An Occupy founder says the next revolution will be rural [View all]

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http://grist.org/politics/an-occupy-founder-says-the-next-revolution-will-be-rural/

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In a boarded-up hotel along a windy country road, a couple dozen activists are gathered for a workshop. They are mostly women, and mostly over 40. The workshop is being held by Micah White, one of the instigators of Occupy Wall Street.

After the dust settled from Occupy, White packed up his bags in the Bay Area and moved here to Nehalem, a small town in one of the poorest counties in rural Oregon. Nehalem sits on the Pacific Coast, in the shadows of popular vacation destination Manzanita. But White isn’t here for a vacation, and he came to town with a mission.

The demise of Occupy left everyone with one question: “Now what?” Almost three years later, White is helping the founders of Occupy, US Uncut, and others to launch The After Party, a new political party on “a mission to restore democracy” and occupy the ballot box in time for the 2016 elections. How? By organizing statewide ballot initiatives, ousting corrupt officials, and encouraging everyday people to run for local and county offices.

Inspired by the success of Occupy Sandy organizing efforts, The After Party also seeks to turn communities into self-sufficient hotbeds of social action. White and the After Party team want to create what they call “mutual aid flash mobs,” citizen gatherings where people can do things like start a time bank, plant urban gardens, fix local roads, organize free healthcare clinics, and build tiny houses for the homeless. Nehalem, population 267, will be a test lab.



Micah White

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micah_M._White

Biography[edit]
Micah M. White "was born to a Caucasian mother and an African-American father".[3] In middle school, he reportedly refused to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.[3] He attended Grand Blanc Community High School in Grand Blanc, Michigan. There he started a controversial student atheists club. As part of his experience he published an Op-Ed piece “Atheists Under Siege” in the July 21, 1999 issue of the New York Times. He was also interviewed on Politically Incorrect and received the 1999 Ruth Jokinen Memorial Student Activist Award from the Freedom From Religion Foundation.[5] He earned a B.A. at Swarthmore[3] and a Ph.D. at the European Graduate School.[4]

In December 2011, the San Francisco Chronicle called Micah White one of the "most fascinating people in the Bay Area 2011"[6]

Political views[edit]
Micah White is in favor of a transaction tax on international financial speculation, the reinstatement of the Glass-Stegall Act and revocation of corporate personhood.[7] He is against advertisement and consumerism.[8] He is known for popularizing the term "clicktivism", which denotes a form of internet-based activism which includes signing online petitions that he argues is damaging to the possibility of political change.[9]