How Rena Occupies

According to Rena Patty, the occupiers of Zucotti Park are “committed to a non-hierarchical structure” as they move forward to make change and grow in numbers. While some occupiers “step into leadership roles”, the structure remains fluid says Patty. Ever since the world learned about Occupy Wall Street, there has been speculation about what occupiers want and who’s in charge. I guess that’s why the professor of my journalism class decided to go there as a class, and talk to occupiers. I had the pleasure interviewing Rena with my classmates, Lia and Jacob. Jacob’s video footage of the conversation with Rena probably won’t help you identify a specific goal or leader. But you will come to a better understanding of what this movement and the occupiers are all about.

Like the structure and mission of the occupiers, Rena’s role wasn’t crystal clear to me at first. And it shouldn’t be. She brought her expertise as a "certified trainer" in the field of "non-violent communication", and she cares about people deeply. Even though she doesn’t sleep in the park like other occupiers, she been a presence there since she arrived from the state of Washington about a week ago. Rena spoke a lot about helping the community of occupiers make “peaceful connections” with each other and the community around them. 

I listened to her talk in the terms that are relevant in her field of work. From her description of the world’s “sense of despair” to her words about making “peaceable connections”, it was all starting to make sense to me. Rena came to Zucotti Park as a doctor in the field of communication, of peace. Like a doctor would respond to a medical emergency, Rena responded to Occupy Wall St. She saw a need in a cause that meant something to her and she met the need.

Rena spoke a great deal about making sure everyone “has a voice” in the process. But who’s everyone? She talked about the importance of people “naming needs” in order to get along. Whose needs? And when she spoke about how to communicate to someone who isn’t communicating with you, she offered the example of “you’re not hearing me”. And then it occurred to me, that the largest mission of the occupiers is just being heard. Who? All of us! Here in the midst of an age of social media and a chance to communicate with the world, the people have the rare opportunity to simply be heard. So for now, the mission seems to be to make sure everyone has a voice! Therefore, you will only understand the message of occupiers if you listen very carefully.

Abolition

For me, Chapter 2 of the book Mightier than the Sword, was a very important reminder of what freedom, community organizing, and social movement is all about. As author Rodger Streitmatter points out ", it was the abolitionists editors who first built the national momentum against slavery in the 1830's and 1840's". Since blacks had no voice in society, and slavery was such a polarizing issue, it was necessary to reach out to people and change their minds about where they stood on the issue. Streitmatter’s statement depicts the important part journalism plays in fueling social movements. The freedom to have a voice in society was, and still is so deeply valued by Americans, that people such as Rev. Elijah P. Lovejoy were willing to give their lives to protect it. The First Amendment, Freedom of the Press, is what ensures that our voices can be heard.

In today’s world, the battles that Lovejoy and others fought are still significant. They paved the way for occupiers to get their word out about the Occupy Wall St. movement. Likewise, occupiers have the task to change minds about where people stand on the rights of the poor and middle class. Then, like now, people are banded together against tyranny.

Also in this chapter, the author used editor William Lloyd Garrison’s story to highlight the exhilaration that comes with freely reaching out to change minds, and succeeding. Steitmatter stated that “slaves hoisted the editor onto their shoulders and carried him to a platform in Zion’s Church, surrounded by thousands of African-American men and women who understood what he had done for them”. That sounds powerful. But what did he do for them? As the chapter illustrates, Garrison tirelessly and fearlessly continued to people speak out for those who didn’t have a voice amidst tyranny. In today’s world, it’s the voice of the poor that need to be amplified until occupiers are carried into Garrision’s world of exhilaration.

