My interpretation is that the Occupy movement is largely fueled by those Americans (especially the young) who see their bleak future being realized and reinforced with each passing news cyclebut those are people largely drawn from the segments of the population that even bother to pay attention to the news and current events. Though there is an anti-war/anti-imperialist element in the Occupy movement, the main motivation has been a will to confront the corrupt core of the US itself: massive taxpayer-financed write-offs, zero accountability, austerity in the form of a decayed infrastructure and underfunded or non-existent services for ordinary people, and, increasingly, attacks on the upper segments of the 99%. There is something beautifully selfish about the Occupy movement.
For the growing population of poor urban youth of color, mis- or non-educated, segregated by space and media, overexposed to a toxic youth culture of anti-intellectualism, reductively sexualized human relationships, and moronic materialism (all amplifed by the most cynical capitalist culture industry), that same despair is being cemented as we speak, what with the draconian defunding of exisiting educational pathways. But without a credible political outlet, analysis, or aesthetic, these populations languish as a politically unproductive underclass. This is a demographic time bomb that the Occupy movement must engage. I¹m talking about today¹s teenagers, to whom Obama is already irrelevant. Drone warfare is the answer to what now may be a permanently broken military. The favoring of contractors has resulted in an enlisted force that is so de-skilled, returning vets are practically worse off now in terms of their livelihood prospects than in the Vietnam era. More contractors and more automation means fewer and more selective enlistments, a smaller troop count. Thus, even the traditional military pathway to a career for the working class and underprivileged is becoming less accessible. But not enough notice. Which means even fewer will actually care about the ³surgical² violence the president remotely greenlights on a regular basis. I¹m sorry to take a grim perspective, but things seem headed this way in any case: the imperial presidency won¹t get the attention it deserves from the American people including the Occupy movement until a few too many strikes take place on American soil from American skies. Until then, it¹s a matter of how quickly the rot of broken promises and shattered futures spreads throughout the domestic body, and how ably are the Americans of conscience, consciousness, and yes LOVE, to knit the movement broader and stronger, following the coursing rot. That may happen yet, if we all make the effort, wherever we are. NYC, Oakland, and Chicago are one thing, but it is the tiny groups like Occupy the Ozarkstestifying, putting voice to the 99%, and declaring themselves present in deep red conservative countrythat should give us all hope and inspiration. http://occupytheozarks.wordpress.com/ Dan w. <...> -- http://prop-press.typepad.com/ http://www.prop-press.net/ http://www.midwestradicalculturecorridor.net/ # distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission # <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism, # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets # more info: http://mx.kein.org/mailman/listinfo/nettime-l # archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: nett...@kein.org
