Six Reasons the 'Occupy' Revolution Will Be Difficult to Co-Opt or Defeat

I came across this article today and I think the reasons they have identified are credible.

Reason Number 1

Numbers Don't Lie: CNN reported last week that a record 90% of the population believe the economy "stinks." What's worse, the government and banks have approval ratings in single digits. Who will those 90% empathize with more: those who protest; or the elitist bankers, their cronies, and their stormtrooper guards? The tinderbox has been lit and there is no stopping it now. Millions of people have been waiting for a rallying call to direct their displeasure.

Damn right it 'stinks'. The problem is this has been generated by the Banks and through Bail outs, Quantative easing etc, we will probably have to pay for their mistakes 3 or 4 (if not even more) times over. Yet we see the Bankers continuing to swill Champagne, making Billions in bonuses and essentially laughing in our faces. Can you honestly say you are happy with the Staus Quo?



Reason Number 2:

Left-Right Paradigm Shattered: Although all of the protesters likely have personal political leanings, most realize that voting for a specific brand has gotten them nowhere. The merger of corporate and state power is now exposed for all to see. As far as solutions are concerned, everyone now realizes that band aids will no longer treat specific wounds. The bleeding is caused by an aneurysm in the system, not by a political party.

People have started to see through the two party system. All I would add to this is meet the new boss, the same as the old boss!!



Reason Number 3:

Corporate Media Discredited: Since protesters are acutely aware that the entire system has worked against them, the corporate media has been exposed to be an integral part of the problem. There have been unending lies by the establishment about wars, bailouts, politics and a host of other main street concerns. The show's over. Informed citizens don't trust what they are hearing any more.

Discredited even more by the fact that they have paid very little attention to this movement? Why? Because their masters have demanded as much of a news blackout as possible.



Reason number 4:

Peaceful Protest: “When it gets down to having to use violence, then you are playing the system's game. The establishment will irritate you - pull your beard, flick your face, to make you fight. Because once they've got you violent, then they know how to handle you. The only thing they don't know how to handle is non-violence and humor." -- John Lennon. The city's first mistake was letting protesters set up a peaceful camp; now they're stuck with us. At this point, bringing in stormtroopers to remove the peaceniks will make Kent State look tame. Beware, however, of planted provocateurs used to demonize the disgruntled as dangerous and violent.

Peaceful non compliance is the way forward. They want to get a rise in order to use this against us and as soon as they do, the MSM will be all over it like a rash. Seriously, do not retaliate, do not incite, do not give them want they want.



Reason Number 5:

Token Solutions will not disburse occupants: The establishment will surely try to pacify the masses with token actions like firing Bernanke or Geithner, raising taxes on the top 1%, or arresting some banksters. But it will not work because there are so many differing grievances. A charade of "solutions" will not satisfy the most aware protesters. This is the strength of a decentralized movement.

How many times have we seen this? Especially in the U.K. A token tax on bonuses one minute, another whacking bail out the next, yet the bonuses are still being paid. How is this allowed?



Reason Number 6:

Cops and Military are being screwed too: Again, the numbers don't lie. It's been noted that over 20% of NYPD mortgages are under water, and if nine-out-of-ten Americans feel screwed by the establishment, it's easy to assume this majority also represents soldiers and police. It has been reported that several cops have refused to come to work, while some active duty and former military are plotting to protect the demonstrators from the police.

The jury is still out on this one for me, but as the author of the article suggests, they are part of the 90% who think the Economy 'stinks' and therefore they must be the same people who have lost faith in the system. I think if we see these people joining the majority, then we will see real change.

I believe that TPTB will need to start listening and listening quick. October 15th 'Occupy Day', coming to a City near you. It's time to stop talking and start doing.

Sure we will be ridiculed by the few, but we are many. Peaceful Non Compliance!!!


Link to the article: www.activistpost.com...

One Reason the 'Occupy' Revolution Will Be Defunct in 18 months

Politics and consumerism.

The current gaggle of protesters will align with a political party or cause for funding and media exposure. This will create immediate divisions and fracture the movement. Beyond that, no one there has made an effort to create a charter like those older protesters did in the 60s and 70s. They sidestepped mainstream politics by forming these roadmaps that purposely avoided them.

