The anniversary of the great Occupy movement launch in New Zealand came and went this month, one year on, October 13-15. Action to mark the moment and frustrate “the 1%” ruling class took place in the deep south:
“Occupy Rakiura has occupied Traill Park Stewart Island in expression of our human rights and in solidarity with worldwide protest action. Standing strong from the anchor of Aotearoa. Kia kaha.”
Ref. facebook.com/occupynz (a self-appointed) “Occupy New Zealand”..
O13 Rakiura
..though the anniversary events entirely missed the attention of Occupy NZ .co.nz – “Watch this space” – and they were not alone in that. Just four hours before commemoration of their birth, Occupy Christchurch realised what day it was and posted notice. The dissolute failure of Occupy Christchurch facebook clique is a story in itself. More on that follows.
So, what else is current?
New World News reporting Occupy New Zealand Announces #O13 Nationwide Re-Occupation drew on Occupy Savvy notice of facebook.com/OccupyNZ too, #globalNOISE #13O pot-banging campaign. 26/10/12 Report: “the occupynz.co.nz is a new domain under development, but occupy nz covered #o13 in many ways. it was live tweeted for one – also you’ll see profile pics / banners for occupy NZ / occupy auckland are a photomontage of all the locations occupied. in auckland the high court TVNZ & auckland council were temporarily occupied as well as several of the original occupy auckland sites vic park / aotea + a chalkupy done at aotea. click on occupy new zealand page banner pic or occupy auckland profile pic. it was also covered on our facebook / twitter accounts ONZ & OA. until we can get a decent web developer who will do it for free, occupynz.co.nz will remain under construction. ONZ was first occupy group in country it pre-dates occupy auckland. it was technically founded in wellington but has occupy media peeps from whole country. it has grown bigger” + Stunning #GlobalNOISE #O13 Picture Montage / 1st Birthday Commemoration & Occupy New Zealand: Lest We Forget occupysavvy.com
O15 2012- Belltower occupied by students fighting fees socialistaotearoa.blogspot.co.nz
Occupy Oakland #OO #O25 #FTP and Occupy Portland are being publicised. “Occupy Auckland to cover #O25 reoccupation of Occupy Oakland, solidarity to all our brothers & sisters who will be on the ground, tomorrow (26th our time.)” facebook.com/occupynz 24/10/12
i.e. Otherwise, not so much. The movement is at a low ebb, but follow it here: twitter.com/OccupyWallS
Occupy Oakland LGBT bashback 20121005
With all the enthusiasm and good intent, the implosion of the Occupy movement in Otautahi/Christchurch tells an intriguing story, no doubt indicative of dynamics globally. What it revealed foremost, from all the drink and drugs, the occupation camp decay into squalor and worse, the fighting, the splintering and disunity, was the stupid domination of a pseudo-left that wanted this micro-disaster to happen. Let us learn from it.
O13 Occupy anniversary learning 2012
Nothing was adequate about Occupy Christchurch from a radical feminist point of view, from start to end, until they had split the movement entirely. Women activists within the two allied currents could then hold control of the Occupy voice – illegitimately, because it couldn’t be “the 99%” at that reduced point. And intentionally so. What ideologically united some anarchists and the Workers’ Party was their superiority complex, their differing theoretical ‘higher purity’ that said – at the end of the day – that they were right and ‘Occupy’ conception was wrong: a self-fulfilling prophesy of focued movement destruction (to highlight their interests separately). They were young(ish), of varied experience, and determined – by any means necessary – to win the mob argument (not a debate) and take power.
Occupy Lenin-Stalin
The fouling duopoly didn’t stop there though. It went on to destroy another democratic obstacle to its priority-seeking: the duly constituted Mana Party branch in Christchurch. But here’s the revelation: this was done with the complicity of the party leader himself. Hone Harawira MP‘s politics are thus exposed as top-down silencing, anti-democratic, Stalinist and insupportable. Shame.
Occupy Plato
Occupy 2.0 can succeed, when it realises that peace and integrity (non-violence and extension of real democracy) is the goal. Everyone normal – the 99% – wants that. Let us get on with it.
Previous posts: Update on a few themes #OWS #NZ #Occupy #Christchurch etc September 2012 + #Occupy next steps #OWS #Christchurch #NZ #peace & #OccupyMayDay 2012 #Occupy #Christchurch #M1 #OWS May 2012 + The last tent comes down at #Occupy #Christchurch #day164 #OWS #NZ & Christchurch occupation over, Occupy 2.0 begins & Occupy Christchurch speak March 2012 + Occupy Christchurch update February 2012 + Find land for economic refugee camp activity November 2011 + Occupy left, right? & Occupy ~ what and why October 2011
Footnotes:
1. Occupy Strategy? – Love Everybody .com “Highlight the good, inspire greatness & encourage mutual responsibility for the betterment of humankind. ..Since 2005″
2. Facebook: “Occupy Dunedin – Thursday [22.11.12] – Occupy Rakiura/Stewart Island fb was deleted yesteday when a new admin deleted old admin, then page.” Occupy Rakiura – “I didn’t realise what a snake-pit Occupy politics were” – hear hear.
3. “Occupy is losing momentum to such an extent that the police cleansing of New York’s Zuccotti Park even seemed like a blessing in disguise.” Capitalism: How the left lost the argument Slavoj Zizek ForeignPolicy.com November 2012.
natural autonomy N/A 
Nice to read ur blog Rik. Right now: Occupy the (hydro) assets! Destroy usury on debt by introducing a localised energy credit as a secondary currency. Everyone would buy our hydro infrastructure and there is no fiscally sustainable (and here I believe sustainable==responsible) reason to sell it because it is such a steady earner! I heard we should keep our assets from people who buy and sell power stations for investment banks! We need some real change in this country’s apathy to the Key agenda – we know it’s wrong but are we just going to let it happen?
Keeping state assets in public hands requires, primarily, checking / toppling iwi aristocratic rule, including our own: monarchic pretence. Most are too lazy and casual – intellectually etc – to do anything about the real problem: face up to this fact. e.g. Green/Labour/Mana are tied up with traditional powers and just seek to derive some small measure of that authority for themselves: cowards, as are those who shy from naming them thus. This realisation is the start of any effective opposition, and without it there can be done. Time to get started? …
For reference: http://thestandard.org.nz/werewolf-ten-myths-about-asset-sales/
For reference: http://www.thesustainabilityprinciple.org/index.html (the importance of language, and the 2011 election campaign)
Nice one. Thanks. Have a happy 21/12/12-Xmas-New Year!