Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
May Day's Radical History: What Occupy Is Fighting for This May 1st
AlterNet / By Jacob Remes
May Day's Radical History: What Occupy Is Fighting for This May 1st
Occupy actions planned on May Day are tied to the generations-long movement for the eight-hour day, to immigrant workers, to police brutality and repression of the labor movement.
April 27, 2012 |
American general strikesor rather, American calls for general strikes, like the one Occupy Los Angeles issued last December that has been endorsed by over 150 general assembliesare tinged with nostalgia.
The last real general strike in this country, which is to say, the last general strike that shut down a city, was in Oakland, California in 1946though journalist John Nichols has suggested that what we saw in Madison, Wisconsin last year was a sort of general strike. When we call a general strike, or talk of one, we refer not to a current mode of organizing; we refer back, implicitly or explicitly, to some of the most militant moments in American working-class history. People posting on the Occupy strike blog How I Strike have suggested that next weeks May Day is highly symbolic. As we think about and develop new ways of general striking, we also reconnect with a past we've mostly forgotten.
So it makes sense that this years call for an Occupy general strikewhatever ends up happening on Tuesdayfalls on May 1. May Day is a beautifully American holiday, one created by American workers, crushed by the American government, incubated abroad, and returned to the United States by immigrant workers.
The history of May 1 as a workers holiday is intimately tied to the generations-long movement for the eight-hour day, to immigrant workers, to police brutality and repression of the labor movement, and to the long tradition of American anarchism. ............(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/story/155182/may_day%27s_radical_history%3A_what_occupy_is_fighting_for_this_may_1st_/
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
2 replies, 2202 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (6)
ReplyReply to this post
2 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
May Day's Radical History: What Occupy Is Fighting for This May 1st (Original Post)
marmar
Apr 2012
OP
xchrom
(108,903 posts)1. du rec. nt
FailureToCommunicate
(14,014 posts)2. May Day can be a celebration of many things, labor AND Nature...
At it's root we like to think of it as a celebration of surviving another winter and emerging to celebrate with your fellow humans...
whether that 'winter' is bad economic times, a terrible leader, or a harsh winter. Haymarket and/or May basket.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_Day
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Workers%27_Day
See you on May 1st