Then there is comfort. The news has plenty of images of protesters sucking down expressos from the Starbiucks and patronizing Verizon and AT&T via cells phones and munching Dominoes and Papa's John pizza.

Maybe I'm just too 20th century but... how do you protest a system and culture that, like a teat, you continue to feed from?

Yeah. Just like that. 18 months and they'll be into some new video game or hacking some banker's account.

Originally posted by redoubt
One Reason the 'Occupy' Revolution Will Be Defunct in 18 months

Hurray, the economy will improve in 18 months!


/sarcasm

reply to post by redoubt


I would have agreed with you probably as little as three months ago. However, I have a feeling this is going to gain momentum.

For the first time, a global movement is rising and we can sustain pressure to bring real change.

Sure, many will drink 'Starbucks' and eat from some Pizza Chain, but that's globalisation for you. People are waking up and probably smelling the 'Starbucks' and the gut wrenching stench coming from some quarters need to be addressed.

ETA: Politics and consumerism? Is that not 2 reasons?

While I understand where you are coming from, the 90 percent that believe the economy stinks does not mean that they think the protesters are right.
Some of those 90 are mad that their neighbors made bad choices which caused their house to be foreclosed, sold at auction, and lower the property value in the neighborhood (that's where I am at and I know the whole story, it had nothing to do with banks, a man and woman who hated each other and tried to hold the house hostage and both lost it in the process).
Some of them are mad that they are making 20k less than they think they should be. But what they are making is better than a redistribution of wealth or anarchy. (My husband fits this one)
Some of them are mad that plants continue to close. (I am anti free trade, if the protests would stick to this I would be all in)
And, some people are mad that they can't find a job in field. Most of them *could* make enough to get by doing something else, but too many (an unnamed family member of my own) decided to ride it out, party, and run up their credit cards instead of actively seeking work during the time they were eligible to collect.

I know that there are people who actually cannot find work. Actually cannot pay to take care of their children. I want my tax dollars to support them rather than wars. I write letters about that. I vote based on that. I would support a focused protest against wasting U.S. tax dollars.

They have just tried to be too all encompassing. That makes it vague and in my opinion easy to co opt and defeat.

Also, the people complaining about student loans just annoy me. They were happy enough to take the money when it was being handed out. To think they should get a free ride would make them just as bad as the bankers they are protesting. I don't like paying mine. But I pay it. Europe is reducing social programs. This just isn't the economic climate to be looking for more social programs. It isn't going to happen.

reply to post by watcher3339

Some of those 90 are mad that their neighbors made bad choices which caused their house to be foreclosed, sold at auction, and lower the property value in the neighborhood (that's where I am at and I know the whole story, it had nothing to do with banks, a man and woman who hated each other and tried to hold the house hostage and both lost it in the process).

Are you for real?

You are blaming a couple in your area for the price of real estate dropping like a lead balloon?

It has nothing to do with the Bankers? Hmm, okay.

We just need to push the restart button. Pull the plug, let it sit for 10 minutes, then plug it back in, maybe buy a new cord.

Complete reform on all fronts. Fire everyone, then rehire and pay based on REAL life.

reply to post by Cobaltic1978

It has nothing to do with the Bankers? Hmm, okay.

Are you implying it has nothing to do with the multitudes that accepted crappy mortgages and then couldn't pay for them? This mess isn't one groups fault, it's every ones.

Originally posted by Cobaltic1978
reply to post by watcher3339

 

Some of those 90 are mad that their neighbors made bad choices which caused their house to be foreclosed, sold at auction, and lower the property value in the neighborhood (that's where I am at and I know the whole story, it had nothing to do with banks, a man and woman who hated each other and tried to hold the house hostage and both lost it in the process).

Are you for real?

You are blaming a couple in your area for the price of real estate dropping like a lead balloon?

It has nothing to do with the Bankers? Hmm, okay.

edit on 4/10/11 by Cobaltic1978 because: (no reason given)

The people in my neighborhood had choices. The made poor choices. Millions of other people had choices and also made bad choices. Not only do they have to deal with the consequences, so do all the neighbors of all of the people.

