Occupied With Wall Street as the Dow Hits 12,000: From Uprising to Catalytic Institution

Occupy Wall Street has gone from a shot in the dark promoted by a Canadian anti-corporate website, AdSense, to a First Amendment Protest, to a mash up of a Rebel Encampment and Hooverville.  But clearly, in its second month, the message of Occupy Wall Street, about the future of "casino capitalism" and the indelible message of the 1% holding the reins and lording over the 99%. will not be denied. It's the hardship the broken economy is causing, not the deficit, that is the real issue.

Although NY's mainstream media, especially the Murdochian NY Post, struggle to take it down by first focusing on free "gourmet meals" served to OWSers, and now on the influx of homeless folks (including ex-habitues of Rikers Island) which has elicited complaints from OWS's volunteer kitchen staff, even sympathetic observers, like Justin Elliot in Salon are beginning, in the 2nd month, to speculate about direction and possible futures.

Aside from the political, ideological and activist assessments, (and as I post this as the stock market breaks 12,000), I wonder -- while there apparently are many folks volunteering in different capacities at Zuccotti Park, isn't it time that OWS creates a model by establishing itself in the form of a more progressive, cooperative format where folks have to do something to get something ? That is, is hanging out with occasional protests and intermittent figthting with the cops really a sustainable life style? If OWS isn't calling for utopia, can't everyone be expected to do something, besides protesting, to earn their keep? Either in the park or outside? For that matter with all of the resources coming in, can OWS serve those in the community who are currently underserved, and not currently residing in Zuccotti? The hungry, the elderly? For that matter, while Zuccotti is a base, can't folks fan out over the City, to find other ways to help? Bringing food to and volunteering in food pantries and soup kitchens around the city?  Helping out at senior centers, etc? Just a thought. While understanding the principle role of OWS is to keep the excesses of our current form of Extreme Capitalism and the 99% - 1% message fresh, as the population grows might it also not be interesting to see what ideas and experiments OWS can take, as a social model,  as it explores New Directions in political economy?

--Deep in the Heart of Brooklyn