[DrPhil]

In reading more on Occupy Wall Street, I have so many thoughts on this that build off of *winter* and AGDee's posts, so here goes:

"The rich get richer, the poor get poorer" hasn't been a concern of the majority until it started hitting the doorsteps of those who comprise the economic minority of the population and power majority (read: working class and middle class whites). Link that to "the rich get richer, the poor get (insert negative social outcomes)." These dynamics persist for years until it begins to impact those whose socioeconomic conditions matter. Then it becomes a problem that we should all stop what we're doing and concentrate on. Sorry to break it to "you" (general) but some people have always been working to improve these conditions, long before you thought this stuff mattered.

Being overlydramatic from all perspectives (there are more than two perspectives) tends to do nothing more than make people panic and lose their brains along the way. Humans, not just Americans, tend not to do well when there is exaggerated hype and panic. People get irrational and that breeds negative outcomes. The best way to see human behavior is to see what humans do when they think shit has hit the fan and it's every woman/man for her/himself. The lack of compassion that people cite has always existed (throughout history and throughout the world) when people quickly weight their options and their resources. If uniting under a common cause has the greatest benefit then people will temporarily ignore their personal opinions and intolerance of others so they can unite under a common cause.

Occupy Wall Street is not automatically logical and effective just because it seems more in-your-face and overt in terms of allowing people to express their anger and frustration. The results, if any, remain to be seen...just like every formal protest. More importantly, there are all types of ways to protest and not all of them require a staged protest. The best way to get change to happen is to prove that this isn't just a fad sparked by temporary anger. And it isn't just a kickass time to post stuff on facebook.

/longwinded