Occupy movement: Anarchy or revolution?

SALT LAKE CITY -- Every day for the past several months, the news media has been filled with articles and reports on the Occupy Wall Street Movement. The movement began as a blog post July 13, 2011, on adbusters (a Canadian-based company) and has morphed into a movement that borders on the fringes of anarchy and confusion.

In the book "The 5,000 Year Leap," by Cleon Skousen, he addresses the different types and forms of government. There is a section on “ruler’s law” and ”people’s law." The original form of our government was a balance of the two forms of law. With the lack of leadership and clear direction, the OWS movement is swinging hard in the direction of the anarchy form of people's law.

There are more people attending the protests than those participating in our current government process. As citizens, we might well ask ourselves when was the last time we attended a city or county council meeting. When was the last time we wrote to representatives of the House and Senate? How many have been to a party caucus meeting?

In an article in Salon, “4 Key Questions about the Future of Occupy Wall Street," Justin Elliot asked these four questions:

• Can the movement move from tactic to strategy?
• Can the movement's decentralized structure be effective in the long term?
• Will the occupations survive the winter?
• Can public and media interest be sustained?

  In the same article, the editor of adbusters is quoted as saying, “The first phase of this movement has peaked. And now it gets interesting.” After police cleared people from Pioneer Park and the Gallivan Center, Occupy Salt Lake protesters began regrouping and planning what to do next by communicating through their Facebook pages.

Supporter Jimmy Knobbs posted: "If this movement is going to survive, then the people within it need to grow up fast and get serious. Your "RIGHTS" is something they taught you in school. You have no "RIGHTS" and have not had any since you were in diapers. It is a myth ... 18 people arrested? What a total waste of time for everybody involved. This is akin to you walking out in the middle of I-80 and standing in front of an 18-wheeler doing 80 mph and yelling that you have the right to be there.

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"Yes, you do, and as the trucker scrapes you off his grill, he will tell everybody that you were right," Knobbs added. "Who cares if you occupy a drug-infested park? This cause is worthy and needs to learn that 'standing your ground' is the fastest way to kill your cause. My advice. Stay flexible. If they tell you to move ... move. Go stand somewhere else. Keep moving, split up, grow and adapt. And for the sake of all of us, quit doing interviews with the news media. They have one goal and that is to further their interests ... not yours. They don't need to make you look stupid, you are already doing that."

Digging a little deeper into the history of this movement than the original blog post on adbusters, it was found that the uprising in Egypt successfully removed Egypt’s leader and party from office. News media in the U.S. were careful not to label the movement as an Islamist uprising. Other media critics chastised the BBC for giving it that label. A May uprising in Spain followed the January uprising in Egypt.

Has the U.S. become a copycat of other countries when it used to be the standard other countries looked to as a pattern for their government to follow? With the involvement of those from other countries, who started this "grass-roots" movement and whose agenda are they pushing?

Some have suggested that OWS is a ploy to create a third party in the U.S. It has become apparent that those supporting OWS are splintering into many groups. This splintering may actually be causing the group to weaken in its cause. Many of those who are not supportive of the occupations are not shy in expressing their opinion about the movement or the protesters.

“Oh … my opinion is pretty venomous towards them,” said Shawn Spring, morning show host and program director at Cherry Creek Radio. “How can a movement have a productive outcome without clear stated goals, tactical actions that get more media attention than 'occupying' a public park, where they are doing nothing more than ruining a public place. The public now largely avoids the public place, but criminal elements now flock to it because of (the occupiers), the very nature of the culture being allowed inside the 'non-compound.’ ”

Consider the difference in the distance and effectiveness of a rifle shot versus a shotgun shot. With a rifle, you have all of the power and movement behind one piece of lead. With a shotgun, you have a splatter or spray where the power and movement is spread out behind many pieces of lead. So in essence, the rifle can shoot farther and straighter than the shotgun. The shotgun just makes a bigger mess of the target.

This could be said of the OWS movement. When there was one goal and one direction they were behind, there was more effectiveness. However, now with the different groups splintering and the lack of leadership, it is becoming more like a shotgun and just making a big mess.

The Utah Education Association, in its November 2011 newsletter, is urging its members to attend local caucus meetings and become delegates. The delegates are those who select those running for public office. If they are not nominated, they cannot be elected.

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In the printed edition of its newsletter, the UEA tells its members that they can make a difference.

"Absolutely! Most caucuses are lightly attended: many have less than ten people present. A motivated school employee accompanied by a few friends and co-workers can usually elect their candidate as delegate," the newsletter said. "The caucus process is the most direct way you can influence who becomes a candidate, and thus who becomes an elected office holder. Participating in your local caucus is one of the best ways to help your community, your association and yourself."

Social media has played a large role in the development of the OWS movement, and it was also an effective tool used by Kristen Christian who messaged about 500 of her 800 Facebook friends asking them to help her with the first ever National Bank Transfer Day.

On the National Bank Transfer Day's Facebook page, “The organizer, Kristen Christian, has said, "I started this because I felt like many of you do. I was tired — tired of the fee increases, tired of not being able to access my money when I need to, tired of them using what little money I have to oppress my brothers & sisters. So I stood up. I've been shocked at how many people have stood up alongside me. With each person who RSVPs to this event, my heart swells. Me closing my account all on my lonesome wouldn't have made a difference to these fat cats. But each of YOU standing up with me … they can't drown out the noise we'll make."

Government for the people and by the people will only work if "the people" are a part of that government. Will the OWS movement weaken and fade away as some believe it will? Maybe "the people" will decide to take a more active role in the process of the U.S. government.

Angel McRae is a full-time USU student and mother of five.

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