It has probably not escaped your notice that we do not have a large, permanent occupation. We have not taken over a park or vacant building, but are instead relegated to this sidewalk that is secured only through the efforts of our legal committee to renew the appropriate permits, and the diligence and sacrifice of a relatively small group of core occupiers. They deserve our profound thanks and our sincere praise. They knew long ago the importance of space, of presence, of sacrifice of time and energy and body and comfort. But none of us – them included – are under any illusions that this encampment is sufficient for our grander aspirations. Can these three tents shelter the noble dreams we have for the movement we feel ourselves a part of? Or confine the rage and desperation that fire our resolve?
Why are we not currently occupying a site? I submit that one significant reason we don't have a greater level of support for an occupation is that many of us don't really know why we need an occupation. Certainly, having a site would show solidarity with the Occupy Wall St. group, and provide some geographical center for whatever it is that we imagine we're doing here, but are these reasons enough? If we as a group were already sure we wanted a site, we'd have no trouble simply taking a site, and accepting the risks and inconveniences entailed.
This group has been largely formed in imitation of something we admired when we looked east to New York City, to the Occupy Wall Street occupation. And now we can be inspired by what we see in many other places, especially Oakland. Their determination to re-occupy in the face of police brutality and demonstratively illegal suppressive tactics is inspiring. They’ve even organized a citywide strike. And they did so by making the Occupation their own.
Perhaps we have not yet made it our own. And perhaps we think that a site really isn't essential to what we are trying to do here. Perhaps much can be accomplished through rallies, marches, and General Assemblies. Perhaps an occupation seems only like a “good idea” to most of us. I hope that it can seem like more than a good idea.
You must ask yourself whether we need an occupation, and, more specifically, whether you are willing to occupy. Here are three dimensions, if you will, of an occupation. What will a large, permanent occupation mean First to sympathizers who are not yet part of our movement, Second, to those who are hostile to what we are doing – the banksters, the corrupt politicians, the corporate criminals and all of their cronies and puppets, and Third, to ourselves, those who know why we’re here, those who have been coming to the GAs, or visiting the site, or occupying here throughout the days and cold nights, or working behind the scenes and on our own to support this movement.
Regarding that first group I mentioned, those who would join us if only… If only what? How many out there are waiting for us here – the self-declared Occupiers – to actually have a permanent occupation? How many in Columbus are following the events around the country and around the world, and who know that they, too, need to make a stand, but don’t see enough others making that stand. We are about to pass 10,000 Likes on Facebook, but what do these ghost numbers mean to so many flesh-and-blood human beings who don’t live in cyberspace, but who do live the abuse of corporate and government corruption and rapacity, who do live the violence of poverty and voicelessness every day? They want to believe that someone, somewhere can hear them, and help them speak their truth to power, but why should they believe that we are those people when we do not have the courage to get a ticket for trespassing? We will be surprised at the support that we get when we take a risk, when we make a stand, when we commit ourselves, on whatever ground we choose. But it must be our choosing. We must show them and ourselves that we are capable of the grand and noble actions that this moment requires. No half measures and no weakling spirits can face the daunting task of re-imagining this world.
We know what must be done, so why do we hesitate? What are we waiting for? Now is not the perfect time, but there is no better time than now.
Is this grand human movement really going to be derailed by municipal codes against sleeping in a park after 11? The law is not holy, not sacrosanct. We have far too much regard for these municipal codes which are, after all, derived not from the consent of the governed but from the conceit of the greedy, laws derived not from the will of the people but from the whims of the mediocre.
If we are, even at this early stage, thwarted by an unconstitutional municipal curfew, or a rule against sleeping in public space, then how dare we cloak ourselves in the garb of the revolutionaries we hope to emulate. Today, on Guy Fawkes Day, it is time not to don masks that hide our identities from our oppressors, but rather to reveal ourselves, our noble spirits, and our intentions to our masters that we will not be cowed, we will not be bargained with, we will not be told that we are not permitted to assemble in genuine human fellowship to begin the historic task before us.
Our house – everyone’s house – is on fire. Do not ask your oppressors if it’s ok for you to use the fire hose and hydrant that you paid for, and the water that no one is permitted to own.
But if we determine that we need a site, then what? Only when we know that it is essential to our struggle, our humanity, only when it becomes the crucial first step in our united redress of grievances, will we occupy. We must want that site more than we want comfort, for it will be quite uncomfortable. We must want that site more than we want convenience, for a 24-hour occupation will certainly inconvenience us. We must want that site more than we want security, for we will be putting ourselves at risk of arrest or even violence.
Are we ready to be made truly uncomfortable and inconvenienced, ready to put our bodies at risk? Are we ready to begin something that we have never done before? Are we ready for having to depend upon one another? We will be cold and hungry. And we will often forget the fire that chased us from our houses and into these tents. Moral courage is proven by our willingness to do the ordinary and endure the difficult, and not only the heroic. If we are not willing, then we need to accept that we just thought an occupation was a nice idea, but that we're just not up to the struggle for the dignity, humanity, and justice that we claim we want. And that would be a sad realization.
We will occupy, because if we do not, we would have to admit that we are and have been pre-occupied fighting lesser battles. Some planning and deliberation is good, but too much calculating of odds, too much preparation for contingencies, will take the life out of this movement. It will make this a mere procedure and not an historic moment. If there is no risk of being opposed, of being beaten, of being jailed, then that is because there is no threat to the power structures.
The greatest threat they face is a decision that none of them want to make. Ultimately they and every other human being will have to decide: will you give your time, your energy, your love, even your life, for profits or for people and this planet that we all call “home”? We must force that decision through our insistent, resilient presence.And we must force the police to decide. They have had the luxury of not having to decide yet. But can they expect us to stall indefinitely? Can we delay, defer, and dither around much longer? The house is on fire.
If not now, then when? If not here, then where? If not us, then who?
What is at stake? Our voice. Self-determination. A place for our suffering and struggle. A place to imagine something better. A place in which we don’t have to have all the answers, but we can keep asking the hard questions. A place to encounter other human beings in the same struggle, and in different struggles, and realize that we are like them, too. Remember your anger and desperation, but when we come together to imagine and work for something better, we must act in hope in compassion.
My friends, the dark night is just beginning. Don’t be afraid to stay out past curfew.