Last week marked the two-month anniversary of Occupy Wall Street, a protest that has spawned similar encampments around the country and the world.
Initial media coverage focused on the economic inequalities the movement spotlighted, but in recent weeks the stories (both in Tampa and across the nation) have been all about police arresting protesters, a trend that only looked to increase as mayors of some of the biggest cities in the country ordered their police to end the 24/7 occupation of parks.
Even before those directives, AdBusters, the anti-consumer magazine that has been called the intellectual architect of the Occupy movement, had listed on its website two possibilities for the movement's future progress: either keep on keeping on, or declare "victory" and throw a party, perhaps around December 17, the three-month anniversary of the movement's birth.
But there's no talk in Tampa of shutting down. In fact, at a recent General Assembly (the group's nightly meeting in Curtis Hixon Park), members said they'd heard that more protesters will be arriving around Christmas from the Northeast.
Unlike so many other American cities, arrests have been minimal in Tampa (approximately a dozen in nearly seven weeks). But the message continues. Here's a look at just a few of the people who make up Occupy Tampa.
BOBBY ALI
Age: 35
Roots: Moved from Pakistan to the U.S. at the age of 11. Lived in several states before moving to Florida in 2004.
Occupation: Owns two gas stations, one in Tampa, the other in Hudson, but says after working 70 hours a week and paying employees, he's left with only enough to make ends meet.
Politics: Was a Republican, but "eight years of Bush changed that for me."
On Obama: Did vote for him, says it's "tricky" whether he will again.
What “Occupy” means to him: He says it's to educate people about the flaws in the system, not to create sentiment for or against any specific political party.
GREG PRIEM
Age: 29
Roots: Originally from St. Pete, now lives in Clearwater.
Politics: Has never identified with the Democrats or Republicans — has always voted for "lesser of two evils."
Occupation: Studying psychology at USF.
On Obama: Voted for him in 2008; now feels like he bought the whole spiel, "hook, line and sinker." Says he expected more change, but doesn't really have much of an opinion on Obama anymore, because he believes that even if the president does have "our best interests in mind," Congress is broken.
What Occupy Tampa has meant for him: He's always felt pretty isolated, and wasn't aware that others felt "even remotely the way I do living in the area." What it's meant for him most is a sense of community. "That word for me in the past was kind of hollow, not because I didn't care about it, but because I never really knew what it meant 'cause I've never seen one before (laughing)… In the old days, in more rural communities or religious communities or even minority communities, there's still a sense of community, but I never experienced it in my life and that in itself is worth fighting for… I love those people like family."
What he's learned: A greater respect for other people's viewpoints.
SAMANTHA BOWDEN
Age: 23
Occupation: Geography student at USF.
Roots: Born in Texas, lived in Tennessee for 10 years; Tampa resident since 1999.
Politics: Registered Democrat.
On Obama: Voted for him in 2008, name-checks Cornel West when saying she'll hold her nose and do so again in 2012. Says her first disappointment was in December of 2009 when he announced he was adding 30,000 troops in Afghanistan. Also critical of his economic policy team (i.e. Tim Geithner at Treasury, Larry Summers as chief of economic advisors), calling it "putting the wolves in front of the henhouse."
Influential books: Van Jones, Green Collar Economy; Andrew Bacevich, Washington Rules
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Why OT needs a public park of its own to occupy: "Once we have that, they can see that real dialogue is going on, and then actions come out of that and we can exert pressure as a group of engaged citizens. But it takes time."
JOE JAY
Age: 24
Roots: Has lived in Tampa for 16 years.
Occupation: Cook at a pizza restaurant; attends Hillsborough Community College.
Politics: Calls himself a "pragmatic socialist — very progressive."
Obama: Down on him for not closing Gitmo. "I think he used the excuse that people had to pressure him more to do his job… I believe the Occupy movement… can exert this pressure, I don't think he has any excuse anymore."
Crucial books: Howard Zinn, People's History of United States; Naomi Klein, Shock Doctrine; a lot of Noam Chomsky.
On local media: Calls it a mixed bag, but chides ABC 28 for being "very hostile."
MIKE MADISON
Age: 22
Roots: Lived in New York until he was 16; has spent five of the last six years in Tampa Bay.
Occupation:(UPDATED) Madison says his "restlessness led me to the last step of enlisting in the Army as a medic before the opportunity to do important independent journalism in Tampa arrived." He actually did not enlist, but he has become one of the chief chroniclers of the Occupy Tampa movement as a reporter on the scene for the websites OccupyTampa.com and Open Letter News.
