ITP Alum and all around smart guy Felipe Ribeiro wrote this interesting analysis and observation of the Occcupy Wall Street protests…

My impression of occupy wall street, having hung out there for the first time tonight, from about 6:15pm to about 9:30pm:

Anyone who is interested in emergent/meta anything (software development, feedback systems of any kind, consciousness, system theory), democracy/open source/ transparency or good governance in any sense would do well to spend time down there and see how things happen. I especially urge you to check out the General Assembly, I caught the one at 7pm tonight and was impressed by what I saw. There was an overt concern to represent “marginalized” voices, preferences were explicitly given to those who hadn’t spoken previously, and those who pertained to groups historically excluded from public discourse. To get around not having permits for amplified sound, they employed a system whereby the crowd repeated what was originally said, thereby allowing for an inclusive conversation with between 100-150 people, *without amplification*. This was extremely impressive, especially since this system was one that has been used in similar people’s councils in Spain and Greece (if a random dude near me is to be believed, haha). In essence, *ANYONE*, and I mean anyone, could speak, and many did. Being that they’ve been set up for over two weeks, they’ve got a system down for weeding stuff that didn’t fit the particular topic for that moment. I heard lucid and not so lucid commentary, but what surprised me the most was the willingness of people to sit outside on the concrete floor and abide by these rules in order to legitimate the outcome of what was discussed, and that everyone who wanted to speak got their turn. It’s democracy, figuring itself out in real time. Pretty rad.

To wrap -  If you care about politics or otherwise think the system, writ large is, *at best*, suspect; meaning just about everything coming from both democrats and republicans is merely political theatre and will *never* truly challenge a system that is largely about the conservation and consolidation of power, then head down there and check out what is happening, in person if possible. Site with calendar, etc:

www.occupywallst.org

Otherwise, live stream:

http://globalrevolution.tv/

or

http://www.livestream.com/globalrevolution

Interesting tidbit:

I found out why they are allowed to hang out in a park in the financial district of Manhattan, where, without a permit (which they do not have, nor would they be granted one, given the city’s stance towards rowdy folk taking over public space) they would be immediately forcibly removed: Zuccotti Park (aka “Liberty Plaza”) is a private park, owned by Brookfield Office Properties, a major commercial real estate holding company. Why Brookfield is allowing them to stay is anyone’s guess, I have my money on the fact that the original Occupy Wall Street battle cry came from AdBusters, based out of Toronto, the same city Brookfield has their HQ. So I think there’s a relationship there. But that is strictly conjecture. Wikipedia says this on their entry (the veracity of which I have not looked into): “On Earth Day (April 22) 2010, BLJC was listed as one of Canada’s “The Green 30” Organizations Based On Eco-Friendly Programs and Practices [1] based on an employee poll.”  So whether they sympathize independently or there is an Adbusters connection, the OWS movement exists in its current form only because the owners of that park allow them to remain. The fact is, if Brookfield changes their mind, NYPD can kick them out under penalty of arrest immediately. Ironic, that if it were a public park, they would be forced to fight their arrests in the courts on the basis of the first amendment (after the fact), while being a private park owned by a mega-powerful corporation, they are allowed to stay, presumably on a whim, but without having to encounter force. Did Brookfield lose money to Wall street financial firms in some way, and they love the negative attention this movement is generating towards Wall Street? I’d be curious to know exactly why Brookfield is allowing this event to exist on their property. 

That’s my rambling analysis for now, tomorrow there may be more.

felipe