occupy seattle cold, tired and edgy

Last night the General Assembly in Seattle voted overwhelmingly (84%) to accept the Mayor's offer of the park adjacent to City Hall, contingent on some demands. Later that night, another assembly was called, and that one voted to stay, albeit by a much less than convincing margin. My feelings are that there is not much lost by sleeping at City Hall and protesting Westlake during the day. There are excellent arguments for staying and pushing the envelope, as well. What is important is that the occupation continue, and that the movement not be fractured by internal debate. One of the lessons learned from previous horizontal, consensus based movements that debate and vote continually is that you get used to winning and you get used to losing. While all politics is personal, one must not take small defeats personally. Continue to agitate for your position when it is relevant to the zeitgeist of the moment, but be willing and able to move on in solidarity when it is time to move forward. More on yesterday's votes HERE and HERE.
In Solidarity,
The Match

A second occupation begins in Seattle

Last night, as a result of more than $1.5 million in federal cuts, SHARE/WHEEL, a local homeless center, was forced to close all 15 of it's indoor center, a loss of 300 indoor sleeping spaces. They have begun an occupation around the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation at 5th and Mercer. Story in The Stranger.

It's been a long, long time...

I started this blog a while back out of frustration. Frustration with the world, with the political paradigm, with the entrenched left, with my own inaction, with the lack of a cohesive voice that spoke for me. It was, and is, a cry for attention. Not for myself, but for all the like minded, the disaffected, disenfranchised and the dissed. After a bit, I fell off. I never really found the voice I was seeking, and never quite found the focus point that would make it all more than just me howling at the moon.

Then the Occupation started.

So, I'm going to try to get this little project up and running again. The focus will be the occupation movement sweeping the globe. This will be a holding cell for subversive ideas, relevant links, stories and analysis of the struggle now being engaged in the streets of America. I will twitter updates at iamthematch. I hope it is helpful to some.

OCCUPY. RESIST. PRODUCE.

In solidarity,
The Match