“Many women come to help for a while but there is a serious gender and female problem in the movement. A lot of people, like me, find it hard to get their voices heard. If you are a white male over 25 its easier to be heard but if you are a minority its harder.”
- Scales ( OWS Librarian)
Various methods of communication in OWS.
Photo from Heather and Sam,occupiers from the People’s Kitchen.(This is the tattoo the Kitchen is getting together to mark their solidarity with OWS and each other.)
I met Sam while I was volunteering outside of the Safer Spaces tent one night. (Safer Spaces was a tent designated for only women. It was created after there was a sexual assault in the park.) She was talking to another occupier about insulating the tents in order to prepare for winter. Sam had procured plastic boards to put under the tents, but was worried that it wouldn’t be enough to protect the bottom or even help them retain heat. We went to Starbucks, one of the few places still opened late near the park, to meet her friend Heather and to get warm. Both Sam and Heather worked mainly with the Kitchen working group. We huddled around a small table near an outlet so that Sam could charge her phone. While Heather worked diligently making lists for the supplies that needed to be picked up the next day from Restaurant Depot, Sam spoke with me. Every now and then Heather would look up and chime in.
Sam: I joined this movement for my son, Aiden. He’s 13.When we first heard about what was going on at Occupy Wall St. my son wanted to come down here and show his support. We came and he held a sign that said “ I am here for people like my mom who cant get health insurance.” I needed a heart transplant and I was denied insurance because they said I had a pre-existing condition. Its not like I wanted it for free. I wanted to pay for it. They just wouldn’t give it to me. That’s why I came here.
I work in the Kitchen with Heather, but right now I am really concerned about the coming winter and our longevity. We need to winterize. I am trying to get together a working group that only deals with winterization for the camp. People aren’t worried enough about it. There needs to be cross-working group organization. We can’t give up just because its getting cold. I couldn’t bear to tell Aiden that. As a mother, I cannot sacrifice night after night of quality time with my son just to give up because of winter. I really don’t want to fail him.
We have to fix this world we are about to inherit. We need to take ownership. When I am 50 what will I be able to say when I look back at my life? That I was able to only able keep my son and myself alive. Is that it? That’s not enough! We have a rare opportunity to be known as more than just the ipod or ipad generation. That’s not what I want to be remembered as. We need to be more than that. We need to change society to see from a human point of view and not a capitalist point of view.
Heather looks up and nods in agreement.
Heather: Before Occupy I was depressed. I was trying to get my PhD. I was studying social movements and I was a line cook. This movement gave me hope.
She goes back to writing her lists.
Sam: Heather is the backbone of the kitchen. Its all up there in her head. She works here 12 hours a day. You know, its insane that we can feed 3000 plates of hot food on a normal day but not be able to keep people warm. The Occupation really needs to insulate all of the tents. Its important since there is no sense of community between the small, separate ones. One day someone is going to fall asleep and get hypothermia. They are going to die there and no one will know. My son wants to sleep at the camp for New Years. How can I do that with him if its not safe and warm enough for him to be here?
I think that there should be a winterization caucus that meets daily for the next moth to prepare. I am going to try to organize one. This movement can’t just be about people in their 20’s.It has to transcend age and gender for it last. We need to involve and listen to the older generation. They’re the ones with the experience and the knowledge. Not just the “cool kids” in the park.
I wish that there were more action being done. But complete consensus is getting in the way. I wish I could just get things done.
NOV 3rd Emergency Meeting
Mae
Deshaun
Hiro
Patrick
Raphael
Ivan
Josh
Cynthia-Medical
Cristine
S.X.- Facilitator
D: Josh took my bag of clothes from the back and gave them away. He told me he didn’t believe in possessions, and that nobody should have them. He came in and tried to take down our tents, and tried to move the Comfort store.
M: He is doing us like he did SIS (Shipping Inventory and Storage). They have banned him. He gave away all our sleeping bags, and he keeps being incredibly disruptive. It is really cold, and we told him we did not think sending sleeping bags to Washington Square was a good idea. He got a truck and did it anyway. People were really cold that night.
