Occupy Fordem Avenue

Update 2/2/13: News broke this week that the owners of 2132 Fordem couldn't wait for Occupy to get its financing together and sold to another buyer.

Original post:

Thursday's Isthmus broke the news that the "Occupy" group is working to buy the vacant commercial building at 2132 Fordem Avenue. Chief spokesperson/organizer/strategist Brenda Konkel was rather displeased that word got out before the deal was done. Once again this small and vocal group is the topic of conversation on the Northside.

So why would anyone have a problem with this? Can we write off voices of concern or criticism as nothing but NIMBYism? I don't think so. There are two major issues that the new Occupy Madison Inc. must address if they want the neighborhood to be a partner in this project: standards and image.

If Ms. Konkel's descriptions are accurate (I'll get to that in a minute), the rules and policies in place at Porchlight and other shelters are a major source of the group's grievances. Will this new shelter have any rules? If so, what will they be, who will set them, and how will folks be accountable to them? (Frankly, when I look at the total inability of "Occupy" groups in New York, Oakland, and elsewhere to restrain anti-social or violent behavior, I don't see a lot of credibility in the consensus model they use.) The group should be able to provide a set of standards that the neighborhood can count on.

Further, the reputation of the group must be addressed, which -- for better or worse -- is tied up in Ms. Konkel's own public image. As any long-time follower of Madison politics can attest, no one marshals support like she does from those who already agree with her, and no one is better at antagonizing everyone else. Her self-righteous attitude and tendency to retreat into sarcasm and snark cost her a safe seat on the city council. Having operated this long as the public face of "Occupy" in Madison, the group's perception is based in no small part on her own.

Ms. Konkel may not like or agree with it, but the fact is that the group's move to Lake View Hill engendered resentment and suspicion across much of the Northside. And it doesn't help that Madison's #1 advocate for public transparency was trying to keep this project under wraps until the deal was done and a January 5 "open house" announced it to the neighborhood.

More specificity, a little humility from Ms. Konkel, and greater involvement from other folks in this effort would go a long way toward improving relations between Occupy Madison Inc. and their prospective neighbors. We have a neighborhood meeting next Monday, January 7, at 6:30 at Warner Park; it'd be a great place to start.