Photo: Stacy Lanyon
I bumped into Occupy in Union Square after leaving my house
when I was seventeen. I had been feeling pro-revolution, and I had a lot of
anarchist ideas that I couldn’t identify or categorize because I didn’t know much
about anarchism or about Occupy. I had heard about it on the news, but the
media wasn’t really covering it anymore. It was considered a joke by a lot of
people because that’s how the media was portraying it. I passed Occupy Union
Square one day in March 2012, and I ran into two occupiers. They invited me to
come talk to them. I was skeptical, but I sat and had conversation after
conversation about politics and our fucked criminal justice system and the fact
that there is too much power in too few hands. We talked about how the American
people aren’t truly free and that consumerism and corruption and prejudice and
pride rule our country and that a lot of people are ignorant to what’s really
going on in the world and how fucked up things are. That was mind blowing. That
was my first experience with Occupy. That’s why I joined Occupy.
When I was in Occupy Union Square, I felt like I was at home
for the first time. It was family. I got mic-checked in and then spent the next
hour just meeting people. Every person was just like, “Holy shit, I’m really
glad I’m not the only person that feels this way about my country and about the
world in general and about the fact that things need to change." That was huge
for me. At this time, I mostly just do independent outreach. I take every opportunity to have this
conversation. This conversation has begun. I try to spread ideas and let people
know that things are fucked up, and not just fucked up in a general way but in
specific ways. I talk about my life, and ask people to talk about their life. Then, I’ll
reflect on what I've heard and find where we have a common ground. I’ll share what information I have about any subject I’m educated on. I’m
just a human saying to another human, “I have music. What do you have to give?
Do something. Be aware. Do your own research. Get involved.”
As far as the world is concerned, it’s just a giant game of
political chess for territory and resources that I cannot yet completely
comprehend because I haven’t had the chance to educate myself on that. As far
as America goes, the issue is that a lot of people are just apathetic. At one
point, I was working a 9-5, and I was making a good amount of money. I grew up
in a middle-class to upper-class family. I didn’t feel any sympathy for the
homeless after a while. I was told to ignore them. I was told that everything
was fine, that the president was black, so everything was good. I was told that
you could trust the cops. I used to want to be a police officer when I was
younger. A lot of people aren’t aware of how much they don’t know. The more you
learn, the more unlikely you are to forget.
A lot of people don’t know that the criminal justice system is corrupt or that the information you’re given in high school or middle school and elementary school are lies and just perpetuated bullshit. We are given an image of this country that is upright and just. We are given the impression that our country is the best country in the world. Many Americans walk around with this lie, this confidence, this belief. There is this feeling of, “I’ve got my stuff, and that’s what matters. I have my iPod, and I have my fashion sense, and all of these materialistic things are what's important." People have come to feel that what people think of them is more important than what’s right and wrong. That’s where that apathy comes from, fear of what other people think or fear of what you don’t know and perceiving that you are happy with what you have even when others suffer.
A lot of people don’t know what the definition of democracy is. A lot of people don’t know that they live in a representative democracy. I could go on for hours. It’s about not being aware. A lot of people don’t want to be aware. They don’t want to know about the banks and whatnot. A lot of people don’t want to hear about people dying in other countries or about our country being in debt and owing trillions of dollars. A lot of the people don’t want to hear about it, and that’s the problem. A lot of people don’t want to deal with the issues at hand. They just ignore it until it's right in their face. A lot of people won’t fight until they have nothing to lose. That’s one major issue with America and the world. A lot of people aren’t ready to fight yet, not until it’s in their face, not until each state one by one becomes a militarized zone, until you no longer have the right to speech. It’s really a fight to smack people awake before it’s too late. That’s my issue with America. A lot of people just aren’t aware, and they don’t feel empathy for others.
I don’t know what kind of world I hope for. We’ve tried socialism. We’ve tried democracy. We’ve tried monarchy. I’m not sure if there is such thing as an egalitarian society. I’m not sure yet. I am pro anarchist only in the sense that by breaking down into a more anarchist or more independent society, we can then rebuild. I don’t think an overhaul on our current system is very realistic right now. Every man and women should smell their own shit and feel mud between their toes. Everyone should be able to survive on their own if you drop them off in a forest, and I can’t even do that yet. I’m learning. I’m working on it. It goes back down to the base principle of being able to survive on your own and knowing what it means to be a human being and being able to see beyond skin tone and sneaker brands, being able to see beyond your own world, being able to walk outside and not judge others, not just go by what you’ve seen, not make inferences that aren’t true just based on your own bullshit prejudice, on your own stereotypes that you’ve been trained in. I want to see a world where people aren’t raised with a menu of characters to choose from, where they don’t say, “Everyone is doing this, so I’m going to do it.” You should be doing it because it’s right. I just want freedom, a world where people aren’t afraid of freedom, where if the lights go out, People don’t turn to the government. I want us to be more independent human beings. I want to see a world with more empathetic, more educated people. I want us to be a wiser more mature people. That’s what I’m hoping for.
