I’m in New York City, and so far the trip is going well — apart from the part where I lost my wallet, including my ID, when I took a train into the city. I’m supposed to get a new debit card today so at least I won’t be broke.
Don’t be this little guy when you leave Occupy. Photo by Mindaugas Danys.
This post has been bouncing around in my head for a few days. I’ve seen this pattern many times over since Occupy began, so if you think this is about you it might be but you’re far from the only one.
Do you remember when you were a kid and you found out one of your friends was moving away or going to a new school, or maybe you were the one changing? I do. Very often, one of us would pick a fight with the other. Rather than deal with the grief of losing someone you care about, you make up an excuse to hate them or get angry. Anger feels powerful and righteous in the moment, so much easier than the pain of loss.
It seems like this happens in activism and social movements, too. Life changes, like it does — a new job, or other change in circumstances, prevents continued involvement. Yet whatever group we’re involved with doesn’t vanish without us — it continues too, growing and changing just like you are. You could handle this maturely, by accepting that without your influence your beloved comrades may choose to take your movement in different directions, or make decisions you did not anticipate.
All too often, however, people seem to go from active activists to passive-aggressive Facebook trolls. It’s easier to tell everyone how much you hate the movement, how it has abandoned everything you thought it stood for — and to do so over and over again after every decision — than to deal with missing your friends and the good work you did.
Let me just say this — you can take a break. If you feel burnt out, step back. If you have to leave because of life, respect the autonomy of your friends. When things change again, there will probably still be a place for you to return — as long as you haven’t burned all your bridges in the meantime.
Follow Kit on Twitter for updates from Occupy Wall Street’s September 17 Birthday Celebrations throughout the next 3 days.
Comments (2)
I think some folks left because a clique in OWS was operating like the kid in the photo.
Yeah, sometimes it takes stepping away for a minute to get some perspective. But how I see it is what brought us all together should be kept in mind when things become difficult on a personal level. That’s not so easy, sometimes. I think people either don’t realize or forget that self care is an essential part of activism, and at times, it’s just healthy to step away and take a deep breath. If you don’t do that, the stress can make everything progressively more upsetting and look worse and worse until you really are ready to go running away screaming expletives, away forever into the wilderness where you go feral and eschew humanity until you die of exposure. Or maybe that’s just me. Anyway, back to a more serious note, the bigger picture of why the movement exists will hopefully prevail, and people will calm down. :D Take care and be safe in NYC!