[B]Occupy Indianapolis movement split[/B]
[release]INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - At barely two months old, the Occupy Indianapolis movement has broken into two factions spurred by
infighting over strategies and mechanics.
A small band of protesters continues to sit outside the Statehouse around the clock.
Meanwhile, those who organized October's protest at the Indiana Veterans Memorial Plaza have largely moved online or have gone indoors, planning separate efforts like flash mobs.
The divided factions argued as much over whether or not an around-the-clock, physical occupation is necessary as they did over how to spend the small amount of donations they collected.
"They thought it would be best if they broke apart.
Now, they can pursue the things they think are important and we can pursue the things we think are important," said Greg Lambert, a member of Occupy Indianapolis group that has maintained a small encampment at the Statehouse.
It's a long way from the magnitude 1,000 or so protesters who marched through Indianapolis at the start of October and light years from the pepper spray-soaked battles in cities like Oakland and New York.
But the Indianapolis divide is similar to natural tensions found in many protest movements, from the split between Martin Luther King Jr. and Huey Newton during the Civil Rights Movement to the differences between independent tea party groups and mainstream outfits like Tea Party Patriots.
When Indiana officials told the small encampment outside the Statehouse they would have to clear their gear, the members of Indy OWS posted a message on the Facebook page distancing themselves from the other protesters.
They reinforced that message the day before Thanksgiving, with a rare press release on their website.
Deanna Erickson said she and other protesters have been working to reunify the protesters, but they've been having a hard time. "The people on the ground are really just supposed to be a symbol," she said.
"It's just growing pains, I guess."
Erickson was voted out of the Occupy Indianapolis movement earlier this month after writing a letter to Gov. Mitch Daniels and being arrested twice by Capitol police while protesting -- both non-violent arrests, according to protesters.
She said that being cast out by a small group of protesters goes against the spirit of the entire movement, but said she's gotten support from other activists around Indiana.
"It's almost a like a coral reef.
There's a little outcropping and one oyster sets up shop and attracts other animals and they all
form this community," said Fabio Rojas, a sociology professor at Indiana University.
"The first oyster would be Adbusters," he said, referring to the magazine published by Canadian activist Kalle Lasn, who is something of a philosophical father of the global Occupy movement.
The Occupy protesters, like the tea partiers, tend to attract people who are veterans of other, like-minded political movements to that "reef," Rojas said, while occasionally bringing in some new people.
But with the differing groups coming together under one umbrella, tension and debate over tactics are inevitable.
Rojas has spent close to a decade studying protest movements, from Vietnam War protests of the 1960s and `70s to the more recent protests against the Iraq war.
Each protest movement has a natural push and pull between the moderate and radical factions within it,
he said.
"Even if they agree on what they want to do, there is usually a very, very strong conflict over how you should do it," he said, pointing to the split in the Civil Rights Movement between supporters of King's nonviolent tactics and more strident activists like the Black Panthers.
"Some of these differences are ideological, some are purely strategic."
The divide was evident on the first day Indianapolis protesters joined the global movement, said Rick Snay, an original organizer of the Occupy Indianapolis rally October 8.
As organizers gathered people around the plaza, someone grabbed the microphone, said they were there to march, not talk, and led protesters to Monument Circle.
"Certain people got the wrong idea about what we were trying to do and just surged ahead," said Snay, who broke off with others to form Indy OWS.
The protesters are still focused on reinstating federal regulations on trading and banking, like those in the federal Glass-Steagall Act, which protesters say would have averted the financial meltdown in 2007 and the Great Recession.
They also want to blunt the impact from last year's Citizens United Supreme Court decision, which they say has given more power to corporations in the political process.
"The American dream that you work hard ... that Protestant work ethic is so engrained in the American people's thought process, but that Protestant work ethic is not true," Erickson said.
"You don't reap what you sow.
People can work very hard and have it all taken away from them very quickly."
While there may be a division in tactics, the movement is still young, Snay said.