J: You guys have no right to do what you are doing. I am doing what is best for Comfort and you guys should listen to me. I can do whatever I want, there are no rules here. You can’t enforce anything.
I: No you cannot do whatever you want, if you do that we will never get organized. You are being disrespectful of our community.
J: You guys aren’t doing things right, and you need to listen to what I am telling you.
P: You need to listen to us.
C: Josh stole money I saw him.
S.X. That isn’t relevant
C: Yes it is, he is a thief
H: No, it doesn’t matter
Mae: It doesn’t matter. I think that Josh should never be allowed to work here, or welcome to participant in our community’s process.
S.X.: Is that a proposal?
Mae: Yes.
S.X. The motion on the floor is to evict Josh from Comfort, and Comfort activities.
All in favor? (All hands go up, with exception of J.)
All opposed? (J. )
S.X.: Josh, the community has spoken, please respect their decision. This meeting is adjourned.
This photo is from Inhabit NYC
Michael came from Chicago to New York to be an actor. He, like others I met, has a history of activism. After moving to Zuccotti Park, Michael began working at Comfort. With Comfort being one of the busiest and most physically draining working group, he felt could best do his part for the occupation by staying there
————
Me: Why did you decide to move to New York and join the movement?
Michael: I have been involved with other movements in the past but they felt like pep rallies compared to this. Occupy is different and I knew I had to be a part of it.
As we spoke, Michael and I emptied the large bins used to transport denotations and sort clothing. We began to talk about the way Comfort and how Occupy in general were being run.
Michael: The old Comfort system worked well. (He is referring to Occupiers just approaching Comfort when they needed something and were simply given the item.) But now the police are telling people who get out of Rikers to come here to get clothes and medicine so the situation has changed. At times it has become violent. Two nights ago we got 36 tents but there were rumors in the Park that we were getting 150. People waited for hours outside of Comfort to get a tent. They were overrunning the station. It was sad because it turned into an animalistic scene. And it was like… you are acting the way they want you to act …you know?
We were finally delivered 54 more tents and the same thing happened. People pushed into the station and they stole boxes of tents. There is talk of a guy who has a stack of tents in his tent to sell or something. And some people have been taking tents out of the Park and selling them.There have also been drunken fights. Someone threw a glass bottle one night and hit my friend (a girl) in the face before we were suppose to go do laundry.
Its amazing though. People still are generous despite the weather. And they are still donating so much that we can’t keep up. Its unfortunate that the bad stuff is happening. There have been fistfights between men and women. People are openly doing drugs. Now in Comfort we changed our system and you cant just run to us for something. If you want it you have to order it. It stays in storage. You give your name and what item you need. Then you have to come back in an hour to get it.
Occupy has to evolve because it will collapse on itself if it doesn’t. If we don’t overcome all the obstacles it will collapse. It’s a changing science. Everyday we are trying to figure out the state of things and how to evolve. Violence just takes the focus off what we are doing.
Michael is optimistic though. And he focuses on the positive and reminds me of the good that’s happening within the movement. He is an example of how they are developing and growing despite the negatives.
Michael: I know what I do, so I am going to keep doing that.
Michael usually takes the night shift to watch the tent. He feels that its an important time to be there. People frequently arrive unprepared to the Park during night and the early hours of the morning. Michael is awake to greet them and provide them with supplies to keep them warm. One night he got a warning that city sanitation was stopping by to inspect them and he was the only one at the tent at the time. They were supposed to arrive in 1 hour. Unfortunately, it had rained the night before and supplies at Comfort had been almost completely soaked. He had to scramble to clean the area. Situations like that happen frequently but he said you just have to work quickly to deal with it.
Michael: Personally, I don’t think this is “the Revolution”. Maybe I am a bit naive and don’t understand the hold of money. I guess I’d rather get a little something from this than nothing. If this (Occupy) creates dialogue and discussion then I think we accomplished something. And I think that the media has to cover this differently because of the way we are. They have to delve into why we are here. I am aware of the fact that I can be wrong about this. I hope this will affect big change in the long run. Even if it simply means people will think differently about the way they live their lives, what kind of product they buy, or where their food comes from. I have no idea where this is going to go but I feel this where I need to be right now. That’s why I am here.
