It’s Occupy’s 1-Year Anniversary: Here’s How the Disorganized Movement Is Celebrating
NEW YORK (AP) — Occupy Wall Street began to disintegrate in rapid fashion last winter, when the weekly meetings in New York City devolved into a spectacle of fistfights and vicious arguments.
Punches were thrown and objects were hurled at moderators’ heads. Protesters accused each other of being patriarchal and racist and domineering. Nobody could agree on anything and nobody was in charge. The moderators went on strike and refused to show up, followed in quick succession by the people who kept meeting minutes. And then the meetings stopped altogether.
Police take Amanda Lodoza, an activist associated with the Occupy Wall Street movement, into custody during a march in New York, Sunday, Sept. 16, 2012. The Occupy Wall Street movement will mark its first anniversary on Monday. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
In the city where the movement was born, Occupy was falling apart.
“We weren’t talking about real things at that point,” says Pete Dutro, a tattoo artist who used to manage Occupy’s finances but became disillusioned by the infighting and walked away months ago. “We were talking about each other.”
The trouble with Occupy Wall Street, a year after it bloomed in a granite park in lower Manhattan and spread across the globe, is that nobody really knows what it is anymore. To say whether Occupy was a success or a failure depends on how you define it.
Occupy is a network. Occupy is a metaphor. Occupy is still alive. Occupy is dead. Occupy is the spirit of revolution, a lost cause, a dream deferred.
“I would say that Occupy today is a brand that represents movements for social and economic justice,” says Jason Amadi, a 28-year-old protester who now lives in Philadelphia. “And that many people are using this brand for the quest of bettering this world.”
On Monday, protesters will converge near the New York Stock Exchange to celebrate Occupy’s anniversary, marking the day they began camping out in Zuccotti Park. Marches and rallies in more than 30 cities around the world will commemorate the day.
A priest and police officer watch an Occupy Wall Street meeting take place outside of One Police Plaza on September 16, 2012 in New York City. The Occupy Wall Street movement has seen a renewal in action recently, as they build-up to celebrate the one year anniversary of their gathering on September 17, 2011. Credit: Getty Images
About 300 people observing the anniversary marched Saturday. At least a dozen were arrested, mostly on charges of disorderly conduct, police said.
But the movement is now a shadow of its mighty infancy, when a group of young people harnessed the power of a disillusioned nation and took to the streets chanting about corporate greed and inequality.
Back then it was a rallying cry, a force to be reckoned with. But as the encampments were broken up and protesters lost a gathering place, Occupy in turn lost its ability to organize.
The movement had grown too large too quickly. Without leaders or specific demands, what started as a protest against income inequality turned into an amorphous protest against everything wrong with the world.
“We were there to occupy Wall Street,” Dutro says. “Not to talk about every social ill that we have.”
The community that took shape in Zuccotti Park still exists, albeit in a far less cohesive form. Occupiers mostly keep in touch online through a smattering of websites and social networks. There are occasional conference calls and Occupy-affiliated newsletters. Meetings are generally only convened to organize around specific events, like the much-hyped May Day event that ultimately fizzled last spring.
Occupy Wall Street protestors dance and sing during a concert given by Tom Morello, former guitarist of the band 'Rage Against the Machine,' in Foley Square on September 16, 2012 in New York City. The Occupy Wall Street movement has seen a renewal in action recently, as they build-up to celebrate the one year anniversary of their gathering on September 17, 2011. Credit: Getty Images
The movement’s remaining $85,000 in assets were frozen, though fundraising continues.
“The meetings kind of collapsed under their own weight,” explains Marisa Holmes, a 26-year-old protester among the core organizers who helped Occupy rise up last fall. “They became overly concerned with financial decisions. They became bureaucratic.”
In other words, they became a combustible microcosm of the society that Occupiers had decided to abandon – a new, equally flawed society with its own set of miniature hierarchies and toxic relationships. Even before the ouster at Zuccotti Park, the movement had been plagued with noise and sanitary problems, an inability to make decisions and a widening rift between the park’s full-time residents and the movement’s power players, most of whom no longer lived in the park.
