We have occupied Dewey Square because Wall Street has occupied our government, broken our economic system, divided our country, and negatively impacted our lives for far too long. Occupation is a single tactic, but its significance is much greater than that.
By creating this public space dedicated to political discourse, we have created a social destination where anyone can become an activist. What starts as a visit to satisfy curiosity can end by participating in the decision making process of an entire community. What starts as the desire to hear a public speaker can end in the commitment to meet regularly to advocate around critical issues. This is what has grown the Occupy Movement across the country and here in Massachusetts.
Not only does this act of protesting in a physical space 24 hours a day deepen our engagement with Occupy Boston and the Occupy Movement; it also connects us with the ecosystem of community organizations whose activities predate our own. As individuals whose lives have been effected by economic injustice, we begin to see ourselves as part of a much bigger picture. Our stories gain new life as we connect them with the stories of others. In that sense, Dewey Square has become a point of outreach for a much larger movement. What starts as a passing interest can become a lifelong commitment to social and economic justice.
We have occupied Dewey Square because we have joined a movement to change the world. You can’t evict an idea.
2 Responses to “Why We Have Occupied Dewey Square”
I am from Occupy LA and want to say that camping is a tactic not a strategy. You make an important point about why it was important to have a steady presence at a public space. But that can continue within the confines of the law. The night after our eviction, Occupy LA resumed our GA meetings on the west steps of City Hall and continue to plan actions.
I did not camp there but attended Action Committee meetings and GAs. I worked on a committee that planned a two day teach-in featuring such notable speakers as Robert Reich and others to explain to occupiers and the general public how our country got into this mess. Once the teach-in was over, I started planning Occupy Congress at Home, a week long protest at local congress peoples’ offices to introduce us, the 99%, to Congress and remind them that we’re the people they’re supposed to represent. There are many more actions planned some, like this that work within the system, and some, like the West Coast port shut down on Monday that are pure civil disobedience. Both types of actions need to be continued as we expand our presence and spread our message.
As the Nation article about your encampment so aptly described, the encampments were also a model of the kind of society that we would like to see, one where the homeless are seen as valuable participants who we listen to and include and not denizens who we ignore and cast out. That will be lost with the end of the encampments. But we in LA are already talking about accepting space donated by the SEIU seven miles away from downtown to house the homeless and get them off of Skid Row. This is something our local government has failed to do. So perhaps this is something that can be replicated in other cities.
My point is this, the Occupy Movement will continue to grow past the eviction. And if I were you, I would try to go out in a more classy way than the rest of us did. I knew that after all that had happened, the LAPD were not going to pepper spray us and beat us with billy clubs. And although they had a tremendous show of force, 1400 cops for less than 1000 protesters, they cleared the park with minimal violence and got high marks in the press the next day. I had tried to head this off behind the scenes by suggesting that we clean up the park until not a single scrap of paper remain. That at night we have a silent candlelight vigil where we line up in the form of a 99 with all our supporters. And at 12 midnight we silently walk out of the park, which we renamed Solidarity Park. And the only thing that would remain would be a single cardboard sign in the dirt that said “Solidarity Park. This is What Democracy Looked Like. Oct. 1, 21011- Dec. 1, 2011. How awesome would that have been?
But although many cooler heads agreed with my idea – and we could have gotten some concessions from the mayor had we pursued this behind the scenes – I was told that there were people who would refuse to leave, that they wanted to “hold the camp” like it was some sort of action movie. And from what I gather, your GA last night refused to endorse the dance party proposal. I think that we have to start thinking more strategically. We leave on our own terms and come back the next night just as strong.
Good luck to you and to us. We are the 99%. We will prevail.
What’s not being occupied is the insides of your empty skulls. The absence of gray matter is obvious.