Michael: I just try to forget about the rest of the Occupation and just try to get stuff done. There is a core of 6 people at Comfort.
Me: What’s your day like? Who do you talk to and work with?
Michael: I wake up and work on donations. I sort and hang clothes in the morning. Later in the day I go and get the bins to bring down supplies and unload them from SIS. I go back and forth all day. And depending on the day I do laundry all day for more than 15 hours some days. After that I work the overnight shift at the Comfort tent.
Me: Where do you do laundry?
Michael: In the Bronx near Nagel Avenue. The owner is really nice and supportive of the movement. We even accidentally flooded their place once but they still welcomed us back. Also, they sometimes give free services or detergent to us.
Nagel Super Laundry Mat
212 567 7060
Me: Wow,thats a long way to go!
Michael: Yeah, I’m not sure why we go there. ( says this with a smile.)
Me: good detergent…
We finish sorting the bin and Michael goes to get more clothing.
view it on pirate pad—-> https://pad.riseup.net/ro/r.MTtxSgEx3Og6yZ7O
1234
Proposal: We propose to create People’s Mic Radio, an FM radio station broadcasting from Liberty Square in collaboration with the Media Team.
Summary / Description of problem
The People’s Mic is a wonderful thing. It has returned the power to the people, enabling us to engage in direct democracy by listening to one another. While it is an inspiring show of solidarity, the People’s Mic also has its problems. It is very hard to scale to large groups of people; we go hoarse and tire from the shouting; it places limits on what we can say, and how we can say it; it can turn long meetings into incredible tests of our patience and love for each other. We are in this position because the city has imposed barriers to participating in democracy by placing legal restrictions on amplified sound. We come to you with a proposal to improve this situation.
Mic Check! We bring you: People’s Mic Radio! An effort to provide a legal FM broadcast to the occupiers in Liberty Plaza. This project aims to provide a democratic voice to the occupation through a reproducible, do-it-yourself and sustainable model. The project is designed to have a three phased approach to be implemented over the course of a month.The first phase, when completed, will provide an FM broadcast service that will be used during General Assembly meetings to help amplify our voices via a network of FM recievers. An internet stream will disseminate our General Assemblies to the world. The scope and content of future phases will be determined by the support and interest of the community and the needs that are presented to the radio team. Over time, we hope to become a fully functional radio station that provides both information about #OWS’ daily operations and a space where artists and media-makers can collaborate to create dynamic radio about the #Occupy movement.
Our goals:
Phase One - Broadcast and amplification of General Assembly
Financial need: Up to $2,000
========
GOAL: Broadcasting GA’s over an FM signal, and distributing FM receivers in hopes of reducing the number of generations needed of the people’s mic or, if the people so choose, deactivate the people’s mic during the General Assembly completely. During phase one, our signal will cover 1/3 of the park - approximately from the stairs at Broadway to the kitchen area. We hope this will facilitate a healthier, more efficient conversation during GA.
Needs: To accomplish this phase, we need:
(footnotes in [ ] refer to sections of the financial breakdown)
1) A permanent physical place in the plaza to work in, with access to electricity and internet. We also need a space where we can safely store equipment overnight.
2) Use of the livestream and other communication channels to request donations.
3) Equipment:
Transmitters
In order to broadcast legally we are bound to devices that comply with Part 15 of the FCC code. There are number of options available to us. The basic tradeoffs are price for distance. The lower the price, the lower the distance. For instance you can commonly find transmitters for use from an iPod to a car stereo. The range is not good enough for anything but that use, and the transmitters run $15-20.
We have been testing with this model: http://www.ccrane.com/radios/fm-transmitters/fm-transmitter-2.aspx
It is the cheapest that will work. The results are something between a 15-25 foot radius from the transmitter, meaning we would need something like 8-10 of them to really get strong coverage for the first 1/3 of the plaza. These cost around $60 each, but if we buy 10 the cost goes down to $50.
