nettime Rough notes - On Amorphous Politics
On Amorphous Politics Since the turn of the millennium, there has been a turn toward new forms of sociopolitical dissent. These include strategies such as cellular forms or resistance like asymmetrical warfare in terms of global insurgencies, the use of social media like Twitter and Facebook to lens dissent for actions like those in Syria, Egypt and Tunisia, Wikileaks and its mirrors, and political movements that use anarchistic forms of collective action such as the Occupy. Although my focus is more concerned with the Occupy Movement, what is evident is what I call an amorphous politics of dissent. Amorphous is defined as “without shape”, and can be applied to most of the mise en scenes listed above. The dissonance of power in regards to conventional politics can be seen in its structure. For example, the nation-state has a tiered structure of power relations. There is a President or Prime Minister, a legislative organ of MPs or Representatives, Parliaments, Houses, and the like, a judicial organ, and a Military organ. Although I am referring to US/UK forms of government, we can also argue for the hierarchical form in terms of the corporation, with its CEO, Board, Shareholders, Managers, and Workers, and even Feudal lords with their retinue of vassals and nobles and Warlords with the coteries of warriors and support personnel. The point to this is that conventional power operates roughly pyramidally with a centralized figurehead. One can argue that the pyramid may have different shapes, or angles of distribution of power, but in the end, there is usually a terminal figure of authority. To put it in terms of stereotypical Science Fiction terminology, when the alien comes to Earth the standard story is that it pops out of the spacecraft and says, “Take me to your leader.” Leadership is the conventional paradigm of power in Western culture, and dominates the industrialized world. Territorialization refers to the exertion of power along perimeters, or borders. Functionaries expressing the constriction of territory include customs agents, border patrols, but terminally is expressed by the military wing of the nation state. This military is also generally pyramidally constructed in terms of generals, colonels, and other officers leading battalions, regiments and divisions, which are organized as defenders of a nation’s sovereignty. These military organs are conversely best optimized to exert their power against either parallel or subordinate structures. That is, parallel structures include the armies of other nations, their generals, colonels, majors, et al, and their troops and ordnance. Subordinate structures over which military powers can exert power over are the (relatively) unarmed masses that can be overrun with overwhelming power, although these forces are more specialized (National Guards and Gendarmeries). In the conventional sense, power is expressed orthogonally, whether it is against an equal or subordinate force. Another aspect of this conversation relates to power and force through conflict as expressed by violence, but has its inconsistencies. Most of the pop cultural examples I will use later in this missive to explain amorphous action are violent in nature, but is not related to the paradigmatic jamming of conventional power. It is more related to the fact of conventional power’s orthogony, or parallelism of exertion of power. There are examples of violent and peaceful exertion of amorphous dissent as well as orthogonal conflict. In amorphous conflict or dissent, we could cite the Occupy movement as passive, and the Tunisian uprising as violent, and the Gandhi/King model of non-violent action as orthogonal/hierarchical/led, and World War Two as conventional orthogonal conflict. What is important here is the inability of conventional politics and power to cope with leaderless, non-hierarchical, non-orthogonal discourse that refuses to talk in like terms such as centralization, leadership and conventional negotiations that include concepts such as demands. This is where the site of cognitive dissonance erupts. The need for the traditional power structure to focus identity on the antagonist in terms of figureheads is evident in the Middle East and Eurasia, but is more simply illustrated in the films Alien and Aliens, and Star Trek, The Next Generation. Both of these feature their respective antagonists, the “alien” as archetypal Other, and the Borg, symbol of autonomous, collective community. In Alien, the crew of the Nostromo encounter an alien derelict ship that has been mysteriously disabled to find a hive of eggs of alien creatures whose sole role is the creation of egg factories for further reproduction. In the Alan Dean Foster book adaptation and an extended edit of the film, Ripley finds during her escape that Captain Dallas has been captured and organically transformed into a half- human
nettime NAICS Codes
http://www.census.gov/epcd/naics02/naicod02.htm 52 Finance and Insurance 521 Monetary Authorities - Central Bank 5211Monetary Authorities - Central Bank 52111 Monetary Authorities - Central Bank 521110 Monetary Authorities - Central Bank 522 Credit Intermediation and Related Activities 5221Depository Credit Intermediation 52211 Commercial Banking 522110 Commercial Banking 52212 Savings Institutions 522120 Savings Institutions 52213 Credit Unions 522130 Credit Unions 52219 Other Depository Credit Intermediation 522190 Other Depository Credit Intermediation 5222Nondepository Credit Intermediation 52221 Credit Card Issuing 522210 Credit Card Issuing 5 Sales Financing 50 Sales Financing 52229 Other Nondepository Credit Intermediation 522291 Consumer Lending 522292 Real Estate Credit 522293 International Trade Financing 522294 Secondary Market Financing 522298 All Other Nondepository Credit Intermediation 5223Activities Related to Credit Intermediation 52231 Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers 522310 Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers 52232 Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities 522320 Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities 52239 Other Activities Related to Credit Intermediation 522390 Other Activities Related to Credit Intermediation 523 Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities 5231Securities and Commodity Contracts Intermediation and Brokerage 52311 Investment Banking and Securities Dealing 523110 Investment Banking and Securities Dealing 52312 Securities Brokerage 523120 Securities Brokerage 52313 Commodity Contracts Dealing 523130 Commodity Contracts Dealing 52314 Commodity Contracts Brokerage 523140 Commodity Contracts Brokerage 5232Securities and Commodity Exchanges 52321 Securities and Commodity Exchanges 523210 Securities and Commodity Exchanges 5239Other Financial Investment Activities 52391 Miscellaneous Intermediation 523910 Miscellaneous Intermediation 52392 Portfolio Management 523920 Portfolio Management 52393 Investment Advice 523930 Investment Advice 52399 All Other Financial Investment Activities 523991 Trust, Fiduciary, and Custody Activities 523999 Miscellaneous Financial Investment Activities 524 Insurance Carriers and Related Activities 5241Insurance Carriers 52411 Direct Life, Health, and Medical Insurance Carriers 524113 Direct Life Insurance Carriers 524114 Direct Health and Medical Insurance Carriers 52412 Direct Insurance (except Life, Health, and Medical) Carriers 524126 Direct Property and Casualty Insurance Carriers 524127 Direct Title Insurance Carriers 524128 Other Direct Insurance (except Life, Health, and Medical) Carriers 52413 Reinsurance Carriers 524130 Reinsurance Carriers 5242Agencies, Brokerages, and Other Insurance Related Activities 52421 Insurance Agencies and Brokerages 524210 Insurance Agencies and Brokerages 52429 Other Insurance Related Activities 524291 Claims Adjusting 524292 Third Party Administration
nettime The Hipster Cop: An Occupy Wall Street Conversation.
