Perhaps at some point when they (the Occupy Movement) begin to make actual sense and can articulate something other than “Rich people, bad. Give me their money!” Someone might take notice for some reason other than to fill a slow news day. So far, all I’ve seen during countless interviews is malcontents that have no purpose other than to raise a stink for their personal agenda, along with 500 other personal agenda’s being voiced at the same time in the same place, but independent of each other ending up as just so much white noise.
I suspect, that our own “Occupy” protestors here in Boise are simply attempting to ride the publicity train created in other states. It is interesting to see though, that some of the tents in Boise are pitched on the front lawns of legal offices. I suppose it saves time to not have to actually chase the ambulance and bring your prospective customers to your front steps instead…
“Where there’s smoke, there is surely fire” you say?
Ah, but sometimes where there is smoke, there is simply an annoying jerk puffing on a cigar under the smoke alarm, giggling his ass off.
When looking into the Occupy events one has to ask how this happened, but when we do so, let’s not forget to add a healthy skepticism lest we be sucked into some unscrupulous scam.
Is this whole movement propped up artificially in order to gain political points to generate anger during an election year? Some politicos have suggested just such a motivation, not from the general attendees of the Occupy protests, but by paid lobbyists who specialize in putting together protests and stirring up angst amongst those “reactionaries” who can always be depended upon to jump up and start waving signs at the least provocation. Tweek the noses of a few tinfoil-hat wearing conspiracy theorists and they too come screaming to the surface double-time.
The net effect of the occupy protests appears to be an accompaniment to a general feeling of class-envy, where the poor rebel against the rich, something the right often claims that Democrats promote in order to push feel-good social programs that redistribute wealth from businesses to the poor as a sort of enforced welfare.
In some cases it has been alleged in major media outlets that local labor union officials have paid members to partake in these protests… Acorn has also shown itself as a manipulator behind the scenes of at least one such protest and that alone should raise several red flags for anyone who still remembers the video scandals and watched them advocate sex slavery.
So this brings me to ask this question: How real is the actual Occupy protest? I mean, there will always be reactionaries, waiting for the right moment to pitch in and join any protest for whatever reason, just for the attention it brings and all it ever takes is a little pushing from behind the curtain to get them moving and up in arms. In Boise, I haven’t seen any substance beyond a myriad of disjointed personal agendas at work here. In published reports from all of the other major cities where “Occupy” protests occur, the same lack of a cohesive theme also appears to be true. There is a possibility that the Boise protest is simply a hollow echo of the protests elsewhere. All of the individual topics expressed at these “Occupy” protests already have a voice in one venue or another and there is really nothing special bringing them together, so what brought them here?
I’m not saying that many of the protestors do not have genuine concerns or that their complaints are not valid, but I am saying that what has brought them all together begs a lot more scrutiny and doesn’t pass the smell test by a long shot.
And before we go on about how wonderful it is that they are acting upon the true spirit of American freedom of speech etc., there is also nothing that requires the exercise of that speech to be intelligent.
We can, of course, ponder the cosmos for a reason and search our inner souls and “Feel their pain.” It’s also very pleasing to one’s conscience to blend sweetness and light into ones’ world view, but the truth is often a much harsher mistress than we would like to believe. If one does not approach situations like this one with a healthy skepticism, the actual truth is just as likely to pass us by entirely whilst we search for the bloom amongst the brambles.
If I recall correctly, “We the people” figures very prominently in the preamble to our constitution and that is where we tend to stray, glossing over the understanding that the system in it’s current form is the realization of the power held by “We the people.” Not some faceless and amorphous “Them.” We are in charge of our own destiny and by working within the system, we strengthen and reaffirm its integrity. Also, before another person hands me another “…when good people do nothing” Edmund Burke quote, first realize that it is so often trotted out by every conspiracy theorist and protestor the world over that it has completely lost its meaning or potency and is probably the most misused quote of the century.
I was recently told that our government has “Destroyed the honor and integrity of this nation.” Who is doing that? Several event come to mind, but other than our own President, I don’t really see anyone kowtowing to despots or dictators…
I really see no substance at any of the “Occupy” protest other than the oft repeated “The evil rich are corrupting politics and have destroyed our nation by taking control! The Rich have stolen our faith, our hope and the ability to trust each other!”
Your faith and hope is yours to surrender, my friend. Nobody can steal your ideals or principles unless you freely hand them over and the only cunning craft I see behind the scenes these days are those pushing the Occupy ideologues over the proverbial cliff whilst silently stepping back to watch the mayhem in the hope that we react in fearfulness and unwittingly hand over the control we have of our own destiny along with the hope, trust and faith we so cherish.
