Let me begin by saying that these are initial thoughts, largely unfiltered and in many ways, they represent an emotional “purging” from an exhausting and illuminating trip to OWS in NY, on the November 17th Intl Day of Action.

Two main impressions are with me at the moment, and then I have many, many thoughts about us, where we go from here, and the like. Those I want to save for another day soon, and a higher level of writing care. Thanks for showing patience with this first, more raw post.

My first impression is a very, very, VERY negative one – and that is the level to which the powers that be, though the mechanism of the police, have firm, clear and frightening control over us. The array of tools at their disposal is deeply distressing, and perhaps none so much as their experience and the ease with which they can divert and contain our movement. The overwhelming use of violent force, as scary and horrifying as that is, really pales – for me – in comparison to how easily they just corral and contain even overwhelming popular uprising. After all, violence is bad optics, and tends to evoke sympathetic public perception. It’s easier and more effective to just bleed off energy and spirit and disallow real disruption while permitting a “controlled release of energy.” By the way, if you have not read this (http://newrivervoice.com/archives/6133#comment-49424) yet, you should stop reading this post and read that one  Now let me explain a little.

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So, right after my last post, we went back to Zuccotti and saw a man being taken out of the park with blood streaming down his face. We tried to get in and were turned away. There were a ton of police everywhere. So we retreated to a local establishment to await the time when the police would let us in again.

We went back in for a little while. But the we weren’t feeling as comfortable anymore and some of us were hungry and got some pizza across the street. Then eventually, anyone with a backpack was kicked out. So we are sitting in Charlotte’s Place resting and recharging a bit before heading out to Foley Square.

We are all very tired and will be ready for a little rest on the bus back to DC. But now we’re off to celebrate.

We’re marching. We’re dancing. We’re chanting. We’re giving interviews. We had a great breakfast-time conversation with a police commander (white shirt), who totally appreciates what we’re about and thanked us for coming out. We’ve witnessed the people’s attempted to tear down the barricades. And we nearly got trampled by a handful of NYPD chasing someone through the park. We’ve had a full day and hear it is…nearly 1pm.

But let’s back up. We arrived in NYC at about 12:30am. We made our way to Brooklyn to the hostel that Elle Em See tried to set us up with. But when we got there, they didn’t have the communal dorms we were hoping for and they wanted $50 per person for private rooms. We decided that was too much when we were only going to be there for a couple hours. But Elle came through and helped us get set up in an inexpensive hotel directly across from a subway station. We slept for about 3 hours and headed back to Manhattan.

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I have no title, no “Dear Person of Persuasion” to apply to this letter.  This is a break from my usual routine, a message from our sponsors, by which I mean not breakfast cereals, pharmaceuticals or high-powered cars, but the sponsors of our nation, those men who signed their names to a document, risking their lives to change the course of history.  The sponsors of a novus ordo seclorum, a new order of the ages, a task which has once again been set before the citizens of this newest of worlds.

These words, this Declaration of Independence, have as much merit today as they did when first written.

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After 3.5 hours on the Interstate, some heavy DC traffic, missing an exit and going around in circles trying to find the parking garage, we are now on the BoltBus headed to NYC, scheduled to arrive about 12:30am. The bus is pretty sweet, with electrical outlets and wi-fi (though the seats leave a bit to be desired).

Since we won’t be allowed to sleep in the park, we’ll be heading from there to Brooklyn, where Elle Em See has snagged us a great deal at a hostel. After a quick nap and some freshening up, it’s back to Liberty Plaza by 7am for the start of the day’s activities.

We’re all super pumped and excited to be going to help make history, celebrating OWS’ 2 month anniversary and participating in some direct action on Wall Street. Thanks for everybody’s support and we’ll be thinking about all of you over the next 24 hours.

Solidarity!

by Matthew Forbes on Monday, November 14, 2011 at 9:32am

Dear Occupiers,

This is for all of you couch-sitters, bench warmers, onlookers and passers by.

This movement is real. It is hands in the dirt, cooperative weeding of the system that has been failing us for decades.

The Occupation is not a spectator sport. It’s a no holds barred, in your face challenge to the authority of the few over the many. This ain’t no fantasy league where you can just sit back and hope your players bring the heat and win it for you.

No. You need to be part of the team, not just fanning it out in the bleachers with your hot dogs and your foam hands. This is about trading your face paint for war paint, dropping the wave and bringing on your war face.

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Holy cow! We’ve sure been lax in updating this blog. My bad! To correct that, I’m going to cheat a bit and post a link to another article I just read. But first, a few thoughts of my own.

As of 2 days ago, Occupy Roanoke is 1 month old. Yay, us! I’ve been told that we are among the most organized groups outside of NYC. I don’t know if that’s true, but we’re doing pretty well so far.

Or so it seemed. There appears to be a bit of grumbling going on, with folks saying that we’re not focused enough, or we haven’t done anything yet, or they cannot seem to get connected. These are all valid concerns. But what I’ve been responding with is this: The Occupy movement is different from anything we’ve ever done before. This isn’t a typical grassroots movement to take specific action on a specific issue. We’re not out to change one thing and then we’re done. We’re creating a new society. We’re trying out a new way of doing things. We are figuring out how to step out of the mainstream and simply get along with one another, how to dream together, and how unite for a common purpose. That’s where the revolutionary ideas will come from. That’s how the action will be generated.

So if it seems like we’re not accomplishing anything, it probably because we are still growing and figuring out how it’s going to work. We are building an entirely new framework, within which our new society will flourish.

And now, as promised, the awesome article I just read:

How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the OWS Protests

Much more than a movement against big banks, they’re a rejection of what our society has become.

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/how-i-stopped-worrying-and-learned-to-love-the-ows-protests-20111110#ixzz1dUsahQjA

We are coming up on National Move Your Money Day tomorrow (Friday)! Let’s get it started early with our presence at major downtown banks. Meeting downtown, we’ll distribute flyers to passersby near the banks and encourage folks to move their money to local, community run, credit unions or local banks. This is a simple yet powerful effort…flyers will be provided with informative facts on this effort and why this is fundamental. Tips on where to move your money will be provided as well. We will vote with our dollars and no longer contribute financially to the abusive practices of Wall Street. Please invite your friends to this effort. Hopefully this event can carry over into the weekend’s events as well. Come on out, bring your smile and your best creative whims…this should be a good one!

You can download and print (double-sided please!) flyers here to bring with you and distribute. We will distribute any extras at our Saturday rally.