Posted on October 13, 2011

Guest Post: My Hope for #Occupy Wall Street

Lori, Feministing, October 4, 2011

By now, I’m sure most of you have heard about Occupy Wall Street. Inspired by Adbuster’s call for action in July, protesters have occupied Zuccotti Park near Wall Street in New York City since September 17th. {snip}

Occupy Wall Street’s General Assembly operates under a revolutionary “progressive stack.” A normal “stack” means those who wish to speak get in line. A progressive stack encourages women and traditionally marginalized groups speak before men, especially white men. This is something that has been in place since the beginning, it is necessary, and it is important.

“Step up, step back” was a common phrase of the first week, encouraging white men to acknowledge the privilege they have lived in their entire lives and to step back from continually speaking. This progressive stack has been inspiring and mind-boggling in its effectiveness. {snip}

On October 1st, the Occupied Wall Street Journal, founded by Arun and Jed of Indypendent and supported by over $40,000 of Kickstarter funds was released. {snip}

Hopefully The Occupied Wall Street Journal will abide by the zeitgeist of this movement, which is radical inclusivity. Anything claiming to represent the General Assembly should be subject to the same governing principles, which would include a progressive stack. If this is a revolution of white men, it will not succeed.

In the words of Kevin Alvarez, a Latino blogger and activist who has been occupying wall street for over a week now:

“Without the voices of the disenfranchised people of color, lgbtq, differently abled, and other marginalized groups then this will become a revolution of those with privilege against those with privilege. There is a difference between revolutionary change and just being allowed access to the power, status, and wealth of the dominant culture. And Occupy Wall Street should not be co-opted by those seeking a watered down version of this systematically murderous economic and political system.”

{snip}