More expensive models boast longer distances and have a sturdier construction. At the high end this device claims to reach 150 feet: http://www.proaudio.com/product_info.php?cPath=373_451&products_id=10178and costs $575.
Somewhere in the middle is a device like this: http://www.progressive-concepts.com/info/item.html?id=71 which comes in at $200 per unit.
The final cost of transmitters is based on the model(s) we choose to purchase, keeping in mind that adding more transmitters will introduce more points of failure and require additional Distribution Amplifier capacity.
Financial Breakdown
[1] Mixers: The type we need is something like: http://www.peavey.com/products/proaudio/mixers/pv/index.cfm/item/115024/index.html these can be purchased online in the neighborhood of $60 - $120. Models can be purchased locally for around $150.
[2] Wired Mics. We have two donated Shure SM58 microphones.
[3] Wireless Mics. Priced locally at around $450 for a double set, includes base station and two mics. A similar product can be found here: http://www.zzounds.com/item—SHUPG288PG58 orhttp://www.amazon.com/Hisonic-HSU482H-48-Channel-Microphone-Certified/dp/B000NPIA4A/ for only $250.
[4] Netbooks run in the $200 -$400 range and can be purchased at many local stores.
[5] Lock Box.The size of the lock box needed is entirely dependent on the size and number of transmitters, the size of the sound board, number of cables etc. In general the goal behind a lock box is to protect the equipment that is being bought for the people.
[6] Distribution Amplifier. A distribution amplifier runs a single signal to multiple output signals without losing signal strength. We will need one output channel per transmitter. We want the outputs to be XLR since XLR does not lose signal quality over distance. One model that can be bought locally from B&H can be found here:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/117036-REG/Aphex_120A_120A_Distribution_Amplifier.html . These seem to run in the $300 - $400 range.
We are happy to use donated equipment where possible; however this breakdown and request assumes the purchase of everything that we do not already have in our hands.
The Occupation’s obsession with leaderless-ness masks the permissibility and power given to specific groups of occupiers. These groups include those who have been present in the occupation longer, those who have technical skills like coding or film, and those who gravitate to working groups that have greater access to the media spotlight or that allow for vocal recognition like Tech, Media, and Finance. This power creates natural hierarchies. The fact that occupiers at Wall Street were aware that 300,00 + dollars were available but were not aware of who the members of finance were, is a critical example of this. The Library working group’s proposal was denied but they didn’t know who was denying it. Or the fact that the Tech working group didn’t encourage people to join because they claimed that too many people who weren’t technically competent would slow down the operation. And when deciding what kind of insulation palates were to be purchased for the tent city, an occupier who managed to procure a major discount on a significant amount of recycled foam insulation was voted against. Another occupier, who wanted to use plastic boards instead, was sided with because he had more recognition. (It also didn’t help that many people were not present at the meeting, even though it would affect the whole camp.) These hierarchies come out when decisions are being made and control is exercised. Conversely, Occupy is horizontally governed, consensuses based world. This entitles even the newest member to make or break proposals that have been created seasoned occupiers.How the subtle manifestations of this experiment affect OWS’s ability to instill lasting change can only be seen with time.
Lego representation of Scales being arrested defending the Library,during the eviction from Zuccotti Park.Photo Courtesy of an Occupier.
I spoke to Scales and Zack, two Librarians, when I was looking for Steve in SIS. They had come into organize and catalog books that had been building up. I offered to help so that they would feel more comfortable talking with me. Occupiers seems generally happy to speak about their passion for the movement but are generally wary of press and undercover cops. I never thought I could pass as one of those but I guess you never know.
When speaking with people at the occupation I normally don’t use recording devices. This is because its hard to work alongside occupiers while holding a something and I feel like their demeanor changes when a camera or a reorder is switched on. People tend to become more formal and I feel like they become a “representative” of the movement instead of just speaking to me normally. However I was advised that documentation is always good so for a couple of interview I tried using a recorder.This particular conversation was one of them. I had to stop using it after an hour because the recorder malfunctioned. To be honest I was glad that it did because even after an hour of standing and talking Scales and Zack kept looking down at it.
