Sunday we had planned a work day to further organize the camp. With increasing numbers of tents, the first order of business was moving them closer together to make room for more. Even after moving a large tent in closer to the others after the porta-pottie had been set up close to it, we still ended up with more room by getting the tents closer together and better aligned. Two rows face each other with a small walking path down the middle affectionately dubbed Zuccotti Lane. The third row is squished in tight against one of the first two rows but the doors of the tents open toward the other direction which is toward the main gathering area.
We have a generator now which is being used primarily to charge laptops and cellphones. It was moved to the side of the kitchen tent which did wonders in lowering its volume around the rest of the camp. At least three new tents where erected. We still do not have the tent we plan to move the library too so that was a change we couldn’t make yet. We need a tent that we can fit more shelves in because already our library has out grown the shelves we have. We are close to 300 books or so. Once the we have the new library tent we can convert where it is now completely for the Humans Needs group. One gentleman drove up from Fayetteville, over an hour away, to help. He ended taking a huge pile of our wet and dirty blankets and sleeping bags to a nearby laundromat and cleaned them.
Some wood brought for use in fires at night was cut into small enough pieces that will fit comfortably in the barbecue that is being used for fires. The kitchen is now attempting to serve meals at specific times throughout the day and staying closed otherwise, apart from some snacks generally available at any time. In the afternoon after most of the work was done chili was served on rice with some shredded cheese on top. The dishes were done afterward using two bins with water, one to clean and one to rinse. I think we are going to try to serve a little bread with most meals and encourage people to wipe their plate with the bread as they are finishing up their meal. Not only will it make cleaning a little easier but more importantly it will make the water being used to clean go further.
By the time I was done with the dishes it was time for GA so I walked up to the Capitol grounds where we continue to hold them. We had no proposals so the GA was relatively short with just a few working group report backs and announcements. The facilitators added some time in for short soap boxes due to the light agenda and a few people took the opportunity to talk about various aspects of our occupation.
A short time after returning to the camp we were treated to a musical performance from a very talented singer/songwriter from OWS who is touring many occupations. Gio Safari plays guitar, harmonica, sings, and even does a little percussion accompaniment with a tambourine tied under his shoe. His latest album which was released one month before OWS began is (at least to me) ironically named “Protest Songs are Dead”. Its an album of original protest songs. A few, including a cover, included sing along aspects which people enthusiastically joined in on.
During the encore he played a song that he told us he was playing for the first time live. It involved just a chorus and then the verses where people from the audience (and eventually himself) describing why they had decided to occupy. He had asked for three volunteers before describing the format of the song. The first two described difficulties getting by in life juggling responsibilities, bad jobs, and financial issues. I was third and described the fears the people by occupying with me have helped me overcome that I have described in a previous entry. I think Gio had originally planned to just do three, add himself, and then end the song but people really wanted to continue.
It got very emotional from then on. One person talked about the abuse in their childhood and how now they were trying to get a masters in psychology so they could help others but where frustrated by how difficult it was to get to the point that they could start helping. It seemed like the Occupy Movement had become a way they could get to the helping faster. Another who had an abusive childhood described finally escaping from that life at 16 and thinking that once they got away it would be better. But they entered the corporate workforce and found a dehumanizing, cruel, and cold environment that had left them hopeless. Occupation for them was a chance to feel a sense of community and compassion they had not been able to find elsewhere. They were in tears telling us this.
Another who choked up was a father who held his 7 year daughter in his arms who started with, “This is why I occupy.” He went on to describe how he didn’t want his child to grow up in the world he saw. He choked up because of the love and gratitude he felt for those who would fight for his daughters future along side him. Another talked about having been wealthy and given all his money to one who now takes care of him. He commented that he still owns various properties but mostly just gives them to people who need places to live. He has commented to me before that in his life he finds the more he gives the more he gets back. He loved the chorus of the song and kept asking for it between the various testimonials.
One person who played some guitar and sang later after Gio had ended his set talked about how isolated they felt society was making us. Occupation had been a way to reconnect. I hear that observation often and it speaks loudly to me. As I have mentioned, I was a veritable hermit by the time occupation started. I had voluntarily retreated from society and even though I chose to isolate myself, it wasn’t until occupation that I realized how much I had missed the interpersonal connections. It awakened compassion and spirituality in me that I had only really been exercising in the abstract.
People who constantly call for demands or a more focused message completely miss this aspect of occupation. What they miss is that reconnecting with one another is a core prerequisite to coming up with solutions that reflect values such as compassion and unity. Our entertainment media, among other mechanisms, has served to isolate us. It gives us easy topics for banter but rarely do they lead to sharing personal, emotional concerns and feelings. In fact we are told that such personal matters should only be shared with close friends and even then rarely. But its these very personal interactions that forge strong bonds of trust and solidarity between us. I have had near strangers in the occupation tell me very intimate details of their past and present. Occupation means all topics are open for discussion and people are infinitely more likely to listen and try to understand than to judge. Many people have clearly been craving for a more intimate and personally important dialogue and when they sense a safe environment they open up. When the response is attentiveness and compassion they open up even further.
I think this is an aspect of the Occupation Movement the 1% fears a great deal. Divide and conquer works much more effectively when we are isolated from one another. Its easier for the 1% to use stereotypes to play us against each other when we don’t hear the real life stories of people right in front of us that shatter those oversimplified caricatures. The 1% can prey off our insecurities and fears when we don’t feel we have people we can trust and actually care about us. When we hear another voicing our own fears it assures us we are not alone and empowers us to reveal our own fears publicly, allowing us to face them together. I’ve said it before and I will say it again. Occupation changes your life. Especially if you feel isolated its the best medicine money can buy, well, except it won’t make you feel sick and you don’t actually have to buy it.
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