What non-violent tactics would you suggest that would reinforce the actions of the "Occupy" movement?
November 22, 2011 3:06 PM Subscribe
What specific non-violent strategies, tactics, and actions - actions that are easily and simply deployed - can be made by the "Occupy" movement participants and/or sympathizers that would have a *direct* impact on the power structures that have turned America into a budding Plutocracy?
Here are three, for starters:
How about making that figure 6 Million, or 10 million? How many students are on American campuses? Many of those campuses have their own credit unions. That's a good start.
How about a general tuition strike? Don't pay tuition, but attend class, anyway.
How about insisting that one will not take a certain professor's class unless free and open textbooks are put in use by the professor (if available for that discipline). Textbooks make up 72% of the average community college students annual spend on education.
How about insisting on generalized administrative audits, especially of high-paid administrative positions, and most especially about the high-paid administrative appointees in post-secondary education. Out administrators who are making huge sums but appear to be doing nothing to decrease the cost of education, and/or increasing its quality
Moratorium on buying new cars, until auto companies not only increase emission standards, but bring the *cost* of new cars down (without safety compromises) so that the average person doesn't have to go into multi-year debt to afford a car.
Some of the above may actually be bad ideas. The impetus here is to ask what good ideas (and criticisms of ideas) people might offer for very specific collective actions, that when summed, make a huge impact.
Again, non-violent ideas only, and things that are relatively simple, and easy to do. There must be thousands of ideas better than mine.
Here are three, for starters:
How about making that figure 6 Million, or 10 million? How many students are on American campuses? Many of those campuses have their own credit unions. That's a good start.
How about a general tuition strike? Don't pay tuition, but attend class, anyway.
How about insisting that one will not take a certain professor's class unless free and open textbooks are put in use by the professor (if available for that discipline). Textbooks make up 72% of the average community college students annual spend on education.
How about insisting on generalized administrative audits, especially of high-paid administrative positions, and most especially about the high-paid administrative appointees in post-secondary education. Out administrators who are making huge sums but appear to be doing nothing to decrease the cost of education, and/or increasing its quality
Moratorium on buying new cars, until auto companies not only increase emission standards, but bring the *cost* of new cars down (without safety compromises) so that the average person doesn't have to go into multi-year debt to afford a car.
Some of the above may actually be bad ideas. The impetus here is to ask what good ideas (and criticisms of ideas) people might offer for very specific collective actions, that when summed, make a huge impact.
Again, non-violent ideas only, and things that are relatively simple, and easy to do. There must be thousands of ideas better than mine.
This post was deleted for the following reason: chatfilter -- jessamyn
Write letters to your representatives in Congress supporting particular causes, such as eliminating corporate personhood or public financing of campaigns. Write to media outlets and complain whenever they frame an issue in a way that is hostile to any of these causes. Promote progressive candidates for office at every level of government and vote for them.
posted by chrchr at 3:11 PM on November 22, 2011
posted by chrchr at 3:11 PM on November 22, 2011
How about a general tuition strike? Don't pay tuition, but attend class, anyway.
This is also called auditing. While most universities are cool with this on a small scale, if a school will withhold degrees over overdue book fines, I doubt they'll do much different here. So, in the end, if you want a degree, they'll get paid, in all likelihood.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 3:15 PM on November 22, 2011 [1 favorite]
This is also called auditing. While most universities are cool with this on a small scale, if a school will withhold degrees over overdue book fines, I doubt they'll do much different here. So, in the end, if you want a degree, they'll get paid, in all likelihood.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 3:15 PM on November 22, 2011 [1 favorite]
H.L. Mencken said, "There is always an easy solution to every human problem - neat, plausible, and wrong."
Sometimes there is no easy solution, much though you'd like one.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 3:15 PM on November 22, 2011 [3 favorites]
Sometimes there is no easy solution, much though you'd like one.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 3:15 PM on November 22, 2011 [3 favorites]
How about Bank Run Day?