The reality is that people were greedy. Some of those people were bankers (mortgage brokers more accurately, the actual banks who tend to hold their paper held to stricter lending criteria even during the anything goes portion of the bubble; in fact, banks were required to hold to a higher standard by federal banking regulations, the brokers who held the paper for 30 days and then sold it to a bank, they were the ones doing NINJA and other no doc liar loans), some of those people were home buyers who wanted more than they could actually afford. When the bubble burst they went upside down on value. They couldn't refinance. The ARM that they always knew they couldn't afford when the three or five year adjustment hit, HIT. They couldn't make the payment. They lost the house.
How exactly is that the fault of a bank?
Now, the brokers who played games with the paper work to make it look as good as possible so that they could sell it off to a major paper holder, well, they were very greedy and held their breath for the 30 days that they had to hold the loan and then off it went...
This happened all across this country. That's what led to the decline of the housing market.
My neighborhood is a microcosm of the story playing out on the big screen. Individual choices, poorly made, add up to a fiasco like the one in which we find ourselves.

But, too many people would rather blame someone else for their own mistakes. The people had a hand in this. Any other way of looking at it is revisionist history.

reply to post by Domo1

Are you implying it has nothing to do with the multitudes that accepted crappy mortgages and then couldn't pay for them? This mess isn't one groups fault, it's every ones.

Who were the ones who sold these mortgages? Who was regulating this? Banks just seen an opportunity to loan money, without undertaking any responsible checks. Sure, some dumb ass people played their game, but evidently, if people are allowed to take out a self assessment mortgage, then surely the system is to blame?

It wasn't the Banks money to play about with as it transpires, it was yours and mine. Yet here we are paying for it over and over an over again.

October 15th will give people the opportunity to voice their resentment against the system and show these Bankers that they cannot continue under the current system.

For the record, I have always lived within my means, so to now have to pay for the Banks mistakes for the next goodness knows how many years, is not an option I am going to accept any longer.

Originally posted by Cobaltic1978
reply to post by Domo1

 

Are you implying it has nothing to do with the multitudes that accepted crappy mortgages and then couldn't pay for them? This mess isn't one groups fault, it's every ones.

Who were the ones who sold these mortgages? Who was regulating this? Banks just seen an opportunity to loan money, without undertaking any responsible checks. Sure, some dumb ass people played their game, but evidently, if people are allowed to take out a self assessment mortgage, then surely the system is to blame?

It wasn't the Banks money to play about with as it transpires, it was yours and mine. Yet here we are paying for it over and over an over again.

October 15th will give people the opportunity to voice their resentment against the system and show these Bankers that they cannot continue under the current system.

For the record, I have always lived within my means, so to now have to pay for the Banks mistakes for the next goodness knows how many years, is not an option I am going to accept any longer.

It was the banks money to play with. Then somebody got the bright idea to package these up and sell them as an investment all around the world. And, the people who bought them bought them in the hopes of making more money on them than they put into them. And they got burned. It happens.
The point at which it became "our" money was the bailout.
I have mixed feelings on that. It goes against my economic prinicples, but I also think that without it things would be even worse now.
Bonuses however should not have been paid. That was obnoxious.

reply to post by watcher3339

But, too many people would rather blame someone else for their own mistakes. The people had a hand in this. Any other way of looking at it is revisionist history.

Sure, but ultimately it was the Bankers who allowed it to happen. They are ultimately the ones to blame. Hey, everybody was happy during the good times weren't they? Did you ever approach your neighbours and question how foolish and greedy they were for taking out ridiculous mortgages?

As mentioned I have always lived within my means, I have a Credit card, which I always pay in full within the required time. I am not needed by the banks. I do not pay vast amounts of interest on loans or the like.

If the Banks decided to play with fire by authorising mortgages such as the ones you have mentioned, then someone somewhere knew they were going to get burnt, yet still they continued.

Originally posted by redoubt
One Reason the 'Occupy' Revolution Will Be Defunct in 18 months

Politics and consumerism.

