Occupy Raleigh, NC (part 17) Loss from the 19 (pub:12/15/11)

Tariq James Taylor

We received a starter kit from the Occusupply at the start of the week. When I arrived the following day at the occupation I quickly spotted the logo on various hats and scarves. The larger order is soon to follow and once we have people decked out in full Occusupply gear we will take some group photos and I will post them in a subsequent post. We really appreciate the support from Firedoglake and all the people who donated to the Occusupply to make it possible. Resistance naturally includes an ebb and flow of emotion in regards to ones efforts, their effect, and the direction one is headed. Support from outside the occupation does a great deal to bolster our conviction and invigorate our efforts. And re-invigoration is just whats on the menu.

The occupation site is largely set up now. We have a new, larger tent that the library was moved into. The library is easily over 500 books now. The old library is now reserved for human needs and working group meetings. The kitchen has a new floor that’s more stable, new shelves, and there is even talk of setting up a system of running water. There are three meals a day and people are taking turns doing dishes.
As in most groups, there are those more willing to volunteer to aid in the work than others, so it might be necessary to figure out more defined schedules for things like doing the dishes to make sure the burden doesn’t fall on just a few people.

The downside to the comforts of the campsite is that it has led to a bit of complacency. Part of the reason is simply because energies were focused on getting the place set up. Most occupations probably build up infrastructure little by little from the start. As we were on the sidewalk for over 40 days we could do almost none of that, so once we moved onto the resource center we had a lot of catching up to do. I have been amazed at how much has been accomplished by some of our most dedicated occupiers in such a short time. But now most seem to be realizing that we have neglected aspects of direct action and outreach so it’s time again to refocus.

All of us are new to occupation and all but 2 or 3 of us are new to activism in general. It doesn’t surprise me that we hit pitfalls now and then. Frankly it’s expected. However the longer we spend together and the better we get to know each other the easier it seems to change directions. The trust we build up between us makes the conversations easier. We can say things that some of us may find hard to hear and its ok. We are learning who we can rely on in different capacities. So while I think Occupy Raleigh is experiencing a brief lull in some expressions of its activism, I feel we will come out stronger once we shift our energies away from building our infrastructure and back toward the task of resisting.

I haven’t been sure how to discuss the following but I feel strongly it needs to be mentioned. On the first day of our occupation, October 15th, we had 19 of us arrested attempting to hold the State Capitol grounds. We recently lost one of those people. Tariq James Taylor was a young, gay, black man who chose to stand up to the 1% and when ordered by police to leave the grounds he refused to retreat, knowing full well he would be arrested. I mentioned those adjectives in describing him because I think it speaks to his courage. Our legal system is proven to be more draconian to young, black men so he took a greater risk than any others of the 19 in choosing to defy the police order.

To my knowledge none of saw him again after that night. This may be because he lived outside of Raleigh and was just not able to come. It may be that troubles in his personal life kept him away. I honestly don’t know. About a week ago Tariq, in a dispute with his partner, shot his partner and 2 others, thankfully killing no one. He was later found dead in what is believed to have been a suicide.

When we announced this at a GA I added a couple sentiments that I will echo here. We did not do a good enough job reaching out to Tariq since the arrests on the 15th. I don’t claim to know that if we had we could have prevented what occurred but letting people know they have a resource in their life of other people who care about them and their well being can make a big difference. Losing Tariq was also a stark reminder that we have to support each other. I think part of the reason occupation has caught on so strongly is people experiencing the sense of community they no longer find in their regular lives.

Our “commodify everything” society has degraded our sense of community. It has undermined the notion that not only should we help each other, we need to help each other. When people injure each other in malls scrambling for merchandise during the “season of giving” the contrast between the values we live out verses the values we purport to hold cannot be any more clear. People are not the sum of what services or goods can be extracted from them. Giving material goods to another is not an expression of love but just an easy substitute for it. Living in a “commodify everything” society means that most would probably find my previous statement wrong. We are barraged constantly, especially during this “season of giving”, that gifts are the ultimate expression of love. That is a reflection of the power of marketing, not the power of love.

Thank you Tariq for the courage you showed in fighting through the myriad of marketing style illusions in choosing to resist. I’m sorry I didn’t reach out to you as I should have. You are missed.