You Still Don't Get It?

Oct 30th, 2011
by F. Grey Parker with a hat tip to Tonye for his metaphorical wisdom

A man who is very ill goes to the doctor. He explains, in great detail, all of the symptoms he is experiencing. His situation is dire. He can feel it. So many things are wrong that his list of ailments is almost overwhelming.

The doctor pretends to listen, but is largely disinterested. Finally, in exasperation, he asks the patient, "well, what the Hell am I supposed to do about it?"

Welcome to the Occupy Movement.

On the national level, we have a Senate and a House of Representatives. On the state level, we have legislatures and governors. On the municipal level, we have mayors and city councils. What's more, we have tens of thousands that liaise between these bodies.

We also have an exhausted population, battered by war, manipulated by global financial predators and nearing collapse which has, from left to right, identified the same sets of institutionalized cancers.

And yet, these elected officials, these doctors for the body politic, continue to insist that we tell them how to treat the illness.

As if in a trance, these 'experts' parrot the question, "where are the demands?"

The Occupation, for the most part, is no longer interested in issuing policy proposals to people this mind-bogglingly incompetent and outright obtuse.

I believe it is the movement's calculated disregard for traditional brinkmanship which scares the elites the most. That the Occupation feels no impetus to participate in their quick-fixes and their parlor games, at all, means it cannot be co-opted.

Exposing the systemic failure of our governmental process is the point of the first wave of dissent. In its way, the Occupy Movement can viewed as an intervention.

Intervention: A deliberate process by which change is introduced into peoples' thoughts, feelings and behaviors.

We are dealing with leadership cultures and institutions which are addicted to a destructive, self-defeating collection of rationalized corruptions. Those that hold power, as well as many of their peripheral enablers, are in a state of denial. They cling to the notion that even though the global economy is wreaking havoc, undermining the quality of life for the vast majority and shows no signs of expanding in accordance with old models, there is no other alternative.

This is why the Occupations will not leave. It is why they cannot leave. Penetrating powerful defense mechanisms that have been built over decades does not happen quickly.

In the interim, the Occupations continue to present an alternative. It is not collectivist socialism. It is not Anarchy. It is a fair chance and access to a democratic process. The experiment in Liberty Square gives everyone the same basic shot when they walk in. What they do with that opportunity is up to them. Every Occupant has the same right to participate in the General Assemblies and their vote is counted. From financial matters to security issues to calls for direct action, all decisions are made in this way.

The inspiration for this process is drawn as much from our own Constitution and our Founders as it is from other concepts of social justice.

Are there inherent challenges? Yes. Are there missteps and mistakes? Of course. Does it work?

Absolutely.

This is precisely what I saw while living in the park in New York. It is growing and evolving, but it is principled. What's more, it is not leaving.