Occupation Without Message

Many observers have failed to realize that the occupation is a positive act of protest in itself, regardless of any specific message that the participants attach themselves to. The act of self-organization, the practice of direct democracy, and the creation of a community based around an ill-defined discontent are not insignificant factors in understanding why people have gathered here. These group actions speak louder than any of the words that have been ineffectually prodded out of any individual person.

The pressure to formulate a list of demands serves only one purpose: to settle them quickly and end the occupation. Are we to celebrate the day we can finally put an end to the inspired discussions, give up the invention of alternative social arrangements, and leave our festival of solidarity only to return to a life submissive to the same economic imperatives employed on slightly more level playing field? No, we must see that 'reform is not a breath of liberty, it is the respiration of tyranny.' The hostile critics who cry “get a job!” (while completely unknowing of how many of us do have jobs, and the various reasons we do not), give both a perfect illustration of the central concern of negotiators, and a portent of what the policy makers will soon say once reform has been made. How miserable their lives must be, that the slightest interruption in the absurd quest for production and consumption at all costs can arouse so much fear and anger in them!

This has been the predominant attitude towards the recent events in the Middle East as well. The instant the regime was overthrown in Egypt, the U.S. media cheers, “Great! Mubarak is gone! Get back to work!.” Why would anyone want to get back to work? No post-protest government will function as healthily as the organization in Tahrir Square, precisely because the miserable indifference of a well-regulated work force and the “every man for himself” attitude engendered by capitalism are violently opposed to the enthusiasm, spontaneity, and spirit of camaraderie generated by a community of protesters. The same is true for Liberty Plaza, as for any other occupation site, no matter how small in number or uncertain in aim.

If we demand anything at the moment, it is an end to the demands being made on us. The occupation offers a place where time is severed from its monetary equivalence and spent luxuriously, commercial relationships based on mutual exploitation are replaced by human ones, and a political system that directly involves the community in decision making is made possible. The more we strive for emancipation on a small scale – through the skill sharing of working groups, the diligent democratic processes of general assemblies, the free giving of food, music, knowledge, etc. - the more senseless it becomes to translate our creative energies into policy changes that will reintegrate us into a world directed by coercion, bitterness, and greed.

-Ryan Wallace