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Today ULU Marxists received a letter from a student at New York University
(NYU), Cecilia Gingerich, who was a member of the University of London
Marxist Society while studying in London in the spring of 2010. She is
now a participant in Occupy Wall Street and in her letter gives a first
hand account of her experience of the movement from the beginning, her
narrowly escaping the mass arrest of the 700 protestors on October 1st
and the impact that had on the movement in the following days. Now the
unions have joined the protestors on Wall Street, along with walk-outs
from high schools and colleges, which Cecilia has participated with
students from her own university. 9th October 2011
To: The Members of the University of London Marxist Society,
It has been twenty-three days since the group known as Occupy Wall Street
established an encampment in New York City’s financial district. While
it began when a couple hundred youth who, unwilling to accept a future
of indefinite unemployment and debt, decided to occupy a park near Wall
Street, the movement has since grown in size and diversity. With similar
occupations arising in cities across the nation and the endorsement of
many prominent labor unions, both the media and federal government are
finding it increasingly difficult to ignore these democratic
demonstrations of discontent.
My first physical encounter with the movement occurred on September 24th,
one week after the occupation began. I came upon a rally of protesters
in Union Square who had marched up from Wall Street, and watched in
horror as only minutes later their peaceful protest dissolved in chaos
and violent arrests. It was clear from the incident that the management
of the New York City Police Department did not sympathize with the
protest, and it led me to suspect imminent conflict when I witnessed the
same officers gathering plastic handcuffs before a march the following
week. Only later did I discover that I had evaded the mass arrest of
over seven hundred protesters on the Brooklyn Bridge by mere minutes.
However, the police department’s use of excessive force only served
to draw attention to the movement, and soon thousands of people were
attending daily General Assemblies in New York and other cities. The
primary criticism of the movement shifted to its lack of a singular
demand. The mainstream media delighted in reporting on the “confusion”
of the protesters, providing lists of their requests ranging from the
end of foreclosures to the end of the financial sector as a whole. Yet
to a Marxist—and indeed it seems to the majority of protesters—it was
obvious that what was being collectively objected to was the system
itself: capitalism, and all of its consequences. The term “class
warfare” began to resurface, and the protesters’ most popular chant, “We
are the ninety-nine percent!”, suggests a growing class consciousness
that has been absent in the nation for decades.
 Still there remains room for leadership and increased organization. This void was partially addressed on October 5th,
when university students and labor unions from across New York City
participated in a solidarity rally by the tens of thousands. Students
staged a late afternoon walk-out from classes, with the contingent from
my own private university consisting of over a thousand participants. I
was pleasantly surprised by the event’s organization, which clearly
identified the need to combine the student and labor movements. Our
foremost banner read “Students and Labor Unite!”. On Tuesday a group of
students from my university will help to keep that relationship alive by
joining local strikers on their picket line.
Yesterday, an Egyptian man named Mohammed spoke to a crowd of a
couple thousand at a special General Assembly held in Washington Square
Park [See video below]. He had participated in the Egyptian revolution
last spring, and called now for the end to “capitalist domination”.
While the future of the movement remains uncertain, I cannot help but be
hopeful. At one point in his speech Mohammed quoted Karl Marx, stating
that we “have nothing to lose but our chains.” As I recall those words
being repeated around me in a “human microphone” comprised of thousands
of voices, I am excited to see what the future may bring.
To the Arab Spring, European Summer, and American Fall!
In Solidarity,
Cecilia Gingerich
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