“We’ve always said that we want a new society,” Holmes says. “We’re not asking anything of Wall Street. We don’t expect anything in return.”
Occupy organizers in other U.S. cities have also scattered to the winds in recent months. In Oakland, a metal fence surrounds the City Hall lawn that was the hub of protesters’ infamous tear-gassed, riotous clashes with police. The encampment is gone, as are the thousands who ventured west to help repeatedly shut down one of the nation’s largest ports.
“I don’t think Occupy itself has an enormous future,” says Dr. Mark Naison, a professor at Fordham University in New York City. “I think that movements energized by Occupy have an enormous future.”
Across the nation, there have been protests organized in the name of ending foreclosure, racial inequality, stop and frisk, debt: You name it, Occupy has claimed it. Occupy the Bronx. Occupy the Department of Education. Occupy the Hood. Occupy the Hamptons.
Protesters opposing everything from liquor sales in Whiteclay, Neb., to illegal immigration in Birmingham, Ala., have used Occupy as a weapon to fight for their own causes. In Russia, opposition activists protesting President Vladimir Putin’s re-election to a third term have held a series of Occupy-style protests. Young “indignados” in Spain are joining unions and public servants to rally against higher taxes and cuts to public education and health care.
Occupy Wall Street protestors gather in Foley Square on September 16, 2012 in New York City. The Occupy Wall Street movement has seen a renewal in action recently, as they build-up to celebrate the one year anniversary of their gathering on September 17, 2011. Credit: Getty Images
“All around the world, that youthful spirit of revolt is alive and well,” says Kalle Lasn, co-founder of Adbusters, the Canadian magazine that helped ignite the movement.
In New York, groups of friends who call themselves “affinity groups” still gather at each other’s apartments for dinner to talk about the future of Occupy. A few weeks ago, about 50 Occupiers gathered in a basement near Union Square to plan the anniversary.
There were the usual flare-ups, with people speaking out of order and heckling the moderators. The group could not agree on whether to allow a journalist to take photographs. An older man hijacked the meeting for nearly 15 minutes with a long-winded rant about the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk tactics.
A document called “The Community Agreement of Occupy Wall Street” was distributed that, among other outdated encampment-era rules, exhorted Occupiers not to touch each other’s personal belongings and laid out rules about sleeping arrangements.
It is this sort of inward-facing thinking – the focus on Occupiers, not the world they’re trying to remake – that saddens ex-protesters like Dutro, who wanted to stay focused on taking down Wall Street.
Hanging in the entryway to his Brooklyn apartment, like a relic of the past, is the first poster he ever brought down to Zuccotti Park. In black and gold lettering, painted on a piece of cardboard, the sign says: “Nobody got rich on their own. Wall St. thinks U-R-A-SUCKER.”
He keeps it there as a reminder of what Occupy is really fighting for. Because despite his many frustrations, Dutro hasn’t been able to stamp the Occupy anger out of his soul. Not yet.
On Sept. 17, he’ll be down at Liberty Square again. And he’ll be waiting, like the rest of the world, to see what happens next.
“We came into the park and had this really magical experience,” he says. “It was a big conversation. It was where we all got to realize: `I’m not alone.’”
–
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Comments (78)
moreteaplease
Posted on September 17, 2012 at 11:24am“Protesters accused each other of being patriarchal and racist and domineering. Nobody could agree on anything and nobody was in charge.”
“There were the usual flare-ups, with people speaking out of order and heckling the moderators. The group could not agree on whether to allow a journalist to take photographs. An older man hijacked the meeting for nearly 15 minutes with a long-winded rant about the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk tactics.”
—————————————————–
Anytime you get a bunch of liberals together to form an organization, this is what happens. Everybody wants to be the one in charge and they each want things their own way. So much for that Utopian dream they keep clinging to. It’s the same reason the hippie communes of the 60′s and 70′s never lasted long.
