Rob: What's that about?
Marina: That's just as it sounds. That's just what people are doing. It's the doing part, that people are creating together. What they're actually creating through their assemblies, whether it's healthcare for each other, barter networks, all kinds of forms of creation, but using that language of creation, it's not just doing, it has that kind of artistic ring to it.
Rob: And I think what's important is this was manifested in the Occupy Wall Street Movement by the different work groups, I think.
Marina: Absolutely, New York had hundreds of working groups. So many different working groups doing everything from art and culture to finding creative ways to meet our needs. Yeah, creativity is key, especially when facing some kind of crisis.
Rob: And I think what's really important is, you're reinventing. In breaking away, as you've described it (or as some of your voices have described it) "In breaking away from the old system, from the old hierarchical system, you have to recreate. It's an essential element, you're starting fresh, you're moving forward and not fixing what's broken: you're recreating." And this creation is an essential element of that and it was manifested beautifully with the working groups.
Marina: And I think it continues to be. People don't see it as much, because people aren't sleeping in plazas, but in New York, at any given time, you can just go to nycga.net website and look up events for the day, and there will be dozens, and dozens, and dozens of working groups meeting throughout the city, doing all kinds of creative things. Things like ,with May Day coming up, the way food is going to happen, different than I remember the meetings going into September 17th, from when we first occupied and were planning for food, there was a food planning committee, food working group, and they got tons of jars of peanut butter, bread ,and apples; and that was the food we were going to provide for one or two thousand people, which was fantastic. We were able to do it. We had protein and fruit and water.
For May Day, and this is the creativity and the food working group that's expanded exponentially, they're working with farmers in the region who are organic small farmers, who are going to be donating and bartering food for May Day. That's creativity! (and it's meeting our needs.)
Rob: What are they bartering?
Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
2
1
1
