My friend Dave just sent me this photo from Portland, where some 5,000 people took to the streets today in support of the Occupy Wall Street movement. In contrast, only about 200 showed up this evening for the “Occupy Ann Arbor” protest on U-M’s Diag. With over 40,000 students currently enrolled at the University of Michigan, I was hoping for a better turnout, especially as the weather was great, and a great many students don’t have class on Friday, but I suppose, for whatever reason, U-M students don’t yet feel the need to take to the streets. If you’re a U-M student and you didn’t attend, I’d appreciate it if you’d leave a comment and let me know why you chose not to go. Is it that you don’t feel as though protests accomplish anything? Or is it that you think the widening income gap in America, and the influence of corporate money on our political system, don’t matter? Or do you just want to keep your head down, get your degree, and hope that you get a good job upon graduation? If I had the time and money, I’d love to set up a table on the Diag and talk with people about this.
As for Ypsilanti, what do people say to trying to do something really big next week?
37 Comments
Relevant:
http://markmaynard.com/?p=14738
I was there for the first hour, and I was actually impressed that we got about 200 people on relatively short notice. It may grow over time (as long as the LaRouchies don’t scare away too many people). I saw many people there, including students, who seemed to be new to Ann Arbor/Ypsi progressive events– not just the same old “usual suspects”.
For me the main question is whether the Occupy Ann Arbor movement should exist separately, or whether it should funnel interested people towards Detroit or Lansing. There were activists from Occupy Detroit and Occupy Lansing there tonight handing out flyers, so they may have already begun those discussions. If there really isn’t that much student support at U-M (and I agree it’s less than one might have expected), perhaps consolidating with another close-by Michigan city would make more sense.
I am an Ypsi resident and current UM graduate student, studying community organizing in the School of Social Work. I did not attend the protest on the Diag tonight for two main reasons:
1) I’m taking 4 classes and have an internship, which means I have little to no spare time right now
2) I don’t consider myself an expert by any means, but as someone that has been studying social change and community organizing for several years now, I know there is a difference between mobilizing and organizing/planning for change. Mobilizing people for mass demonstrations and marches will get power-holders and decision-makers’ attention, but without some organizing and strategic planning it can be difficult to achieve real change.
Right now, it seems as if most of what is happening is people mobilizing– and that’s a great first step– I’m glad the American people are finally getting angry and want to do something about the innumerable inequalities and injustices happening around them. But, personally, before I join a movement I want to know what its goals/demands are and whose voice is going to be represented in those discussions.
Don’t get me wrong, though— I do hope that more people, students or not, get involved in reshaping our communities and future… in whatever ways they are inspired and able to, because the free time and financial security to protest is a privilege not everyone has. However the opportunity to come together in your community is open to everyone.
I was at Portland’s event today it was amazing!
It’s not that protests don’t matter per se, but protests held with the sole intent of trying to persuade politicians to act don’t matter, and have proven over time to be one of the least effective methods of accomplishing change, ahead of only voting.
Change is far more likely to come from direct action. It wasn’t King’s march on Washington that desegregated buses and lunch counters, but sit-ins and freedom riders actually at those establishments. I’m not sure what today’s equivalent would be, but I’m pretty sure this isn’t it.
cmadler, how about killing two birds with one stone and having an “occupy” event that also seeks to shut down a Bank of America branch?
According to their website, there’s a branch in the Township:
2250 W. Michigan Ave.
Ypsilanti MI 48197
From the Progress Report:
You can read it with links and graphs here:
http://thinkprogress.org/progress-report/the-99-percent-movement
Let’s say hypothetically that we decided to have an event at a local Bank of America branch, what would the main points be?
– Would we discuss their lobbyists, and their efforts to undermine the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau?
– Would we encourage people to move their money from BoA to local credit unions?
– Would we bring up the fact that they company is firing people in spite of making record profits?
– Would we mention their role in the financial collapse of 2008?
– Would we talk about how their executives took bonuses with our bailout money?
– Would we draw attention to their nickel and diming of the people to death with new fees?
I didn’t go because I didn’t know about it.
However, the poor turn out does not surprise me. I realize it’s a cynical view, but students here (at both UM and EMU) are not only apathetic, they’re also predominantly wealthy, white and sit on the right side of politics, whether they know it or not.
I’ve done small scale fund-raising here at UM. Some people gave messages of support, but for every one supportive word, I got ten hateful words. I was insulted and threatened by multiple people for the crime of sending out a single email asking for money, and even reported to the University (who did nothing, fortunately for them). That’s just my experience.
