ThirstyFish

In December 2011, Occupy Los Angeles called for a General Strike on May 1st 2012. Most other Occupy General Assemblies have voted to stand in solidarity with the calls for a general strike.

The Occupy Wall Street movement began September 17, 2011 in Zuccotti Park. Within a few weeks, other Occupy encampments were established in most cities across the U.S. Although the mainstream media initially ignored the movement, within a matter of months, Occupy had changed the conversation in Washington. Did you ever wonder how did Occupy spread so fast?

Occupy borrows many ideas and techniques from past nonviolent resistance movements, and from open source philosophy that was successfully implemented in some open-source software projects. E.g. some self-organizing principles of Open Space Technology is implemented in meetings and General Assemblies. Whoever comes is the right people. Whenever it starts is the right time. Whatever happens is what could have happened. Whenever it's over, it's over. There is no preset formal agenda; only a general goal or purpose.

Occupy is a leaderless movement. It is up to the individual to maximize their learning and if they choose to contribute, determine how to contribute themselves. There is no need for identification or credentials. The message or the methods used are not dictated by the organizers. Working Groups such as, Internet, kitchen, library, interfaith, livestream, media are formed as required and all major decisions are made during General Assemblies. Occupy extensively uses social media and the Internet to communicate their message, produce and publish content, and to communicate among themselves.

But, the real answer to why the Occupy Movement spread so fast lies in the strength of their message. Much like most of the working class people, they have gotten tired of, or lost faith in the political process to bring forth positive change, and instead have chosen to take Direct Action. Where the corporate media has failed to identify and publish problems, the Occupy Movement has accurately framed the many problems that Americans and world citizens are facing today. As long as their analyses are factual and they stick to their principles, the movement can only grow.

More Occupy photos.

Song of the Day: Undestructible - Gogol Bordello (2005)