Wall Street Protests

[fluffhead]

Visionaries of a better world? or whining overcoddled whippersnappers?
They're scheduled to begin a sit-in locally next week...
http://www.newhavenindependent.org/i...micro-economy/

I'm torn on this. Am I just getting old, that I get the feeling these people have no idea what they're complaining about? All the things they take for granted - laptops, iPhones, medicine, transportation, all comes from the industrial complex.
On the other hand, there is certainly room for improvement.

A telling sign of my impending middle-age: I've allowed my Sierra Club membership to lapse this year (I'm getting tired of the articles in the magazine complaining about the "rich republicans" and going on and on about carbon footprints without considering anything else). And I just subscribed to Atlantic Monthly.

Social Security, here I come (if it's still funded in 20 years!)!

[diggitydot]

I've been keeping up with the movement since it started a couple weeks ago. It isn't just a bunch of nose-ringed punks, but instead people of all walks of life. I applaud their efforts.

[Ladybug]

The college walk out today really bugs me. You (or your parents!) have paid dearly for that education now get your little arse back in class and learn something so that you really can affect the change you want to see the world. Annoying. I've give a test during the walk out. :{

[poky]

I read a bunch of these this morning: http://wearethe99percent.tumblr.com/
Some of them strike me as people who've made really bad choices, but some of them are just heartbreaking. So many stories of no/bad/revoked health insurance and an accident or illness pushing people into absolutely desperate circumstances.

[fluffhead]

I didn't mean to imply that it's a bunch of punks - but the media coverage (which is all I know of it) just says they're protesting "corporate greed."
huh?
A corporation needs to return value to its stockholders. The entity is by its very nature greedy. If there's competition, it will be leaner. Does the movement seek an end to all capitalism?

[ladymoreta]

Color me old... I don't get it. What are they wanting? Did I just miss it in that article? I agree that the economy stinks, and some bad people made it worse, but what's the goal of these protesters?

[GrayMatterWife]

I laughed at an interview I saw of an early 20-something girl who was ranting about how she needed to take a stand against the evils of capitalism.

While wearing an Ambercrombie Fitch-emblazoned shirt.

Yeah, sweetie, power to the people.

[SoonerTexan]

Am I just getting old, that I get the feeling these people have no idea what they're complaining about?

I'm 23 and have no idea.

I don't get it. What are they wanting? Did I just miss it in that article? I agree that the economy stinks, and some bad people made it worse, but what's the goal of these protesters?

Ditto.

Seriously...effective protests have a goal. If you don't, you're just whining. Maybe it is the media getting in the way, but how many of these people have actually lost their jobs vs. have the luxury of protesting all day because they are on student loans, etc.?

[diggitydot]

http://nycga.cc/2011/09/30/declarati...new-york-city/

THIS DOCUMENT WAS ACCEPTED BY THE NYC GENERAL ASSEMBLY ON SEPTEMBER 29, 2011
TRANSLATIONS: FRENCH, SLOVAK, SPANISH, GERMAN, ITALIAN
As we gather together in solidarity to express a feeling of mass injustice, we must not*lose sight of what brought us together. We write so that all people who feel wronged by*the corporate forces of the world can know that we are your allies.

As one people, united, we acknowledge the reality: that the future of the human race*requires the cooperation of its members; that our system must protect our rights, and*upon corruption of that system, it is up to the individuals to protect their own rights,*and those of their neighbors; that a democratic government derives its just power from*the people, but corporations do not seek consent to extract wealth from the people and*the Earth; and that no true democracy is attainable when the process is determined by*economic power. We come to you at a time when corporations, which place profit over*people, self-interest over justice, and oppression over equality, run our governments. We*have peaceably assembled here, as is our right, to let these facts be known.

