Occupy Seattle 2.0: The movement heads into spring

Visibility waned during winter months, but Occupy Seattle claims it has maintained membership due to a growing presence online and protestors hope to resuscitate action heading into spring.

But while it once resided in crude encampments and prided itself on a lack of structure and control, the movement has emerged from its public hiatus with a sophisticated network of business meetings, planning sessions, teach-ins, scheduled meditations and member dues.

In the past, protestors held impromptu briefings using a bullhorn at parks like Westlake; now they conduct “general assemblies” via a live video stream from public space inside the Washington State Convention Center each Wednesday. Members acting as site administrators take regular votes to determine what will go on the group’s community Facebook page, which now has over 30,000 fans.

“At the end of September, some people showed up with tents. Now we have everything from a gender equality caucus to our internet team that keeps the site going,” said Alyssa MacLachlan, an Occupier who has worked most recently with the group’s finances.

In a move that some insiders acknowledge is a contradiction to the Occupy message, MacLachlan said protestors are now asked to give $10 a month to help support the group’s changing face. On their website, Occupy Seattle explains the growing need for funding:

“Much as we hate it, there are lots of things that money can buy, and Occupy Seattle could use a bunch of those things. What do we need? To begin with: warehouse and office space. The non-profit that has been storing our stuff can’t help us past May. On top of that, we have no space that is accessible to work groups to have meetings, participate in regional or national conference calls and teleconferences, or work on group projects.”

MacLachlan said it is naive to believe that an organized movement can operate without funding.

“Quite honestly, we’ve got to work within the system that we’ve got,” she said. “We’re not going to get anywhere by totally refusing to use money.”

But the request for donations is somewhat diminished by stunts like the one pulled by Mic Check Wall Street protestors on Valentine’s Day, when the group threw $500 (a year’s worth of dues for four members) off a skyscraper in downtown Seattle to show that “it’s not all about money.”

During the peak of the Christmas Shopping season, Occupiers held signs sarcastically urging shoppers downtown to “buy more stuff.”

It is not clear how active Occupiers will react to the call for donations, although MacLachlan said there has been a limited response thus far.

Meanwhile, Occupy Seattle has “pledged solidarity” with Occupy May Day, a call for supporters across the county to take to the streets and strike against work, school, shopping and banking on May 1.