The Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, the 6-block area taken over by protesters in recent weeks, has decided that it will be known by another moniker going forward: the Capitol Hill Occupy Protests. Here is why you should care:
-The name change – and the fact that participants will honor it – shows that people are invested in the movement and that participants are willing to remain “on-script.” Up until now, participants were losing the “PR” battle; they were being mocked and questioned about how they could claim autonomy while simultaneously begging for support.
Switching to an “occupy” movement neutralizes that criticism because they now no longer claim to be “autonomous.”
-The name itself – it harkens back to the Occupy Movement of the late 2000’s/early 2010’s. It came about after the Great Recession of 2009. Its political slogan was, “We are the 99%.” The movement occupied a park in the Wall Street area of Manhattan, NY, for a brief time, and ultimately the protests spread to cities all over the country (including Seattle), as well as different countries all over the world.
This name change now beckons participants of that movement to join with this movement. It allows this movement to broaden out and become more widespread.
-The original participants – of the Occupy Movement, are now ten years older. And they now have an entirely new sphere of influence. Case in point: Kshama Sawant, an original participant of the Occupy Wall Street protests and a self-described socialist, is now a member of the Seattle City Council. The original participants of the Occupy Movement are now people with power – even if at a local level.
-Funding – Corporations, for example, have become a major source of funding for this movement – and not in insignificant sums. Some corporations are pledging mid-to-high 5 figures donations on a weekly or monthly basis. Some even higher than that.
All of this betrays a higher level of organization, leadership, structure and ability, which combines to produce a movement with potential staying power. And it’s perhaps why Americans should not underestimate it, or consider it a strictly “blue-city” phenomenon.
But this small thing really shows a much deeper commitment, leadership, structure, and ability. An order has come down from somewhere and is very quickly spread throughout the key people, and then down to the ‘foot soldiers’, “This is what we will now be called and this is why.”
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Read more by Toby Cowern at the The Organic Prepper Blog
Photo by Ochlo via Wikimedia Commons