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pinboy3niner

(53,339 posts)
4. OWS IS connecting
Tue Dec 13, 2011, 04:40 AM
Dec 2011




This is a real populist movement--against our financial and political plutocracy

From Occupy Wall Street to Occupy Nation in just two months


Americans who flew bombing missions in World War II had a saying: "You know you're on target when you start getting a lot of flak." The protesters in today's nascent "Occupy Wall Street" movement must really be on target, then, because--boy!--they're enduring an unrelenting barrage of rhetorical flak from political and media defenders of America's plutocracy.


At first, the Loyal Defenders of the Plutocratic Order simply tried to ignore the youthful protest that had sprouted on September 17 in a plaza next door to Wall Street. But the occupiers, who were remarkably proficient in social media, spread their story and the visuals of their occupation to millions who tuned in on the web. This generated support from all over, and many more people began trekking to New York to join them. Surprised and alarmed by this inflow, the L.D.P.O. tried to cut it off by firing rounds of mockery at the protesters to make them look frivolous--a September 23 New York Times piece, for example, snickered that this "fractured and airy" movement was just a "carnival" of bored kids adrift in an "intellectual vacuum." Their cause, opined the writer, was "virtually impossible to decipher." Already, she declared, the movement is "dwindling."


Sheesh, so snarky. And so wrong. In fact, the group's core message of "enough is enough"--a call to rebel against rampaging economic injustice and rampant political corruption foisted on us by the richest one percent--was resonating among young and old, the poor and middle class, and it was spreading like wildfire throughout the country. Occupy Boston took root on September 30; Occupy Denver, Miami, Portland (Maine), and Seattle on October 1; Occupy Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Portland (Oregon) , and San Francisco popped up simultaneously on October 6. Within three weeks, there were more than 200 Occupy cities and towns, ranging in size from Philadelphia to McAllen, Texas.


Suddenly, with thousands of fed up Americans in the streets, linking together through a network named OccupyTogether.org, the principals of the Plutocratic Order were getting antsy. "Is this a big deal?" an anxious Wall Street CEO asked a reporter. "We're trying to figure out how much we should be worried about all of this. Is this going to turn into a personal safety problem?" (You see, it's always about them.) As the jitters of the elite edged toward panic, the L.D.P.O. rushed out its big guns, firing volley after volley of flak at the occupiers, most of it comically absurd:

...


http://www.hightowerlowdown.org/node/2822




OWS' need to connect...and how? [View all] FirstLight Dec 2011 OP
"OWS tactics are hurting the message" FirstLight Dec 2011 #1
It's not a "meme," it's the facts. TheWraith Dec 2011 #2
It's a "même" reinforced by "the facts". After that it's all a matter of confirmation bias. The Doctor. Dec 2011 #5
That works the opposite way, too. TheWraith Dec 2011 #25
I thought that was implied. The Doctor. Dec 2011 #27
"The Facts" is a meme bigmonkey Dec 2011 #23
No, it's called objective reality. TheWraith Dec 2011 #26
The mere facts in the study you cite don't support your opinion as "fact". bigmonkey Dec 2011 #31
Practically anything that screws up traffic is worthy. dkf Dec 2011 #3
OWS IS connecting pinboy3niner Dec 2011 #4
Very good. Thanks! Luminous Animal Dec 2011 #33
very powerfull piece. Thanks for posting it. applegrove Dec 2011 #38
Your concern is duly noted. Edweird Dec 2011 #6
++. backscatter712 Dec 2011 #28
seriously? FirstLight Dec 2011 #7
Precisely why I usually just read these leftynyc Dec 2011 #8
Time is what the movement has on its side mmonk Dec 2011 #9
thanks FirstLight Dec 2011 #10
They recognize some problems by the symptoms mmonk Dec 2011 #14
Here's another one of my pie-in-the-sky ideas.... OneGrassRoot Dec 2011 #12
That would be nice and I share such a dream. mmonk Dec 2011 #15
hehe FirstLight Dec 2011 #18
Invite them to attend a local General Assembly. I can almost 100% guarantee coalition_unwilling Dec 2011 #11
exactly FirstLight Dec 2011 #16
there was a story on the radio yesterday about how Occupy Portland closed down some port terminals renate Dec 2011 #13
Victories are seldom won without sacrifice and a willingness to fight for better. mmonk Dec 2011 #17
The protests at the docks are trying to point out the fact that dock workers JDPriestly Dec 2011 #20
This is a recipe for self-marginalization. bigmonkey Dec 2011 #24
Two points nadinbrzezinski Dec 2011 #32
No, when they're told to stay home for safety or health reasons, Remember Me Dec 2011 #37
When someone says that OWS is using the wrong tactics, just ask the person what tactics JDPriestly Dec 2011 #19
BEAUTIFULLY SAID!!!!! FirstLight Dec 2011 #21
+1 AntiFascist Dec 2011 #30
Need to narrow the focus to one issue NNN0LHI Dec 2011 #22
Part of this is the very conservative, elite driven, media. nadinbrzezinski Dec 2011 #29
Do you really think the media controls how DUers think? randome Dec 2011 #34
Actually to a point yes nadinbrzezinski Dec 2011 #35
that and thought generally needs a sort of factual "canvas" to work upon themadstork Dec 2011 #43
Exactly nadinbrzezinski Dec 2011 #44
I think the OWS movement started out right mvd Dec 2011 #36
The civil rights movement got the same type of commentary...in the beginning. U4ikLefty Dec 2011 #39
thanks, good to hear FirstLight Dec 2011 #41
The great development here in Occupy LA U4ikLefty Dec 2011 #46
... FirstLight Dec 2011 #47
Not neccessarily a bad thing themadstork Dec 2011 #40
last sentence FirstLight Dec 2011 #42
I wonder about the same thing every day. themadstork Dec 2011 #45
.. mdmc Feb 2012 #48
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