Thom Hartmann: How Can You Plan a Revolution when Big Brother is Watching?

[tama]

7. Yes

tactics become outdated. And I don't see flashmob tactics as much more than probes of the machinery and geography of violence and empowering experiences. Geographically Zucotti park and flashmob probes of WS have been very revealing about how sensitive and touchy spot it really is, e.g. by measuring how ridiculous the police excuses for arrests have become. "Blocking pedestrian movement on sideways" was new top of hilarious.

The real struggle is of course... just too huge and too varied to fully comprehend. But the way I've seen this process, a new round or phase started in Athens in 2008, those days of rage. And as I said then I say now, various tactics of streets and challenging the system are good and necessary but not enough. Parallel to the forces of tearing down the old system there needs to be multitude of actions of building the alternative other world. Most concretely, a "succesfull" anarchist etc. rebel or "poetic destruction" in Athens is useless and unsustainable as long as there are no alternative and strong enough social network to feed the people. Spectacle is spectacle but the most vital activism and organizing are the little things of helping each other and taking care of basic needs. Big protests make media spectacles, not the zillion little things people do to reoccupy their lives and communities from the grips of failing state. As Chomsky said, all activism boils down to reconnecting with people - even ultra right wingers and those who DU loves to hate - on the level of our basic humanity and compassion.