As encouraging as the international momentum building around the Occupy Wall Street movement is, it also raises within me a fair amount of skepticism about its efficacy and sincerity. Ironically, the widespread popularity makes me intrinsically question it, as I guess I’m always more comfortable (or at least used to) working from the margins.

I have not attended any of the general assemblies here in Montreal, so my criticism is more instinctive than anything else. The term “Occupy” also rings false in this context, pointing to a history of colonialism that is embedded in our geography. On the flip side, this same instinct pushes me to at least do something in support of the initiative. I’m all for the creation of a critical dialogue around the systemic inequalities in our society, and in conversation with a friend who was at Occupy Wall Street in NY, I was very encouraged by his account of the maturity of the movement there. The cause is just, and the process-oriented consensus model laid down by the NY occupation is certainly inspiring if it can be carried through to other sites.

So, yes, I’m participating and I encourage others to come down on Oct. 15th to Square Victoria and demonstrate. We can’t build this if we don’t take part.

Though I’m in no way affiliated with the organising of the event, I created the above poster to lend my support and solidarity.

Download the 11×17 version here or the 8.5×11 version here.

—Update—

I also created a Decolonize Montreal version of this poster to address the issues I had with terminology and context. You can download it here.