While there have been several stories written about the Occupy Fort Wayne group on local news and blog sources, most (I believe) have been extremely shallow. So I decided to go myself this past Tuesday night to find out what it was really all about. I've made a few comments about this on Opening Arguments, and I recently left one at Fort Wayne Politics. I've added that comment below because it is a pretty good summary of my thoughts so far.
I’ve visited the Occupy Fort Wayne group several times in the past few days to try and figure out what they are about. There’s a small core of them who seem to have been there from the beginning and are there much of the time. There are a few who drop in for a meal and leave, then there’s some (like me, I suppose) who return sporadically. For the most part, they’ve been very hospitable and open as I eat their food and ask questions.
With people coming and going, the group composite is in constant flux, and their “no leader” approach (while admirable on some levels) does frustrate one’s attempt to understand their purpose. You really just need to pick out a couple people at random and start asking questions.
Overall, they seem to be far more focused on the national level rather than local, but that is not a solid rule. There are a few issues I have heard some of them discuss about our local government.
1) Conflict of interest between Bender’s dual role as councilman and FWPD Deputy Chief (although they all seem to like and respect him on a personal level).
2) The tax abatements which are handed out with little scrutiny or oversight and sometimes do little to actually benefit the local economy (remember the laundry service that recently got approved even though it was not creating even one new job?)
3) Conflict of interest between Pape’s dual role as councilman and partner with law firm that does business with the city.
4) Appearance of impropriety with huge sums of campaign contributions given to Henry from people/firms that do business with the city.
Does this sound like a liberal bias to you? All of these concerns could easily be attributed to some of their most ardent detractors, so clearly many of the people speaking about this group are doing so from a position of ignorance (not to be confused with stupidity.)
On national issues, I do detect a left-leaning direction more often than right, but that is not a strict rule at all. Last night, a gentleman who claims to be heavily involved in the local Tea Party movement was there. In the group discussion he simply talked about how the belief that our political system is dysfunctional is a central theme to both groups. Later, in smaller groups, he carried the Ron Paul torch high. Although most people he spoke with did not seem to agree with him, they politely listened and gave reasoned responses.
If I had to give a summary of the group from the little bit of experience I have so far, I would say that they are more willing and able to carry on an intelligent conversation about serious issues than the average man or woman on the streets. And they do so with far less rhetoric and far more civility than most elected officials do. I don’t agree with or even understand everything I have heard them say, but for the most part they have made a positive impression.
I will end this comment by inviting anyone who would like to find out more about this group and the people involved in it to join me there sometime. I can introduce you to a few people just to get you started, and you can each conduct your own analysis from there. We could go as a group, each conducting our own interviews and writing our own assessments. It might be interesting to see how they compare/contrast. I’ll probably be there on Wednesdays and Sundays for the next few weeks if they last that long (I suspect they will.) If you want to join me, send me an email a few days ahead so we can make plans.
Phil Marx
phil.marx@ymail.com
To follow the local media coverage of the OFW group, click here
8 comments:
Phil:
Those are good points you made.
They don't just "sound" liberal...they ARE (typical).
I think like any "mass" protest (or whatever it is they call it these days) there are a few (included) from EVERY facet of society, on BOTH sides of the aisles, and everywhere in-between.
And, as protests go, the one at OUR downtown area is a lot more "civil" in nature than other cities...thank the make for small favors, hmm?
Stay safe up there.
Whether you agree with them or not it's encouraging that some people are at least at paying attention. Actually getting things changed of course is much harder.
Bob, as fired up as many of these people are about things, the civil nature (towards each other and towards the police) actually surprises me a bit. But it's a welcome surprise.
Even if you disagree with this group's motives (whatever that may actually be) and you dislike the fact that they are not paying the fee for the pavillion or for electricity, I doubt if very many people want to see what happened in Oakland occur here. I think that would be a losing situation for us all.
Captain Chambers stopped there late Saturday night to inform them that the man who had been arrested for stealing from them had been released, taken to the shelter, gotten arrested for stealing there, and would likely be released again very soon. She just wanted to give them a heads up to watch out for his possible return and invited them to call her department if they had more problems with him or other troublemakers. Her coming in alone, I'm sure, was also intended to gauge their level of hostility towards a figure of authority.
The next day, several in the group discussed the possibility of moving their base of operations to Freimann Square with the intended results of both being more visible to the public as well as further provoking the police. The group concensus was overwhelmingly against it.
The police are going out of their way to cooperate and keep channels of communications open with this group. In large part, that is the reason that whenever anyone suggest acting more provocatively towards the police they don't get much agreement from the crowd. I believe that both sides are handling this aspect very well so far.
Agreed, Evert, but there are a couple of related aspects I find quite dissapointing about many members of the group.
Yesterday, somebaody in the group suggested that a few of them should begin to do some research on the candidates running for city offices this year. Seriously, the election is a week away and they are just now mobilizing to inform themselves about it.
Second problem is how many of them claim this is not a political movement. With as much incredulity as above, I can only ask what part of the 'system' is broken (one of their frequent chants) do they not understand. I spoke with one gentleman who seemed very educated, until he claimed that MLK's civil rights movement was not political because it did not endorse candidates. I think they are unwittingly confusing partisan with political, trying to say they are not alligned with either party and are willing to listen to people from either side.
I find agreement with some of their motives, but if they are going to have an impact they need to understand and admit that they are in fact trying to affect the political process and they need to inform themselves about the details of what is going on rather than relying on gross simplifications of the problem.
"Political" may be an ugly word to these folks, but the fact is any organization whose primary purpose is to influence public policy is a political organization. There is nothing wrong with being a political organization as long as you own up to it.
Agreed. The word has developed such a bad connotation that some people think that appointing a secretive and unaccountable entity to regulate things is better than having a politically elected board. - Think Federal Reserve or how to spend the Fort Wayne light lease funds.
Thanks, Phil, for inviting me to read your insights and the comments of your readers. I would like to visit with them. They seem to have the same issues in mind that I have been writing about.
Yes, I was actually surprised to hear their views on these subjects. Equally surprised to realize that they had no clue that you and many other local people have been discussing these issues for a while. A visit would always be welcome, but contact me in advance if you want a guided tour as I am only there infrequently.
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