An ‘O’ is a fitting symbol of the Occupy movement, which increasingly manifests itself as a melding of the traditional hard edges of the “Left” and “Right” political paradigms of modern political thinking.
This has conjoined the core principles associated with those doctrines and birthed a new calling to rise above traditional political divides and work to a higher purpose than merely
supporting a given faction.
Any hope for humanity to overcome its challenges, is in building unity.
To achieve it, we must truly understand that which divides us.
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Personal privacy and governance issues have long been considered the province of the “Right”, and Libertarians are considered to be at the edge of it. In the truest sense
Libertarian ideology was to be at liberty from the State. To be at liberty with oneself.To have total privacy and sovereignty over one’s domain, possessions and decisions, without external interference or any impingement upon the rights of the individual at all.
To be the King of your own castle. To be the Master of your own destiny.
Humanitarianism, in short, empathy for others in unjust circumstance, is associated with the “Left”. Not just the “Left”, but the “Far Left”, for true justice for all peoples requires massive and significant change. With unionists sitting closer to the “Centre-Left” and environmentalists just outside of that, it is the anti-war, pro-human
rights activists who are ironically considered the fringe element.
But even beyond the Humanitarians in the “Left” is the anarchists. Anarchists desire to
be at liberty from the State. To be at liberty with oneself. To have total privacy andsovereignty over one’s domain, possessions and decisions, without external interference or any impingement upon the rights of the individual at all.
To be the King of your own castle. To be the Master of your own destiny.
Thus a Humanitarian-Libertarian can be both: someone who desires and respects personal liberty but who is also empathetic to others plight to achieve THEIR desires of
personal liberty and respects others equal right to life.
Combining the importance of the well-being of the self with the importance of the
well-being of others.
Humanitarian-Libertarianism isn’t merely a concept; it is an attitude that has permeated in the public response to a multitude of current events that have threatened both
personal privacy and human rights.
The current geopolitical situation is equally endangering both – indeed the issues are all intertwined. When you step back and look at the bigger picture that forms, our human inclination to be divided into either belonging to one concern or the other, rightly
seems ridiculous.
They say all of Mother Nature has its purpose but our societal understandings of
political norms only seem to serve one manufactured purpose – to divide us.
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It is so much easier to sit in criticism than to act in solidarity.
In our society, supporting any new endeavour is considered an act of extreme risk. So much so that we have coined the term ‘entrepreneurs’ to describe those few prepared to
take it.
Risk that it may achieve an undesired or counterproductive result, or worse; nothing at all. That it may subject the person lending support to societal ridicule or the loss of some measure of social capital. Yet while so many sit frozen in trepidation, we celebrate
and reward those who come out on the correct side of the equation – AFTER the fact.
Much can be said of the Occupy movement – what it is or what it isn’t, what it was or what it has become. Even more can be – and is – said about those among it who have taken the leap and committed themselves to a certain direction.
These directions taken are exponential in number and spread like branches across almost
every sociopolitical issue known to mankind.
Revolutionary actions are being undertaken globally regarding food, shelter, water,
economy, war, race and liberty issues just to name a few.
Unless an action is provably violating the liberty or human rights of another, it should be the sovereign right of the individuals involved to undertake and thus beyond
reproach.
“Diversity of Tactics” is a term that has often been used to support the rights of individuals to undertake actions that are seemingly outside the box or are in some way
controversial.
Yet very seldom is this same principle used to reflect the rights of individuals to choose to use facets of the existing political system to attempt to achieve awareness
and change.
To an extent not yet fully realised, Occupiers and their all-volunteer Media teams have directly suffered from the corruption of the State. From ground level to the highest halls of
power, agencies have worked to subvert, sabotage and oppress Occupiers.
As the well-established farce of mainstream political process and election media continues unabated – what better person to enter the process and “Shake” things up, than an Occupier?
One of the most telling indicators of the legitimacy of an activist or organisation is their proclivity for solidarity. To put it bluntly, when the shit goes down, they are
right there kicking and screaming, making sure everyone knows about it.
They act out of conscience and do so consistently, taking risks for others when there is
no attainable benefit to themselves.
Some say there may be a personal benefit to veteran organiser turned Mayoral “Candidate X” Jason “Shake” Anderson, in the theoretical situation that he is elected Mayor of Oakland.
Some have suggested the silence from his Occupy media platforms calls support for him
into question.
Yet the silence has been righteous. Occupy does not and should not endorse political
candidates.
Only their own actions can endorse them.
The reality is, Occupy Oakland Media Team were unceremoniously forcibly disbanded and media asset stripped in an identical fashion to the Media Teams of countless other
Occupations worldwide.
With the benefit of hindsight (and FOIA’s), it is impossible to deny that. But the real proof is in the outcome of the events. After the asset handover, @OccupyOakland ended up spamming out links to mainstream for-profit advertising networks and the rest of the media infrastructure fell dormant.
Yet even after their very public desecration, the @oomedia team & personal social media accounts all continued pumping out solidarity for actions, movements and causes all
over the world, 7 days a week.
Why? Because they cared. Because they were compelled to give voice to the voiceless. Because they did not require an official mandate in order to be able to act in empathy,
and for liberty. Because they are legit.
Those who act in constant solidarity and who continue to amplify critical issues even in the face of such daunting resources as have been set against us, are the most likely to have the tenacity, worldliness and integrity necessary to penetrate the power structure like a Trojan horse and to continue planting the seeds of change.
Illustration by Sean Morgan