The Hipster Cop: An Occupy Wall Street Conversation. Read More http://www.gq.com/style/profiles/201110/hipster-cop-rick-lee-interview-occupy-wall-street#ixzz1e69hsaZg The Ralph Lauren-obsessed plainclothes police officer spotted at the Occupy Wall Street protests has become an Internet sensation. We tracked him down to talk to the man about his personal style, how the protesters are dressing, and what exactly he's doing down there BY LAUREN BANSPHOTOGRAPHS BY BEN FERRARI October 21, 2011 He was dubbed The Hipster Cop a little over a week ago, a few days after pictures trickled online of a plainclothes detective—dressed more like an actor from Dead Poet's Society than NYPD Blue—patrolling the Occupy Wall Street protest. Then the Hipster Cop Twitter jokes started: He only uses pepper spray ironically. Sure I have a nightstick...I bought it on svpply.com. And just yesterday, The New York Times ran the first interview with Rick Lee, a 45-year-old community affairs detective with an addiction to Ralph Lauren, a.k.a. The Hipster Cop. Or rather, a.k.a. The Country Gentleman. (You'll understand after you read this interview.) GQ: Tell me about what you're wearing today. Rick Lee: This is pretty average for me. For work anyway. The jacket and cardigan are Ralph Lauren. The tie is Burberry. The shirt is Ralph Lauren, too. These are J.Crew pants. And Ralph Lauren shoes. Lot of Ralph Lauren. My best friend works for Ralph Lauren. GQ: Since you've become meme-ified, has there been pressure each morning to step up your game? Rick Lee: Nah, not really. I'm just me. I am who I am. This is how I always dress. I've always been into fashion. Since high school. Since I got my first job and was able to buy my own clothes. Though maybe I'll wear a top hat to work tomorrow. [laughs] GQ: How would you describe your style? Rick Lee: I describe it as traditional English country. I love traditional English country clothes. GQ: It's funny because you've been anointed Hipster Cop now, but looking at all your pictures—I'm not sure that's the right descriptor. Rick Lee: I agree! I don't have a beard. I don't live in Williamsburg. Though off-duty I may look a little bit more hipster. I'm thin, so when I'm off-duty I like skinny jeans. And, well, I have about five pairs of Converse sneakers, but I've been wearing Converse sneakers since I was in junior high school. I've always worn Converse sneakers, they're not just a fashion trend with me. I've always liked them. So off duty, I throw on skinny jeans, a T-shirt, and a cardigan. I guess you could say I look more hipster on the weekend. Or in the summer, I'll wear my jeans cuffed, with wingtip shoes and a t-shirt and a vest. Unfortunately, I can't wear jeans to work. GQ: So there's a detective dress code? That is not what cop shows would have me believe. Rick Lee: Yes, unfortunately. The police commissioner might get mad if I wear jeans. GQ: If Hipster Cop is inaccurate, what new fun cop moniker should we use? Rick Lee: Uh...Country Gentleman. Or the Gentleman Police Officer. GQ: Who are your favorite designers? Rick Lee: I like Burberry. I like Ralph Lauren and Brooks Brothers. A lot of Theory's stuff. What else do I usually wear? I wear Levi's jeans. I wear a lot of J.Crew stuff as far as casual dress goes. A lot of English designers. GQ: So it sounds like you're into nice clothes that even the 99% can afford... Rick Lee: Yeah, yeah. Well I think it's all how you wear it, too. You can take some very conservative traditional clothing and kind of put a little of your own edge on it. GQ: Like a badge? Rick Lee: Sure. But that's an accessory I really couldn't wear to a club, you know? GQ: What are your duties down at Occupy Wall Street? Rick Lee: Just to give you some background: I do Community Affairs down at the First Precinct. There's basically one of me—not as smashingly dressed, in every precinct. It's my job in general to be the liaison between the precinct and the community we serve. We serve, oddly enough, SoHo—big fashion area, TriBeCa, and Battery Park City. Basically from Houston St. down to the Battery. My specific job being down here watching the guys who bang on the drums is to keep the peace. Between not only the police and the protesters, but also the protesters and the community. GQ: Do you think the way you're dressed helps with that? Rick Lee: Yes. Absolutely. I've been doing my job for 12 years and I learned early on that the way I'm dress, or the way anyone dresses affects things. You have to know your audience. The people that I serve in this community are a lot like me. I don't necessarily fit the stereotype of the word cop. So when they see that I dress kinda cool, wear thin ties, look trendy, it breaks a lot of walls down initially to get the bridge building started. It actually works. People go, Wow! You wear Burberry. You wear Ralph Lauren. That's cool. GQ: So you've been getting a lot
