OWS and the Class Divide

Occupy protesters gather to disrupt Port of Oakland (LA Times)

If you're a victim of the "Great Recession," you've likely received many words of encouragement from family, friends, and acquaintances. Their words are both sincere and well-intentioned. You can't help but notice, however, the disconnect between yourself and those with relatively good fortune who offer encouragement. If you've been participating in Occupy events as a means to redress your grievances, you may have sensed a similar disconnect between yourself and the more affluent (and perhaps relatively unengaged) supporters of the movement. Your suffering, as well as your actions in protest of such suffering, seems little more than an abstraction to most.

The Occupy protests are not theater, nor are the general assemblies mere academic exercises. If you're a part of this collective, you understand that. You have the benefit, if you can even call it that, of being on the ground. Occupy movements are emerging throughout the country in response to the grim reality that more and more people are facing. The Occupation is, at this particular moment, a movement of solidarity to which very few can relate. Yet as the transformation of the economy nears completion, that will begin to change. The class of persons affected by the economic injustice inherent in American capitalism will expand. The misery will spread. 

For the victims, hardship infects every aspect of life. Relationships are poisoned. Sustenance overshadows all else. Millions are arrested by the tyranny of the moment. Words of encouragement are of no particular use. They can even invoke hostility. Telling someone who has exhausted every option to improve his or her situation to "hang in there" isn't very comforting. Yet now, because of OWS and its progeny, people have an outlet to demand justice with others who share a common experience.

The concept of solidarity within mass movements presents difficulties. People who are engaging in a struggle need others to recognize and support them. At the same time, people co-opt movements for reasons unrelated to the original core principles. This was common during the anti-war movement of the 1960's, where some used the protests as an outlet for self-expression (a theater of the self) while ignoring the underlying purposes of the demonstrations. A similar phenomenon is happening with Occupy Wall Street.

Let's face it: class shapes our experiences and affects our understanding and perceptions of others. For those who are unemployed or have lost their homes - some of your fellow protesters don't really know what you're going through, but their support is both sincere and vital to the movement's success. And for those who go to an Occupy event every now and then, but can go home at night and have a job waiting for you in the morning - understand that however much you support your fellow protesters, you are not necessarily in the same boat.

We must empathize with each other and work to bridge the class divides that exist within the Occupy Movement. Our different life experiences can strengthen the movement, but only if we understand and appreciate that diversity.