Thursday, September 20, 2012

ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY – OCCUPY MOVEMENT STILL STRONG

OccupyWallStreet NYC General Assembly Editorial

Thousands of occupiers from around the country converged on lower Manhattan for OWS's first birthday. Indeed, our S17 anniversary weekend was a great victory, and has provided an exhilarating shot of energy to our community for the fight ahead.

And no, this wasn’t nostalgia for nostalgia’s sake. As Alternet.org reporter Sarah Jaffe put it: "Occupy's anniversary feels less like a celebration of what was and more a demonstration of what's becoming."

Over the weekend we were able to display what we’re trying to build. From the cultural events at the Occupy Town Squares and Occupy Rosh Hashanah to the massive Affinity Group Spokescouncils planning disciplined direct actions, we showed the best we have to offer. And we spent time getting to know each other, deepening the bonds of love and trust that will sustain us in the future.


On September 17th, our joyous carnival of Liberation- the Puppet Parade, the polar bear bike brigade, red square confetti blitzes of bank lobbies- brought something beautiful to the Financial District. The development of our non-violent civil disobedience was also that much more clear, especially for how our ‘swirl of roving intersection occupations’ proved to be both a successful tactic and an innovative strategy.


All of this came despite the best attempts from Mayor Bloomberg’s ‘private army’ to extra-legally stifle us from making our voices heard. But we have persevered and evolved, fighting for our right to peaceably assemble in protest of Wall Street alongside protesting Wall Street itself.


Occupy Wall Street continues to survive and thrive against enormous obstacles, and we have emerged from our one year anniversary stronger than we were before. Now, we enter year two that much more ready to take the struggle to the streets, the workplaces, and the neighborhoods where the 99% confront the 1% every day. Get ready.

 
All Roads Lead to Wall Street. Join us on the journey to a better world.

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