Ann Arbor/Ypsi are not the left wing hotbeds they used to me. Unfortunately, in my view, we are very much in the minority.
Peter is right on about the students. Think about all those brand new “lofts” being built downtown and the class of person who can afford to buy them as temporary student housing. They’re the people that think they can hold on just a little longer than most of us, and maybe even become a 1%er if they just kiss one or two more butts.
Who here would protest all of the injustices then turn around and vote for Obama again?
Aren’t you liberal leaning folks fed up with him yet? I’m not trying to start a thing here, but do you guys really think another Obama term is the way to fix these things?
The Ann Arbor dot com article linked to quotes a number of people at the protest. None of them, at least as far as I noticed, were students at U-M. I’m not sure what to make of it. Maybe they think they’re above it. Maybe they think jobs will be waiting. They’ve done well their whole lives up until now, and maybe they think it will continue. And, more likely than not, they could from fairly well off families. I think, however, that EMU might be a different matter. More of those kids are paying their own way though school. Maybe they’re more in touch with the realities of current situation. Of course, a lot of them, however, work, have kids, and commute to school from elsewhere. They may not have the time and energy to march. I’d still be inclined to try, though. While I agree with others that marches in and of themselves don’t accomplish a lot, I think it’s imperative that we not lose the momentum that we’ve got going. We need to keep this thing rolling forward, gathering steam. And a protest is a great way to gather email addresses and build local support for future activities.
I don’t think it makes good sense to run Elizabeth Warren against Obama right now. I’d rather get her in the Senate, and work to push Obama to the left. I believe, with support on the street to back him up, he can be the kind of President we want him to be. Yes, I know that he took in a great deal of money from Wall Street, but I believe he can be pushed to hold them accountable. The key is to get people in the street. It’s not enough to have 80% of Americans saying that they’d like to have the Bush tax cuts ended. (As we’ve seen.) We need to have people in front of the White House, demanding it.
Obama will never hold Wall Street accountable. I can’t believe you really believe that. It’s not an insult it’s just, I mean what evidence makes you think that? Because he talks like he’s a nice guy on TV?
Come on now.
If the A2 and Ypsi Occupy people can get into the idea that we need to end The Federal Reserve, then I will be there. I shall have to put some feelers out.
What Peter said. The average UM kid might not be a 1%er, but they are almost certainly top 10%. The rest are already incredibly cynical. I blame Jon Stewart, fulfilling the role of court jester, for that one. “The world is falling apart… how do I get mine.”
Some of it is just a matter of geography. I used to live in DC. A slurred conversation between interns at happy hour has more influence than a mass protest in Ann Arbor. Ann Arbor and Michigan as a whole are so far from the halls of power, whether that’s K St. or Wall St., that I think a feeling of political impotence is pervasive. Paris and Versailles couldn’t give two shits about this provincial backwater, and we know it. In a lot of ways, we have already lost.
Furthermore, nonviolent protests have been proven completely ineffectual. Even when the mass media doesn’t ignore them, the politicians treat them as a sideshow. Make some nice speeches, then get back to doing what your “donors” pay you to do. You aren’t allowed to acknowledge it in polite company, but Martin made progress because Malcolm was the other option for those in power. I get the distinct feeling a lot of people occupying wall street are putting their toe in the water, waiting to see if the rest of us will go in after them. When they get pepper sprayed and beaten with police truncheons do the liberals come to their defense? When they smash a window that needed smashing do the liberals wring their hands and join the chorus of concern trolls, or provide the ideological cover and rationalizations they are so proficient at when it comes to war and extrajudicial killings? As for me, my next pay check opens an account at Washtenaw Federal Credit Union. I know it’s not much, but if you smash a window or decide to mail all of the goose shit in Riverside park to the home of Tim Geithner I won’t snitch.
Obama has proven over and over again that he has no intention of holding anyone accountable for anything. I’ll vote for the guy again, but have no illusions as to what he is.
I had hoped to attend, but had been asked to run a meeting at the same time, so wasn’t able.
From what I’d seen (facebook, twitter, etc) beforehand, though, organizers of the Ann Arbor meeting were specifically calling for a meeting, in order to talk about how to support Occupy (Wall Street, Lansing, Detroit). For a meeting, 200 people is pretty amazing turnout, especially in Ann Arbor, where a “big” public meeting might include 50-75 people, and that usually only when some professor has tasked their class with attending.
