It’s probably no coincidence that May Day was chosen by the architects of the General Strike of the same name. With the American “Spring” on its way, and this time in the season of the same name, most Occupiers are waiting to make history.
Called for by Occupy Los Angeles, the May Day General Strike (known on Twitter by the hashtag, #M1GS) will be the first in a series of attacks on the system.
Utilizing Gandhian tactics, Occupy Los Angeles and #M1GS will be a serious boycott of the entire system:
“NO WORK - NO SCHOOL - NO SHOPPING - NO BANKING - NO TRADING. THE PEOPLE OF THE PLANET WILL TAKE TO THE STREETS,” reads the official statement issued by Occupy Los Angeles and Occupy Long Beach on their Facebook page.
One of the only tactics that has ever truly worked in taking down a corrupt system has been to boycott the system. The Tao, an ancient Chinese book of wisdom, even understood a crude form of this concept when the author wrote: “There can be no rulers if no one obeys the rules.”
Over the centuries, war and violence has been the primary mode of operation for the overthrow of corrupt regimes. However, when history approaches the age of Gandhi, and his near-miracles in India, we see a rapid change in the way power is viewed.
Not 20 years after Gandhi’s death, and his successes in India taking down the British, we see Martin Luther King Jr. both quoting and utilizing Gandhian tactics.
What Gandhi had advocated all his life, with minor exceptions, is non-violent, non-cooperation. In other words, a boycott.
The easiest way to take down a system is by not participating with or within the system. And #M1GS will attempt just that: non-cooperation.
“[We] are calling on all people of the world to start planning NOW for a Global Strike. The goal is to shut down commerce worldwide and show the 1% we will not be taken for granted, we will not be silenced, WE WILL NOT MOVE until our grievances are redressed.” according to Occupy Los Angeles page.
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