This Changes Everything Part 6

Since I wrote A Paradise Built in h.e.l.l: The Extraordinary Communities That Arise in Disaster, I have been asked again and again whether economic crisis begets the same kind of community as sudden disasters. It did in Argentina in 2001, when the economy crashed there. And it has now, in the streets of New York and many other cities, in 2011. A sign at Occupy San Francisco said, "IT'S TIME." It is. It's been time for a long time.

No Hope But in Ourselves.

Our economy collapsed three years ago this month to headlines like "Capitalism is dead" in the business press. There was certainly some fury and outrage at the time, but the real reaction was delayed, or decoyed. The outrage of the moment did, infact, result in a powerful gra.s.sroots movement that focused on a single political candidate to fix it all for us, as he promised he would. It was a beautiful movement, a hopeful movement, much more so than its candidate. The movement got its lone candidate into the highest office in the land, where he remains today, and then walked away as though the job was done. It had just begun.

That movement could have fought the corporations, given us a real climate-change policy, and more, but it allowed itself to be disbanded as though one elected politician were the equivalent of ten million citizens, of civil society itself. It was a broad-based movement, of all ages and races, and I think it's back, disillusioned with politicians and electoral politics, determined this time to do it for itself, beyond and outside the corroded arenas of inst.i.tutional power.

I don't know exactly who this baby looks like, but I know that who you look like is not who you will become. This unantic.i.p.ated baby has a month behind it and a future ahead of it that none of us can see, but its birth should give you hope.

Love, Rebecca.

Rebecca Solnit is the author of thirteen books, including A Paradise Built in h.e.l.l: The Extraordinary Communities That Arise in Disaster and Hope in the Dark: Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities. She is also a regular contributor to TomDispatch.com, where this chapter first appeared on October 18, 2011.

CHAPTER 16.

10 WAYS TO SUPPORT THE OCCUPY MOVEMENT.

SARAH VAN GELDER.

How can you help build the power of the Occupy movement? Here are some places to start: 1. Show up at the occupied s.p.a.ce near you.

Find a location near you at occupytogether.org. See if they have a Facebook page. Bring a tent or tarp to stay. Or just stop by to talk to people, partic.i.p.ate in a general a.s.sembly, hold a sign, or help serve food.

2. Start your own occupation.

Call together friends and acquaintances. Reach out to people you don't normally work with so you can better represent the 99%. Talk together about what you want to occupy, and why.

3. Support those who are occupying.

Most sites need food, warm clothes, blankets, tarps, sleeping bags, communications gear, and money. Search #needsoftheoccupiers on Twitter for real time updates or check in with your local occupiers.

4. Get into the debates and the teach-ins.

Many occupation sites have workshops and discussions on the critical issues of our time. Get into the discussion. Bring copies of this book, YES! Magazine, or other materials to share. Listen to perspectives you haven't heard before, and share your own.

5. Tell your story.

Post your story of being part of the 99% on Facebook, Twitter, blogs, or in letters to the editor. When you share, others see that they aren't alone. Community plus insight makes us powerful.

6. Be the media.

Bring your video recorder, camera phone, or laptop and report on the occupation. Highlight the human dimension of the protests. Show the faces of those involved.

7. Name the meaning of this moment.

What will make the world better for the 99%? Speak out on the issue that means the most to you. Include the phrase, "I am the 99%."

8. Insist that public officials treat the occupations with respect.

The eviction of the Zuccotti Park occupiers on Wall Street was averted by ma.s.sive public resistance. After a huge public outcry, the mayor of Oakland apologized for a brutal police a.s.sault that left an Iraq war veteran in critical condition. Other occupations need support. Ask your local officials to respect the right to a.s.semble of the 99%.

9. Study and teach nonviolent techniques.

Violence can badly damage the movement. Learn how to lovingly and firmly interrupt and contain violence, and teach what you know.

10. Be resilient.

This movement must last for the long term. Don't get disillusioned. The demand for a society that serves the 99% won't go away. Help the movement evolve.

The genie is out of the bottle. People will no longer accept the systematic transfer of wealth and power from the 99% to the 1%. In this remarkable, leaderless movement, each one of the 99% who gets involved helps shape history.

Sarah van Gelder is co-founder and executive editor of YES! Magazine and YesMagazine.org. This article is available under a Creative Commons Attribution NoDerivs (CC BY-ND) license, which allows for redistribution, commercial and non-commercial, as long as it is pa.s.sed along unchanged and in whole, with credit to the original publication of this book. A digital version of this article, and other resources, can be found at yesmagazine.org/owsbook.

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