My thoughts on the Occupation

I'm on facebook--a lot. I have seen the "Occupation" filter through my friends news feeds for the last two months. I would describe myself as an activist by nature, having at many points in my history aligned myself with causes and uprisings, and have never regretted my involvement. And  I see the occupation, and I couldn't figure out why I felt like I was most comfortable skirting the edges, choosing to make changes in my personal life to take part in the national uprising (i.e. changing my banking to a local credit union etc). Why, in fact I wasn't using my skills of leadership and organizing this uprising, that I see as vital to the changing of consciousness in our country.

I think, for me, part of what it means to align your physical body with a cause, is to by association, align yourself with all parts of the movement, good and bad. There are many, many parts of this movement that I love, that I think are fantastic, fabulous examples of unity, and a gathering of consciousness against the wrongs that are being done, in our country and globally.

But there are also parts of this movement I DO NOT agree with. I don't HATE cops, wealthy people or the even the politicians.  I don't wish death, injury, or illness on anyone, including the people who are perpetuating this oppression, either directly or indirectly. I profess to primarily be Buddhist in principal, and I stand by that. One concept in Buddhism is to refuse to maintain a state of anger or hatred. This, I personally find challenging because I am also a passionate person, and because my first reaction to being teargassed at demonstrations in the past has been to start throwing punches. It seemed to be the right thing at the time!

But when I stop and really think about it, Anger and Hatred used as tools become weapons, and those same weapons are used to perpetuate oppression against people all over the world, this uprising is no different.

I say this not in some hippie-dippie utopian idea, I swear...I KNOW first hand the power of direct action, and non-violent demonstrations,occupations and protests. But Ghandi and MLK Jr. Accomplished incredible feats, against enormous odds while maintaining that they only way they would do it, is the in a way that they wouldn't perpetuate the same hatred against their oppressors, and we must follow their example. They were also wrongly imprisoned, attacked,and scoffed at...but they held fast. Things CAN be accomplished this way. 

Utah Philips said "We've got to place our bodies on the gears, the mechanisms and indicate to those who own it and those who run it, that unless we are free, the machine will be prevented from moving at all."

So, lets place our bodies, our voices and our demands on the gears and the mechanisms, but do so while maintaining a fierce commitment to breaking the cycle of hatred,fear and violence. I envision a better world, not a utopia, but a better version of our current selves,with a strong conviction and a commitment to making sure that we are all fed,clothed,housed and employed. With a commitment to educating ourselves and our kids, to stopping all forms of oppression, and making sure we take care of the planet, our bodies and each other. That's the kind of fighting I'll do any day.