Forum Post: ***** CALL TO ACTION: 2 things each Occupy site in the nation needs

Those occupying sites throughout the nation are true American heroes. Like their revolutionary predecessors, they are sacrificing their time and energy to make this country a great place for generations to come. We who are a part of this movement, we who support this movement should do whatever we can to get those on the ground the supplies they need, no matter what city or town they're in.

First and foremost, we should go to their respective websites to see what kind of donations they need and give all we can.

Once we have satisfied those needs, I suggest we go a step further by helping to provide the following 2 things:

• tactics for coalition-building and achieving real change for real people on the ground

• a mindset that will increase the power of direct actions exponentially

Here's how you can donate those two things (and it's easy):

Martin Luther King, Jr. was a coalition builder. That skill, along with brilliant non-violent tactics to win change, were two sources of real power for the civil rights movement.

People who are a part of the OWS movement would really benefit from reading King's essays. They are all collected in a book called "A Testament of Hope". Once you've given the things those at Occupy sites state they need, also send them 1 or 5 or 10 copies of that book. King, like Jefferson, wasn't the cuddly character he's made out to be. He was a radical fighting for real change for real people using proven tactics of Gandhi.

I think those heroes at Occupy sites would really benefit from reading Gandhi's Autobiography too. It doesn't take long as you read this incredible book to realize how Gandhi (like King) worked with his supporters to intentionally create tension. It was also no accident how both of these leaders made sure the press was right there to witness and report on the reaction to this tension. King and Gandhi forced oppressors to show their true colors in a public way by creating a good kind of tension.

King describes that good kind of tensioin here in his “Letter from the Birmingham Jail”:

"Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue. It seeks to so dramatize the issue that it can no longer be ignored. My citing the creation of tension as part of the work of the nonviolent-resister may sound rather shocking. But I must confess that I am not afraid of the word "tension." I have earnestly opposed violent tension, but there is a type of constructive, nonviolent tension which is necessary for growth. . . The purpose of our direct-action program is to create a situation so crisis-packed that it will inevitably open the door to negotiation.”.

Beyond the power of TACTICS that build coalitions and bring real change for real people, there is something else. There is a mindset. And both King and Gandhi STRONGLY emphasized that achieving the MINDSET was essential prior to engaging in tactics. The mindset they described was about motivation. Both of these great leaders believed that love should be the prime motive, the engine that drives each action and the movement as a whole.

King and his supporters said they LOVED the opposition enough to set them right.
The saddest part about the concentration of wealth in this country is that it's most often just stored or used for junk. Granted, the junk of the 1% is bigger, fancier and more long lasting than ours, but the key is that the buzz they get from it quickly fades. So it becomes an addiction just like any other addiction. They're going after the dopamine buzz and it gets harder and harder to get it.

If they're lucky, they come to their wits end and discover family, art, life, love, whatever. But most don't, the poor saps. Their extravagant resources enslave them. It seems strange to say but we need compassion for the 1% too. We really do. For our own good and theirs. The reason they're plundering the world is that they're lost.

There's a move in the martial art Aikido where, when your opponent aggresses towards you, you take a slight step to the side. Then, instead of aggressing towards him, you move with him and "help him to the ground where he'll be safer." It's remarkable because you use his energy. You harness it. And you do it with the true motivation of helping him. I agree with others who say that all power flows from that mindset and approach.

Let's use that move. Donate multiple copies of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s book of essays "A Testament of Hope" and Gandhi's Autobiography to one Occupy site or many.

These two books are beautifully written and contain the TACTICS for coalition building and real change for real people. More importantly, they help convey the MINDSET that increases the power of these tactics exponentially.