Critics of the national Occupy movement maintain organizers of the movement have yet to formalize specific demands or determine a timeline for their protests. They argue the demonstrations still lack the structure and focus to foster real change. However, several University faculty members and Eugene citizens hope that — through public forums and presentations between community members and protesters — Occupy Eugene can prove critics wrong.
“If you claim to be representing the interest of the 99 percent of citizens, then there are way too many demands, way too many concerns and issues to reduce to one leaflet or one pamphlet,” University history professor Daniel Pope said@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=staff&d=person&b=name&s=Daniel+Pope@@. The effects of the movement may not incite immediate legislation or change court decisions, Pope said, but it can still have potentially far-reaching political and social implications for the entire nation.
Pope, along with a panelist of community members and activists, presented on the impact of the movement and, perhaps more pertinently, the circumstances and events leading up to it during a teach-in forum called, “Occupy Eugene in Context.”@@http://occupyeugenemedia.org/2011/11/06/why-occupy/@@ The event, which was organized by the local citizen activist group “We the People — Eugene,”@@http://www.wethepeopleeugene.org/@@ was held Wednesday night inside Harris Hall at the Lane County Public Service building.
“Social movement arises in moments of crisis,” University political science professor Joseph Lowndes said to the packed crowd.@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=staff&d=person&b=name&s=Lowndes@@
“We are now living in the greatest wealth disparity since the 19th century,” Lowndes added. “The moment we find ourselves in is a moment of crisis.”
There were a number of moments leading up to the occupation. Lowndes, and others during the presentation, included everything from the recession to climate change and peak oil.
“We’re not going to be able to maintain the same economic structures that are based on consumption and growth,” Lane Community College professor Stan Taylor said. “We’re going to have to create a new economic system that takes care of its people and our earth.”
Pope added, “The notion of occupying space as a form of protest goes back to the first march on Washington in 1984.” He then said the structure of the occupation itself, based on consensus governing and inclusiveness, mirrors the civil activism of the past decade.
“One of the themes of protest in the last 30 or 40 years has been the notion that the form of the protest is supposed to be a model for the values and social organization you want to create,” Pope said. “And though the occupation protesters do not agree on a specific list of demands, they do have a consensus that a fairer society that supports its citizens rather than ostracizing them is the type of change they want to see.”
The panel also addressed popular concern the movement was turning into a camp for the homeless.
“It’s been amazing to see what can happen with homeless people when you give them a safe space to live and some food,” said Lauren Regan, a Eugene lawyer, and member of the occupation’s legal team. @@http://pview.findlaw.com/view/2484820_1@@ She added that the occupation site has proved it is possible to create safe and inclusive communities for a diverse community of people.
There have been suggestions by political figures that protesters should work with government officials to enact change, which Regan and others said feeds into the same issues they are trying to change.
“Popular movements are most effective when they use civil activism, not legislative changes,” Regan said. “The time for polite letter writing is over.”