1. Pick 3 major banks (say, BOA, Wells and Citibank). Don't announce the bank upfront so they can't close that day.
2. Create a website and movement and announce that on a specific day , several months in advance, you will gather pledges who will agree to remove all their assets from that particular bank. Have the website gather pledges and form running totals of all the three banks.
3. Sell T-Shirts so that on Bank Run Day , lots of people will show up in T's saying "I'm Closing My Account TODAY! " (or something similar). This will help finance the site.
4. Advertise,advertise, advertise. Publicize, publicize, publicize.
5. Announce the bank. Get people to close their accounts at major offices all around town. Get news coverage
Rinse repeat.
posted by Poet_Lariat at 3:21 PM on November 22, 2011 [2 favorites]
1. Pick 3 major banks (say, BOA, Wells and Citibank). Don't announce the bank upfront so they can't close that day.
2. Create a website and movement and announce that on a specific day , several months in advance, you will gather pledges who will agree to remove all their assets from that particular bank. Have the website gather pledges and form running totals of all the three banks.
3. Sell T-Shirts so that on Bank Run Day , lots of people will show up in T's saying "I'm Closing My Account TODAY! " (or something similar). This will help finance the site.
4. Advertise,advertise, advertise. Publicize, publicize, publicize.
5. Announce the bank. Get people to close their accounts at major offices all around town. Get news coverage
Rinse repeat.
posted by Poet_Lariat at 3:21 PM on November 22, 2011 [2 favorites]
Errrrrrrr..........vote?
Make sure those in areas where voting has been impacted by illegal state issued ID requirements get help, assist those in peril of not being able to vote at the actual polls get mail in ballots? Use social media and Twitter to create vast effective car pools to take peole to the polls? Tell false information if / when you are asked how you will vote so those polling get the idea they are in better shape than they really are? Become poll watchers?
Support businesses that pay fair wages and offer benefits to those who work for them? And tell them you are doing it so they feel empowered to continue?
Call your congressperson's office and tell them you are watching every move they make and will remember?
posted by Freedomboy at 3:23 PM on November 22, 2011 [2 favorites]
Make sure those in areas where voting has been impacted by illegal state issued ID requirements get help, assist those in peril of not being able to vote at the actual polls get mail in ballots? Use social media and Twitter to create vast effective car pools to take peole to the polls? Tell false information if / when you are asked how you will vote so those polling get the idea they are in better shape than they really are? Become poll watchers?
Support businesses that pay fair wages and offer benefits to those who work for them? And tell them you are doing it so they feel empowered to continue?
Call your congressperson's office and tell them you are watching every move they make and will remember?
posted by Freedomboy at 3:23 PM on November 22, 2011 [2 favorites]
Errrrrrrr..........vote?
I keep trying that one, but it doesn't seem to be working.
posted by Mars Saxman at 3:28 PM on November 22, 2011 [3 favorites]
I keep trying that one, but it doesn't seem to be working.
posted by Mars Saxman at 3:28 PM on November 22, 2011 [3 favorites]
Seconding Freedomboy: Vote. Occupy is on everyone in San Francisco's lips right now, but turnout for the recent election was dismal. It's a lot more exciting to talk about big ideas than it is to get educated about things like the differences between mayoral candidates, but when it's the mayor of a city making calls about whether or not to evict a camp, it really matters who that mayor is.
posted by mostlymartha at 3:31 PM on November 22, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by mostlymartha at 3:31 PM on November 22, 2011 [2 favorites]
Demonstrate against the President of the country, as happened under the previous administration whenever anyone was upset about anything?
posted by joannemullen at 3:36 PM on November 22, 2011
posted by joannemullen at 3:36 PM on November 22, 2011
Back OWS-sympathetic candidates in elections at the local, state and federal levels. Use the primary process as well to challenge entrenched interests and raise profile of issues important to the movement.
posted by BobbyVan at 3:38 PM on November 22, 2011
posted by BobbyVan at 3:38 PM on November 22, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
Get the people who work with you to join your trade union, and bargain collectively for your wages and working conditions.
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 3:09 PM on November 22, 2011 [1 favorite]