Why a Nationwide Strike is the Next Step

[Marazinia]

A nationwide strike is the next logical step in the Occupy Movement.

First, it will require the clarification of goals and demands. The time is coming when that must be done and agreed upon by enough people throughout the nation so that further action can be taken. These protests are the spark, but the fire will be maintained by strikes.

Second, the unemployed and those protesting after work and on their days off are costing corporations nothing. In contrast, corporations will suffer greatly from a nationwide strike of non-essential workers.

Third, it will require but also accustom us all to a higher level of organization and self-sufficiency. We will, as communities, have to produce and distribute food for strikers as well as solve heating and electricity issues. This can be done by volunteers, hobby gardeners, independent farmers and truckers, and by essential workers threatening to leave even their jobs if strikers are refused food, medicine, and power during the strike.

Also, consider this: As the police become increasingly violent toward protesters, ask yourselves what they can do to people who simply refuse to get up and go to work every day until their demands are met? Will they come into our homes with teargas and nightsticks in order to force us to go to work? They wouldn't dare. A determined, large, and organized group of striking workers cannot be stopped. Even if we lose internet communication (and we probably will) with proper planning, the strike can continue until demands are met.

Finally, if enough Americans aren't prepared to take such a drastic step, perhaps the protests themselves are premature and we might have to try again in the future. If that's the case, we can use the time in between to organize and prepare so that eventually we do succeed. However, it can't wait long, if this is not the spark that brings changes, we risk the destruction of all momentum from an avalanche of national and world crisis as oil wars intensify and poverty increases.