Generally, I agree with what I heard out of the meeting organizers prior to yesterday — that Ann Arbor should probably focus on getting people to, getting coverage of, and otherwise supporting work in the larger, focal communities. It’s been said that the solution to pollution is dilution, and that goes especially for mass movements — fewer and bigger gets more visibility than more and smaller. (When was the last time the folks standing outside the Ann Arbro Federal Building with their protest signs got any press?)
In this context, I’d like to agree in part and disagree in part with Shiloh: there is a difference between mass mobilizing and strategy, but the way OWS & related efforts seem to be working is that you show up to help strategize. If you’re waiting until you figure out what they’re doing to get involved, you’re kind of missing your chance.
Also, I disagree with the comments that UM students are too “wealthy” or “spoiled” to be interested in this. “Student debt” is one of the most frequent things mentioned on http://wearethe99percent.tumblr.com/ — I’m fortunate enough to not be crippled by student loans, but know plenty of 20- and 30-something UM alums who are.
I know it’s a popular pastime in both A2 and Ypsi, but, generally, drawing a line between “us” and “students”, and sneering across that line at “them” is a great way to not make any progress.
Well, I am a UM student and I’m not drawing the line.
The UM student body is wealthier and more privileged than it’s ever been, in my opinion. To me, it’s sad. I did my undergrad here in the early 90’s, my father was an alum from the 70’s. I’ve spent most of my life around this University and have watched it shift further and further to the right every year.
From Krugman’s blog:
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/07/elitist-me/?pagewanted=all
Your typical Wall Street protester is right here:
http://weaselzippers.us/2011/10/07/wz-exclusive-interview-with-wall-street-occupier/
This one is for META to comprehend:
When President Obama says that the rich don’t pay their share of taxes, he is lying, distorting, and demagoging.
Here are the facts according to the IRS:
• Those making more than $1 million pay 24% of income in taxes
• Those making $200,000 to $300,000 pay 17.5%
• Those making $100,000 to $125,000 pay 9.9%
• Those making $50,000 to $60,000 pay 6.3%
• Those making $20,000 to $30,000 pay 2.5%
And what of millionaires who pay no taxes?
There are 1,470 of them. They represent six-tenths of one percent of all those with million dollar incomes in the U.S. If we assume that they make an average income of $2 million a year each, taxing them at the same rate as other millionaires (24.4%) would yield $367 million, which would increase Treasury income tax revenues by 30 one-hundredths of one percent or one-third of one-tenth of one percent!
Overall, the IRS reports that the revenues from the income tax are sharply skewed toward taxes on the rich:
• The top 1% pays 39%
• The top 5% pays 60%
• The top 10% pays 72%
• The bottom half pays 3%
So who does Obama think he is kidding?
I’m not saying that I believe it, but I thought that this was worth passing along.
“Spitzer: Protests could force Obama to change tune on Wall St. ”
http://news.salon.com/2011/10/06/spitzer_morning_clip/singleton/
Did we confirm, Mr. Salad, that you haven’t paid taxes in over a decade? Does that make your opinion any less worthy of consideration?
Do protesters take baths? doesn’t look like it.
http://weaselzippers.us/2011/10/07/video-dirty-hippy-occupier-yearns-for-a-utopian-society-says-tea-partiers-are-losers-and-crazy-people/
After “digging” real hard, we have found out just what the Wall Street protesters want from society and their government…………….I think!
http://moonbattery.com/?p=3071
“cmadler, how about killing two birds with one stone and having an “occupy” event that also seeks to shut down a Bank of America branch?”
Now you’re talking! “Occupying” a bank is probably some kind of felony, so perhaps instead some sort of organized way to make things difficult for them. For example, at an agreed-upon day/time, everyone 1) parks in their parking lot (because you’ll be intending to make “use” of the bank) 2) goes in with change or small bills, 3) creates very long lines by asking tellers to “make change” for a dime (for example), and 4) goes to the end of the line and repeats. (If you’re a BoA customer, so much the better, you can withdraw the first $1 of your account one cent at a time!) A sub-group could also waste the time of bank managers, lenders, etc. by expressing “interest” in doing business, but going very slow and asking endless questions (possibly relating to the issues pointed out above by Mr. X).
That’s just my quick brainstorm, there are lots of creative people reading this blog and I’m sure we can come up with other good ideas.
At Chicago Board of Trade: “We are the 1 percent” signs mocking Occupy Wall Street and Occupy Chicago protests
http://boingboing.net/2011/10/05/in-chicago-board-of-trade-building-we-are-the-1-percent-signs-mocking-occupy-wall-street-and-occupy-chicago-protests.html
How about “Occupy Eric Cantor?”
http://tinyurl.com/3rywrch
How long will it take before the “occupy this and that city” people realize that denouncing corporations and inequality and war and CEO bonuses and bailouts and mortgage foreclosures will not bring about change till such time as those involved have gained political clout.
