The Occupy Atlanta (OA) movement, like the OWS movement more generally, revealed a national response to the general economic crisis. Many imagine the economic crisis forced up a spontaneous gathering of forces of a new generation. In Atlanta, that new gathering really only lasted for a few days and became alienated and dispersed while the occupation lasted weeks. Far more than we realize the occupation was a product of established “progressive” organizations and calcified ideas which have been an obstacle to a new liberation struggle for decades now. Still, as dedicated activists and new community organizers began to mobilize themselves, the contradictions between what they claimed to be fighting for, and their actual perspectives, tactics, and political program became clear.
