Posts
7327
Joined
7/17/2007
Location
TX
US
Edited Date/Time
1/20/2012 11:42pm
Although I generally understand the emotional motivations of OWS protestors (while I disagree with their tactics), I have to admire their willingness to express a point of view and to take actions to back it up. Basically, they're doing the same thing the Tea Party did, only they're actually willing to get their hands dirty instead of being satisfied with showing up with hateful speech, irresponsible and despicable signage, spew verbal vomit into the air and then go back to their cozy homes that they bought with subprime mortgages.
But both movements are equally disturbing in that they make Alice in Wonderland demands and threaten violence if they don't get their way. They are two sides of a social fracture that will take decades to heal.
I remember the last time this happened - it was initiated by the war in Vietnam. And it's curious that, although this one does not address the war in Iraq, it happened in a society that was emotionally fractured by Iraq in the first place. It seems to me that these kinds of social earthquakes occur in conjunction with wars that are fundamentally improper, unjustified, and incredibly ill-advised. With that being the case, and it's undeniable, it occurs to me that these kinds of movements, whether in the late 60s or today, are a symptom of a society that is emotionally damaged by the guilt that it is responsible for the deaths and maimings of innocents in some country that we have nothing to do with, which we invaded and bombed and at least tried to force into capitulation, whether well-intentioned or not.
Maybe the next time a president gets war fever, he'll remember this time. But Bush managed to forget 1968 by the time 2003 rolled around, so apparently a short term memory loss is a presidential trait.
Anyway, I'm not even sure OWS understands the task they've set themselves to - they're like a guy who decides to knock down Everest with a hammer and a chisel. Maybe their Everest is evil, but they're not going to put much of a dent in it.
But both movements are equally disturbing in that they make Alice in Wonderland demands and threaten violence if they don't get their way. They are two sides of a social fracture that will take decades to heal.
I remember the last time this happened - it was initiated by the war in Vietnam. And it's curious that, although this one does not address the war in Iraq, it happened in a society that was emotionally fractured by Iraq in the first place. It seems to me that these kinds of social earthquakes occur in conjunction with wars that are fundamentally improper, unjustified, and incredibly ill-advised. With that being the case, and it's undeniable, it occurs to me that these kinds of movements, whether in the late 60s or today, are a symptom of a society that is emotionally damaged by the guilt that it is responsible for the deaths and maimings of innocents in some country that we have nothing to do with, which we invaded and bombed and at least tried to force into capitulation, whether well-intentioned or not.
Maybe the next time a president gets war fever, he'll remember this time. But Bush managed to forget 1968 by the time 2003 rolled around, so apparently a short term memory loss is a presidential trait.
Anyway, I'm not even sure OWS understands the task they've set themselves to - they're like a guy who decides to knock down Everest with a hammer and a chisel. Maybe their Everest is evil, but they're not going to put much of a dent in it.
For all our lives, we've lived in a way that honors the success of our companies. Today, we have nothing - NOTHING - to do with the success of our companies. We have to learn a whole new ethic, that honors the simple artistic and divine ability of humans to do work, to create and produce. We have to honor that in an intrinsic way and allow that to fulfill our lives. Yes, we might make money, or we might not. That is totally out of our hands. We can exercise a divine power to work, and we're going to have to learn to be happy with that.
The Shop
i'm not trying to defend the Tea Party, but let's not suggest that OWS crowd has been completely above board.
and, no, I don't recall them advocating armed insurrection.
Some people.
The other similarity is that neither group has an achievable goal. Both are symbolic demonstrations.
http://www.sfbg.com/politics/2011/11/02/bank-window-broken-occupy-oakla…;
Steven T. Jones reports from the streets of Oakland:
I'm at the intersection of 20th and Webster and a large march is going by, headed toward City Hall. The protesters are passing the Chase Bank branch that was such down earlier, and the windows of the bank are shattered. This happened sometime after the protesters who had blocked the bank entrance walked away.
There are signs on the broken window -- one says "We are better than this." The other says "This is not the 99 percent, sorry -- the 99 percent."
The broken bank windows are the only expression of violence or anger I've seen. (UPDATE: Windows have now been broken at Band of America, Whole Foods, Clorox and Wells Fargo. It's a small group of black bloc protesters who are doing the vandalism.)
The entire day, there have been no police around. The Occupy Oakland people are doing traffic control on their own, diverting cars around the streets.
Pit Row
Keep spending and see what happens.
Ok I believe you.
Post a reply to: Another thought on OWS