OWS May Not be Unstoppable, But So Far It Hasn't Even Been Impeded

[SoDesuKa]

The more backflips done by the opposition to the Occupy movement, the less convincing they are in their claims to be taking this in their stride. You don't send out riot police in the middle of the night unless you're rattled enough to be seriously off your game. It's ridiculous for Michael Bloomberg to claim that the extreme measures undertaken in the past few days are motivated by concerns about health issues. The more the Mayor gesticulates wildly, the more obvious it is that he's upset, if not in fact deranged.

The winning strategy against the Occupy movement would be to deal with it bureaucratically, the way cities ordinarily respond to issues and problems that ordinarily don't perturb city governments even slightly. The more they flex their muscles in front of the mirror, the more it appears to neutral observers that something quite out of the ordinary is taking place. We've all seen how sluggishly cities respond to ordinary disruptions, even serious ones.

The Occupy movements have survived not only the cities' early, somewhat unplanned, responses but also the later responses that have been coordinated with technical assistance from Homeland Security and actually rehearsed in advance. The police originally intended a show of force to intimidate the protesters into staying home. Now that they're suspending civil liberties and attacking the encampments in the dead of the night, they can't pretend they're not going all-out. But significantly, even going all out hasn't stopped the Occupy movements; if anything, they've gotten stronger.

Keith Olbermann acknowledged the contribution to the success of the movement that blunderers like Anthony Bologna and Michael Bloomberg have made. But even absent such blundering, nothing that the cities have done has worked. It might be time for municipal officials to ponder a completely different strategy altogether - to stop thinking of this as a police matter but one of a rising consciousness that the ills of the society we've inherited need to be addressed constructively. It won't do simply to shut people up about the circumstances of our lives. In other words, if they can't provide constructive leadership, our "leaders" should get out of the way.

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. A local sign sumarizes this perfectly

SDPD, the best PR OWS could ever ask for.

[cliffordu]

2. They'll kill people to stop this...See:

Kent State.

There wasn't (IIRC) another really large angry antiwar rally after that.

[tblue]

4. Then here will be hell to pay.

Also Kent State was before the days of the Internet. It's different now.

[SoDesuKa]

5. If This Is True, It's Very Important

This implies that Kent State stopped the protests. If this is true, it's really quite significant. There's some theory to the effect that Tet stopped the advance of the Viet Cong and the NVA, but that American civilians were so distressed about the lies that it exposed that in effect we abandoned the war.

This is the first time I've heard that Kent State stopped the protest movement. I'm going to check out the dates to see if there weree any massive mobilizations after May 1970. It was late in the war, but Jane Fonda went to Hanoi in August 1972.

[tkmorris]

11. What SHOULD have happened...

There should have been 100,000 plus people at that campus the next day, and 300k the day after that. Angry, protesting, defiant people. I still don't understand why there wasn't.

[lunatica]

14. Kent State wasn't a riot being quelled

The riots came after Kent State. Kent State woke a whole generation up and they took to the streets.

It helps if you know your history.

[LiberalEsto]

15. May Day 1971 in DC nt

[ellisonz]

3. Bloomberg saw it coming too.

The day before the Occupation began in New York on the 17th he predicted this:

Bloomberg: Jobs crisis could spark riots here

By Aaron Smith @CNNMoney September 16, 2011: 4:10 PM ETNEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is worried that high U.S. unemployment could lead to the same kind of riots here that have swept through Europe and North Africa.

"You have a lot of kids graduating college, can't find jobs," said Bloomberg, during his weekly radio show on Friday. "That's what happened in Cairo. That's what happened in Madrid. You don't want those kinds of riots here."

-----

"The public is not happy," he said. "The public knows there is something wrong in this country, and there is. The bottom line is that they're upset."

-----

"The damage to a generation that can't find jobs will go on for many, many years," said Bloomberg.

http://money.cnn.com/2011/09/16/news/economy/bloomberg_jobs_riots/index.htm

I've been critical of the practical political effectiveness of this protest...but I don't doubt the sincerity or necessity of whats taking place. I'd be out at Occupy LA if it weren't for my unemployment (I'm one of those college graduates with no work), health issues, lack of camping gear, and ailing grandparents. Good luck to the Occupation!

[SoDesuKa]

6. Bloomberg's Foresight

Bloomberg may have been hoping for riots, but that's not what he got. In fact the cops seem to be doing everything they can to provoke a riot. I can't imagine anything more offensive than the kinds of things that city agencies have done, not the least of which was to perform an ablution ritual after the cops took back Zuccotti. I will no longer discuss the Occupy movement with people who aren't supportive of it.

Curiously, it doesn't seem to have gotten people who are close to the Movement as angry as it got me. I won't wantch Jon Stewart anymore.

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-november-16-2011/occupy-wall-street-divided

[ellisonz]

8. I saw that Daily Show...

...and you've got to remember it's a comedy show. They poked fun at it - but considering everything else they poke fun at - I think it's a wash. Most of the Daily Show audience is not part of the problem in this country.

"I will no longer discuss the Occupy movement with people who aren't supportive of it."

I don't see how that's productive. Although if you're frustrated you're probably not going to be that effective at conveying why people are out there.

Good luck to you!:thumbsup:

[SoDesuKa]

12. Police Overtime Costs

I can and do squawk about the money the city is paying cops to stand around in riot gear as though there were a real riot. This is just running up the bill, and the cops love it! So-called "riot" duty is as easy as parade duty.

There's a word for what the cops are doing - racketeering. They collect big paychecks for doing nothing. It has become really easy to dislike cops. Especially when they act all smug and full of themselves the way the New York cops have been acting.

There's going to be a payback. I don't know what it's going to be, but cops got socially isolated back in the 1960's when they were doing the same thing. We pay those guys big money because the work is supposedly dangerous.

[Dover]

9. And it ain't just about jobs...it's about systemic corruption and abuse of power.

It's about crony capitalism and destruction of the planet.
It's about privatization and corporate rule
ETC.

Not a very neat and tidy, black and white message. Nor is it short enough for soundbites.

[Enthusiast]

10. K&R

It's about corporations and their massive power grab. They have stolen our democracy.

[Dover]

7. Like a steady stream, it just flows around rocks and shocks....and any obstacle...n/t

[Laelth]

13. Well said. k&r n/t

-Laelth