Our conversation, like most of mine with occupiers was quite “organic”, and didn’t have a particular direction. Despite my earnest attempts to direct it, the conversation was guided by want ever topic came up naturally, depending on what Scales or Zack had been thinking about at that moment.
————-
Me: Do you have steady members in the Library or people come and go? And if they do what do you think about that?
Scales: I like volunteers because they do the tedious shelving work and this allows me to be free to do his own projects. I recently came back from Philly. I was helping them set up their own library. I brought some of the overstocked copies of books that we had. Philly only has a few boxes of books that serve as their “library”. Also several people at the library were offered paid tickets and an invitation to a library conference in Texas. So I might go to that.My main goal at Occupy is to simply get books out to people and just focus on the library. I want to make sure that people are getting the books and recommendations that they need.
Me: Do you let your political opinions affect what you recommend?
Scales: I try not to. I do my best to be unbiased and simply be a provider of information no matter what the requester asks for. People generally ask for political books, economic books, and poetry.
The conversation then turned to the weather.This was the 29th of October,the day that there was the snowstorm. We were lucky to have been working in SIS while many people were freezing outside in the tent city. With the mention of winterization and the longevity of the makeshift tent city I asked what would they do with all of their books if Occupy no longer physically occupied Zucotti Park. Scales and Zack joked about a radical bookmobile. But then Zack became serious.
Zack: We do work with a few small bookshops that support the movement and they would probably have books available in those locations for people to still checkout, especially Blue Stocking Bookshop.
Scales to Zack: Yeah but if we do that then our ideals would be usurped by an organization.
Me: What kind of bookshops are they?
Zack: They are self- proclaimed anarchist books shops. Well you know we cant really view the our part in the movement as abstractly as other working groups. We deal with physical objects. We have books not just ideals to move. Clothes can be donated to shelters but books can’t really be donated easily.
Scales cracked a joke.
Scales: Yeah, shelters don’t really have extensive libraries.
After nodding in agreement with what Zack said we went back to working again.Scales and I labeled OWSL (Occupy Wall Street Library) on the books that hadn’t been cataloged yet while Zack took down the ISBN numbers.
Me: How do you catalog the ISBNs?
Zack: We use a library program that takes the ISBN and alphabetically catalogs them for us.
There were hundreds of books and I must have written OWSL on at least 4 boxes myself. So after sometime when I started to write down ISBN numbers as well.
Scales: You know, its our duty as a library to provide people with access to information but not to inform people of our opinions of the materials, other than to give references.I didn’t really like books before but working at the library but I began to understand people’s need for knowledge and eventually understood how to distribute it.We don’t tell people how to think or what to read or what ideology to follow. We allow them to access information to make their own decision. (He said this very emphatically and seriously. But then his faced softened and he chuckled saying, “ Occupy your mind.”)
Zack: If you don’t mind what you are doing and want to keep helping us out come to the library on Sun at 1pm.
I thanked him and said I would try to make it.Then I asked Scales why he was called Scales. He said something about how a girl named Briar, who is a one of the members that attends the Library more frequently, was playing around with gender pronouns and that he replied that he was a dragon, gender pronoun “It.” So from that conversation on she called him Scales and it stuck. Scales never actually told me his real name. But at the mention of another member I took the opportunity to ask about the working group.
Me: So, how many people worked in the library?
Both Scales and Zack didn’t know. They guessed between 10 and 20.
Me: Maybe I should ask who are the people that work the most frequently?
Zack and Scales:
Jamie, Frances, Steven, Other Steven, Briar, Eric, Betsey, Bill, Zack, Scales, Sean, Nate, Cristo, Other Zack, and Amanda.
After looking at the list I noticed that it was fairly balanced.
Me: So how is the gender balance in the working groups?
Scales laughed.
Scales: One of the worst balanced groups is Sanitation. It has only 2 or 3 girls. People jokingly call it
“Man-itation”. (He says this while chuckling.) Many women come to help for a while but there is a serious gender and female problem in the movement. A lot of people, like me, find it hard to get their voices heard. If you are a white male over 25 its easier to be heard but if you are a minority its harder.