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AvengerK
Posted on September 17, 2012 at 12:12pmJZS…will you be celebrating this auspicious milestone by wearing your Guy Fawkes mask all week or will you simply be choosing not to bathe for a week in solidarity with your stinky OWS cohorts?
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alinskythis
Posted on September 17, 2012 at 4:23pmThey’d better enjoy their Utopia now, because it’s all downhill from here.
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satotbs
Posted on September 17, 2012 at 11:18amThis time it should be called the “Sequel to the biggest flash mob failure of all time”.
If we are offended by the OWS u-tube videos can we storm Union and Hollywood compounds and get an apology from the regime for having to deal with this blasphemy against human decency.
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AllLost
Posted on September 17, 2012 at 11:03amI forgive them for their ignorance and arrogance, but I damn those that taught them to be as they are.
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777jenn
Posted on September 17, 2012 at 4:48pmNot really yours or mine to either forgive OR to damn them. Than God He sees & knows ALL. He will avenge. We get to watch the show!
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toiletclogga
Posted on September 17, 2012 at 10:11amI hope they celebrate with a bath and delousing!
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RepubliCorp
Posted on September 17, 2012 at 9:53amAnother Jimmy Obama dream goes down the toilet
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13th Imam
Posted on September 17, 2012 at 10:00amAnd the TEA Party is stronger than ever. Not a fly by night group of Socialist, Communists, Anarchists, DEMOCRATS ALL
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puck30
Posted on September 17, 2012 at 9:51amOWS made it to one year……they did it but they are pretty much out of steam at this point.
Reminds me……What ever happen to the ‘Coffee Party’? (the so-called answer to the ‘Tea Party’?)
Another so-called ‘Grass Roots’ movements that you don’t hear anything about anymore.
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barber2
Posted on September 17, 2012 at 9:44am” all around the world “….Yes, our International Lefties..the ” Let’s Have A Revolution ” Crowd….just trying so hard to throw out ” capitalism” and replace it with universal poverty and chaos..Hate The Rich…HATE…HATE….HATE…. lost souls …lost hope…lost God…
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steveh931
Posted on September 17, 2012 at 11:50amWell said.
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Bohump
Posted on September 17, 2012 at 9:42amLet Them “OCCUPY” a Jail Cell, .. And Throw away the Key
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Gonzo
Posted on September 17, 2012 at 10:10amFrom the look of it, they never occupy a bath tub or shower stall… that’s for sure.
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PA PATRIOT
Posted on September 17, 2012 at 9:35amRastaman, live up!
Bongoman, don’t give up!
Congoman, live up, yeah!
Binghi-man don’t give up!
Keep your culture:
Don’t be afraid of the vulture!
Grow your dreadlock:
Don’t be afraid of the wolf-pack!
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huey6367
Posted on September 17, 2012 at 9:34amO – Obnoxious
W – Whiny
S – Slobs
Get a job. Take a bath. Not necessarily in that order.
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13th Imam
Posted on September 17, 2012 at 10:02amO = Obamas
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progressiveslayer
Posted on September 17, 2012 at 9:29amThose citizens look thirsty,I suggest they all drink kool aid,the Jim Jones recipe will take all your troubles away,cheers.
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EqualJustice
Posted on September 17, 2012 at 9:24amThey only thing they spread was bed bugs and diseases.
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momrules
Posted on September 17, 2012 at 9:13amI don’t know, I’m not ruling Occupy out yet. There are a lot of people who still think this country owes them something they haven’t earned themselves.
Occupy may down but don’t count them out just yet.
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Shifty6
Posted on September 17, 2012 at 9:31amWhen the financial support from the democraps runs out….Occupy will run out. They have no idea what they even want let alone stand for. What they have really done is get all the weak minded people together. The people who can’t think for themselves.
