Actually it was antiwar protesters - different protest. Primary issue appeared to be people were not allowed to enter with protest signs.Quote:
Originally Posted by Catwoman
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/...79800C20111009
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Actually it was antiwar protesters - different protest. Primary issue appeared to be people were not allowed to enter with protest signs.Quote:
Originally Posted by Catwoman
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/...79800C20111009
The message is clear enough to me: The system is broken and we're not going to take it any more.Quote:
Originally Posted by Catwoman
Here's an op-ed from the New York Times that you might find enlightening: http://tinyurl.com/NYT-Op-Ed-on-OWS
It seems some very intelligent people got the point, and believe me, there is a point.
I recently retired, but I'm a CPA and have held highly responsible jobs auditing insurance company finances and Federal government contracts. Although I'm comfortable financially speaking, our current so-called democracy makes my skin crawl. It is dominated by large, rich corporations, not we, the people. I give to my church and carefully selected charities, primarily one for the homeless and the SPCA. As soon as I get my long-neglected home in reasonable order, I plan to volunteer. I also plan to attend Occupy Philadelphia, an hour's train ride away.
I'm thrilled to see such a large group of people standing up to the suits who've gotten rich by cheating the rest of us.
My apologies, Zoebird. I didn't read all of the posts before I posted myself, and duplicated your reference to the NYT Op-Ed by Paul Krugman. A big :+1: to your posts!Quote:
Originally Posted by Zoebird
If the folks with huge wealth and power in this country are not successful in dividing the American people, and if the Tea Party folks begin to realize that they have a LOT of common cause with these young people, and see a bit past the hair and clothes and political labels, they'd realize that the grievances of both groups have a lot of common cause, and both groups would be really, really surprised if they could realize how they could work together to wrest control of our country from the 1% who has been buying our government and turning it to only their benefit, and REALLY take our country back.
Of course, it would mean thinking, not allowing oneself to be propagandized by the big corporate media outlets and politicians who have a lot to gain by making sure those various groups of people that make up the 99% never realize just how much they have in common.
Catwoman, I'm not sure why you feel so threatened by these Occupy Wall Street folks that you feel the need to dismiss them as squalid hippies, etc., but it really isn't true, any more than it was true that the Tea Party protests were nothing but a bunch of fat, white, Medicare recipients who wanted to return the country to the nostalgic "perfect" place it was before civil rights and all those brown immigrants started taking over "their" country.
There were some racists in the Tea Party folks, and there are some do-less, layabout young people in this group, but the core grievances that both groups have, that somehow the middle class in this country is being squeezed to death, people are losing their hold in the middle class, life for even those who work hard and make all the right decisions seems to be going backward, not forward.......both groups are FULL of hard working Americans who love their country, feel as though they and people like them are being sold down the river by the very richest of the rich who have tilted the playing field ever more in their direction by literally buying the affections of enough of our lawmakers that the 99% of the country is being run for the benefit of those few......THOSE people make up the mass of both groups, and together, they would be formidable.
SO formidable that the powerful in this country are dead set to set them on each other, magnifying every difference, masking every commonality, so as to maintain that hold on power.
Open your eyes.....stop looking for differences, stop the labeling and the disrespecting, and look for all the ways they are echoing things that even your hardest Tea Party heart and most fundamentalist Christian could find in common with them. I think you'll be surprised.
I kind of find myself thinking of the great environmental things that have been accomplished as "treehuggers" and "sportsmen" have begun to work together to protect the environment. Perhaps with different aims in mind, but recognizing the importance of an intact biosphere to both. Even the most good ole boy, anti-hippie hunter or fisherman knows that without intact environment, there isn't good hunting or fishing. And even "save every lamb" environmentalists can recognize that unlimited growth of animal populations can be unhealthy without the stabilizing influence of hunting seasons to replace the large predators that used to keep those populations in check. Two VERY disparate groups, with two VERY different outlooks, but realizing they have common cause to obtain the ends important to each.
the Tea Party and these Occupy Wall Street folks have a LOT more in common than they would ever believe. A LOT more in common. Let's hope they are smart enough to realize it.
Some VERY interesting thoughts here:
http://www.policymic.com/articles/19...have-in-common
excerpt:
"The Occupy Wall Street protesters wave signs broadly demanding a better economic system, less government interference, an end to costly war, and a greater focus on privacy.
