My Leader

The Occupy movement is leaderless, but Illona is a non-leader who works 20-hour days (and sometimes more) to hold the energy together, to help people communicate with each other, to develop "social networking" for the purpose of political action, to provide workshops to people who need to polish their IT skills, and to maintain the spirit of compassion, respect for all people, and non-violence in speech as well as in action.  She knows what's happening in every committee, affinity group, and caucus; she remembers what happened last month and the month before and can tell you what's planned for the next several months to come. Illona is one of three non-leaders I depend on for accurate and truthful information and guidance about what's going on and what is the best next step to take. The other two are Adam and Paul, and I hope they'll both let me write about them sometime soon.

Illona is 27, rides a bicycle and doesn't own a car, and lives in cooperative group housing with other people who spend their lives working for justice outside the boundaries of normal wage-earning. She tells me she forages for food and doesn't buy things or spend money on possessions, property, or living expenses so that she can devote all her energy to social change. She's also an enthusiastic mycologist.

Today she gave a workshop to the Elder Caucus, and during the workshop I was so busy learning what we were doing that I didn't have time to take any pictures. I continued my work with Illona after the group meeting at a café where she was meeting some other activists, and it was there, with weak indoor lighting and a fair degree of noise and chaos around us, that I remembered my camera and she let me take a few pictures of her.

What most dazzled me about this café is the toilets. They're not labeled "Men" and "Women," but "Standing" and "Sitting." That is so cool I'm still gasping in wonder. It figures Illona would know about a place like that.