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Lessons from OWS

By Hena Ashraf

What I’ve learned in the last few weeks at Occupy Wall Street:

I now know how to locate friends in a crowd of thousands of people.
I now know how communication can be amplified without any equipment, via the human microphone.
I now know that we truly do not need mainstream media in order for us to get attention.
I now know how hard it is to find crucial information about the next mobilization, in a movement that is mostly leaderless.
I now know that a significant strength of a leaderless movement is that there are no immediate easy targets.
I now know to be wary of disrupters and those who cause distractions in the space.
I now know how hard it is to fight oppressions such as racism and sexism in a space that’s supposedly anti-oppressive.
I now know how solidarity with critique is at times desperately needed.
I now know how two-faced our mayor truly is.
I now know that once our movement started to connect the struggles, the authorities attempted to shut us down.
I now know what its like to leave my home in the middle of the night to join a mass mobilization.
I now know what it feels like to be in a crowd of thousands during the early hours of the day, waiting for action.
I now know the euphoric feeling of what people power feels like.
I now know that these experiences have already changed me and will stay with me.
I now know what its like to experience a little bit of the immense challenges the protesters in the Arab uprisings have been enduring for months.

I now know how mass arrests and violence at the hands of the state can directly increase numbers in a movement.
I now know how to write and share about my experiences and how crucial it is that I and my friends do so.
I now know that sharing these experiences can help protesters in other cities improve their attempts at making their own protest spaces anti-oppressive.
I now know how to speak up. Its still hard and intimidating, but I know how to do it.

I know how crucial it is that this movement continues to grow, has sustainability, and improves in order for the participation and inclusion of everyone.

Photo via the Guardian

Posted on October 14, 2011 at 2:25 pm in Read   |  RSS feed |   Reply   |   Trackback URL

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4 Comments to “Lessons from OWS”

    
  1. Lakshman K.
    October 15, 2011 at 1:27 am

    But does OWS really claim to be anti-oppressive? Is that stated anywhere or explicitly implied (does that even work?) anywhere? I never got that message from them.

    Reply
    • sonny
      October 18, 2011 at 12:05 am

      sort of. these are the principles of solidarity that were recently adopted (and printed in the OWS journal).
      Engaging in direct and transparent participatory democracy;
      Exercising personal and collective responsibility;
      Recognizing individuals’ inherent privilege and the influence it has on all interactions;
      Empowering one another against all forms of oppression;
      Redefining how labor is valued;
      The sanctity of individual privacy;
      The belief that education is human right; and
      Endeavoring to practice and support wide application of open source.

      i’m sure they’re up on the NYCGA site somewhere but google took me here first: http://anonops.blogspot.com/2011/09/occupywallstreet-principles-of.html

      Reply
  2. narbes
    October 15, 2011 at 1:37 pm

    “anti-oppressive” means that you don’t like the fact that there are so many white people who are not “anti-racist” enough for your petty standards.

    Reply
    

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