This past weekend was the annual Left Forum in New York
City. 2011 was my first year attending the Forum, and my reflections on this
year’s event ranged from high to low. In part to carry forward my admiration
for Grace Lee Boggs, “in order to have a real revolution, we must have a
revolution of our selves first.”
I am victim to my own limitations. I had higher expectations
of the Left Forum this year due to the Occupy Wall Street protests, which
kindled six-months earlier. One cannot expect the left movements to shift a
paradigm so quickly. Even towards the end of the Forum, Occupy Wall Street
protestors were chanting, “Out of the Forum and Into the Streets!” I didn’t see
the entire mass of the Forum pick up and walk to the streets, which followed
with renewal action in Zuccotti Park.
Even my walking along the sides of the protest in
observation was skeptical of mob mentality. It was obvious to see that the
police were like vultures eager for any simple excuse to rush in and brush out
the crowd. One siren followed
another and within a matter of seconds the vans of bullying police came to the
park.
There is a space in the movement for all mentalities; early
in the day at the Forum, I planted a seat in a crowded room eager to listen to
Frances Fox Piven. Her now celebrity status in protesting circles is due to Glen
Beck’s slandering her principles. Most people have even forgotten who
Glen Beck is, because let’s face-it, he has nothing sufficient to say that will
sustain past his television show. Frances Fox Piven has been an activist for
over fifty years. Her panel
consisted of her, Nelini Stamp, Stephen Lerner, and Lisa Fithian. The session
on Strategic Directions for the Occupy Movement had an overflowed audience.
The elements discussed were well understood. “We must
imagine beyond what we already had,” because the illusionary economy and the
social acceptable standards we once enjoyed are no longer available. We are learning that a “job should not be considered merely a charity from the corporate
monopolies.” When the panel spoke their piece, the room opened to questions, and
like a common practice throughout the Forum everyone wanted to say their two
bits. How do we get past the shouting and the need for each hand to submit what
they wish to be relevant? The
failure of my expectation at the forum was that we were all preaching to the
choir.
Most of us have known for quite some time that a paradigm
shift is necessary. Preaching to our selves and proving to one another, about
who knows more than the next guy, is not the solution. Once you learn the
strategy of the open discussion part of each panel session, you learn that it
is unnecessary to compete for airtime. Frances Fox Piven said it best in the
end, “if you feel the movement needs to focus on labor unions, or if you feel
the movement needs to protest the Bank of America Share Holders meeting, or if
you feel one form of action is necessary or another, go out and activate your
concern. Don’t just talk about the strategy but go out and live the example.
Each new action that is created becomes a part of the larger process to change.”
Beyond the Left Forum, the wave of dis-grunt and yet growing
passion for resistance is real. This is a growing ripple effect that has to
have its waves of moving up and down. It is an exciting time and at times quite
frustrating. People want change but, like myself, I know it won’t happen
immediately. It is a process. Skipping steps could cause skipped conclusions.
While at the Forum, I particularly enjoyed the session
entitled: Occupying Gender: Occupy Wall Street Organizers Speak Out. Some of
the panelists were Sara Zainab Bokhari, Melanie Butler, Suzahn Ebrahimian,
Amelia Sabine, Leah Todd and several others. The panel supplied a crowded room
with tools and knowledge about the numerous formats that exist in directions of
the Occupy Movement, especially in regards to the inclusion of women and
transgendered activists in the offensive.
Even within the shared marginalized space of the movement,
there are different levels of feminism. The mainstream of society and even at
times amongst the activists, individuals are fearful of feminism. This makes me
recall the quote I recently read via Maria Mies: “Feminists are those who dare
to break the conspiracy of silence about the oppressive, unequal man-woman
relationship and who want to change it.” The ambivalence in any movement to not
address this issue fails to understand the need of revolutionizing ourselves
first. The Gender Occupy panel brought to light the Speak Easy Caucus, the
W.O.W. groups (Woman Occupying
Wall Street), Step-Up/Step-Back, and other strategic angles to help the Occupy
Movement.
New strategies that fractions throughout the movement
provide are necessary and welcomed on a constant flow. Moving forward will take
time and patience, even if much of the American culture harbors us to be
impatient. My own limits leave me restless for more sooner. I appreciated the
opportunity that the Left Forum provided as an outlet for frustrated
progressive Americans, yet we need to go beyond the walls of the conference
center. If protesting in the street like a mob is not your thing, there are
multiple approaches and angles to take that don’t require rushing into tear
gas. The utmost need is to make more and more people aware that they have power
and should know that ambivalence and apathy are cancerous. One can tell this to
people directly, but other more useful strategies can be more enlightening. Or
as one of the panelist mentioned, “Fuck the Mainstream.” Go out and create the
world you want to create.
Paulo Freire once stated, “Blindness rushes to failure …
Take time to build clarity.” We make the road by walking, not by just talking.
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