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vox_populi
Posted on September 17, 2012 at 5:22pm“There are a lot of people who still think this country owes them something they haven’t earned themselves.”
Yeah, they’re called capitalists. Parasites who live off the labor of others.
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woodyee
Posted on September 17, 2012 at 8:53amThe (bowel) movement known as occupy dissolved because they rejected republican values for pure democracy. Democracy is mob rule. Remember how every issue was discussed in groups and people voted with a show of hands (right or wrong the “aye’s” had it)? How individual questions and answers were repeated by the mob?
(for you kiddies, our Country was founded as a Constitutional Republic.)
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progressiveslayer
Posted on September 17, 2012 at 9:23amYes we have a constitutional republic,at least what’s left of it after a century of assault.Most kids and adults for that matter believe we have a ‘democracy’,chalk that up to progressives teaching their revisionist form of history. The Marxist POS in the WH gave us the ‘Arab spring’ and the precious ‘democracy’ that’s killing thousands in the middle east and is striving to kill many more.
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mike_trivisonno
Posted on September 17, 2012 at 8:50amOccupy and Anonymous are fronts for Islamic Jihad.
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wisehiney
Posted on September 17, 2012 at 8:50am“If you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of your trouble, you would’nt sit for a month.” Teddy Roosevelt
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RJJinGadsden
Posted on September 17, 2012 at 9:01amI’m afraid old Teddy, and I used to really like and respect him, but he was part of the problem of today. Teddy was one of the first progressives to hold the presidency.
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JamesTH
Posted on September 17, 2012 at 8:47amGood to see that the spirit of protest lives on! Even if I don’t completely agree with everything they do, I’m glad that there are still people in the world who will stand up for what they believe in. Democracy Now! has both live coverage and interviews on the show today all dedicated to OWS, I suggest checking it out for more in-depth coverage. You can watch at http://democracynow.org
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RJJinGadsden
Posted on September 17, 2012 at 8:58amYou’ve made a total of three posts here, and they have all included the link to that site, which does support the OWS movement. I call BS on your statement above. You apparently do support the movement. Take you lies and head back over to HuffPo.
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wisehiney
Posted on September 17, 2012 at 9:04amThe only thing they believe in is student loan forgiveness.
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PA PATRIOT
Posted on September 17, 2012 at 9:23amWant to see protest
Wait until November 6 when the sleeping giant gets out of bed and goes to the polls.
Romney in a landslide.
WTP
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ireport uderide
Posted on September 17, 2012 at 9:24amTroll Alert! As in the fishing term.
Democracy Now is a front group for Communist Party USA.
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barber2
Posted on September 17, 2012 at 9:54am“Democracy Now” is a front group for the Communist Party . And so is the New Far Left Democrat Party ! Typical Big Lie tactic. The OWS is just an international organization of ” ant-capitalists” ( wink, wink ) to which Ayers and the Obama crowd share the same political beliefs.. ( that’s REALLY what all of that Smoke and Mirror ” CHANGE ” rhetoric was all about ).
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vox_populi
Posted on September 17, 2012 at 5:39pm“Democracy Now is a front group for Communist Party USA.”
lolwut?
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Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on September 17, 2012 at 8:43amI have a question, in addition to the MSM failing, for obvious reasons, to mention of the Occupy mess here; that no one save for drudge and a couple of other sites are covering the brewing mess with Japan and China…
http://www.trevorloudon.com/2012/09/chinese-navy-holds-drills-as-protests-against-japan-intensify/
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wisehiney
Posted on September 17, 2012 at 8:51amGotta keep that consumer confidence up for oBUMMER. I’m thinking they may lose that battle.
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Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on September 17, 2012 at 8:38amThanks to God for the dissolution of the Occupy movement; though the puppetmasters still remain on the lamb and can probably get it moving again in time for the elections to be disrupted.
