One of my good friends is really supportive and active of the OWS movement. In theory, I am also. But I have very complicated feelings around the whole thing. Do I believe in economic equality? YES!!! Do I think that everyone should have equal access to education? YES!!! Do I think that social movements need to start working across issues instead of in issue? YES!!! Am I comfortable with the methods and ways that OWS has chosen to engage in this work…sometimes…. The post below was originally posted on my other blog 11.02.11 it outlines my feelings then, and with a couple of edits, my feelings today. Still to be covered, just criticizing without offering another option is my biggest pet peeve, so what’s next for me?
Occupy Wall Street
- Brief Overview
- Reflection on some of my experiences down there (2 times)
- Faith Overview
- What does it mean to be an activist?
- Religion and Activism
- So what about me?
The Overview:
In early September a group of people decided to go down to wall street and occupy it. The general motivation, the drastic and growing economic inequality in today’s society. For example, there are those who get paid a lot of money to sit at a desk and send e-mails (i could be one of them) while the person who cleans the toilet makes minimum wage or a little higher–at least they are in a union. At times I feel bad for this choice: I don’t get up early in the morning to do about 15 jobs just to make a slightly bit more than the poverty line. But while I wallow in my guilt I can also look up and see those that are also single and childless making 5 to 10 times my salary by exploiting those who work a variety of low end jobs just to make ends meet. For the moment, let’s push aside my own guilt and focus on the OWS movement as it has come to be called.
Pretty quickly the peaceful non-anarchist part of the movement has moved into Zuccotti Park. And it has become abundantly clear that while folks are characterized by conservative media as a rag tag group of misfits, they are actually children of the middle class-elite sector of society. Most of the people running things down there are college educated folks who are in debt and can’t find employment in the places when they were told they would be abundant. This is not a movement established by the bottom 25%, but more like the middle 35%. While it is a movement by the people and for the people, we aren’t talking about all the people. The lack of people of color, intense coalition building with other grassroots organizations before coming out into the public sphere is apparent. But this seems to be a choice rather than a missed opportunity. The goal is to engage in a different kind of democracy, one where several voices are heard and then decisions are made on a 9/10th vote. If 90% don’t agree, you have to come up with another solution. The underpinning of White privilege and elitist educated culture oozes throughout the movement, not because I believe that people are trying to create some kind of exclusive movement or actively engaging in behaviors to keep people of color out of the space, but you can’t help who you are. (Although I am a woman of color from a working class background, I am also a member of this elite group that I am describing).
If one only knows these spaces, then the idea of creating open space is necessary. I have two friends that exemplify the divergent poles within any movement that is going to address economic inequality:
1. Ms. X
Now Ms. X has one interest: the upliftment of Black people into their rightful place. She will inevitably say some pretty awful things about White folks and is unapologetic. She believes that White people have been so entrenched with racism that they can’t help but be racist and there is not possible way that they will ever be redeemed from their history of racism. She hates Christianity and any religion that has colonized Black people. I don’t know if hate is the right word here. I think she doesn’t focus any of her energies into anything that would possibly distract from her work and focus on Black folks who know that they are Black working together for a Black community that engages with “the light.” If you aren’t down for that, then it’s hard for Ms. X to really take you seriously. This could characterize Ms. X as a mean spirit, but she is the opposite. She loves herself, her friends and her community. If you are White she loves you too, but she doesn’t see her work as working with you. It’s complicated.
So her response to the OWS movement is, “they’re just some crazy crackers trying to do what they always do, not realizing that they are placating to the system.” (now I don’t condone the use of that word for White folks, but I’ve felt that moment and I understand).
For me, I get where Ms. X is coming from, I love her dearly because I’ve known her for a long time. There is much wisdom in her words and she has taken a lot of time to think through the complexities of every situation. But I think that the upliftment (not a passive outsider doing to, but an active verb where one engages in processes that make life better for self and community because self cannot be separated from community) of Black folks is intimately interconnected with the fight against economic inequality because at the end of the day what we are fighting is GREED. Bernice Johnson Regan did a presentation at UVM once about this and I join her band wagon! It is greed that fuels racism, it is greed that fuels economic inequality, the destruction of the planet (which will affect the brown and the poor more than anyone else), etc… You name the problem and it boils down to greed. So for me OWS is integrally connected to my concerns for Black folks in America and throughout the diaspora.
