So has anybody here actually joined the main protest or any of the protests in other cities? Has the "raising awareness" crowd joined the "do something about it" crowd?

I know some folks who went down to the Occupy Atlanta protest. The movement has dwindles in numbers over the week. Mostly unwashed 21 y/o's ... The big controversy about Occupy Atlanta, is that wouldn't let Congressman John Lewis speak when he showed up. Mostly, they said it was because they gave him an alotted time, and it didn't fit his schedule.

They have no direction like the other protesters. Talking about protesting BoA, and CNN, but the mayor has given them to the weekend to pull up tents at the park and get out.

I was going to go across the river and join the Occupy Philly group, but then I took a shower, and was disqualified.

I have not gone. I had intended to a couple Saturdays ago when I was free for the day but I wasn't well enough to make a day of it. Wish I was young and healthy enough to be a street fighting man.

;)

And I shower daily.

U.S. history has shown populism to lead to political change at times. Just like one should not underestimate the tea party, one should not underestimate populist movements.

This is nothing like the tea party.
A "movement" without a message is just a bunch of hippies whining about their sorry lot in life.
It's more akin to woodstock then to a genuine political rally like the tea party.

The closest they've come to a slogan is "We want change. And stuff."
Just don't confuse them by asking what kind of change.

One of the things I'm curious about is what change is being requested. What are the demands?

Here in Philly, a group being interviewed claimed that one of their demands was a $20 an hour minimum wage. Let's see. Triple the minimum wage, followed by 300 to 400% instant inflation, and everyone is worse off then they where to begin with. Idiots!

Good gravy, we're about one step away from bread and circuses.

Rome is burning my friends, get your fiddles.

Our Greece moment has begun.


🇨🇮

Declaration of the Occupation of New York City
THIS DOCUMENT WAS ACCEPTED BY THE NYC GENERAL ASSEMBLY ON SEPTEMBER 29, 2011

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.

Interesting that you brought up Woodstock. It is a good example to consider. As we look back on it historically and culturally, it was a then misunderstood, significant socio-economic event that is the hallmark of an era of turbulent change. If you had asked the young adults who attended Woodstock what they really wanted, you would have heard things like: "love", peace", "the end of war", "integration", "equal rights" and other now seemingly amorphous terms. "We want change. And stuff" should not be underestimated right now. Likewise, criticizing a movement that doesn't have a leader or has a less than ideal organizational basis could cause one to miss upcoming or ongoing change. As I think some more about this (not the particular messages), I think that the longer we have job problems and perceptions of impending economic doom (which may even be accurate), the more likely populist movements could grow and strengthen towards significance. So, I just don't think it is wise to dismiss a movement so early when such movements on the right or left of the spectrum have brought about so much change, for better or worse, throughout history.

Of course Snickerdoodles omitted this from his post!...

"Admin note: This is not an official list of demands. This is a forum post submitted by a single user and hyped by irresponsible news/commentary agencies like Fox News and Mises.org. This content was not published by the OccupyWallSt.org collective, nor was it ever proposed or agreed to on a consensus basis with the NYC General Assembly. There is NO official list of demands.


So when you trespass on private property, create havoc by banging plastic pails all day and all night, refuse to use sanitary measures (toilets, showers and sanitation) and don't really have any demands then this protest isn't a protest. It's just a gathering of filthy idiots on the dole.

http://bigjournalism.com/dloesch/2011/10/10/ows-defecates-on-cop-cars-vandalizes-property-pelosi-says-bless-them/ 

They remind me of a typical Kindergarden classroom with their "Simon Says" zombieesque trance speak...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3QZlp3eGMNI

Here's what happened as Jet explained in Atlanta.

Useful idiots.


These fools allow 10 celebrities with a combined wealth of 1.255 billion to "be one" of them. Real 99%'ers there. How do they make ends meet? Anyone see Kanye West bleeting out how George Bush hates black people? Hell, if anyone HATES black people the case could be made for the Kenyan King! Unemployment for Blacks has hit epic all time highs, but when you're wearing bling bling and sporting a wardrobe that costs a grand you want to keep it real with your peeps.

One thing that really rallied the hand wavers and parrot people was the ability to have sex with animals, so they do have one demand!




When you have real visionaries like this guy...



Well, what he's like really trying to you know say to, basically so everyone can understand is that your power is awesome and that like when its on it's like a flashlight for the world to see in all it's splendor and if more people concentrated on doing just that yeah just that then we can teach the world to sing in perfect harmony.

(That has to be one of the longest run on's evah!)

So, in conclusion what can an educated person take away from this?

In order to make effective change you have to know exactly what it is you want to change. Your message MUST be clear.

Fill out the proper paperwork for permits.

Comply with all Federal, State and local laws.

Rent port-a-pottys...a stage and sound system so you can be seen and heard.

Leave the meeting place in a better state than when you found it.

Ummm, Woodstock was a concert event. Just sayin'.

Woodstock is a good example because the half million or so people who attended did so by breaking in. They then went on to destroy the grounds and demand that the authorities provide food and water. Gratis, of course.

Then the generation of Love and Peace went on to become the wall street CEO's that today's occupiers are b*tching about.

Is this really what we want? A generation who gets their way by complaining rather than doing?
A segment of our population who need safety in numbers rather then letting their voice be heard by taking their business elsewhere, or by voting in the proper candidates, or by making something of themselves and maybe build a corporation that embodies their utipian socialistic goals?

In a capitalistic market, if these people truly represent a populist movement, won't corporations take advantage of this by targeting their business?
Shouldn't these people all own Fords rather than one of the foreign cars or a domestic government motors vehicle?
Couldn't they take their banking to the small local banks?
Buy their goods from small local shops?

And most importantly, shouldn't these protests be outside the various colleges and universities instead of on wall street?
Tuitions have gone up must faster than inflation. Hell, tuition has risen faster than even healthcare costs.
Half of the young adults who are protesting are complaining about tuition bills. $120k in debt and no job. But they blame the corproations for not having the work load to hire, rather than blaming the colleges for over-charging for a useless document.

This is class warfare. And it started not with the recession, but rather with the president, who has endorsed this rubbish from the start.

The Kenyan King's puppetmaster is funding this. THIS is his re-election campaign. THIS (the 99%'ers) is what his base has been melted down to.

Everyone KNOWS he's failed. When you don't define "Hope and Change" with real parameters and leave it like a blank canvas for anyone to paint what they want on it or project whatever image...it looks just like the signs at the OWS trashfest.

See them for what they are. The true followers of his message.

The class warfare started long ago. It was there when poor fought back with child labor laws. It was there when collective bargaining was attacked. It was there went people we told to eat cake.

Bully for them – fight the rich baztards and their corporate machines, I say.

I didn't realize I could get a job by standing in the street and yelling at the man..... 🤔

Well . . . . .
I don’t think it pays too well.