Editorial: Occupy Lanark

Jeff Green | Jan 26, 2012

Editorial by Jeff Green

When the Occupy movement, as it has come to be known, sprung up in New York as a kind of North American response to the Arab Spring last summer, I, for one, looked at it as an urban phenomenon.

Even the slogan about the 1% who have so much and the 99% who have so much less is a bit of an urban concept to me, because while there are rich and poor in our rural communities I don’t see the kind of tension that would spring up into a movement. The difference between rich and poor is only one of the differences we have to bridge in rural communities, and we are more likely to look at an urban/rural split.

It’s not as if there are no issues to deal with in our region. Poverty is a massive issue around here, as is the fact of an ageing population, a lack of jobs, the decline in agriculture and the retail sector, drug and mental health issues, and much more.

In any event the Occupy movement became all about encampments in cities throughout North America and with winter coming internal issues came up within the camps and eventually there was a series of evictions.

Story over.

Not quite. When Occupy left the city parks it found itself back where it had all started, on social media, mostly Facebook.

Sometime in the fall Occupy Perth sprang up on Facebook and began to have a following. This led to a meeting in December, and this past Sunday the first General Assembly of Occupy Lanark was held at the atrium to Codes Mill in Perth.

Occupy Lanark is very self-consciously concerned with rural issues. Among the 75 or so people at the meeting were a number from Frontenac County, leading to the possibility that the name may be changed at some point.

It was not the most focused of meetings. Participants were encouraged to talk about whatever issues had brought them to the meeting and there was no attempt to narrow down the focus.

It was almost like what it must have been like when the Lanark Landowners were formed, except on the left instead of the right. The landowners were unified in their opposition to the political system and to the regulatory environment

The people at the Occupy Lanark General Assembly also expressed the feeling that the political system does not serve their interests.

Rather than seeing themselves as an alternate political party, Occupy Lanark wants to be a social movement that is able to affect the policies of all the parties. At the meeting last Sunday, people brought some deeply held concerns forward, about food, the environment, rural transportation, rural healthcare and more, and they listened attentively to each other. Communication is a major focus. The opinion was expressed that the media has been unable to bring real issues forward and it is the job of Occupy to not only inform their membership, but the public as well about the root cause of social problems.

There was even a proposal to start up an independent Occupy newspaper.

This First General Assembly of Occupy Lanark was not about political strategy or finding an issue that will capture public attention. It was more about making a start towards devoting a significant amount of collective energy towards working with existing groups and individuals who are already engaged in a variety of causes, and trying to help build a better rural community.

If it all sounds a bit vague, hopeful and even naïve, that’s because it is. But that does not mean it will not find its way and that it will not have an impact over time.

As an exercise in direct democracy, Occupy Lanark will undoubtedly be a messy, exhausting process, but that is the way with all politics.

Occupy Lanark may go nowhere, but maybe it will go somewhere and have a social and political impact, although what that impact may be is probably beyond what anyone at the meeting last Sunday can envision at this point.

To learn about Occupy Lanark, go to Occupylanarkcounty.org or the Facebook group Occupy Lanark County.