They have taken our houses through an illegal foreclosure process, despite not having the*original mortgage.
They have taken bailouts from taxpayers with impunity, and continue to give Executives*exorbitant bonuses.
They have perpetuated inequality and discrimination in the workplace based on age, the*color of one’s skin, sex, gender identity and sexual orientation.
They have poisoned the food supply through negligence, and undermined the farming*system through monopolization.
They have profited off of the torture, confinement, and cruel treatment of countless animals, and actively hide these practices.
They have continuously sought to strip employees of the right to negotiate for better pay*and safer working conditions.
They have held students hostage with tens of thousands of dollars of debt on education,*which is itself a human right.
They have consistently outsourced labor and used that outsourcing as leverage to cut*workers’ healthcare and pay.
They have influenced the courts to achieve the same rights as people, with none of the*culpability or responsibility.
They have spent millions of dollars on legal teams that look for ways to get them out of*contracts in regards to health insurance.
They have sold our privacy as a commodity.
They have used the military and police force to prevent freedom of the press.*They have deliberately declined to recall faulty products endangering lives in pursuit of*profit.
They determine economic policy, despite the catastrophic failures their policies have*produced and continue to produce.
They have donated large sums of money to politicians, who are responsible for regulating them.
They continue to block alternate forms of energy to keep us dependent on oil.
They continue to block generic forms of medicine that could save people’s lives or provide relief*in order*to protect investments that have already turned a substantial*profit.
They have purposely covered up oil spills, accidents, faulty bookkeeping, and inactive*ingredients in pursuit of profit.
They purposefully keep people misinformed and fearful through their control of the*media.
They have accepted private contracts to murder prisoners even when presented with*serious doubts about their guilt.
They have perpetuated colonialism at home and abroad.*They have participated in the torture and murder of innocent civilians overseas.
They continue to create weapons of mass destruction in order to receive government*contracts. *

To the people of the world,

We, the New York City General Assembly occupying Wall Street in Liberty Square, urge*you to assert your power.

Exercise your right to peaceably assemble; occupy public space; create a process to*address the problems we face, and generate solutions accessible to everyone.

To all communities that take action and form groups in the spirit of direct democracy, we*offer support, documentation, and all of the resources at our disposal.

Join us and make your voices heard!

*These grievances are not all-inclusive.

Update 10/1/11 – Minor updates to some wording in the facts.

[fluffhead]

Thank you for that - I agree with alot of their points e.g. factory farms and lobbying have made a complete mess of things.
I just wonder if this is a good way to solve issues, or if it just serves to piss off alot of people watching the news and thinking that these are a bunch of spoiled kids spending their trust funds.
The other thing is that that document overgeneralizes to the nth degree. "They" being the evil corporations have done all these horrible deeds. "They" have also built this economy which has enabled so many to accomplish so much.
And since when is education a "human right?"
And, finally, these protests attract all the wackos, like this guy, and they unfortunately get the press.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3Y9CARUwio

[SoonerTexan]

At least they have talking points, but that is quite a large list! And still...where are the proposals of what to do instead?

I have a problem with a few in particular:

They have perpetuated inequality and discrimination in the workplace based on age, the*color of one’s skin, sex, gender identity and sexual orientation.

This does not happen across the board.

They have profited off of the torture, confinement, and cruel treatment of countless animals, and actively hide these practices.

If the person who came up with this one has ever benefited from any sort of medication or treatment, I'll laugh.

They have held students hostage with tens of thousands of dollars of debt on education,*which is itself a human right.

Education is an expensive privilege that is NOT a human right, though of course there are issues with the system. But PLEASE.

They have influenced the courts to achieve the same rights as people, with none of the*culpability or responsibility.

I think that is too complex of an issue to sum up in one point.

They have used the military and police force to prevent freedom of the press

News to me?

They determine economic policy, despite the catastrophic failures their policies have*produced and continue to produce.

Corporations are only one of many complex factors that determine economic policy.

They continue to block alternate forms of energy to keep us dependent on oil.

Not across the board and that is a very one-sided view.

They purposefully keep people misinformed and fearful through their control of the*media.

Corporations do that? I think the media does a good job of that by themselves. I guess you can consider the media a corporation, though.

They continue to block generic forms of medicine that could save people’s lives or provide relief*in order*to protect investments that have already turned a substantial*profit.

Cant completely disagree with this, but a little contradictory with the point on animals...

They continue to create weapons of mass destruction in order to receive government*contracts.

That sounds like a gov. issue, not a corporation issue.

I do wholeheartedly agree with one, though:

They have sold our privacy as a commodity.

*cough* Facebook/Google *cough*

They have accepted private contracts to murder prisoners even when presented with*serious doubts about their guilt.

What's the background on this?

[diggitydot]

The one about cops preventing freedom of the press is most likely referring to NYPD cops arresting observers with cameras and legit reporters with press passes. Several independent reports confirmed police singling out people with cameras for arrest, even though they were uninvolved or not protestors.

[Momo]

ST corporations own the major media outlets. The sheer fact that weeks went by w/no legit coverage of this story says a lot.

[Momo]

Double post

[SoonerTexan]

ST corporations literally own the major media outlets. The sheer fact that weeks went by w/no legit coverage of this story says a lot.

True, but I think independent bloggers, etc. do just as much damage...and they make up a large portion of what people view as "media" and "news" today