(PHILADELPHIA) MintPress – As tourists waited in long lines to get a glimpse of the Liberty Bell, a symbol of freedom and democracy, hundreds of Occupy Wall Street (OWS) protesters stood their ground Saturday in an adjacent Philadelphia park for the first ever National Occupy Gathering, holding signs, singing songs and meeting in small groups to discuss the future of the nation.
While OWS has surely made a name for itself throughout the last few years, this is the first time organizers and activists from across the nation to converge in one location, with the intent of discussing the future of the movement and the issues to which they agree to be of most importance.
“The cross-pollination of all this information is going to really help strengthen the movement,” said Occupy National Gathering organizer Patricia Shore, speaking from the lawn of Independence Mall.
Identifying and growing
It’s that collaboration that Shore sees as key for the gathering and the future of OWS.
With a network of activists throughout the nation, each claiming their own Occupy stronghold, Shore and others associated with OWS recognize they’re growing.
“Just because it hasn’t been in the news, it still is really alive in organizing,” she said. “This is a way for us to kind of claim the public commons and get together face-to-face, because of lot of organizing is done online and on social networking.”
Michael Hardt, an Occupy activist, spoke to an crowd gathered around him at Independence Mall, addressing that specific issue — how Occupy will evolve through partnerships and collaboration.
Hardt explains Occupy’s method of leadership as one not grasped by most within mainstream society. Rather than hoisting up one specific leader or candidate, Hardt says Occupy must grow through a horizontal style of leadership, in order to incorporate the ideas and passions of a diverse crowd. He refers to it as “a form that refuses centralized leadership and centralized decision making.”
In order to make that happen, communication among a large body of people is key — and Hardt has seen that within the Occupy movement.
“For an entire year, the activists in Occupy have been fantastic in not only communicating with each other locally but with communicating with other parts of the U.S., especially. And sometimes, communicating with those outside the U.S,” he said.
Adding a face-to-face element will only help usher the movement along, creating stronger bonds and understanding among those working toward collective goals.
“One of the things that’s really important for this type of an event is to allow for the communication and exchange among people in different parts of the country who have all been experimenting with the same type of structures and experiencing many of those same frustrations and difficulties,” he said.
Issues that rise above the rest
So what are those frustrations and difficulties — the issues for which Occupy stands today? It depends on who’s answering the question.
While the roots of the OWS movement began with a direct focus on corruption and greed within the Wall Street and larger banking system, the activist front has become home to those with a wide array of issues within the political system and U.S. society. For some, its universal healthcare. For others, it’s a bailout of student loans or the fight against big banks’ controversial foreclosure practices.
OWS activists are clear to point out they’re not interested in excluding people from the movement, but they do say it’s important to hear from those within the ‘party’ in order to gage what people care about the most.
Throughout the day Saturday, Occupy activists broke out in sessions ranging from the movement’s take on human rights, the student loan debate and the fight against foreclosures. The break-out sessions were just the beginning, as each day of the Gathering includes similar activities, including visioning sessions, in which Occupiers will have an opportunity to voice the issues they consider to be of utmost importance.
It’s the exact form of horizontal leadership Hardt speaks of — and activists are hoping it will allow them to create a non-binding blueprint of issues to tackle in the near future. In a sense, they’re prioritizing their collective bodies’ list of concerns and tackling the most pressing first.
What the collective agreement will not be, however, is an OWS political platform. Shore said many within the Occupy movement are discouraged by politics, especially after the recent recall election of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, known for his crackdown on unions and collective bargaining rights. A great deal of progressives, including Occupy activists, were a part of the fight to recall Walker — and they lost. Shore said many were discouraged by alleged attempts to keep the poor and minorities off the voter rolls. Many lost hope in the political system.
However, many of the issues Occupy stands for — and against — are political. Without representation in state and federal governments, many question whether the type of change they demand is possible.
Those within Occupy say they’re changing by exposing the general public to corrupt banking and government practice, and they claim they’ve been a part of the political dialogue. Politicians, mostly those on the left, have begun to discuss unequal income distribution, touting the ‘We are the 99 percent’ ideologies.
Policing the gathering
Law enforcement from the National Parks Department and Philadelphia Police Station were on hand throughout the day and evening in what officers said was a measure taken to ensure individual rights were upheld.
Joe Sullivan, Chief Investigator for the Philadelphia Police Station, said he and his team were on hand to assist the Parks Department, if need be. Sullivan said it’s typical for the Philadelphia Police Department to do so in the case of a large event.
Richard Goldberg, Assistant U.S. Attorney, was also on hand throughout the day to monitor the event.
“We have thousands of demonstrations in the park every year. We want to make sure everyone gets their say according to federal regulations,” Goldberg said.
While events in Independence Mall remained largely quiet throughout the day, clashes did ensue between protesters and law enforcement in the evening, when National Park Service officers informed an Occupy activist that his tent, pitched in the Second Court Commons Park, must be taken down.
Roughly 200 Occupy protesters rallied at the park and resisted the demands, clashing with law enforcement officers — a move that led to a shoving and tension between officials and activists.
The National Parks Department confirmed that one arrest was made, although it would not release pending charges. The protester was taken into federal custody.
The municipal police department made no arrests, but did meet protesters in a clash of words and tension, with activists shouting their displeasure with law enforcement. The scuffle in the Second Court park prompted a large team of federal and local law enforcement officials to enter the scene — accounting for roughly 100 officers.
To view pictures from the Occupy National Gathering, click here.