(Photo by Brian Nguyen/The Aggie, courtesy of boingboing.net)

There are occupations, and then there are preoccupations
with occupations.

Here in New York, a preoccupied, post-occupation holiday
meant a quieter-than-usual General Assembly on Christmas eve, the prelude to a
holiday of charity and prayers at Zuccotti Park (Liberty Square). December 26
was the movement’s rather anticlimactic 100-day anniversary, which for me
called to mind traditional Asian commemorations of births --
this fledgling, too, of uncertain duration.

I am certain, though, that it’s no flash in the pan. Since September
17, small somethings have changed: nights are colder and the tents folded up;
"99%" replaces talk of bootstraps and perfect meritocracy; and
taxation means the rich can pay more. We are post-encampment, unsure of what to
occupy, having control now of only our minds and speech.

And so it is that a culture of occupation, an occupying mode
is the crux of it, seeping into our very own Asian America. From protest and
commentary to quarrel, farce, and artistic tribute, Occupy ______ is in some
fashion here to stay.

Here’s a sampling of what it’s looked like so far:

• Hyphen’s
  continuing OWS coverage -- of South Asian militancy, Mayor Jean
  Quan, college occupations, race on the premises, and more;
• College photographer Brian Nguyen captures pepper-spraying at UC
  Davis;
• Deceased Army soldier and NYC native Danny Chen supported by some at Occupy Wall Street, seemingly unsupported by others;
• Folksy Hawaiian guitarist Makana sings occupation for the Obamas (and
  APEC);
• Filipina activist Yvette Felarco gets “nudged” by cops
  at Cal (UC Berkeley), an action described by Steven Colbert as “spearing a small Asian girl in the spleen”;
• Ayesha Kazmi explains her refusal to occupy at AmericanPaki -- and Muslim American Hena
  Ashraf responds with her own account;
• Japanese-American Stephanie Miyashiro is teargassed in
  her wheelchair at Occupy Oakland, an irony that doesn't escape Jon Stewart;
• Occupy designer Kenji Liu dissects the meaning of names and places, from
  Frank Ogawa to Oscar Grant;
• A Bengali leftist gives us a blow-by-blow,
  blog by blog, from Occupy Wall Street;
• San Francisco Chinese explain their involvement;
• API hip hop ensemble Payroll riffs on East Coast occupy sites;
• Occupy Wall Street helps prevent a Bangladeshi’s deportation;
• Sikh American Sonny Singh considers Wall
  Street greed;
• DIY video profiles APIs at Occupy L.A.;
  and
• Yale students wonder why APIs don’t
  occupy New Haven.