NYT Slideshow as an Organizing Tool

                An old but popular quote “pictures speak louder than words” never grows old. And when you’re talking about comparisons, photojournalism is a wonderful tool. The New York Times publication, “Rallies Across the Globe Protest Economic Policies” appears online as a slideshow.  It depicts protests that were held around the world on Saturday October 15, 2011 in support of New York City Occupy Wall Street protestors. Together, the photos show that a social movement is rippling throughout the world, but when comparing them, the photos show that the core and strength of the movement is presently located in New York City. A photo taken at Washington Square Park clearly tells readers that a crowd too big to fit in the photo capture, was present. Other slideshow photos, such as the one taken in Los Angeles, show passionate but smaller protests. And this is why the photos are so important.

                For protest organizers around the world, this is very useful information. The photos allow readers to see and feel the growing power and diversity of the movement in a way that words can’t. And organizers can draw on the visuals and gather a true sense of who is part of the movement.  We can note that the movement is becoming more diverse, while we observe where more outreach is needed. Thanks to the slideshow, the public was provided with a quick and understandable analysis and comparison of the protests. Hopefully by the time the next slideshow appears in the New York Times, we will see thousands gathered in the places where only hundreds were photographed before.

New York Times Needs to Take Its Pulse

Today's edition of the New York Times online included Michael Kimmerman's article "In Protest, the Power of Place" along with Cara Buckley and Rachel Donadio's article "Buoyed by Wall St. Protests, Rallies Sweep the Globe" . Both articles were about the growing social movement that’s been growing out of Zuccotti Park. Occupy Wall Street has turned into an important international movement that is touching all aspects of United States politics, as shown in Nicholas Confessore and Griff Palmer’s article “Romney beating Obama, in a fight for Wall St. Cash”. Yet, the New York Times as a whole doesn't seem to have its finger on the pulse of what's really going on right here in New York City. When I visited the New York Times online, I was stunned to read little about the massive march that began in Washington Square Park and thundered on its way to Times Square. The march in and of itself was worthy of headlines. For sure, if the details are in the New York Times, they’re well hidden from interested readers.

Yesterday I took part in what organizers are calling the first New York City All-City Student Assembly held in Washington Square Park. The hundreds of students that convened here, marched to LaGuardia Place to support the 23 people who were arrested during their political action against banks. We returned to the park to be met by thousands of protestors, who we joined in a march to Times Square. I haven’t seen any articles that truly describe the power harnessed in this protest in opposition to the social injustice of corporate greed and our government’s part in it.

The march itself was spectacular and spoke to the bravery of the people who began this movement. Nearly shoulder to shoulder on some blocks, police officers lined each of the streets where protestors marched. The military style presence of the officers created an atmosphere of antagonism which I’m sure was the cause of confrontations between police and protesters at Times Square. It was my hope that the New York Times would capture the aura of the protest march and the depth of this movement which is truly a revolution.

At some point the people of this city, including officers, are going to have choices to make. The presence of the 99% is growing into a population that officers won’t be able to intimidate and the New York Times won’t be able to take lightly. The 99% isn’t made up of just young people anymore. There are people of all kinds coming to the front lines. It’s a blend of race, ethnicity, religion, age, and so on. The New York Times better get its finger on the pulse of Occupied Wall St.

               

We the people!

Today's New York Times article boldly, states that "police, too, release videos of arrests on bridge". The intent of this article seems to be to be for city agencies to validate the actions of the New York City Police Department thus far, against “Occupy Wall St.” protesters. Included in the article are two videos in which officers are shown announcing the intent to arrest citizens. They do this with hand held mega phones. Given the numerous online videos showing police abuse of protesters, I think the attempt to validate the actions of the NYPD is laughable. The NYPD’s use of mega phones and a video camera seems like a weak attempt to save face. Nice try. But it won’t work! The world is watching.

The activities on Wall St. are seemingly being suppressed by television media and city government.  Few televisions stories have been shown about this huge historic event and moment in social movement history. Even so, protesters have come together with no city resources and equipment available to them. They are using their own voices as human mega phones. People are holding signs up to make their peaceful, although firm intentions clear. They are making their messages crystal clear to the NYPD and city government while the police do not make their intentions clear to protesters. We the people are not foolish. We will not believe a weak story such as this one. There’s too much evidence otherwise.