Dear occupiers...

Support and solidarity! We are inspired by the occupations here and elsewhere in the world. Finally people are taking back the streets! The dynamics surrounding these actions have the potential to reinvigorate protest and resistance. We hope that these casts will grow in number and content and we will do our best to do our part.

Why do we speak out? In short: We have already experienced such a situation. For decades we have been fighting against capitalism, organizing occupations and trying to make decisions by consensus. We don't want to lecture anyone. It is important to us to share the experiences we have had. We hope that mistakes made are not repeated. That's why we're summarizing some of our experiences here and putting them up for discussion.

The 99% are not one social class, but many. The slogan “We are 99%” from the USA suggests that they are a homogeneous mass. On television, these "average people" are surprisingly often portrayed as male, white, law-abiding, middle-class people - even if such people are in the minority in the USA.

It is a mistake to negate our differences. Not everyone is just now discovering the injustice of capitalism; some sections of the population have been the target of the power structure for years or generations. The middle class, which is now losing its social status, can learn a lot from those who have suffered from this injustice for much longer.

The problem is not just a few “bad apples.” The crisis is not the result of the selfishness of a few investment bankers, it is the inevitable consequence of an economic system that rewards ruinous competition at every level of society. Capitalism is not a static way of life, but a dynamic process that consumes everything and turns the world into profit and ruins. Now that all reserves have been used up, the system is collapsing and leaving even former winners out in the cold. The answer now is not to go back to some earlier stage of capitalism - for example, back to the gold standard. Not only is this impossible, but it wouldn't change anything: the 99% were equally ignored in these earlier stages. In order to find a way out of this misery, we must discover other ways to deal with ourselves and with the world.

The police cannot be trusted. They may be “just doing their job,” but their job is to defend the interests and privileges of those in power. As long as they are employed as police officers, we cannot count on them, no matter how friendly they may behave. Occupiers who don't know this yet will find out firsthand when they threaten the imbalance of power and wealth on which our society is based. Anyone who argues that the police exist to help and protect ordinary people has probably led a privileged and submissive life.

Don't make a fetish of following the law. Laws serve to protect the privileges of the wealthy and powerful, and being loyal to them is not necessarily ethical - it can even be unethical. Slave trading was legal. The Nazis also had laws. We must develop the strength to do what we believe is best, regardless of the laws.

In order to have diverse participants, a movement must leave room for diverse forms of action. It is arrogant and complacent to think that you alone know how to achieve a better world. Denouncing others helps the authorities delegitimize, divide and destroy the movement as a whole. Criticism and discussion drive a movement forward, but power struggles paralyze it. The goal should not be to force everyone to use a particular tactic, but rather to explore how different approaches can complement each other.

Do not accuse those who break the law or confront the police of being agents provocateurs. Many people have good reasons to be angry. Not only is it misleading to believe that conflicts with authorities are always initiated by the authorities themselves - this also negates the necessary direct confrontation with the status quo and the courage of those who have prepared for it. Not everyone is content with legalistic pacifism; some people choose other ways to advocate for themselves.

Police violence is not just there to provoke us, but also to hurt us and instill fear in us. In this context, self-defense is essential.

No government—that is, no centralized power—will ever put the needs of ordinary people above those of the powerful. Nothing like this has ever existed. It's naive to hope for that. Central to this movement should be the desire for freedom and autonomy and the mutual support that brings us closer to these goals - rather than the desire for more responsible centralized power.

This means: The important thing is not to make demands on those in power, but rather to become strong enough to realize our needs ourselves. If we make demands and rely on those in power, we run the risk of being fobbed off with half-baked compromises. Many past protests have foundered precisely because of this.

Likewise, countless movements in the past have learned the hard way that building their own bureaucracy, however "democratic," only undermined their true goals. We should not give authority to new leaders or any new forms of decision-making; we should find ways to defend and expand our freedom while eliminating the injustices forced upon us.

The occupations will produce new actions. We are not here just to express ourselves - if we just talk, we will fall on deaf ears from those in power. Let us make room for self-determined initiatives and organize direct actions that confront the roots of social injustice.

May all your dreams come true.

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