The Village of Occupy

If you haven't checked out your local Occupation (and there is one, trust me. Or if there isn't, start one!) then you're missing out on the seminal civic, political, social and fun movement of our time.

Allison Kilkenny at The Nation:

It seems like every day more news emerges about Occupy Wall Street’s plans to expand the movement. New chapters spring up across the country, more citizens join the cause, and now OWS even has its very own commercial.

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David Graeber calls this a movement of “horizontals,” meaning people who don’t require traditional hierarchical structures to lead the movement, and who believe in direct action, and don’t rely on a messiah-like figure to guide them. Basically, OWS is the opposite of the traditional political party structure, and as such, neither political parties, nor the establishment media devoted to covering those parties, understand it.

But OWS is also interesting in the sense that it’s a return to a simpler, more profound sense of community. Though the Internet has in many ways bolstered the movement, and tools like Twitter have been invaluable allies used to promote the cause, OWS is remarkably traditional in terms of its village-like structure.

Many protesters have expressed how much they enjoy meeting face-to-face with other activist allies as opposed to forwarding online petitions and Re-Tweeting political messages online. In this sense, OWS is the opposite of clicktivism. It’s real people using their bodies to obtain direct action by simply getting in the way of the establishment’s everyday business, which is the heart of any peaceful civil disobedience revolution.

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What is happening in Liberty Park is very much a return to village simplicity. The inhabitants directly vote on every proposed action, the medical team cares for sick activists without asking to see their health insurance cards, and people eat for free simply because they’re hungry and the food is plentiful.

An old-fashioned newspaper circulates among the crowd, written and published by the people without the presence of corporate backers that risk skewing the message.

Read the whole thing.

If you're in Kentucky, Occupy Lexington is having an OccuParty tonight, Saturday, at 8 p.m. Be there or be square.