Me: So why do you in particular find it hard?
I didn’t want to make any assumptions about him or his reason.
Scales: Because I am gay. But people recognize that its (the gender in balance) is a problem and try to respond to it but that doesn’t excuse it.
Zack: Our group has a good balance of voices.
Scales: Well, it fluctuates depending on who is present during meetings. There is a power balance between morning and night shifts because there are no women in the mornings. But we function smoothly and get along. I can’t speak for others, even though I have friends in other working groups. Our main concern is that it is important to build a community. (He then jokes)…What does Info do? They send people to Library!
Zack: The problem is open one- up -manship. They say I have been here a long time and try to have an assertion on leadership and then people get defensive. What you should actually say is I am a part of this and then they are a part of this.
I loved this quote. What he said really resonated with me because of my own struggle to find my place in the movement and trying to determine if I had the right to have one at all. And I told him so.
Zack: Well, you are here working aren’t you? So you are a part of this.
The conversation dies down and we continue working. By now the books have all been sorted so we start putting them all on to the shelves. That day the library was given two metal shelves with three sections on each shelf. Each section was big enough for someone to curl up in and sleep on. We worked for about 5 -10 minutes in silence then I asked about Finance again.
Me: So, who’s in Finance?
Scales: Who’s in Finance? They don’t even know!
We chuckled at this but it was a kind of nervous chuckle I think. So I switched topics and went back to asking about the books in Library.
Zack: Most books are political or self- published or Christian or some combination of the two.
A member of Media walked around interviewing Occupiers for Live Stream.Zack joked…
Zack: So this is what the apocalypse looks like…Snow is October with tent cities and people dressed like they are on the cover of Cult punk records.
Me: What are the books people are not taking?
Zack: The People vs. Bush by Charlotte Dennett and Diary of an Eco –Outlaw by Diane Wilson.
Me: How’s it been going? Are you guys getting what you need?
Scales: Well, we have had problems getting funding from Finance. We submitted a budget on the 28th of October but it was rejected. We are waiting to hear back again.
Me: Can you give me a run down of the stats of the library? How many books you have? Where do you get them?
Zack: There are about 1000 books in storage and 3000 to 5000 in the library itself. This doesn’t include the books that have been taken already or the number of the books that we get in triples and quadruples.
( Note:They have a lot of copies! The Library must have had at least 5 boxes of The Battle in Seattle on the shelves alone! Zack said he thought they were about 250 of them.)
Zack: Most books are donated to us by an author or a publisher. We have had Verso, Haymarket Books, AK, Metropolitan, and Picador send us books. Authors that have given us their books are Naomi Cline, Michael Moore, Chris Hedges, Glen Greenwood, and Patti Smith.
Scales: Yeah Michael Moore came in person and donated two of his signed books. I squeezed his butt!
Me: What?!
Scales: Yeah and Glen Greenwood donated 20 copies of his book.
Zack: He donated them before they were even released. That made me really happy.
Me: Sorry can you explain about how people check books out?
Zack: There is a trust system in the library. We trust you to bring it back or to lend it to someone else or we trust you to give it a good home on your shelf and to cherish it.
Me: What types of books do you both read?
The conversation was ending. We had finished working and they were about to leave. I just wanted a little more personal info about them.
Scales: Kafka, Camus, Vonnegut (The Metamorphosis)… and existential books
Zack: Philosophy and History. I like anarchist history and books about the period at the end of WW2. I also like books on Individualistic movements, the Spanish Civil War, and Labor History. I think it’s a good idea to read books about things or people that you disagree with.
Many of occupiers, including Steve, are not even aware of when meetings and marches are. Steve says that the more involved you become and the more you work, the more “clueless” you are about the occupation. He is so overwhelmed by his work at SIS that he doesn’t really have time to think about his relationship to the rest of the movement. How is Occupy affected by members, whose votes directly impact the outcome of a decision, who aren’t informed about the movement’s current status or aren’t even present at meetings to vote?