I get a kick out of the one who had a sign, according to the article that said “Nobody got rich on their own…’
People who have wealth have mostly earned it by investing, starting and operating businesses, and providing jobs for people they hire. They have taken the risks, and profited from it lawfully; and yet these useful idiots of Occupy still demand that any money made by others be given to them.
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vox_populi
Posted on September 17, 2012 at 5:44pm“Thanks to God for the dissolution of the Occupy movement.”
Me too – the splinter organizations have proven very effective at picking away at the foundations of capitalism. ‘Occupy’ remains useful as a general organizing banner, though, gotta give it that.
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One Man Mormon Blues Band
Posted on September 17, 2012 at 8:37amCockroaches.
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Stelex
Posted on September 17, 2012 at 8:33amHappy Birthday Obnoxious
Whiny
Socialists
One year old and still acting like it…………………
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huey6367
Posted on September 17, 2012 at 8:30amHow did they celebrate? I’m going to say with “brownies” and then a nice, quiet nap.
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RJJinGadsden
Posted on September 17, 2012 at 9:03amLOL, probably a large bag of Doritos between the brownies and the nap.
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Psychosis
Posted on September 17, 2012 at 8:27amWe came into the park and had this really magical experience,” he says. “It was a big conversation. It was where we all got to realize: `I’m not alone.
hmmmmmmm fairy tales and a realization that the world is full of idiots just like them
you cant fix stupid
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barber2
Posted on September 17, 2012 at 9:46amReading that quote, I think I detect some early exposure to marijuana which might be the glue that holds these wing-nuts to Obama …
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Zipit
Posted on September 17, 2012 at 8:27amKeep up the great coverage!
I always enjoy seeing pictures of our friends, WANGO, MaryBethElizabeth, JZS, Encinom, etc! Warms my heart to see that they care so much!
Take to the streets kiddies! You too Dora, if you can even find your way to the march……..
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BenInNY
Posted on September 17, 2012 at 8:44amI have the feeling if we saw Wango there he’d be kicking some occupy ****.
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4xeverything
Posted on September 17, 2012 at 8:45amI’m sure Dora will find her way there she has Map. He sings and dances.
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RJJinGadsden
Posted on September 17, 2012 at 9:05amIf you remember a post from JZS just less than a year ago, these are his heroes.
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Zipit
Posted on September 17, 2012 at 9:16amYes RJJ! And Wang is more likely to be “kissing ****”, at OWS.
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PA PATRIOT
Posted on September 17, 2012 at 9:25amRJJ
Just checked out your response from yesterday.
Awesome clip
Wang, Wango Wing Wang, Wingo, Wangowing Wannggoo
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RJJinGadsden
Posted on September 17, 2012 at 9:32amZIPIT, Whew! Glad The Blaze saw fit not to print that photo!
BTW, damn you for putting that picture in my mind too…LOL
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RJJinGadsden
Posted on September 17, 2012 at 9:36amPA PATRIOT, I’m almost sure that you mean that clip from the movie Hollywood Knights. Saw that when my unit moved into the Cutler Ridge Holiday Inn in Miami during the Mariel Boat Lift. Haven’t seen it since, but the mention of “Wang” brought it all back.
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RJJinGadsden
Posted on September 17, 2012 at 9:42am4XEVERYTHING, I can just imagine that Dora is there. She claimed that none of us would make it through 5 minutes in NYC where she is. I guess a bunch of us had ticked her off on something.
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PA PATRIOT
Posted on September 17, 2012 at 10:02amRJJ
Yes I appreciate the throw back with a tie to our buddy Wang.
I do not remember the flick, but that is not unusual for a product of the late 60s and early 70s.
Like Rod Stewart sang “Its late September and I should really be back at school”
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SouthP
Posted on September 17, 2012 at 8:27amMaybe I can show up to one of these events and find myself a cheap date. Half these women look confused to begin with, imagine their surprise when I dump them the next day.
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wisehiney
Posted on September 17, 2012 at 9:08amImagine your surprise at the lice and fleas.
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