Occupy Underground

The crackdown on Occupy began a diaspora that continues to this day: protesters returned to their community deeply affected by the experience. Those who once shared food in the OWS kitchen now feed the hungry of the 99% in their hometowns. When Hurricane Sandy hit New York City in October 2012, Occupy Sandy organized 70,000 volunteers to provide critical aid to survivors, leading the New York Times to note that Occupy is "capable of summoning an army with the posting of a tweet".

A new generation of game-changers has found its calling, and isn't waiting for the political establishment to give them the go-ahead to take initiative.

But changing the conversation is just part of the story. When politicians fail to protect the needy from predatory lending, we buy up distressed debt and cancel it. When banks threaten "underwater" homeowners with eviction, we occupy their homes, ratcheting up pressure on the banks to renegotiate. When local agricultural jobs are threatened by agribusiness behemoths that inject GMOs into our crops, we join with innovative groups like the Coalition of Immokalee Farmworkers, occupying farms and demanding fair pay and safe food.

And we're not just protesting. We're also building new economic models. The Occupy Money Co-operative is just one example. Formed by Occupy's Alternative Banking Group, it will provide low-cost financial services that return profits to communities rather than Wall Street, thereby shifting the balance of power from bankers to depositors.