The world I am trying to build is better than this. It’s better than where we’re going now. I’d rather things were balls to wall insane than this conformity, this uniform that we’re all moving towards. I’d rather that. I have a vague image of what the world would become if everything went well. I am not aware of every perspective, every possibility. I don’t have it 100% right on everything. I’m still learning. I’m still reading books and having conversations with people that know more than I could fucking imagine at this point, so I can’t honestly answer that question with a clear conscious. I won’t live to see the world I’m working for. Maybe my grandchildren will. The possibilities are endless. As disgusting and polluted and corroded as this world is, humanity has accomplished a lot. Yeah, it’s horribly flawed, but we’ve created a global economy and checks and balances and mass production. The way it’s done is terrible, but it’s also amazing. If all of that was accomplished without being motivated by money and profit and wealth, without your own ideas, your perspective of what the world should be being forced on others, the possibilities are endless—space travel and things for that nature. There are so many things that we can do as a people that I can’t even imagine it. I can smile about it and know that it’s going to be fucking awesome, but I can’t honestly say what’s going to happen.
A lot of people don’t know that the criminal justice system is corrupt or that the information you’re given in high school or middle school and elementary school are lies and just perpetuated bullshit. We are given an image of this country that is upright and just. We are given the impression that our country is the best country in the world. Many Americans walk around with this lie, this confidence, this belief. There is this feeling of, “I’ve got my stuff, and that’s what matters. I have my iPod, and I have my fashion sense, and all of these materialistic things are what's important." People have come to feel that what people think of them is more important than what’s right and wrong. That’s where that apathy comes from, fear of what other people think or fear of what you don’t know and perceiving that you are happy with what you have even when others suffer.
A lot of people don’t know what the definition of democracy is. A lot of people don’t know that they live in a representative democracy. I could go on for hours. It’s about not being aware. A lot of people don’t want to be aware. They don’t want to know about the banks and whatnot. A lot of people don’t want to hear about people dying in other countries or about our country being in debt and owing trillions of dollars. A lot of the people don’t want to hear about it, and that’s the problem. A lot of people don’t want to deal with the issues at hand. They just ignore it until it's right in their face. A lot of people won’t fight until they have nothing to lose. That’s one major issue with America and the world. A lot of people aren’t ready to fight yet, not until it’s in their face, not until each state one by one becomes a militarized zone, until you no longer have the right to speech. It’s really a fight to smack people awake before it’s too late. That’s my issue with America. A lot of people just aren’t aware, and they don’t feel empathy for others.
I don’t know what kind of world I hope for. We’ve tried socialism. We’ve tried democracy. We’ve tried monarchy. I’m not sure if there is such thing as an egalitarian society. I’m not sure yet. I am pro anarchist only in the sense that by breaking down into a more anarchist or more independent society, we can then rebuild. I don’t think an overhaul on our current system is very realistic right now. Every man and women should smell their own shit and feel mud between their toes. Everyone should be able to survive on their own if you drop them off in a forest, and I can’t even do that yet. I’m learning. I’m working on it. It goes back down to the base principle of being able to survive on your own and knowing what it means to be a human being and being able to see beyond skin tone and sneaker brands, being able to see beyond your own world, being able to walk outside and not judge others, not just go by what you’ve seen, not make inferences that aren’t true just based on your own bullshit prejudice, on your own stereotypes that you’ve been trained in. I want to see a world where people aren’t raised with a menu of characters to choose from, where they don’t say, “Everyone is doing this, so I’m going to do it.” You should be doing it because it’s right. I just want freedom, a world where people aren’t afraid of freedom, where if the lights go out, People don’t turn to the government. I want us to be more independent human beings. I want to see a world with more empathetic, more educated people. I want us to be a wiser more mature people. That’s what I’m hoping for.
The world I am trying to build is better than this. It’s better than where we’re going now. I’d rather things were balls to wall insane than this conformity, this uniform that we’re all moving towards. I’d rather that. I have a vague image of what the world would become if everything went well. I am not aware of every perspective, every possibility. I don’t have it 100% right on everything. I’m still learning. I’m still reading books and having conversations with people that know more than I could fucking imagine at this point, so I can’t honestly answer that question with a clear conscious. I won’t live to see the world I’m working for. Maybe my grandchildren will. The possibilities are endless. As disgusting and polluted and corroded as this world is, humanity has accomplished a lot. Yeah, it’s horribly flawed, but we’ve created a global economy and checks and balances and mass production. The way it’s done is terrible, but it’s also amazing. If all of that was accomplished without being motivated by money and profit and wealth, without your own ideas, your perspective of what the world should be being forced on others, the possibilities are endless—space travel and things for that nature. There are so many things that we can do as a people that I can’t even imagine it. I can smile about it and know that it’s going to be fucking awesome, but I can’t honestly say what’s going to happen.