"We are in our infancy, we don't even have our first national convention until October," Snay said.
"This is a marathon, it's not a sprint. It's a long time coming and it's going to be a long time going." [/release]
Source: [url]http://www.wishtv.com/dpp/news/indiana/occupy-indy-protestors-split[/url]
[editline]29th November 2011[/editline]
Being an Indiana resident and involved as much as I can be... I'm okay with this. I think both strategies are valid and I like to see both going on.
At first I thought they gave up, nice to see they're still going strong, if divided
I was downtown there the other day to see what the psycho did to the war memorial and I drove past the protesters.
It's literally 4-5 fucking people left down there
[QUOTE=rundevil;33486918]
Being an Indiana resident and involved as much as I can be... I'm okay with this. I think both strategies are valid and I like to see both going on.[/QUOTE]
I couldn't agree more. The most effective maneuver is having the original occupation "hold down the fort" and act as a central hub while the other side does its flash mob strategy to cover more ground and spread its message faster.
[quote]Meanwhile, those who organized October's protest at the Indiana Veterans Memorial Plaza have largely moved online or have gone indoors, planning separate efforts like flash mobs.[/quote]
I thought Occupy was about....I don't know, occupying a place?
[QUOTE=Sir Whoopsalot;33488917]I thought Occupy was about....I don't know, occupying a place?[/QUOTE]
"Occupying" different parts of a town for short periods of time to move to the next area is a legitimate strategy. They aren't going to be staying in their homes treating the protests like some RTS.
[QUOTE=Hidole555;33488953]"Occupying" different parts of a town for short periods of time to move to the next area is a legitimate strategy. They aren't going to be staying in their homes treating the protests like some RTS.[/QUOTE]
It's hard to take flash mobs seriously, what with their uses over the years and reputation stemming from it.
[QUOTE=Sir Whoopsalot;33488964]It's hard to take flash mobs seriously, what with their uses over the years and reputation stemming from it.[/QUOTE]
I think the bad reputation comes more from the views of the people who used flash mobs rather than the use of them in general. It's just a matter of "doing it right" and I'm eager to see Occupy Indianapolis try that.
[QUOTE=Hidole555;33489000]I think the bad reputation comes more from the views of the people who used flash mobs rather than the use of them in general. It's just a matter of "doing it right" and I'm eager to see Occupy Indianapolis try that.[/QUOTE]
True, I'm curious as to the way Occupy will use flashmobs but the opinions most people have on them already (gimmicky, pointless and always used for comedic relief or other tomfoolery) will impact their effects.
[QUOTE=Hidole555;33489000]I think the bad reputation comes more from the views of the people who used flash mobs rather than the use of them in general. It's just a matter of "doing it right" and I'm eager to see Occupy Indianapolis try that.[/QUOTE]
If they do somehow manage to organize a large group Ballard and Daniels will not put up with it.
[QUOTE=-nesto-;33488798]I was downtown there the other day to see what the psycho did to the war memorial and I drove past the protesters.
It's literally 4-5 fucking people left down there[/QUOTE]
What did it look like? I'm broke and haven't had the gas to drive up yet.
The memorial or the protester "camp"
[QUOTE=-nesto-;33489395]The memorial or the protester "camp"[/QUOTE]
Memorial, I've seen the camp. Did he actually do any damage?
Unfortunately he did. His jeep damaged alot of the marble stairs and one of the doors is pretty damaged. Ontop of that he set the stairs on fire with gas and they are scorched.
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdfXVkghb5M[/media]
For non locals. Story and video of what were talkin about
divide and conquer
i like it
[QUOTE=lavacano;33489466]divide and conquer
i like it[/QUOTE]
I don't think that applies here. If anything, its the protesters who are being divided.
[QUOTE=Hidole555;33489753]I don't think that applies here. If anything, its the protesters who are being divided.[/QUOTE]
So it's OccupyOccupy, then?
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.
