May Day 2012: the beginning of the American Spring

Liberty leading the People" by Eugène Delacroix 

There were many May Day celebrations connected with the Occupy Movement around the world Was this May Day the ‘spark’ for more actions to come?   No.. it was not a 'call to revolution' as probably anticipated by some, but a visible symbol of the transformation and broadening of the Movement. Maybe this is a disappointment to some who may have imagined a 'storming of the Bastille.' According to the Huffington Post on 2 May 2012, the mainstream liberal establishment joined forces with the Occupy Movement  this May Day (see http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/01/may-day-protests-occupy-wall-street_n_1469229.html .)  There was an eclectic mixing at May Day. Overall, it was not violent, but peaceful..which is the hallmark of the Occupy Movement.  What can one make of these diverse groups coming together on this May Day?

  Some of the comments for this article indicate various reactions to the slant of this article from indicating that this is a positive move, to those stating the Democratic Party as co-opting the movement and on the far end of the other spectrum dominated by adherents to the Far Right stating that the participants at this May Day represent the unusual suspects of radicals (Socialists, Marxists, Anarchists. ) In my hometown as in others around the nation, the day passed without fanfare.

My perspective on the assembly of various groups involved with May Day and the centrality of the Occupy Movement in this day represents not disorganization, but a subtle but significant transition. One, the Occupy Movement has moved away from the mere occupation of public places.  Two, there is now a broad and amorphous coalition around the tenets of the Occupy Movement.  Three, the Occupy Movement did not on this May Day repeat the historic clashes (with some exceptions) of one dominated by the labor movements and the police, indicating that this movement intends on bringing a peaceful resolution to themes such as income inequality, domination of politics by the One Percent, and unsustainable development. Four, the Movement is global as May Day in the US was connected with Occupy Movements around the world.  

Ultimately, the Occupy Movement has become like a good painting, one that represents many things depending on the perspective of the individual.  At the center of this painting is hope.  Hope that one segment of global politics and economics (the One Percent) will cease to dictate all aspects of economy, politics, and culture.  Hope that the Ninety-Nine Percent can start to ‘write the history’ of this century and beyond. Hope that we can have true democracy in all nations.  Hope that the differences in income can be diminished and that everyone can share in prosperity.  Hope that the continual warfare that has been the hallmark of the nation-state systems will stop. And the list goes on….Juxtapose this with the angry voices (i.e., the Far Right including the Tea Party) denouncing the Movement who are mostly white middle class holding on to their traditional and fading values and threatened by the message of the hope held up by the Occupy Movement and how it is stagnating and hopeless—just a continuation of the present system—and it is apparent that the Movement will not go away, but grow.  This May Day, although not dramatic, represents that we will see a blossoming of the Occupy Movement that will be a transforming factor in the coming years.