Photo of SIS Courtesy of the NY Times.
I met Steve my first day at Occupy Wall Street. He spent the entire afternoon showing me around Zuccotti Park, the storage space, and introducing me to people that he knew. Steve is an unemployed mental health worker who joined and now lives at Occupy. He feels that it, unlike other movements he had been apart of, would actually make a difference. When he first arrived at the park he wasn’t sure how to help, so he began experience as an Occupier by picking up a broom and sweeping the park. He told me that he felt like his small physical act was helping. But soon the square made him feel disoriented and tired so he gravitated towards SIS (Supply Inventory Storage.
———————
Steve: I arranged with library to bring tents to the actual working group instead of giving them away to random people that simply ask for them. The park has become an attraction for drug users and violent people. And there is a rumor that is circling about a man who was able to get a tent. He is hoarding a stack of five or six tents in it so that he can sell or trade things for them. A lot of times stuff ends up where it shouldn’t be.
Members of working groups don’t even have time to get things for themselves because they are so occupied helping others in the park. Many goods and supplies end up going to individuals and the people in the working groups are the last to receive badly needed items, like tents.People also come to SIS claiming that they are a Liaison for other working groups and they ask for supplies. After they receive them, they take the goods and leave the park or they sell them.
As Steve and I were talking we had a clear view of the SIS entryway and the white, fold-up table used for writing down information. A young African American man, (Aaron?), in a highlighter orange knit hat was waiting at the table claiming to be a Liaison for the Comfort working group. (Comfort deals with the distribution of clothing and goods such as sleeping bags.) Cory, a member of SIS who does a great deal of its organization, refused to let him past the table and into the space. Cory told him that there was already a Liaison from Comfort there. The young man became quite angry and said that he had been at the occupation for 3 weeks, which was much longer than most people. He exclaimed that it wasn’t right of Corey not to let him into the space and unfair that his legitimacy was being questioned. He claimed that power was getting to peoples heads in SIS. As we watched the exchange, Steve, told me that the man had come before to SIS, taken goods, and that those goods “didn’t get to where they should have”. So they were suspicious of him.
Aaron: “I’ve been in this occupation for 3 weeks busting my ass and you’re pulling rank and kicking me out!”
I began my involvement with Occupy Wall St. purely for my own exploration and understanding of the movement. While my classmates and friends seemed sure about their place in the Occupy or about how Occupy would change their lives, I was skeptical.I went to the marches with other students, to the General Assemblies, and gatherings. I saw that whatever Occupy was becoming that it was important and that it would be influential. So what was it that made me feel like an outsider? I knew that because of these uncertainties it would be fraudulent to claim to identify with the movement. The only way I knew how to remedy these doubts was to try to understand the movement at its smallest scale, then radiate outward in order to articulate what Occupy was to me and where I fit within it.
I decided to begin by attempting to understand how supplies moved through the physical Occupation at Zuccotti Park. I thought that maybe if I understood about how it operated, I could get a better picture of the tent city as a whole. This plan seemed conceptually sound at first. However, after going to the park for very first time, standing at its edge seeing and the chaos in front of me, I knew that my task might be impossible. There were so many people that I didn’t know where to start or with whom to speak. I spent the first hour or so walking through tight clusters of people, trying to determine the Park’s layout.
The chaos was disorienting. I felt relieved when I was able to recognize a landmark. The People’s Kitchen was easy to spot. The line for food moved steadily, but seemed endless. Medical was recognizable since that working group of Occupiers wore crosses made of red tape on their sleeve. Sanitation, Info, and the Library had other similar markings to identify them.
I spoke with a few friendly, but frazzled, people at the kitchen and after explaining my desire to learn more about supply lines in the Park, they suggested I speak with someone from the Supply, Inventory, and Storage (SIS) working group. It was located in a large room in the Teacher’s Union a few blocks from the Park. A woman serving at the Kitchen pointed to a tall, lanky man with graying hair partially covered with a green beanie, who was attempting to get coffee from one of the orange drink dispensers. “That’s Steve, he works in SIS - you should talk to him. He’s about to head back there now. Hey, Steve this young woman wants to know about our supplies.” She smiled at me and quickly turned back to preparing food.
