Occupying the "Occupy Olympics!"

Hello everyone.

Another week has gone by. So much to say, so little time!

Last week my focus was on archiving all hard-copies/physical documents I have collected since Occupy Syracuse started last October. I am still in the process of collecting and organizing all of my digital/electronic documents, photos, articles, etc... And by the looks of it, I can write a whole book on my experiences as a women of color activist within the Occupy Syracuse movement.

One recurring topic of conversation between local activists and/or Occupy Syracuse supporters in the community has been the issue of power dynamics within the movement and danger to render certain work within the movement as invisible. This can be connected to what I wrote about in my last post, the “Occupy Olympics.” Native American Feminist and Author Andrea Smith coined the term “Oppression Olympics” in her well-known work entitled, “Heteropatriarchy and the Three Pillars of White Supremacy” as a sort of competition among all oppressed people(s) that diverts them from finding solutions to the root of the problem. It essentially turns the oppressed masses against each other, as opposed to having the groups work in solidarity with one another to expose the real problem(s) like capitalism, heteropatriarchy, and white supremacy...to name a few.

Simply put, the “Occupy Olympics” represents those within the Occupy movement (this can mean as whole, not necessarily just Syracuse), who feel they deserve to be more physically present than others because of their personal circumstances, who feel their presence and/or work within the Occupy movement is more valuable than others, or who still use language, expressions, or actions to gain power over those who are least represented or not represented at all within the movement. The internal politics of race, class, gender, age, (dis)ability, citizenship, sexuality, etc...have created tensions within an otherwise peaceful Occupy Syracuse movement.

Questions I’d like to ask:

What I am interested in is analyzing how different bodies occupy space within this movement. Who is represented more visuably within the media? Who takes up the most space physically (including speaking)? What voices are heard? Whose opinions are legitimized and whose are scrutinized? Who takes up more space cyberly and how might that be different/same from who takes up more physical space?

Three Issues I Have With “Occupying” a Physical, Public Space:

1. As a Chicana Feminist, the term “Occupy” can be considered a problematic one. I will interchangeably say, “the Occupy movement” or “99% movement,” for this very reason. However, “Occupy” when referring to the “99% movement” is for a political purpose, to stand up against and take back our land from the 1% (filthy rich people and our government). Sure, it will be taken out of context by many who critique the term (or movement as a whole), but because of the actions the movement has taken (to occupy certain, symbolic public spaces), the term can be considered fitting.

1. “Occupying” physical spaces becomes the main issue. Since the beginning of Occupy Syracuse in early October, there has been an ever-apparent divide between the O.S. campers who many refer to as urban campers, and the O.S. supporters and activists who organize teach-ins, marches, protests, and more direct action—often referred to as the G.A. people by the O.S. campers. G.A. is short for “General Assembly,” as in our meetings.

This divide is the Occupy Olympics. The Occupy Wall Street movement started to empower the public and encourage them to not only support the movement by occupying certain public spaces physically (like New York City), but engage in any kind of constructive direct action that will ignite political change(s) all over the world.

1. The vast majority of those physically occupying are disproportionally white males between the ages of 18 and 45. Despite a few votes to bring more “racial and ethnic diversity” to the movement, Occupy Syracuse still looks very much like a bunch of white men urban camping—only now without the expensive tents because they aren’t allowed to have them there anymore. The few people of color, and even fewer women of color who have been involved are not as involved physically as they were in the beginning of the movement (myself included). Although the movement claims to be “leaderless” and a “safe space” for everyone, there have been issues with allowing for everyone to have time (equal) time to speak, males interrupting females, use of racist or sexist language, and heteropatriarchal behavior—including the naming of “mama” and “papa” within the camp.

What many of the physical occupiers do not realize is that people of color and the poor are not going to spend their spare time (if they have any) to sleep on concrete, march behind an American imperialist flag, or praise the Syracuse Police who threaten, kill, rape, accuse, and incarcerate them. There must be more effective outreach and openness to the 99% who make up the poor, people of color, and immigrants in the Greater Syracuse community.

As I delve more deeply into my research I will reflect on different experiences I have had as a woman of color, a feminist, a university student, and a local Occupy Syracuse activist by archiving my memories until I have enough data to put together a research paper. I encourage your participation and hope to hear from you with any questions, comments, or suggestions.

In Solidarity,

Risa