New Clear Vision

In my last post, I talked about how the “Occupy” movement originated, and its potential to provide a space for renewed social justice and community organizing. In this blog, I’ll take a look at how “Occupy” events are structured and organized, drawing on my involvement with Occupy Philadelphia. I’ll also highlight some of the constructive criticism surrounding Occupy Wall Street and similar events — in particular as it relates to anti-racism and racial justice.

The Process Story

In political campaigns, there’s nothing a candidate’s staff hates more than news coverage of the campaign itself — staff changes, changes to an event schedule, behind-the-scenes negotiations with other campaigns, political party officialdom. It’s called a “process story,” and it’s frustrating to campaign staff because it takes the focus off of the candidate’s message and policies — usually positive, aspirational language — and places it on the campaign bureaucracy, inevitably leading to feelings of cynicism when people read about the “sausage making” of running for office. (more…)