Culture

Why Victory Wouldn't Be Enough – Notes about the Occupy Movement, Nov 11th

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Ever since the beginning of the Arab Spring, and especially since the early days of the Occupy movement in the US, I have been following the wave of unrest that’s been sweeping the globe with great interest. I have visited the Oakland Occupation and participated in the general strike on Nov. 2nd. I have been writing about my amazement, my humility, and my concerns for some weeks. On the basis of all I have seen, heard, read, and felt, I continue to nurse some hope that this movement may be the beginning of transcending the legacy of separation and creating new social structures attentive to the needs of humans, other life forms, and the planet.

Non-Violent Communication (NVC)

A Day At Occupy Oakland: Finding the Leader Within

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The November 2 General Strike in Oakland was already up and running when I ascended the stairs from BART at 8:30 a.m. The traffic through the intersection was as it is every Wednesday morning. The only difference was that there was a platform set up at the corner with music playing and a few people speaking into the microphone, trying to awaken the people in their tents, and gather a crowd from the people passing by.. A few people were dancing behind the platform and others were standing around – waiting for something to happen, or walking around passing out various newspapers and fliers. But, who are the people on the platform? Somehow they seem to be the ones in charge – the organizers, the ralliers – but really, who is in charge?

Non-Violent Communication (NVC)

An Open Letter to the Occupy Movement

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There’s plenty of room in this struggle for a diversity of movements and a diversity of organizing and actions. Some may choose strict Gandhian nonviolence, others may choose fight-back resistance. But for the Occupy movement, strategic nonviolent direct action is a framework that will allow us to grow in diversity and power.

General News

Beyond Consensus or Majority: Notes about Decision-Making in a Leaderless Movement

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On October 18th I participated in the general assembly meeting in OccupyOakland. On October 22nd I posted a piece about that experience, which I named In Search of Dialogue. Even before writing that piece I have been engaging in my mind with the large question of decision-making in this movement. Since I posted this piece, I have received many comments and have read much that others have written, all of which have taken my thinking forward. I remain deeply humble as I reflect on this movement.

Non-Violent Communication (NVC)

Love in the Wake of Violence: Notes from Oakland, October 28th

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“It is not nonviolence if we merely love those that love us. It is nonviolence only when we love those that hate us.” — Gandhi
I have not been to OccupyOakland since Saturday. For almost two days, no one was there, as police blockaded the area after destroying the camp early Tuesday morning. As of Wednesday night, occupiers broke through the police blockade and reentered the plaza. Along the way police used so called “non-lethal” weapons, one of which critically injured a young man who has since become a symbol for global solidarity for Oakland.

Non-Violent Communication (NVC)

Touring the Aftermath

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It was heartbreaking and surreal to be at the “crime scene” that was, until recently, Occupy Oakland. I don’t really have words. When I first went down there, the police had the whole area blocked off and you couldn’t get close. There were pockets of occupiers gathered on street corners talking about what they had seen, what had happened, and you could hear a lot of anger and amazement at the number of police that had been deployed. People were naming off the different police departments that were represented, like trainspotters.

General News

Does Nonviolence Work? Notes from OccupyOakland October 24th

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On my third visit to OccupyOakland, I co-led two workshops hosted by Nichola Torbett, founder of Seminary of the Street. In both of them I collaborated with Nichola and with Kazu Haga, an Oakland-based Kingian Nonviolence trainer. The conversations that emerged in these workshops, along with a recent post by Sharif Abdullah about vision implementation, form the basis of what I am writing below. Effectiveness of Nonviolence vs. Commitment to Nonviolence
Although only one of the people who came to either workshop expressed an active disagreement with a commitment to nonviolence, her presence was sufficient to spark a profound conversation about the topic.

General News

In Search of Dialogue: Notes from OccupyOakland, October 22nd

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After my first visit to OccupyOakland I felt inspired. I was connected to the vision, to a sense of possibility. I was fully open to the unfolding, to seeing what would come. I’ve been very encouraged by the response I’ve been getting to my post about that visit. Before I posted those notes I had a second visit to OccupyOakland, and my current picture is very different, more nuanced, sober, intrigued, concerned, excited, and even more clear that I don’t know much.