7 Occupations That Changed US History

[xchrom]

http://www.alternet.org/story/153072/7_occupations_that_changed_us_history/

Political occupations have a storied history starting with the first recorded labor strike. Some 3,176 years ago in Ancient Egypt royal tomb builders from the desert village of Deir el-Medina repeatedly occupied temples following the failure of Pharaoh Ramses III to provide wages consisting of wheat, fish, beer, clothing and other provisions.

In the centuries since, other movements have stamped their mark on history by occupying spaces, such as the Diggers who formed a utopian agrarian community on common land in 17th century England, and the workers, soldiers and citizens who established the ill-fated Paris Commune in 1871.

American history is rich with examples of political occupations that left a lasting impact. Sometimes the 99% pushed progress forward, as with Rosa Park’s occupation of a bus seat that propelled the Montgomery Bus Boycott and ended with Alabama’s bus segregation being declared unconstitutional. Often the 1% of the time – slaveholders, robber barons and merchants of war – re-asserted control with new methods of domination such as after the Great Upheaval of 1877. But each event proved that true democracy lies in collective act of taking space public and private, while corporations and the state are just two arms of the same beast.

[Cirque du So-What]

1. K & R

Very timely reminder of those who went before us on behalf of We The People.

[PETRUS]

2. Nice historical info. K&R

Understanding the past is important.

[zipplewrath]

3. CNN should have a "history correspondent"

The various CNN shows, as well as other "news networks" should have history correspondents that add historical commentary to the days/weeks events. It could have an interesting effect of pointing out that many arguments are as old as the hills. It could also put some context to hyperbole like "we couldn't have seen it coming" or "these are unprecidented times". Heck, the context to the recent collapse, and regular daily comparisons to 1929 could have pointed out how we are repeating many of the same mistakes of '29, not to mention avoiding some of the "lessons learned" as well.

[thucythucy]

4. I'd like to make it eight

occupations, and add the occupation by demonstators with disabilities of the federal office building in San Francisco in April, 1977. This was the longest non-violent occupation of a federal site in US history. As a result of the occupation, the Secretary of HEW, Joseph Califano, was forced to sign regulations implementing Section 504 of the Rehab. Act, which was the first federal civil rights law with teeth for people with disabilities. Without that occupation, I doubt the Americans with Disabilities Act would have been passed.

A great, if mostly unsung, episode in American history.

[baldguy]

5. "#4 If you value freedom of speech, then thank an anarchist."

[Jefferson23]

6. K&R