Occupy Wall Street

[PiKA2001]

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

^^^I seriously thought I was the only person who really didn't understand the point. I was like "wow, I have 2 degrees and I cannot for the life of me figure out what these people are protesting."

Also, if you go to the official Occupy Wall Street site, there's a place for donations and in that section, it says "we are also in need of non-perishable food items."

LOL at me sending these protesters food when there are actual, real life hungry people (homeless, near homeless, etc.) who need it.

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?

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by PiKA2001

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.

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.

[AGDee]

Originally Posted by PiKA2001

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'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.

[*winter*]

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!" Sorry I'm a word/bad joke dork!

[PiKA2001]

Originally Posted by AGDee

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.

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).

[joliebelle]

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

Originally Posted by DrPhil

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.

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.