Given that the mainstream American Left has been scared of its own shadow since the Reagan revolution turned “liberal” into a dirty word, I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised that many of these self-professed “progressives” have responded to the first genuine sustained mass youth movement my generation has seen by heaping scorn, doubt, and criticism upon it. I arrived in Zuccotti Park late Sunday afternoon hoping to catch a glimpse of the chaotic and disorganized mass of dirty hippies, drugged-out punks, and other standard bogeymen of the “get off my lawn” crowd. I was sorely disappointed.
The first thing that struck me about the scene was that much of it more closely resembled a street fair than a protest. On a day after over 700 people had been arrested in a march that shut down the Brooklyn Bridge, the mood was surprisingly cheerful and non-confrontational. Musicians played in small clusters while volunteers handed out food and coffee from the community “kitchen” in the center of the square and made protest signs to add to the ever-growing cardboard quilt laid out along the perimeter.
But by far the most interesting aspect was the extent to which the event had become a tourist attraction. When the police occasionally raised their voices, it was not directed at the protestors, but rather the people crowding along the sidewalk to get a look. During the time that I was there, no less than three double-decker tourist buses slowly crawled by, their occupants smiling, waving, and snapping photos. For their part, the protestors were happy to pose for the cameras and smile back.
This is the point where the concern trolls will bewail the movement as vapid and ineffectual, more concerned with appearance than substance. But what we are seeing here may in fact be the new face of nonviolent protesting. A street march is a one-time event that either erupts into a violent confrontation with the authorities or ends up underreported and relegated to a few paragraphs on the back page. As several of the protestors pointed out, for a movement that claims to represent “the 99%”, it is vitally important to stress that the police (whose pensions, salaries, and benefits are on the line along with those of teachers and firefighters) are part of the 99%, not enemies of it.
Those who criticize the movement for either its lack of a specific agenda or what they perceive as its immature theatrics have thoroughly missed the point. The goal of the movement at this juncture is not to enact some small reform via a legislative bill that will inevitably be watered down in the process or repealed a short time later, but to fundamentally shift the dominant political discourse by bringing together a wide swath of people and making them realize that they have at least some common grievances and aspirations.
Occupy Wall Street has already succeeded in crossing the generational divide by attracting the support of the transit workers’ and teachers’ unions. But at the same time, this movement has for the first time in recent memory attracted people beyond the typical cross-section of student activists, anarcho-punks, and aging hippies. And part of what has enabled it to do so is precisely the “immature antics” that its detractors have decried.
As Guy Debord observed in 1967, we live in a society of images and spectacle. To cut through the imagery and noise that make up the dominant cultural discourse, a counterdeployment of imagery and noise is needed. The Republican far right understood this well when it rebranded itself as the “Tea Party” and staged demonstrations wearing ridiculous tri-corner hats. No movement can survive without drawing sustained attention from the public, and if this involves using internet memes or dressing up as zombies, then so be it. For in the end, it’s only a short step from arriving as a disinterested spectator “just to see what all the fuss is about” to agreeing with the message, picking up a sign, and joining in.
This Wednesday, October 5 is set to be the biggest march yet, with unions, community groups, and established progressive organizations taking part. It will begin at 4:30 pm in front of City Hall.
