It's a moot point now.

[randome]

The focus yesterday was on mass demonstrations and I welcome it. I hope it continues today and for as long as it needs to get the point of economic justice through the thick heads in Congress.

The last few weeks of back-and-forth about what OWS should or should not be has highlighted a lot of important truths, not all of them pleasant.

I saw a lot of Group-Think here at DU, where people were lumped together into a conspiracy of trolls because they suggested mass demonstrations would be more effective than public park take-overs.

If someone does not agree with you 100% about OWS, that does not mean they do not support the movement or that they 'just don't get it'. It means they have different ideas, nothing more than that.

Please keep that in mind as we go forward.

Now: GO, OWS!!!

[lunatica]

1. One day you want to throw them to the curb and the next you laud them

finicky aren't you?

[randome]

3. That's an example of the hyperbole that serves no purpose.

'Throw them to the curb'? For suggesting that OWS would be more effective with mass demonstrations than with camping out in public parks?

I'm really not looking forward to renewing this argument.

I am saying that now that OWS is back to mass demonstrations like yesterday, we should all work together to support that.

And it does a disservice to the movement to throw out opinions that aren't in lock step with your own. (Not you, personally, I mean anyone who wants to shoot the messenger.)

[lunatica]

5. You've spent more time trashing the OWS than praising them

So quite frankly your sudden approval means nothing.

[randome]

6. 'Trashing' how?

Or do you just like pushing buttons early in the morning?

[lunatica]

11. Now you're the victim

Poor you.

[randome]

12. No, not 'poor me'.

I want to get beyond the arguing and support the mass demonstrations.

Can we agree that this is something worth supporting?

[mmonk]

2. That would most likely reduce the movement to the backpages

of the news.

[randome]

4. Um, what?

Mass demonstrations would relegate the movement to the back pages? Not sure what you mean there.

[mmonk]

8. Most in the last 10 to 12 years have gone largely ignored with little discussion

in the media. A mere footnote no one in today's punditry takes seriously. With the current strategy, it's ever present and largely met with harsh tactics by leos. The fact Americans know what you mean when you say the 99% is largely attributable to current strategy.

[randome]

10. Well, there is always a first time.

With so many people out of work for extended periods of time, maybe mass demonstrations WILL have an effect this time.

We can hope.

[mmonk]

17. I like continual discussion of the plight of everyday Americans

and prefer it to the false debate and discussions currently surrounding "deficit reduction" taking place in the media and Congress. That is why I prefer current strategy and the focus of it.

[randome]

18. Agree that deficits are a red herring.

When people are struggling -and sometimes failing- to make ends meet, it is not the time to tell them 'fend for yourselves'.

When the government essentially tells the corporations, 'Here, take what you want.', it is then the government's responsibility to fix what they have broken.

I hope the mass demonstrations continue today and into the weekend at least. Apparently Chicago saw quite a demonstration, too.

[Bonhomme Richard]

7. OWS itself has assemblies to hash out differences of opinion.

I can't understand why that can't be here. Or, is it just provocateurs directing the discussion?

[randome]

9. It's been strange.

People who don't want anyone but themselves to define what OWS is or should be.

My point is we should all try and move beyond the arguments and try to see everyone's opinion as worthwhile.

[Bluenorthwest]

13. Of course, the mass demonstrations were the result of the actual

Occupation of public spaces. Without the camping and the police opposition to the camping, those mass demonstrations you seem to like would not have happened. So how could the tactic that allowed the demonstrations to occur be less effective than demonstrations? This is like saying you had no need for a mother, that if would have been more effective popping out full grown like Minerva. If you like the destination, you really can not complain about the route that got you there and be taken seriously.
This is the sort of thinking that bothers me on all fronts around here: either/or binary thinking. To say 'should they do A or B' without considering doing A and B or that A leads to B. Same thing with the posters who claim that protesters don't vote. They seem to think one can either A. Protest OR B.Vote. Why they do not think of protesting, then voting, then protesting some more just amazes me. It seems to be more of a rhetorical device or meme than it is an actual thought.
In a universe of choices why keep asking 'either/or'? Limited minds....

[randome]

14. I don't see the connection.

Especially since the encampments were, for the most part, broken up.

But I truly don't want to argue the point. I want us to come together and support the mass demonstrations. And be open to others' opinions.

And to get my daughters a pony.

[Bluenorthwest]

15. The masses in the streets were reacting to the camps being

harassed. That is the fact, ask the Unions and other groups that came out yesterday. The connection is not in question. Sorry about that. Also not wanting to argue.
Think about this: mass demonstrations against the Iraq Invasion got scant press, and people here complained for months on end about that. The Occupation provided the build up, the drum roll, the spotlight which made ignoring the demonstrations impossible. The Occupiers achieved that which previous groups doing demonstrations failed to do- draw mass attention to the demonstrations. It is all well and good to whine and kvetch about the MSM but OWS did something else, they made a story that could not be ignored. They got press, tons of it. How? By not leaving. By occupying the space.
No other tactic worked. This did. And anyone observing can see that the camps and the attacks on the camps is what brought thousands into the streets, and had the cameras there and the nation watching.
They 'broke up' some encampments one day, the next there were tens of thousands in the street. Score one for the tactic of Occupation. They did what others failed to do. There is nothing to argue. The facts are the facts. The camps created that which followed.
And by the way, in my city, the Occupation is still encamped and doing just fine.
Hope your daughters get their pony, an odd desire to place in the midst of discussion of mass public protests. Shows the respect you feel, it shimmers out of your words. Shimmers, I tell you.

[randome]

16. And thank you for a most literate reply.

I usually only join threads I won't be in total agreement with so that I can learn more about my own motivations and others'.

More cogent replies like yours and I can feel I've made progress. You've given me something to think about.

[Bluenorthwest]

19. Thanks for that

That's the point, to think about it. Perhaps the greatest aspect of OWS as a movement is that they are open to input by anyone who shows up and takes part. This means that the discussion of tactics or 'what's best' is open to all, always. The consensus building is not aided by argument.