Steve’s first words to me were, “Do you like chai? I thought I was getting coffee.” Even though we had just met, he spoke to me openly and with almost no hesitation regarding his knowledge of the camp’s supply chain. The only moment of tension between us was when he cautiously asked if I was a reporter. I jokingly assured him that I wasn’t, he quickly returned to his friendly demeanor.
Steve spent the next four and a half hours taking me to various working groups, as well as SIS, introducing the people that worked there. He explained that there was no official system in place in the storage facility. I asked if supplies of any kind were cataloged or inventoried. Steve responded with his own question: why inventory something that would just go out into the occupation as fast as it came in?He said they barely had time to sort and supply the items. There just wasn’t enough manpower to sustain an inventory practice.[1] Steve explained my “project” to others in the SIS working group and they told me to come back anytime.
After failing to procure any hard data, I asked Steve if UPS maintained a record of how many packages were received and where they came from. He said didn’t know, and then suggested that we go find out. As we walked to the UPS, I had to double step to keep up with Steve’s long strides. While practically jogging next to him, I inquired about his story- how he came to be in the movement and working in SIS. I found that after asking a few personal questions, Steve spoke easily to me about himself. Within the time it took to get from the storage space to the UPS, I learned a significant amount of about the last few years of Steve’s life. He told me that he had been involved with other movement dealing with similar issues to Occupy, and that he was an out of work mental health employee. He explained that he decided to stay and live at the Park because he felt that this movement was different from the others. Interestingly, Steve told me that no one else had ever asked him about who he was or the particular details of how he came to be at Occupy.
It turned out that the UPS kept no records. The amount of packages coming in from all over the nation everyday as just too much for them to handle. I wasn’t really bothered by this. (A single worker ran the tiny location.) After my talk with Steve I realized that I found the exchange we had during our walk more interesting than the prospect of learning how packages/supplies defused throughout the occupation. What better way to understand Occupy than talk to actual Occupiers.
(SIS was the one of the best places for me to meet members of working groups who were diffused throughout the camp. Before it became stricter about who came in and out of the space, I had the opportunity to speak and make connections to people that I would never have had contact with otherwise. Eventually my face became a familiar one. When speaking with Occupiers, I asked the same few preliminary questions and did my best to make them feel comfortable speaking with me. For each person this meant something different. With some I joked, with others I had coffee, but generally I just let them talk uninterrupted.)Initially I had no particular information I was trying to gather, and was very happy just to act as a listener and an observer. I felt our conversations were a form of therapy for many of the Occupiers I spoke with. Our conversations gave them the chance to vent about their day and their frustrations. I hoped that I provided them a little relief because I couldn’t be there to help. I realized that I naturally began working along side the people I spoke with. Not only did this make the conversation more natural, but that they spoke to me more freely. I left each “conversation” feeling satisfied and enlightened by the information I learned, as well as feeling the satisfaction of getting the task done. With each conversation I felt like I understood Occupy a little bit more. )
[1] At this time there were only 3 sets of shelving in the space. They were being used to store food and medical supplies. Everything else was in enormous piles on the floor waiting to be sorted. Within a few short weeks the space would be transformed multiple times over and eventually be filled with shelving.
This project began purely from the desire to learn more about what Occupy meant to me and what my place in the movement was. Since my intention at the park was not to collect interviews,but to have conversations, I wasn’t as mindful of recording the dates.I tried to post the most complete conversations I had, in the closest way possible to what each person said. In no way am I claiming that these conversations are the only representations of experiences that occurred in Zuccotti Park.
During each conversation I found myself asking the same introductory questions, such as, “What made you join the movement?” or “Where are you from?”.Other than those types of questions, the conversation between the Occupier and me occurred naturally. I wanted them to speak about whatever they wished and only asked questions that encouraged them to do so. I simply wanted to know about who they were and what they did. And in doing understand what it means be an Occupier.
