It’s Friday, and we all know what that means! Interviews with your favorite badass feminists and activists. Whether social media queens and kings, creative artists, sex educators, or just kick-ass personalities, these people harness righteous anger, instigate movements and inspire cultural change. We’re here to honor them and their work, but more importantly, to highlight how we can all get up, plug in, and Just Start Doing.
For this week’s interview, we looked a little closer to home, as we have a kick-ass intern here at The Line Campaign, who agreed to talk to us about Occupy Wall Street, and her involvement in the movement. Anna Lekas Miller is a student and activist based in New York. She previously interned at The Nation, and we are lucky to have her with us now!
Please introduce yourself to us! Who are you, what’s your activism, and how did you end up with us at the Line Campaign?
Hi! I’m Anna Lekas Miller–after growing up in a politically
left-leaning family in the Bay Area, I moved to New York for school
and through my questionably healthy co-dependence on political
activism and protesting wound up becoming an independent political
journalist, among many other things. I found The Line Campaign through
the wonderful online feminist world and reached out!
You’ve been getting really involved in Occupy Wall Street. Can you sum up the origins of the movement for us and give us some idea of how this all started?
#OccupyWallStreet began with a call and a hashtag from Adbusters–a
radical publication in Canada–to do just that–#OccupyWallStreet and
demand an overthrow of corporate power and financial terrorism,
starting September 17. I didn’t really believe that it was going to
happen, but the idea fascinated me all the same–could my country be
finally waking up and understanding how enslaved we are by our broken
financial system and the myth of the American dream? I tormented
friends (and random people in cafés and bars–apologies to all those
adversely affected) with hushed radical talk that entire week,
bursting with energy and telling everyone that it needed to be huge.
The day of, I didn’t really believe it was going to happen–but then I
saw a tweet from Tunisia wishing Americans luck from #SidiBouzid and
knew it was real!
So I went to #OccupyWallStreet at 11 in the morning–back then it was
just Wall Street, and it had already been blocked off by the NYPD.
Eventually, around 1,000 people turned out, we were trying to figure
out a game plan since Wall Street had already been closed…and after
a short march, we found Zuccotti Park. That night, we learned that the
park was privately owned and we would be allowed to stay. That is how
a drab concrete square with a few straggly trees and a bizarre red
structure became the cradle of the revolution.
The first week was rough as far as media coverage–most of it was that
it looked like Bonaroo, and most outlets (at best) judged it at face
value, rather than taking the time to do proper journalism and talk to
people. The first New York Times article was absolutely awful. Plenty
of other publications took more time to criticize the protestors, even
before attempting to understand them. However, gradually it picked
up–several labor unions formally aligned themselves with the
movement, and many great contemporary thinkers and celebrities voiced
their support and visited the occupation. Soon, the occupation spread
to other parts of the country–#OccupyAmerica, and on October 15th, to
cities throughout the world–#OccupyTogether. It is a global movement
for a truly global restructuring and redistribution of power and
capital.
Where do you see the role of women and feminism in the movement? How would you respond to things like the “Hot Chicks of Occupy Wall Street” Tumblr or the recent incidence of sexual assault?
When #OccupyWallStreet began it had a big problem with a sort of
alienating idealism–though everyone is incredibly well-meaning and
dedicated in theory towards economic justice for all, idealistic
language that purports a movement that is post-racial or post-gender
is frustrating for those of us who have been occupied by the
socio-political identities and dynamics of being female, of color,
queer, or trans. Fortunately, many people have spoken up, and
organized working groups such as the People of Color Occupy Wall
Street working group (which I wrote about at AlterNet) and the Queering Occupy Wall Street working group. Unfortunately, I think that the latest developments–the rape and sexual assault allegations and the women’s only safe space–are a stunning reminder of how long we have to go until we are post-gender and able to equally occupy a space and share a movement. Most of the occupiers have been supportive of the new tent, although many–myself included–are upset that it is needed in the first place. Hopefully it will be an opportunity to discuss very real issues facing women and create allies in the constant battle against gender-based violence.
