A lot of the negative news about OWS is coming from Fox News and the New York Post, and I tend to disregard both sources. But what Alex Klein reports for New York magazine seems credible to me. Apparently there is friction in Zuccotti Park between people who are serious about building a movement and the usual spoiled attention whores who so often show up at lefty events.
Apparently some among the OWSers are trying to keep some kind of discipline and order, partly so as not to give the city an excuse to evict them, and it’s being resented. One 19-year-old male complained that “They are becoming the government we’re trying to protest.” (Like the government, or his parents?)
The serious ones are hoping cold weather will drive out the un-serious, but in my experience the really freezing weather sometimes doesn’t show up until late December in Manhattan. A lot can happen in two months. I hope for their sakes they can figure out a way to keep it together, but they ought to consider encouraging people to leave if they aren’t willing to respect some community rules.
If FOX and the NY Post told me the sun’s set to rise in the East tomorrow morning, when I wake up, I’d fully expect to see the sun coming up from the West.
Again, I wonder how many of these assholes, some of whom I’m sure are real asshole attention whores, are RATFUCKERS, bent on doing whatever they can to discredit a Liberal movement – even when this shouldn’t be looked at as a Liberal one, but one for the vast, vast, majority of Americans, and other people of the world.
But, anything that threatens the powers-that-be HAS to be Liberal. And so must be seen as the enemy! And so needs to be attacked withour mercy, and every person involved made to seem a combination of Hitler and Satan. Even when, truly, 99% of every human being on Earth is affected negatively.
But, that’s what make conservative-ratfuckers conservative-ratfuckers. They are part of the 99% who will gladly kill the rest of the 99% who don’t see eye-to-eye with them, as long as their masters pet them, and give them some stale crumbs from their tables.
I wish I could give credit to whoever thought up that great saying – “Chickens for Col. Sanders!” That is one of the best descriptions of all time.
Sad…
OWS – police your own!
Some of them, maybe, but I suspect most of them are either too immature or too contrary to respect the group. My experience with big progressive demonstrations over the past ten years has been that a large minority of those who show up — 30 to 40 percent, sometimes — will not follow even simple directions such as where and when to gather to begin demonstrating. Or, if you call for a silent protest, they show up with bullhorns. They can’t all be infiltrators.
maha,
No, you’re right. I saw a lot of that down in NC. Part of that is just the nature of being a Liberal – the whole ‘herding cats thing.’ (Speaking of which, I need to check out that website again! Was it Doug’s? I meant to bookmark it, but forgot).
Basically, what I’m trying to say is that, as the movement’s growing and getting more attention, they need to try vet the new people coming into OWS as best they can. Having a ‘buddy vouching’ system can help a bit. But, assholes will be assholes, and immature jerks will act immaturely – and neither left nor right can control everyone.
I’ll just know that the movement’s screwed when the giant f’in puppets show up.
It seems to me that, as far as the end approaching, they’re the nearest thing to ‘the fat lady coming out to sing’ that I can think of.
I just returned from two weeks in the Pacific Northwest and two weeks away from TV, radio, the internet and for some of the time, cell phone coverage. So, I am a bit jet lagged and very out of touch.
Seattle had a sizable and growing OWS presence. I walked through the area and talked with some of the folks a few times a day for five days. I am hardly an authority, but they seemed like decent, articulate well informed people. (This might have to do with the comparative literacy rate between the PNW and my little corner of the world.) The signs overwhelmingly referred to specifics like restoring Glass-Steagall, strengthening the SEC or doing away with corporate personhood. They were polite and never interfered with my passage or made us feel the least bit uncomfortable. This may be that there were other gray bearded codgers among them and I was clearly supportive.
Portland was a bit more of a cardboard tent city and it strained the confines the place it was in. But, again, they were orderly, etc. Both, were getting a lot of support from motorists and those who passed by.
I accept the other comments as valid, probably more astute insights than I can offer, but, I think there is a lot of potential in the movement, if only that in some general way, it speaks for a lot of us who are fed up with the old talking points and inaction, apprehensive and uncertain (put euphemistically) about our future and still invested in a strong, but foolish belief that this country might salvage its promise.
We need older, more experienced people to join and offer what guidance and wisdom they can. This movement may be “weighed in the balance and found wanting” but another chance may not come.
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I have a very close friend who is an Episcopal priest living in Greensboro. He was very active in the civil rights movement, was in the Selma march and many more. He was pleased to tell me that he joined the protest in his wheelchair and saw five other clergymen present (“with dog collars on”). Veterans and progressive spiritual leaders could make something of this movement.
If one is too frail or otherwise unable to spend time with the occupation, how does one “join”? I think that may be a big flaw in their system. I actually made a small donation to show support, but I’m not able to hang out down in the financial district.
“They are becoming the government we’re trying to protest.â€
How obtuse can you get? If this child wants to protest the government, he should go join the Tea Party. Or at least ask himself why he’s protesting the government on Wall Street rather than in Washington.
OWS has a very powerful and useful message, potentially: We need to push back against corporate power. If they and the Democrats can just manage not to undermine each other, it could be a good thing. On the other hand, just randomly complaining about “the government” feeds directly into the Tea Party narrative.
“They are becoming the government we’re trying to protest.” Assuming that the young man equates ‘government’ with ‘power’, someone should tell him and his fellow rabble that ‘power’ only grows when the less powerful fight each other – in fact, keeping the masses at each other’s throats is a sure-fire way of building/keeping power. In other words, their presence plays right into the hands of the ‘power’ they’re protesting against.
I am happy to say that a couple from our community here in south central PA -they are longtime activists- just came back from NY, where they joined the Grannys for Peace Brigade anniversary demonstration. I love that I am going to be able to experience some of this through their eyes.
Yes, Maha, that is one of the many flaws. But, my good friend joined preparing for surgery the following day. I’ll see what he does after recovery. I guess I read the comments here and think that so many of the commenters have so much to offer in terms of guidance and experience. I remember how I looked up to the more weathered hands back in the hippie days. Even I knew something had to be done, but, I was pretty clueless as to what it was, precisely. I was eager to listen to those who had a true heart, an able mind and some real experience of the world, as long as it wasn’t too obvious that I was “listening”.