Politics: Describes himself as a "born journalist," and thus owes allegiance to the truth before anything else. Says the political right has exploited the media's "insecurity" about reporting objectively, "even when they know full well which position is the reality-based one," adding that in his lifetime, "truth has shown a decidedly liberal bias."
On Obama: Says there have been a few times he wishes the president were "more cunning," but says it would take a "wildly impressive third party candidate" for him to vote against Obama in 2012.
Media inspirations: Hunter Thompson and George Orwell.
On the media: Calls the St. Petersburg Times a "wonderful newspaper," but says they're much better at larger stories, saying a reporter can only do so much "when he or she shows up six hours after something happened to try to put the pieces together." Says the most consistently high-quality focused coverage has come from WMNF Radio.
And CL? “Too focused on arts and culture to fill the hole that's opened for local activist news — says political editor Mitch Perry is "only one person, right?" (Last we checked.)
VIVIAN TAYLOR
Age: 30
Roots: Lives in Safety Harbor, works in Tampa.
Politics: Progressive.
Influences: Books: Franz Fanon, Wretched of the Earth; Jennifer Baumgardner, Manifesta; Films: Food, Inc., The Corporation, Fritz Lang's Metropolis.
What she hopes to accomplish: Though she emphasizes that no one person can speak for the General Assembly, she says she'd like personally to see more community involvement in the movement by everyone who shares its interests in social and economic justice.
On local media: Says that coverage has ignored Occupy Tampa's community outreach and economic/social justice activism because it is "fixated on the overnighters' battles with police." Overall she says the coverage has been disappointing, and indicts both the corporate and independent press. "It's clear that between corporate-controlled outlets that push a 1 percent agenda and independent media that is obsessed with sensationalism, most positive aspects of OT are being neglected."
OCCUPY ST. PETE
When it comes to issues important to progressives, such as the U.S. invasion of Iraq and crackdowns on the homeless, St. Petersburg has been at the forefront of activism in the Bay area. Which is why it's curious that St. Pete activists have been upstaged by their brethren across the Bay — both in terms of a physical presence and local media coverage — in their participation in one of the biggest social movements of the left in a long time.
The first major Occupy event in St. Pete happened on Sat., Oct. 15, as more than 300 people gathered in South Straub Park. Since then, there have been daylong meetings each Saturday in the park, but none of the 24/7 "occupations" seen in Tampa and city parks around the country (well, in cities whose mayors haven't yet opted to end the occupations). There have also been meetings at places like The Globe Coffeehouse and CASA, though organizers say they now intend to meet more regularly in the park.
But staying the night in Straub Park has never been an option for Occupy St. Pete members. Earlier this year, city officials, in an effort to sweep the homeless out of downtown, banned sleeping, reclining or storing personal items on public sidewalks. Officially, Tampa does not allow people to sleep outdoors overnight on city property, but authorities have generally looked the other way.
Another factor: Chris Ernesto of St. Pete for Peace says that, because Occupy Tampa got off to such a positive start, some of his members "thought it'd be best to be respectful of what they were doing and to help them grow their numbers instead of doing something in St. Pete. A true occupation needs a lot of people in order to deter the police, so we decided to encourage people to help make Occupy Tampa as strong as possible." He also suggested that with the RNC coming to town, it was important to build relationships with other activists in Tampa.
On a recent beautiful fall afternoon in St. Petersburg, downtown was abuzz, with thousands flooding the streets en route to the RibFest at Vinoy Park. Around 3:30 p.m., they were greeted by a motley crew of around 20 Occupy activists, who chanted and held signs about income inequality and the now infamous 99 percent.
One of those activists, speaking to CL off the record, expressed frustration that "after almost two months of existence, we haven’t instituted anything yet." But that seemed to change a short time later, as approximately 15 Occupy St. Pete activists gathered on the grass to hear a specific call to action from Lenny Flank, who identified himself as a member of the International Workers of the World.
Flank sat cross-legged as he discussed Progress Energy's Crystal River nuclear power plant. He said it was critical to begin targeting state legislators as well as the Public Service Commission, who will hear a proposal next year by the energy company to have ratepayers pay the $690 million required to fix the plant, after the company itself botched replacing aging steam generators.
"Our position is, they broke it, they're a privately owned Fortune 500 company, they should pay for it," Flank said. "Our organization wants to gather as many people as possible and focus their anger where it could do good. So the target right now is the Public Service Commission. We're going to put as much pressure on them as possible… as well as every representative and state Senator."
Despite the fact that their actions have been low-key to date, it's possible that the activists could make as much if not more of an impact as other Occupy camps if they follow through on their new focus. Because, while the movement nationwide has been engrossed in the struggle to occupy public parks, the St. Pete activists have never done so, and thus can't lose what they never had.
This article appears in Nov 24-30, 2011.