Look, the general strike called by Occupy Oakland could have been bigger. It could have involved more union members. It could have shut shit down. Instead, a few thousand people marched, supported by sympathy marches around the country.
Some banks closed and bus lines were disrupted. 13% of the area's teachers joined in. But the port did not close, as was rumored early on. And not many of the longshoremen joined in. It was a solid protest, not a true general strike.
What the Oakland action does is provide a template for future actions. We live in a nation that hasn't seen a true general strike since 1946 in, well, Oakland, and a nation that hasn't seen a massively disruptive strike since, perhaps the UPS strike in 1997. Workers need to understand once again that the strike is a legitimate tool of dissent. And as the rank and file of the Occupy movement grows, so will the sympathy for a larger action.
That march up there is fine. It is the advance team of the people really taking back the nation.
