographer doesn't get it. The demonstrator is in the news crews' faces constantly, repeating charges over and over, and verbally -- but not physically -- abusing them to the point where they cannot function at all. Which of course is the point of the confrontation. But there is more to it than that. The demonstrator is shaming them for being/serving the 1%. It is likely that the news crew had never thought that they were part of the problem not the answer. It never occurred to them how deeply resented they are for their service to the Overclass. And they get a strong lesson on the sidewalks of Portland by someone who won't shut up and won't go away. Of course it's rude. But it's meant to be an awakening. If any of those people have a conscience, they will not soon forget that encounter and like Norm Stamper, they might just come to a dawning that they have been part of the problem for many years. This is akin to the notion of "taking back" -- or "Occupying" -- the media; but at the same time, an opponent of the Occupation has provided the video of what happened. In other words, he was the media in this case. Much as the video streamers from the Occupations are the media. Anybody can be "media" these days, and the dinosaur Major Mass Media doesn't have to be "taken back" -- it was never "ours" anyway -- or even "Occupied."

It needs to be replaced.

I've been saying that for many years. Bit by bit it's been happening, but the march forward to a real New Media has been very slow, and many people in the so-called New Media have made whole blogospheric careers out of media criticism (not that they can take criticism themselves unfortunately.)

We're at last seeing an acceleration of the process of media replacement and renewal as part of this Movement-Becoming-Revolution. Video streaming, Facebook and Twitter have largely replaced legacy/traditional media coverage of the uprisings. It's axiomatic: you're not going to find real news from the standard outlets -- not even, in many cases, on the blogs. On the other hand, I am very leery of anything that appears on the Twitter feeds because the whole system is infested with provocateurs and there is much "not-news" that fills the feeds.

Finally, I'll bring up The Incident at Town Hall Seattle that was cited by DCBlogger at Corrente.

Oh my goodness gracious deary me.

This was another case of apparent aggro from the activists who went to the Town Hall with the intent (it appears) to disrupt, hijack, and teach those people a thing or two about what's really what.

It was rude, it was at least partially effective.

Some people were turned off by it, of course. Few people really want to be in the midst of a Revolution. Revolutions aren't pretty and they aren't nice and they don't follow the protocols of polite society or panel discussions. That's why they are Revolutions, hello? It is all on video now. See for yourself what happened. Start here: http://youtu.be/fk0eqlMjFU4 There are 21 total videos of the event on this page: http://www.youtube.com/user/Sweatshopfreelife#g/u all labeled "Occupy Town Hall". Make of it what you will.

I will keep saying, "This is a Revolution." "This is THE Revolution." It's happening right here, right now. And there's no stopping it, nor is there any controlling it. It is happening regardless of what any of us may think about it, and regardless of how we want it to proceed. Each of us might -- or might not -- be able to have some minor or perhaps major effect on it, primarily through our participation in the many activities of The Revolution, but no matter what we do or don't do, we can't make it go away and we can't make it go the way we want it to. Even those in the midst of it are finding that out, in some cases to their despair, in others to their delight.

I'm personally torn. I'm very excited by the fact that "it's happening." OMG, after so many years of whining about how apathetic and passive the American people are in the face of outrage after outrage, I am not only seeing them rise up in their multitudes, I am seeing astonishing levels of sheer energy and belief in the possibility of taking charge of our own fate and Building a Better Future.

But I see plenty of warning signs and cautions along the way; I've been very disturbed by some of the things I've witnessed -- though I don't really find the Aggro examples I've posted here to be all that disturbing, whether initiated by the authorities or by the activists. You have to have that kind of tension in order to move forward.

What has bothered me more are the evocations of the Period of Unpleasantness as I call it, when so many people went or were driven to their slaughter in blind obedience.

The most recent evocation was the destruction of the library at the Zuccotti Park camp.

I'm still coming to grips with the issue of destruction/liberation that is coming up more and more as the Raids continue and the piles of Occupy Debris grow. But passivity in the face of destructive aggression (passivity as opposed to non-violent resistance; there is a difference) really bothers me.

Enough blather for this installment. I must tour the Livestreams.

Dignity. Justice. Community. Peace.

The Problem With Rallies

As of 6:30am today, the Portland police had backed off their plan to re-take the downtown parks where Occupy Portland had been encamped for weeks. The video above shows some of what was going on early in the morning. It was a huge rally -- they say there were ten thousand or more in attendance to keep the police at bay -- and they pushed the police back. They kept and held their ground.

The cops backed off, the Occupiers and their supporters were elated and celebrations ensued. Then everyone -- well, mostly -- went home to get some sleep. As soon as the size of the crowds at the Occupy Portland camps diminished, the police moved in and dismantled the camps without much resistance from the remaining Occupiers -- many of whom were said to be in shock.

By 11am, the camps were gone.

It's now a little after 2:00pm, and a very large crowd has returned to the site of the Former Occupation, but it is too late to do anything about the now demolished camps. The police have formed a cordon around the parks, fencing is supposed to go up, and access by the public is to be denied.

Earlier -- between the time the police backed off and the dismantlement of the camps -- the Mayor of Portland held a news conference at which he assured all and sundry that there would be no "surprise raid" on the camps. Sure enough, within about an hour or so, there was just that. Surprise raid, and very effectively too. Many people at the Oregonian were congratulating the Mayor for his strategic victory over the Terrorist Occupiers.

The standoff is reengaged.



But now there is no camp.

How will Occupy Portland use this crisis as an opportunity? I don't know. I don't think they know -- the standoff is still underway.



All I can say is that I'm sure they will use this situation to advantage. The problem with rallies, though, is that people go home.

The psy-ops warriors know this; they took full advantage of the People's need for sleep.
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The newer chant I've been hearing at confrontations with RoboCops: "You're sexy, you're cute, take off the riot suit!" Heard it first at Berkeley. Then there is this one I just heard in Portland: "I don't see a riot here, why not take off the riot gear!"