I live a few blocks away. I just walked past the park where the protesters are camped out. There are (and have been over the past few days) a small group of activists there. A lot of them seem to be playing "reporter" in front of their friends' very expensive video setups. I've seen more cops than protesters over the past week, to be honest. Maybe I'm just a grumpy old man, but this movement just turns me off. I wish it were otherwise, but the impotence of that crowd is depressing. Also, they were packed into the local McDonalds, presumably for the WiFi and corporate cow meat. Ugh.
> A lot of them seem to be playing "reporter" in front of their friends' very expensive video setups. (...) Also, they were packed into the local McDonalds, presumably for the WiFi and corporate cow meat.
So should they use cheap second hand gear, eat organic and communicate with others via push-to-talk?
Do you need to avoid any possible contradiction before you protest against Government corruption?
Eight years ago, people from diverse backgrounds turned out in the thousands with a definitive message: don't invade Iraq. I guess that was pretty impotent too, considering Iraq was invaded anyway, but at least there was a combination of popular mass and an actual agenda, not just a few discontented slackers with a vague sense of dissatisfaction with the world and a convenient yet eternal scapegoat to blame it on.
Well, since you asked: I want fewer people sleeping in parks and playing in drum circles and pretending to be reporters, and more people working inside the system to right its course.
I THINK, and this is just my hunch, that he, and a lot of other people, are looking for some sort of definite, positive, cohesive, rational, achievable agenda that the country (or, you know, at least 99% of it) could get behind.
Instead of, you know, just a bunch of people whining about how horrible things are in a world where being a member of the economically disadvantaged majority means owning a satchel full of luxury electronics like ipads, macbooks, and DSLRs.
Movements like this, unfortunately, don't have a central cohesive agenda. This isn't civil rights or women's suffrage. These occupations are comprised of people who are upset with some aspect of the system enough to take a stance in the meat world and try to deal with it. It seems hokey and cheesy at times but that's because people need to keep their spirits up for motivation... and some people are just kooks. But you can't confuse that with pointlessness.
If you want to see something come out of this, you need to be that something. You need to go down there and find people like you and make something happen.
Pretending like the occupation is pointless, or even counter productive, is missing the point. It's about you. What do you have to say? What are you dissatisfied with? Go down there and find people who are willing to get out of their houses and try to do something about it.
Haha. What do I have to say? I think these people are largely spoiled asses who have no clue about poverty, economics, or even hard work. I think they look at a world that doesn't put quite as much wealth into their pockets as they wish and they see other people with more wealth and they whine about it. I think these people imagine that with more regulation and an even more redistributionist tax system that the world would be just oh so much better and "fairer" and they would get the comfort and riches that they justifiably deserve.
I don't believe that. I think regulation, excessive taxation, and excessive government spending are at the core of our problems, and even a major contributor to the growing disparity of wealth. I think we would be better off with a smaller government, less taxation, and greater individual personal responsibility. I think we'd be better off with a degree of regulation that encouraged individual saving, entrepreneurism, and self-reliance. I don't think people understand how so much of our labor laws and regulations actually increase the power and entrenchment of big corporations. I'd rather see a world where the average worker has little debt (other than real-estate), tends towards freelancing or self-employment, has much more control of their own career advancement, and works as many hours as they want depending on their personal choice of balance of income vs. free time. And I see the "occupy wallstreet" / "99%" demonstrators and their incoherent whining as being actively detrimental toward progress in that direction.
That said, I still support their right to protest peacefully.
This is my feeling. These protesters complain about how globalization has shunted money and jobs away from them, as if those in the 3rd world have no right to a good life.
I do however find it supremely ironic that a group who is supposedly protesting about corruption and lies would produce such a blatant piece of propaganda. Especially one so readily falsifiable.
The first comment is pointing out that he doesn't actually know if it's from the organizers. The author concedes that, but it doesn't seem to have stopped him from associating it with them.
Do we now hold groups responsible for images that 50 of their supporters have shared on Facebook?
At the least, the people out there trying to #occupywallstreet are doing something to try to limit the power of the unelected, unaccountable, unchecked financial elites whose wealth puts them above the law and whose infinite appetite ensures they will never be satisfied until they have sold the last bit of land, eaten the last wild animal and hold the rest of humanity on a short leash of material necessity.
To make things, products and services that people want and choose to buy of their own free will is an honorable path. The people out there on the street are not against those who choose that path; they are against those who want to set up one set of laws for the rich and powerful and another far harsher one for the rest of us.
Whether this picture is a product of regrettable enthusiasm, or is a deliberate fraud aimed to discredit is beside the point. The fact that the space has been opened to have a conversation about the nature of power in our society at this time is the important fact worthy of note.
Seems odd that this story would get flagged or moderated off the homepage so quickly. The technology issues it raises about manipulation of social media are more interesting than the politics of OWS itself.
Huh. A cynical protester, or a cynical person wanting to undermine the credibility of the protesters? Either way, sad that someone put so much effort into a fabrication.
Was walking by there this weekend, only a couple hundred protesters occupying the area? A lot of tourists taking pictures, checking it out. Also a lot of police standing by.
BLOOMBERG: The protesters are protesting against people who make $40-50,000 a year and are struggling to make ends meet. really? There's more than one bubble.
I work in Wall Street, and funny thing is I haven't seen a sign of 1 protestor. Maybe I'm in a very small radius, but still, it's very overwhelming. They need someone like Lady Gaga if they want more traction. They should probably consult with one of the guys from Mint.com for marketing ideas
Usually a protest is an organized group of people opposing something for the purpose of a resolution.
These people have not outlined nor have a resolution. They are just against capitalism (?). Though as noted in a comment above, they all pack into their local McDonalds for free wifi and pay to eat there, yet in doing so they are further fueling what they oppose. Seems odd to me!
