Another Week of 2012 Under Our Belts

Bunny at Celebrate Free Speech Rally, October 15, 2012

This past Monday, October 15, 2012 was the first year Anniversary of 175 Occupy Chicago Protestors being arrested for a violation of Chicago’s 1969 11:00 PM Park Curfew. That case was finally brought before a judge who ruled, essentially, that Chicago cannot pick and choose when it will enforce such laws. In celebration of this anniversary, and to drive home the anti-eviction message, Occupy Chicago returned to Congress Square Park (or whatever it is called on the North corner of Michigan and Congress). 

At 8:00 PM there was a celebration of Free Speech. These videos came from a short visit to that celebration. 

A few weeks ago, we visited Penny Red’s report on what happened to the Occupy Movement. Her assertion is that “The Police” are what happened to the movement. The bulk of the responsibility does lie in the police ability to effectively quash the thousands of voices raised in anger against crony capitalism.

The message, however, lives on. Employers are engaged in cheap, greedy, selfish practices which favor the few investors at the expense of the multitude. They have used the police as the troops to silence those who detest the death of the American dream. No matter what infighting has occurred since then, it has all come down to the police being used as political pawns to quiet protest.

Peaceful protestors can allow themselves to be martyrs to the case and show how brutal the police have become in the political fight. However, for many that is simply a sign of weakness. Many off record interviews point to the same conclusion: The Current System run by the 1% under the current Democratic President, and (in Chicago) Democratic Mayor, will not respond to a change in the system if it is demanded. The System can, and will, beat the mass protestors into submission, and will simply ignore the loan dissident signing petitions, writing letters, and waiving the occasional sign on the street. Why is this opinion bubbling up from conversations? Fear.  

The system is bad. That is a given. Except for the few who defend it out of blatant ignorance, most people are just too damn frightened of losing what little they have to look for a systemic change.

Occupy is now like the uncool geek in High School, everyone goes to him for answers, but no one will hang with him. They fear that association with Occupy will label them uncool, or in the lexicon of today’s press, a “Terrorist.” Chicago is bent on the charade of persecuting the NATO 5, so they can validate Rahm’s expenditure for police overreaction (see video below) during the NATO visit. The majority of Chicagoans are just shrewd enough to publicly buy into the establishments lies while secretly supporting the cause. They fear the public response to standing in solidarity with Occupy.

Occupy has watered down its message, and it tactics, to draw in the mainstream, however, as shown in the video below, it may not be working. Over 2000 people marched in support of Occupy on October 15, 2011. Approximately 70 people marched in solidarity with Occupy on October 15, 2012. 

Contrary to the news reports, the Election of 2012 will not change squat. I can only hope that the affinity group known as #RAD (Hashtag used on Twitter, Radicals Against Discrimination) can fare better over time in keeping the fires of discontent burning. It will take time for people to come to grips with their fear, and mover from Ritualism and Retreatism to active revolutionary change against this deplorable economic and social situation.