Sound familiar? Limits on government intrusion into Americans’ private lives and economic reform are also major talking points for Tea Partiers.
Strikingly, both of these movements claim they represent the voice of average Americans, and they are right. Many Americans who are disillusioned with government’s ability to handle the on-going economic crisis sympathize with these demands. But if these movements represent the “normal” American voter’s views, what does that say about where most citizens stand on the political spectrum?
The emergence of the hard-right leaning Tea Party and left-leaning Occupy Wall Street movements is an indication that rhetoric aside, Americans are not polarized, but rather share similar goals and objectives. Different groups may spring up seeking to tackle the same political problems, but they aren’t limited to solving the puzzle based on one-sided political ideology. Instead, both liberals and conservatives utilize the same strategies to achieve the same goals. In the case of the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street, both use grassroots mobilization strategies that seek to address Americans’ disillusionment and deep-seeded anger with the government and our economic system.
Each movement holds very different demographics. Those who identify themselves as part of the Tea Party tend to be conservative, white, married, male, and over the age of 45. The Occupy Wall Street supporters so far have been left-leaning and mostly young. Yet through these demographics, similar rallying cries are heard. Each movement is tired of business-as-usual politics, an opinion shared by a majority of Americans. Congressional approval in America is at an all-time low of 12%. Public trust in government is only slightly better, at 15%. 91% of Americans don’t think the national economy is in good shape.
We shouldn’t look at the Tea Party or Occupy Wall Street as fringe groups composed of radicals. Each truly does echo wider sentiments of a swath of Americans, and uses similar strategies to attempt to affect policy."
Of course, the people that built zuccotti park don't mention that they built the park in exchange for buildign a much taller building across the street then they could have otherwise. If the gov't had been smart at that time they've taken ownership of zuccotti park and now we wouldn't have owners of a much taller building whining like babies about what has happened to their poor ****ing park.Quote:
Originally Posted by Catwoman
Of course, the people that built zuccotti park don't mention that they built the park in exchange for buildign a much taller building across the street then they could have otherwise. If the gov't had been smart at that time they've taken ownership of zuccotti park and now we wouldn't have owners of a much taller building whining like babies about what has happened to their poor ****ing park.
The above by JP1 summarizes in a nutshell what I believe is so wrong with all of this. The park is a privately owned piece of property. Nevermind the origins of the original transaction to purchase it. Someone owns it and the owners are supposed to be "whining like babies about what has happened to their poor ......park." The private property of citizens should be respected. This is all about redistribution of wealth...which again leads me to say the private property of citizens should be respected.
Loosechickens, I am not the least bit threatened by this. Just disgusted. Obama didn't get the "summer of discontent" that he wanted so the flames of this are being fanned to try and give him even a smidgen of legitimacy as President, he might even be able to make a speech about it!
Here are some bits from Occupy Atlanta:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QZlp3eGMNI
What an effective force - and so coherent....hahahahahaha
Catwoman - It is NOT about the redistribution of wealth. It is about saving our country from going down the tubes.
Please listen to the words that the toxic dem senator said in earlier post.
And respond just to his words, not the person.
You are putting old ideas on a new problem and anyone that is calling for sheer redistribution of wealth is putting old ideas on a new problem.
You yourself cited a harworking young person in your family having challenges following graduation - there should be a job of meaning waiting for her when she gets out of college. (As long as said college graduate studied something that there is a demand for in current market -- meaning something practical, not underwater basketweaving)
This movement for me is about there is a scarcity of jobs in this country.
Rich people, I'm happy for you - Be super rich. Buy your 200 mil boat or whatever had someone upset earlier in this post - you or your money working for you earned that money.
But pay the same percentage rate or higher in taxes as someone that makes less than you.
And for the 50% or that can't pay federal taxes - how can you squeeze blood from a turnip? Let's put our energy on getting these folks into a higher tax bracket so they can contribute.
What angers me is that there are people that want to work, but well paying jobs aren't out there
Furthermore - those that ARE protesting solely on Redistribution of Wealth - Grow up and get a clue! Go find a country that concept has been successful... oh wait, there really isn't one, is there?
Even China has had to embrace capitalism to progress.