II. Ms. Y
Now Ms. Y is a White woman and she has recently (within in the past two years or so) discovered the falsity of the American dream. She has chosen to not work in a position that would yield a salary beyond a livable wage. She thinks that working an office job sucks the life out of you (partly true) and therefore doesn’t want to be involved in that system. But here’s the thing–she works for people who are involved in “the system.” By osmosis, no matter what you do for employment, you are a member for the economic system. One may choose to do many things to be less greedy and stay away from that kind of world, but most of her friend network are people who come from privilege. Almost all are college educated, with advanced degrees. Basically most of her friends are the kinds of folks in the park, with lots of book knowledge, really intelligent individuals who have often chosen poverty. It wasn’t something that they had to accept. The weird thing is that Ms. Y grew up kind of poor and then “got out.” I often feel like she sees me as a sell out because I haven’t decided to engage in this process, but I think it would be disrespectful to ancestors who sacrificed not so that I could choose my future, but so I could have a future that was much less difficult than the roads they traveled. My choice to find employment that pays me well and is drone-like is out of obligation, not choice. Bohemian life style, not my thing, but the decor is cool.
Also, you could see Ms. Y and think spoiled–but she’s anything but spoiled. She doesn’t try to be racist, but racist things come out of her mouth. We have great honest conversations across our differences and privileges. We went to the same college, she’s White and I’m Black, we’re both straight. But I grew up more socially middle class. She grew up working class, but more focused on the American dream. She always thought it possible to pull one’s self up by their boot straps until the struggles of her family. But I was taught the opposite, you better work the system, kiss ass, and figure out how to be a weasel or you won’t make it through this American system (my family may think it uncouth to put it that way, but when you simmer the lessons down, there you go).
So if you can’t guess by now Ms. Y has been all about the movement. It is a strong and powerful motivation in her life. She goes down on a regular basis and sees herself as a part of something. Most White folks don’t get that feeling because White is seen as normal, so there is little belief in there being a group identity. In college she embraced her statehood, but other than that, I haven’t really seen her connected to a politically based social anything before. And that is awesome. Do I feel like I am a part of something when I’m down there–not really. Mostly it reminds me of my college experiences where I try to explain to people of color what the White folks are doing. Almost everyday I say–I’m going to go down, but there is always a reason why I don’t.
Both of my friends kind of represent extremes of this stuff. The people of color who don’t see that this movement is about them and the White people who are all wrapped in the kool aid. Now just because you drink the Kool Aid doesn’t mean that you don’t have some issues with the flavor.
Two to three months later and everyone is frustrated. Those inside and outside. When you have a movement that hasn’t defined what success looks like, it’s hard to say if you are winning or losing, but maybe its not about that.
OWS is winning by: creating a community, getting the elite (even if they don’t know they are elite) to care about something that isn’t themselves. The Park and the society that has been built in the park is amazing, the way that folks are able to work together to build a strong community reminds me of the best parts of Vermont. But that tends to work, when most of the folks look alike. As the movement becomes more diverse, I will be intrigued to see if they are able to maintain that sense of positive community. The police are getting a shit load of overtime. Oh and the media every once in a while has to actually engage their guests in real conversations about economic inequality.
The media still hasn’t actually called people out on this phrase “class warfare”: I still don’t understand how class warfare is telling rich people to pay their fare share from what they have earned, and not when we let children go hungry in this country or allow strong, able bodied, intelligent people to end up in prison instead of engaging in innovative practices that could transform our country for the good, but I digress.
OWS is losing: there is organization, but not a lot of visible progress. No policies will change, no politicians are going down and engaging. The right wing tries to be present, but there is little dialogue. The place looks more like a police state where they are stuck in a bull pen than a movement that is controlling or occupying any part of Wall Street. It is pretty much business as usual, except for the barricades that annoy everyone.
Religion and OWS
So if you don’t already know OWS has an interfaith coalition that has been working on ways to support the movement. Now it is interfaith in the same ways that most things are interfaith: There are a lot of different Christian groups and then a rep from some the other Abrahamic religions (kind of the same problems that I discussed earlier. when there are many Christians gathered, it means that other religious people don’t feel welcomed, not because Christians are actively trying to keep out other religious folks, but we tend to recruit people we know and when your circle of friends “look like you” then you tend to have a movement that is insular.)
But now that I have addressed the obvious. Just because OWS or its off shoots aren’t perfect, doesn’t mean that they are bad. Here is a clip from the religious folks:
If you would like to see the best video. Visit Judson Memorial Church’s website.
Ok, I think this is long enough. Now that I have covered the complicated things in my head regarding this movement—soon I will talk about personal connection and action. What the hell does this have to do with my spirituality?
Pursuing Call 