Success is problematic to measure if we want to acknowledge the many ways and levels, that our individual experiences of engagement and process have been positive...

In this group we can report and reflect on what we all feel have been 'successes/achievements' of the movement so far, both collective and individual.

The following points/advice were made in a recent interview with long term activist  Selma James at Occupy LSX. Selma was responding to a question from a livestream viewer:

Q:

What do you consider the most important basics to keep in mind?

1. "Protect occupy from those forces from within and from without that seek to undermine the purpose of the movement"
ASK YOURSELF - "does this protect Occupy" -or-
"does this seek to undermine the unity of Occupy and the goals we have agreed to work toward?"

2. Occupy must teach people to make their own decisions. Individuals seeking to 'lead' or be 'in charge' are actually preventing people from saying WHAT THEY WANT in an environment where they feel safe to speak out. People have GOT to be able to speak what they are thinking and feeling without fear of bias. People have got to get used to expressing their views and opinions and not take any shit off anyone for saying it.

3. Note the power differentials - inside and outside - find out how occupy is working in PRACTICE - and not get caught in the trap of talking endlessly in revolving discussions.

4. Occupy has got to figure out how do we organize so that structurally - we are undermining the present (oppressing) structure and taking it apart from within as well as without.

3. Appreciate - pause on occasion and appreciate how far we've come in so small a time - and reflect on what we have accomplished what we have changed already and examine how our inter-relationships have changed - and be willing to make the necessary changes to discard what is not working and move on to something that does the job better.

4. Occupy has got to decide how to be useful to people who are not there, but are also against the 1%.

You can watch the entire interview with Selma James here:

http://www.livestream.com/occupylsx/video?clipId=pla_4be6102a-c1a0-...

Transcription by Barbdwyer.