LOL @ occupysesamestreet!

I have been bantering back and forth with someone on the Occupy Detroit FB page, trying to get them to explain their "movement" to me. They are beginning at 4 pm this Friday, meeting at the Spirit of Detroit statue and then marching at 6 pm to Grand Circus Park, through the financial district, so I said:

You all realize that downtown Detroit completely clears out at that time on a Friday night? The only businesses that you'll be affecting adversely are the restaurant, theater, and shop owners who are part of the 99%, who have been brave enough and who believe in Detroit enough to risk opening a business along Woodward in their efforts to try to re-vitalize Detroit. Places like Good Girls Go To Paris and Union Street which are our treasurers are going to be hurt that weekend but the financial district C-levels will not be anywhere around.

The response I got was that nobody had any intention of disrupting business, so I responded...

Riots of '67 anyone? You think normal patrons aren't going to be afraid of thousands of protestors and the DPD in riot gear? Detroit is very different than NYC or Boston. The very few 1% here have been investing in the city, desperately trying to keep it alive. Illitch, Karmanos, the big names have worked hard to keep this city alive. I would hate for these protests to tear down what people have been trying to build.

Responses:
The event is not an attack on the local bussiness or people like the Illitch family. its in support of the national event. I also will be supporting the local bussiness while downtown.

i think u will be surprised to see what really happens....we r detroiters...and proud to be....we dont want to destroy anything just help build something better....i hope u come and not listen to the news spread lies and try to scare u

I will be supporting the movement in the D however I think AGDee makes a valid point and we should all be aware while we are their of how we are perceived by others

Me: It just seems like Lansing is a better target than Detroit, where the tough nerd is doing crazy things like trying to make the only non profit health insurance company in Michigan become a for profit business through legislation. I am in the area you will be occupying everyday because I work downtown. I am as liberal as any of you, I love downtown Detroit and am not sure this will be good for the city overall. Detroit, as a whole, has been the victim, more than any other city

Response: Please join us neighbor

Me: I have read article after article about this movement and cannot really grasp what the goal is. If the goal is just to let people know you are angry and frustrated with the economy, I'm not sure that disrupting the economy in a very fragile city is the way to accomplish it. And even if the goal isn't to disrupt business, you can bet I won't be fighting throngs of protestors to go out to lunch while you are occupying Woodward.

Response: There will be people with all kinds of agendas.....DISRUPTING BUSSINESS IS NOT ONE....we r not calling it off....please come down and ecperience the drmocrstic process.....c for yourself....think for yourself....decide fot yourself.....media has misrepresented truth....they wsnt uvto fear change

Me: Disrupting business, while not on the agenda, is a likely side effect. I will see it for myself, because I work in that area. I wish I understood better what the agenda is. What changes do you want to see?

Response: Lets make a deal....whatever happens will u promise to tell everyone you know what is happening with the same fervor as youvwould if it were a negative happening

Another response: then we should get some crepes (Because the Good Girls Go To Paris restaurant that I mentioned is a crepe place)

Me: You should definitely get some crepes :) If I could understand the goal of this movement, I might very well shout it to the rooftops. I just don't understand the goal.

And voila. Silence. No response whatsoever. They don't even know what they're fighting for!

LOL.

The premise of this thread is that most of us don't understand this movement. AGDee is one of the few people who could explain it.

*****

Protestors Stream Past Millionaires' NYC Homes

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44857889/ns/us_news-life/

http://msnbcmedia2.msn.com/j/MSNBC/C...p.grid-6x2.jpg

People representing Occupy Wall Street and other groups hold a march on the Upper East Side of Manhattan on Tuesday to protest policies that they say favor the very rich in New York.

LOL. These protests seem to be nothing more an outcry of frustration by a very small, misguided segment of society. The general themes I've noticed with the protests is anti-corporate bailout and anti-wealthy but the banks didn't take our money, Washington GAVE them our money. They really ought to occupy Capital Hill, not some random local business in some random town.

BTW, is anyone else confused about the UAW participating in this? Do they not represent some of the beneficiaries of the corporate bailouts?

I read the account of a colleague who was in one of these Occupy (insert) last week. She considers it to be more than a small, misguided segment of society, and it is not a disorganized protest. She said people had signs protesting a range of issues including joblessness, racism, etc. They were quite excited.

I do not dismiss this as a small, misguided segment of society. I think it is a large movement that is wearing too many hats. When there are too many hats, it is difficult to understand the point being made. Perhaps there are a lot of points being made but how do we know when it is time to move on to the next step? And how do we know what the next step is? Is there something that we expect to happen before it is time to end the more overt protests and move onto the next phase?

I don't "get it" but I "get it." LOL.

I'm starting to "get it" more and more as I read more about it. It really is anger and frustration about the economy, the continued trend toward eliminating the middle class. They feel that the People have no voice because politicians (of both parties) are in the back pockets of corporations too.

I can't say I don't disagree with them. I'm not sure I agree with them 100% either. I'm not convinced they will effect change though. I share the anger and frustration about the economy. I don't know that there's a "fix" for it though. I guess I'm in a more hopeless place. These folks seem to have hope that they can effect change. I'm too cynical to believe that.

Here's a thought- I read a quote today about how much it's costing NYC to provide police to the protest areas. The number quoted was astronomical and uncited, so I'm fairly certain it's not accurate...but there's a point to that line of thought. I know in NJ the cuts to police departments have been absolutely brutal within the past few years. Occupying Trenton, for example- that's going to take up time and energy from officers who work for a force that lost almost half its strength last year. And Trenton isn't exactly crime-free, so who knows what is going on while officers are "watching" this protest? If they have to staff with additional officers this = overtime, and their budgets are probably stretched to the point of screaming already.

I'm waiting for the "occupy" movement to come here. The irony of using the tern "occupy" would become apparent if they were to protest in a neighborhood where the ratio of occupied:vacant homes is >50% (and there's many that meet that criteria!) "Wow, people are moving in now!" :D Sorry I'm a word/bad joke dork!

You're not being cynical, you're being realistic. As long as these groups protest in front of the mansions and townhomes of the rich all they are really participating in is class warfare(IMO). They really need to focus their frustrations on the politicians who allow themselves to be bought and sold by the corps, not wealthy individuals (whom many of deserve their success and wealth).

Where are the skills? I think we need a reality check in this country. The days of study whatever you want to study because the economy will make room for you and give you your dream job is over.
http://news.yahoo.com/many-u-manufac...211104184.html

I saw on the local news last night that we have about 30 hippies living in tents uptown that say they're going to be there through the DNC, which is here in Charlotte. They're having port-o-potties installed and have a shift schedule for when people can go home and change clothes and shower, etc. The only thing they DIDN'T specify is where their income is going to be coming from. Even if they're living in tents on public land, they still have to eat. And the DNC is still almost a year away.

looked thru the thread and didn't see any theories on how these protests are being funded

:http://www.discoverynews.org/2011/10...wall051821.php

be sure to order your $32 t-shirt.

My friends had a flyer for Occupy Phoenix last night. I think it's the 15th. We were arguing about what income level makes you the 1%.

I first heard about the OWS protests through the We Are the 99 Percent blog/tumblr.

I absolutely agree with this point and makes me wish that there were a more central message, so people [read: the media] wouldn't brush these people and their message off.

I read that it's $353,000 and up.