Sunday, November 13, 2011

There's something happening here


...but what it is ain't exactly clear.


Yesterday's gathering in Zinn Park was much smaller than Anniston's first General Assembly, and people may get disheartened by that fact. However it is sort of exciting for me personally since the faces I saw yesterday were not at the first General Assembly. During the past two weeks, 20 people from a slew of different backgrounds cut the TV/internet lifeline and physically gathered in hopes of seeing something change in Anniston.

Over the past month or so, I've probably talked to around 50+ people in the greater Anniston/Oxford area that, when asked about their personal feelings of the rapid growth of the Occupy movements, say the same thing: "I want to see something happen in Anniston." The desire for drastic change thrives in the Model City and surrounding areas, but the road paved with good intentions won't get us anywhere different.

If you're reading this, it's safe to say you also want to see something happen in Anniston. What is that something everyone talks about?

  • Full-time occupation?  
  • General Assembly working with city leaders? 
  • Support for regional occupations like Birmingham or Atlanta? 
  • Support for veteran Anniston occupiers (the homeless that occupy against their will)? 
  • Demonstrations against banks, Monsanto/Solutia, or other parasitic "for-profit" entities? 
  • Employees in the countless low-wage service jobs staging a mass strike?
It's probably time the conversation replaces that something everybody wants with an actual goal.

-MDS