The current gaggle of protesters will align with a political party or cause for funding and media exposure. This will create immediate divisions and fracture the movement. Beyond that, no one there has made an effort to create a charter like those older protesters did in the 60s and 70s. They sidestepped mainstream politics by forming these roadmaps that purposely avoided them.

Then there is comfort. The news has plenty of images of protesters sucking down expressos from the Starbiucks and patronizing Verizon and AT&T via cells phones and munching Dominoes and Papa's John pizza.

Maybe I'm just too 20th century but... how do you protest a system and culture that, like a teat, you continue to feed from?

Yeah. Just like that. 18 months and they'll be into some new video game or hacking some banker's account.

edit on 4-10-2011 by redoubt because: reord, typo

What you have wrong:
1. Dominoes pizza ain't a luxury item in America. This isn't Zimbabwe.
2. Jobs won't be back in 18 months.
3. These protests are more like the protests in Egypt than anything like the 60's. Also, the 60's movement was only modestly successful in some aspects and a dismal failure in others.
4. There are more cell phones on Earth than people. FACT. Having a cell phone isn't the same thing as feeding from the system. The protests have nothing to do with rejecting technology. The rejection is of the banksters and ultra wealthy raping our labors.
5. There is cultural shift happening. Not sure where it's going, but it's not going away, protests or no. People are starting to see the world differently.

reply to post by watcher3339

It was the banks money to play with. Then somebody got the bright idea to package these up and sell them as an investment all around the world. And, the people who bought them bought them in the hopes of making more money on them than they put into them. And they got burned. It happens.
The point at which it became "our" money was the bailout.
I have mixed feelings on that. It goes against my economic prinicples, but I also think that without it things would be even worse now.
Bonuses however should not have been paid. That was obnoxious.

Evidently it wasn't the banks money, because we have had to bail them out, so essentially it was OUR money.

If it was THEIR money then they would have drowned along with the economy. But no, they were bailed out, continued to lose money. QE was then introduced, but these banks decided to hold on to the money instead of responsibly loaning to buisnesses.

The sole purpose of QE was to try to kick start the economy yet these banks have decided that the best course of action is to do exactly the opposite. In fact we are facing a BIGGER crisis than 2008 and yet there are many people sleep walking into the next crisis.

It's time for peaceful non compliance and peaceful protests.

Originally posted by redoubt
One Reason the 'Occupy' Revolution Will Be Defunct in 18 months

It's lame.

It's like people who occasionally get on this site and call for people to "attack The Man" in some way, not realizing that there is nothing to attack. Things happen in the world and the economy because of large social forces that aren't driven by any one group or thing. It's a conglomeration of everything from advancing technology, to changes in resource focus, to weather, to whatever.

The people out protesting need to GET A JOB.

Also, as an old person who remembers what happened in the 1960's as a result of all the protests, I can tell you that NOTHING happens. Things change when it's time for them to change, and all the marching around in the world doesn't move that forward.

reply to post by Blue Shift


Thanks for the background information, but I think you are mistaken on this one.

The movement is gaining momentum in the U.K and we intend to stand in solidarity with our cousins around the World.

I do not think you would have seen a movement of this kind in your lifetime, despite living through through the 60's. This is Global.

Occupy has gone Global!!

October 15th people, Peaceful Protest, Peaceful Non Compliance.

Ten percent unemployment also means 90% employment.

I have a job. I can't go out into the streets and protest. Most people with jobs are in the same boat.

It's horrible to lose your job. However, with that in mind, who would risk losing their job to join in the protest when the movement hasn't even defined itself?

Just my 2 cents worth.

Originally posted by Wildbob77
Ten percent unemployment also means 90% employment.

I have a job. I can't go out into the streets and protest. Most people with jobs are in the same boat.

It's horrible to lose your job. However, with that in mind, who would risk losing their job to join in the protest when the movement hasn't even defined itself?

Just my 2 cents worth.

Without us there wouldn't be business anyway.

We can't continue being walked over, being told that the current situation is the only way, being dictated to.

October 15th is a Saturday. If you can't join during the day, it will go on all night. We need to be listened to, we need a voice, because the people that Govern, do so without Governance and we are left to pick up the bill.

Well enough is enough. Peace.