Comments for Organizing Upgrade

Comment on SORIANO: Transformative Communications by Jen

Jen — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:22:35 +0000

Lenina – wow took me a while to get to this, hope you are still checking back on this site once in a while, or that the editors can inform you of this reply. Thanks for reading and glad you found it helpful! What organization do you work with? I’d love to plug you into the Echo Justice Initiative, which will be facilitating shared strategy discussions among a set of organizing groups and alliances. Feel free to hit me up at jensori@gmail.com

Comment on KAMAU FRANKLIN: The New Southern Strategy by Randy Jackson

Randy Jackson — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 21:24:11 +0000

This is truly inspiring, strategic and so needed. Much appreciation and respect for the struggle and accomplishments you are seeding in Jackson, MS.

Comment on MEDIA MOBILIZING PROJECT: Interview with Occupy Pennsylvania – VIDEO by PhillyOccupier

PhillyOccupier — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 17:23:54 +0000

Great piece, we need more informative videos like this to educate and shatter some misconceptions about our movement!
—We are the 99%—

Comment on MARSHALL GANZ: On the Moral Urgency of Occupy Wall Street by Occupy, Resist, and Grow | Mobilizing Ideas

Occupy, Resist, and Grow | Mobilizing Ideas — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 12:02:14 +0000

[...] Marshall Ganz calls Occupy a moment, but we have a history and a future. My generation, in North America, was birthed over 12 years ago, in the streets of Seattle, when trade unionists joined with anarchists to disrupt the workings of global capital, well, in this case, the meeting of a major player, the World Trade Organization. We refused to accept capitalism as a natural way of ordering our social world; “Another World is Possible” was a popular slogan. We manifested alternatives in organizing our collective refusal. Instead of relying on institutions created under capitalism, we created our own clinics, schools, decision-making bodies, and media outlets. Some of which have formalized into counter-institutions that exist today. The global network of independent media centers and community health centers, like the Common Ground clinic in New Orleans, started after Hurricane Katrina, are our legacy. [...]

Comment on Debate about “Decolonize” versus “Occupy,” Boots Riley by Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 14:13:22 +0000

Thanks for this, Boots. I think it’s the best contribution I’ve seen to this debate. To me, the point that even POC organizations have failed to connect with most people of color is a crucial one: we have a lot of work ahead of us.

Comment on Seven Weeks of Occupy Santa Rosa by Aaron Kreider

Aaron Kreider — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 21:38:40 +0000

Thanks for this excellent report. Occupy Philly has experienced many of these same highs and lows.

Comment on The Tactic of Occupation & the Movement of the 99%, Jonathan Smucker by Chris

Chris — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 08:06:28 +0000

Occupation is more than just a tactic. It’s a means to build community, practice participatory democracy, and ultimately symbolizes the necessary reclamation of stolen resources from the 1% and the renegotiation of our social contract. Rather than being abandoned as a tactic whose time has passed, I foresee occupation as something that will happen again and again as the people find their strength.

Comment on MAX RAMEAU: Occupy to Liberate by Human Rights, the Occupy Movement, and Lessons from the Ella Baker Model of Organizing « Frontlines of Revolutionary Struggle

Sat, 19 Nov 2011 00:33:16 +0000

[...] has helped to spearhead the December 6th Coalition, which is organizing a national day of action to “Occupy to Liberate” vacant and foreclosed housing throughout the United States to realize the human right to housing in [...]

Comment on MAX RAMEAU: Occupy to Liberate by Spread the Word: It’s time to Occupy to Liberate Everywhere! | Organizing for Occupation

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 16:08:20 +0000

[...] time to Liberate ourselves from the occupation of our communities by banks and a government that only serves the 1%. [...]

Comment on MAX RAMEAU: Occupy to Liberate by malagodi

malagodi — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 13:23:30 +0000

Excellent post, Max.

I think the common denominator is one that is fundamental to all political struggle: political power is established through control of physical space. That is one reason why both TBTL and Occupy have been sustainable. Just as a battery is the place where energy can be stored, taking physical control of ‘real estate’ is absolutely necessary for the actual holding of power.

In my neighborhood – in which no one knows their neighbor – the foreclosure signs are everywhere. One always sees the signs, but never the people. If it had been an actual neighborhood where interconnected people had some control over the space, no unjust evictions would be possible.

Keep up the good work Max, your ideas are right on target.