As far as “Hot Chicks of Occupy Wall Street” is concerned, its
problematic from so many different angles. First and foremost, it is
problematic because it is consumed as harmless media that is “funny”
or dismissed with a “boys will be boys” attitude. If we are fighting
for a world for true equality, where economic justice overlaps with
gender justice, and all people are released from institutions that
constrict their economic futures–whether those forces are corporate
interests, big banks, or patriarchal social structures–we cannot take
these representations lightly. It is not a boys’ club revolution,
where the white boys hop around and play revolutionary while the
pretty girls are their for show and objectification–we are 51% of the
99% and we understand disproportionate economic oppression all too
well. #OccupyWallStreet needs to be a revolutionary space where women
are valued for their contributions to the movement, and listened to
and taken seriously in a way that we are not always–unfortunately–accustomed to. #OccupyWallStreet, if harnessed in the right way, is an opportunity to change this once and for all.
As long as we are on the subject, the way #OccupyWallStreet is being
treated in the mainstream–and even sometimes independent–media is
male (need I say white male?) centric. Many television programs that
have followed, and embraced the movement have disproportionately male
guests–when there are plenty of female journalists and organizers who
have tirelessly made the movement the heart and soul of their recent
work. TIME magazine recently published a particularly asinine blog
with the headline, “Why Aren’t Women Tweeting About Occupy Wall
Street?” This was especially annoying for journalists such as myself
and Allison Kilkenny of The Nation and In These Times–who have been
tweeting the movement since day one, before anyone knew whether or not
it would take off–and several other bad ass female journalists such
as Sarah Jaffe, Tana Ganeva, and Sarah Seltzer of AlterNet who have
written extensively reported, quality content and are all avid
tweeters. Melissa Gira Grant and Susie Cagle are also fantastic
media-makers, writers and tweeters…there are many more!
Where is the movement going? What do you think the goals are, and what would need to happen for you and other protesters to feel like you’ve achieved change?
I have no idea–the movement takes a new direction and provides a new
surprise everyday! I think that in our journey to become an inclusive
movement, something that is fueled by the complete and undiluted power
of the ninety-nine percent in its entirety, we need to focus on how it
can be supported by those who are not necessarily occupying, but have
the same demands of the occupiers. Though the occupations are exciting
public spaces that are instigating a lot of media attention–and more
importantly, networking and dialogue–it is time to organize tactics
so that literally everyone can work together to reorganize a more fair
economy. Let me explain some tactics!
Check out this video to get you started.
Bank Transfers – November 5th was bank transfer day–thousands
organized and closed their accounts at the big banks that crashed the
economy, and moved their money to smaller banks or credit unions. It’s
not too late–November 5th was just the beginning! Check out Lynn
Parramore’s article to get you started.
Conscientious Consumption – Spending money is what keeps the economy
going, but in our recession many of us have embraced corporations that
promise us low prices–at the expense of unregulated and unfair
labor–while we’ve been hurting. It’s time to divest from corporate
powers–it can be as simple as buying coffee at the neighborhood
coffeeshop instead of Starbucks, or patronizing a local bookstore
instead of Barnes and Nobles.
What else would you like to tell us, about Occupy or anything else you are currently involved in?
I think that this movement resonates with Americans in an amazing way.
I used to say that I was born in the wrong era–I wanted to be born in
the ’60s and ’70s, a time when people cared about politics and were
doing something about it even if it involved being an extra body at a
sit-in or protest, their presence was being energized by a greater
cause. I realized, with #OccupyWallStreet that I was born in exactly
the right era–I am lucky enough to part of a unprecedented energetic
political movement that is spending the time to deconstruct and
recognize the myriad of ways that our system is broken, toxic, and
outdated and participate in a democratic process to collectively
change it. I am part of a generation that has chosen to fight back,
rather than remain complacent, and use their bodies, minds, and
actions to challenge and reclaim power in whatever way is possible.
It’s chaotic, disorganized, and there have been serious challenges and
contentions to work through–but it has grown into a beautiful and
powerful movement dedicated to a radical re-imagining of an economy
based on conscientiousness and justice.
It might seem crazy–but really, what else are we going to do?
Everyday, someone asks me and thousands of others in this movement,
“why?” There are dozens of answers to this, but I personally think the
most pertinent answer is, “why the hell not?!”
Lastly, I hope whoever is reading this joins us–whether in body or in
spirit. It’s only going to get bigger!
Thank you for your time and your fantastic answers!