The idealists seem to be the most easily lead astray, for they often fail to see the strings attached to the wonderfully glorious future they search for through those rose-colored glasses. Compassionate skepticism with a hopeful eye towards a positive outcome is the guiding principle here, not some whimsical flailing at some amorphous evil.
“But they have something valid to say.” “They should be heard.” Are the cries I hear. Some would even advocate that we make changes to accommodate the “Occupy” movement. Which ones? There are hundreds of them and nobody can seem to agree on what “Occupy” means or advocates.
Before we go handing them the keys to the city, perhaps we should take a personal interest and take action ourselves… Should the “Occupy” crowd perhaps camp on your doorstep? Demanding your cash to put food in their mouths, a cell phone in their hands and free healthcare at their beck and call? That is exactly what Occupy seems to stand for… The tearing down of the very fabric of our society in order to redistribute everything hard working Americans like yourself have worked their entire lives to achieve in order to give them a free ride in ease and comfort.
Were I out of a job and thought only the statehouse could help, I would be (and have been) far too busy harassing business owners for a job to be able to spend weeks on end whining for handouts and attention…
I think what we have lost is our pragmatism. That very pragmatism that started this country in the first place. America didn’t get it’s start by whining at the feet of the British, our forefathers protested vigorously, explained their demands within the British governmental system and when it became clear that our rights as a people were not going to be taken into account, we took charge of our own destiny. No whining, no crying for handouts like beggars in the mud. Our forefathers did the hard work of not only fighting for their rights, but they designed and formed a new government that was and still is designed to allow the people to be heard and their will enforced. Perhaps those who “Occupy” should remember that first and foremost, and occupy themselves with getting their own kiesters off the ground and into motion.
I understand that many people are frustrated, but the myriad of problems outlined by the hundreds of claims made by various “Occupy” protesters are well known and is nothing new. The Fed for one: People within the system continue to fight to force the Fed to become completely transparent and accountable, but the current administration will have none of it. How do you correct that? Support, advocate and vote for people who will make it happen. Put public pressure to bear and move the dialogue forward.
What part of that has anything to do with Occupy? Maybe 1 in 100 “Occupiers” even know about these issues, or even care beyond what they want to get out of it personally. When you see them interviewed, they merely spout what the person next to them is saying, and when pressed on details they fall back on “I want” or We deserve” or “We should get” with no clear idea of what they are even there advocating. And yes, most of their railing IS simply against the amorphous rich in general.
Listen to their voices… Make the rich pay. Raise taxes on the rich!
How do you suppose that will work? More than 40% of the American people already pay nothing at all in income taxes and a good number of those get credits back for taxes they don’t even pay. I’m sorry if it’s hard to hear, but throwing money at the poor in any form merely keeps them poor and under control. Is that the country we want? The only difference will be that they feel taken care of by big brother as they lose all incentive to actually earn a living or produce anything substantial. If we are to go down that road, why not change the name of the country to “New Greece” already and be done with the struggle altogether? Here’s a quote for you that has more meaning now than ever before: “Give a man a fish today and he’s is fed for a day. Teach him how to fish and he feeds himself for a lifetime.”
But we need to do something! Make the man pay! Take away their power! Down with the evil corrupted government!
OK, so now we’re going to tear down the walls of our own government because we are impatient with how our system of government works? It was designed to be slow and methodical for a reason. So that the mob mentality such as Occupy has been putting forth, does not change the very nature of our government.
Let me be very clear in that I cannot ever know or truly appreciate the level of personal anguish some people feel right now, and I do not in any way mean to belittle any of their sometimes tragic experiences, but I do know that with all personal feeling put aside; a dispassionate and thorough examination of the facts will show that all of the problems within our current system can be dealt with directly within that same system. All I advocate is caution against throwing out the baby with the bathwater.
Vote out the corruption, vote in those who will hold the Fed accountable or drastically reduce its base of power. Vote in those who will stop the corporate raid on the federal funds. Take your fear, and anger and disgust and do something productive with it by advocating and supporting someone who champions the same cause, or if there isn’t anyone who fits the bill, run yourself and tackle it head on.
If we listen to the Occupy movement, all we hear is an echo of ourselves; they can only tell us about all of the problems we already know exist. So why are we where we are today? Because we keep cracking our heads against the same wall over and over again thinking that if we continue to vote the same knuckleheads back into office things will change.
Whose fault is that you ask? I believe most homes have a mirror, take a good look and do something about it. And while you’re at it, pick up and fill out a voter registration card, because some 50% of you don’t even give a crap enough about the country you live in to even bother to vote. You want change? You want accountability? Start there.
Just my view from the cheep seats…
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