Yeah, best stay home and watch Netflix until your movement gains political clout.
Look, I’ve been on the periphery of the various left tendencies for years, and in almost every single case of a major demonstration that I can recall, it was a “cause” — Boycott South Africa, Free Mumia, No Nukes (you can see how far back I go), Anti-Globalization, et cetera. That both galvanized a certain subset, and turned off another. Eventually there came to be a kind of consensus of disagreement, and your average protest had representatives from all walks amongst it — true blue Socialists, vegan animal rights, you name it. You could almost shrug it off as a cliché and a joke. These were all tightly-knit, well-organized movements with specific goals, but with virtually no hope of enactment.
I was at the protests in Madison (as well as a couple of local ones here one county over). The population was markedly different. Yeah, some of the veteran protest regulars were there, but the vast majority of the demonstrators was average middle-class settled adults who were shocked and dismayed at being targeted to the point that they had to defend their own interests in this way. They weren’t there for some abstract thing they glommed onto as an intellectual hobby keep in mind, no real disrespect intended, they were there because their own livelihoods were at stake, perhaps to their mind for the first time in their lives.
The protests in Wisconsin created an organized political movement that succeeded in bringing more legislators to the polls in recall elections than had ever been done before, and two seats changed hands as a result — effectively stalling the Republican political agenda in the state (not cold, but from hot to lukewarm). Stunning numbers of stunned people became politically aware, politically connected, educated, determined, and more and more organized — as a result of these protests, which in many ways were a model for Occupy Wall Street.
I don’t know what specific policy changes you can ever normally expect protests to achieve, but what they can do is build a political movement.
posted by dhartung at 3:28 PM on October 7
I think Michiganders are busy treading water and paying bills ~ many of those who would be protesting are busy attending to their garden harvest, canning/preserving, chickens, bees and jobs if they have them. The only purpose I see for a local demonstration (okay, be horrified) is to get the word out to those who haven’t found out yet about Occupy Wall street NY. ~ if I were going to spend time on this, imho, I’d carpool to NY to add #’s/size and reinforce what’s happening there because that’s the only thing that will cause this to REGISTER and matter – if there are sufficient numbers maintained there. (doubtfulwith winter cold approaching ~)
That said, I’d completely planned on joining in the Tar Sands Civil Disobedience demonstration at the Whitehouse with McKibben, just for the solidarity and comradery of being with others as nuts as I am re: the Tar Sands ~ I cleared a week off of work appointments, which took some juggling, and then couldn’t GET there as the trains were no longer running due to the worries re: the hurricane. However, re: Michigan ~ The ride board had zero carpooling I could find from Michigan ~ which did shock me. Perhaps everyone is too busy in their Vista/Americorps jobs paying their student loans??
Setting an example : ) :
A small but dedicated protest – #OccupyMason (Bonnie Bucqueroux)
image: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10101238889207914&set=a.918951087514.2751555.2356764&type=1&ref=nf
http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/302110_10101238889207914_2356764_76301287_500286504_n.jpg
A report from Occupy Portland.
http://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/lczzj/so_i_just_drunkenly_wandered_through_occupy/
Did anyone go to the General Assembly meeting in Ann Arbor this weekend? I’d love to know what was discussed.
All is not lost, perhaps.
Wednesday (tomorrow)
Time 11:30am until 12:30pm
Description
Come to Mason Hall by 12pm to show the campus your support for Occupy UM!
The goal of this action is to make Occupy UM’s presence known on campus by increasing:
A) Visibility (e.g. student presence, banners, rapid flyering, etc)
B) Knowledge via auditory statement on Occupy UM’s focus (e.g. student debt, tuition fees and privatization of the university)
C) Participation in future actions (e.g. promote the Regents Action on 12/13 – Cube @ 2:15)
Details:
11:20am – Meet at Mason Hall a) review event structure b) distribute quarter sheet fliers c) determine priority flyering spots c) break up into teams
11:30-11:55am – Distribute fliers in priority spots (e.g. elevators)
11:55-12:00pm – Return to Mason Hall for noon Mic Check
12:00 – 12:05pm – Mic Check and spoken statement on Occupy UM’s focus (by Greta)
12:05-12:25pm- Continue Flyering
http://www.facebook.com/events/234945686575472/
I need student correspondents for this site.