occupy ourselves

[Mercy]

If you do not know about the Occupy Wall Street movement by now, welcome back from the coma. People are desperately trying to pigeon-hole the meanings and goals of the cause while it spreads beyond our own borders. It is not about college kids trying to shirk their tuition bills. It is not about people demanding a hand-out because they lost their homes after their ARM's inflated beyond their means. It is not about Jews or athiets or illegal aliens or legalized drugs. It is not Democrats versus Republicans. It is not about military occupations or defense spending. It is not about socialism, anti-captitalism, or robbing the rich to give 50" flatscreens to the poor. It could have been any of those things a month ago if so many people had not been willing to stay focused on the big picture. It is what it is: a vocal majority groking that things are really frelled up for all but the smallest minority. It is not about a single problem so there cannot be a single solution.


I have been impressed by how divisive taunts on such topics as race and religion have been largely ignored. The fringe elements have been acknowledged as such and not been allowed to colour the whole movement. Those of you keeping score at home already know how the opposite tack worked out for the Tea Party crowd. It makes me hopeful that we have reached a point where we, as a nation, can start working with actual solutions rather than short-term stop-gaps that only benefit a few.


There are a few things I would like to see come of the Occupy movement. An end to the Electoral college would be a good start. Easier access to health care at a lower cost. Ditto, higher education, perhaps with tuition scaled to test scores rather than credit scores. The list could go on and on and I hope it does. This is the sort of national discussion that comes along too rarely and should be fed and encouraged for as long as possible.

-m

[DarkDragon]

I live in NYC usually, but am visiting Saudi Arabia for the fall (long story) so for the purposes of following US news am indeed more or less comatose...

Isn't a lack of focus, agenda, and leadership in the movement a hindrance to finding and implementing "actual solutions"? What's the concrete plan for achieving the goals you listed (which I do agree with)?

[Mercy]

I live in NYC usually, but am visiting Saudi Arabia for the fall (long story) so for the purposes of following US news am indeed more or less comatose...

I really want to know the story behind your visiting Saudi Arabia, if you can talk about it, but it would be better served as a separate thread. I want pictures and details and vivid descriptions of the food! But I would settle for any observations you care to share.


Isn't a lack of focus, agenda, and leadership in the movement a hindrance to finding and implementing "actual solutions"? What's the concrete plan for achieving the goals you listed (which I do agree with)?


I tend to think those are the very things that have allowed the movement to survive relatively unscathed so far. Without a single focus, agenda, or leader, it is nigh impossible to launch a frontal attack. Without a distinct target, there is nothing concrete at which to take aim. If I had to try and sum up (my opinion, natch) the problem, I would label it, "disparity." The disparity between what the super-wealthy and the rest of us pay in taxes. The disparity between the salaries of corporate officers and the wages of their employees performing the actual labour that runs their businesses. The disparity between how the government chose to help the banking industry versus the average citizens who lost their homes and more due to that industry's malfeasance. The disparity between what education costs and what the average new graduate can expect to earn with that education. The disparity betwixt the political influence of large corporations and that of the citizen voters.


There is no single problems and thus, no single solution. I think the Occupy movement shows some sort of evolution of our society. Folks seem more willing to fully explore the big picture and acknowledge the myriad of elements that have been contributing to our nation's ills rather than jumping on the the quickest, easiest patch. The lack of focus is an illusion. Detractors and the media are looking for trees that can be chopped down and possibly manufactured into something profitable. The movement is focusing on the whole forest. This does all sort of fly in the face of our instant-gratification, plug-n-play, "It's my money; I want it now!" culture. Yet that mentality is partly responsible for our current problems. We did not get to this point over night and we shall not get beyond it with a single piece of legislation or another bail-out. We are in the fact-gathering stage, the airing of grievences, which is the precursor to developing agendas for rectifying our current woes.


So long as the movement keeps moving forward, consolitdated leadership is not yet necessary. It would, in fact, be
more of a detriment as any designated leaders would instantly become targets of ad hominem attacks. The lack of
distinct focus, agenda, and leadership makes people uncomfortable but it also makes people think more deeply about
what is happening. By stating there are problems without defining those problems, people have been voicing their
interpretations of what those problems could be and how they might be resolved.


We are now looking at the back end of October and it occured to me earlier today that the closest thing to a xmas
advertisement I have seen so far is the Walmart lay-away campaign. This is a pleasant change from previous years
and I wonder if it is just the bleak economy or a sign that big companies are reluctant to be seen pushing flagrant
consumer excess in the current socio-political climate. A month from now I expect to be fully innundated with
holiday ads but it is nice to go into Halloween without already being tired of Yule.

-m.

[Beldaran]

I support the protests in general, but I do find it asinine that so many of them support the Democratic Party. The American Democrats are pretty horribly sold out to Wall Street, almost as badly as the Republicans. A few stimulus packages (which generally do nothing except promote graft) and a joke of a health care bill don't change that. There is so much money changing hands in smoke filled rooms under the not-watchful eyes of the Obama administration that his name might as well be Barack Hussein W. Bush.

[DarkDragon]

I tend to think those are the very things that have allowed the movement to survive relatively unscathed so far. Without a single focus, agenda, or leader, it is nigh impossible to launch a frontal attack. Without a distinct target, there is nothing concrete at which to take aim. If I had to try and sum up (my opinion, natch) the problem, I would label it, "disparity." The disparity between what the super-wealthy and the rest of us pay in taxes. The disparity between the salaries of corporate officers and the wages of their employees performing the actual labour that runs their businesses. The disparity between how the government chose to help the banking industry versus the average citizens who lost their homes and more due to that industry's malfeasance. The disparity between what education costs and what the average new graduate can expect to earn with that education. The disparity betwixt the political influence of large corporations and that of the citizen voters.


I'm not sure the tax system can be claimed as a source of disparity -- the higher tax brackets don't pay a smaller percentage income tax, after all. But I completely agree that the other examples you listed are serious problems, ones Congress is not at all likely to address in any kind of comprehensive manner any time soon.

Yesterday I was debating about the Occupy movement with a friend, who dismissed it as a bunch of "unemployed degenerates" sitting around doing nothing instead of getting jobs or looking for real solutions and drafting proposals. I largely disagreed with many of her other points, but this one gave me pause. Isn't it time to issue a Declaration? March on Washington? Do something? I feel like the movement is squandering its momentum -- as time goes on and Occupy becomes old news, more and more moderates will start to see the movement as an ineffectual nuisance rather than an agent of real change. What then? Would "Occupy Boston Harbor" or "Occupy the Bastille" still have successfully sparked revolutions? I have a hard time believing so.

I'm reminded in a way of the shy kid at the middle school dance: from the side of the room his eyes sweep across the dance floor longingly. He tells himself he'll go out there, eventually -- but song after song goes by, and he never gets up the courage and conviction to take that first step, and dare Disturb The Universe.