Went on KPFA last night to talk to UC Berkeley Professor and Music Historian Rickey Vincent about the events at Occupy Oakland on Wednesday with friends Justin Richmond and Charlie Stocker.
Our interview begins about 34 minutes in to this clip right here. It's available through the website for two more weeks, and I'll try to figure out how to get it from an archive after that.
A couple things that I think those in the movement (we in the movement?) need to keep in mind that we didn't have a chance to have an open discussion about on the show, is the importance of thinking critically within the left about our actions, and about what happened at Occupy Oakland and what's occurring at Occupy events everywhere.
At Oakland, a small contingent of people decided to occupy the Traveler's Aid Society without having an open, democratic and transparent decision about the move. This is dangerous, because many folks followed them without realizing that they didn't know whom they were following, or why. I'm not one of those who believes that police conspirators manufacture situations like this in order to provide proper provocation for their actions. But I am someone who believes that if we allow this to happen within the movement, we are not acting in accordance with its ideals. And that while I did see police getting ready to raid the camp before the situation at the Traveler's Aid Society got completely out of hand, it's indefensible that we put ourselves in such a compromising position to begin with.
While occupying foreclosed buildings may be a smart direction for Occupy to move in, if the democratic process is bypassed in order to get us there, we are not being faithful to the movement — are more importantly, we are not being faithful to each other or respectful of the fact that the power of out intellects together far outweighs and outlasts the power of our intellects alone.
Moreover, if we play off vandalism as an acceptable aside within the movement, we're not being faithful to it, but rather allowing a small contingent of people to overtake our image within the media, among policy makers, and internally.
The same goes for presenting ourselves as violently anti-police or anti-governance.
As a friend of mine noted, folks need to keep their wits about them in order to stay safe. We should celebrate our successes while maintaining awareness.
I think whispers of a dialogue about this have already begun, and that we should encourage murmurs as well.
Our interview begins about 34 minutes in to this clip right here. It's available through the website for two more weeks, and I'll try to figure out how to get it from an archive after that.
A couple things that I think those in the movement (we in the movement?) need to keep in mind that we didn't have a chance to have an open discussion about on the show, is the importance of thinking critically within the left about our actions, and about what happened at Occupy Oakland and what's occurring at Occupy events everywhere.
At Oakland, a small contingent of people decided to occupy the Traveler's Aid Society without having an open, democratic and transparent decision about the move. This is dangerous, because many folks followed them without realizing that they didn't know whom they were following, or why. I'm not one of those who believes that police conspirators manufacture situations like this in order to provide proper provocation for their actions. But I am someone who believes that if we allow this to happen within the movement, we are not acting in accordance with its ideals. And that while I did see police getting ready to raid the camp before the situation at the Traveler's Aid Society got completely out of hand, it's indefensible that we put ourselves in such a compromising position to begin with.
While occupying foreclosed buildings may be a smart direction for Occupy to move in, if the democratic process is bypassed in order to get us there, we are not being faithful to the movement — are more importantly, we are not being faithful to each other or respectful of the fact that the power of out intellects together far outweighs and outlasts the power of our intellects alone.
Moreover, if we play off vandalism as an acceptable aside within the movement, we're not being faithful to it, but rather allowing a small contingent of people to overtake our image within the media, among policy makers, and internally.
The same goes for presenting ourselves as violently anti-police or anti-governance.
As a friend of mine noted, folks need to keep their wits about them in order to stay safe. We should celebrate our successes while maintaining awareness.
I think whispers of a dialogue about this have already begun, and that we should encourage murmurs as well.
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