#Occupy Protests...

[Pittsey]

I didn't know where to post this... Buth thought it might belong better in here....

Peoples eyes are opening.

Is this being reported on by the media in your country? Nothing in the newspapers hardly in the UK. Nothing on Sky News, or the allegedly public interest BBC News.

 

[The.Menace]

Is this being reported on by the media in your country?

of course. ... and yeah I watch Immortal Technique, I do right now. Sure he got some good things to say.

 

[The.Menace]

...and I agree with Tech. Like usual.

 

[Pittsey]

of course. ... and yeah I watch Immortal Technique, I do right now. Sure he got some good things to say.

It's not on Sky News or BBC News. All they seem to report on is the Michael Jackson trial.

 

[Flipmo]

It's talked about here. Actually people are following it very closely and giving in a lot of support.

 

[S O F I]

I don't watch TV so it's hard to say but the online websites of mainstream media do report on it.

I like that "Toast to the Dead" verse that he spit in one of the interviews.

 

[The.Menace]

well pittsey, it's time for u to understand - Fuck sky news.

 

[Pittsey]

well pittsey, it's time for u to understand - Fuck sky news.

Ha Ha.

I already understood this. Although I came to realise this year, and was a little disappointed, that BBC News are also in the pocket. So since earlier this year I watch Russia Today when I am not using the internet for my current affairs.

I don't watch TV so it's hard to say but the online websites of mainstream media do report on it.

What do they report though? Do they show the heavy handed NY Police kicking and punching peaceful protesters? Did they show the young unarmed (and half the size of the Coppers) girls getting pepper sprayed?

 

[S O F I]

Ha Ha.

I already understood this. Although I came to realise this year, and was a little disappointed, that BBC News are also in the pocket. So since earlier this year I watch Russia Today when I am not using the internet for my current affairs.

Have you watched al-jazeera?

What do they report though? Do they show the heavy handed NY Police kicking and punching peaceful protesters? Did they show the young unarmed (and half the size of the Coppers) girls getting pepper sprayed?

Yep.

 

[Pittsey]

Have you watched al-jazeera?

Sometimes. It's funny. A guy I worked with saw Al Jazeera on in the office and asked why "that propaganda" channel was allowed to be broadcast in the UK.

 

[Pittsey]

* Changed title to Occupy Protests. If anyone is interested post your media, propaganda.... Etc... in here.

 

[Synful*Luv]

The Occupy Protests have a good heart.. but no brain. D: They really need a leader b/c right now they're making a lot of noise but are only loosely affiliated to each other by a similar name and a few similar goals.. I heard the OWS group is London is also protesting Scientology? That may not be accurate, but you know.. if it is.. wtf? lol And the group in Oakland is also protesting police brutality? There's too much going on. As much as they may despise Capitalism, they need to run this more like a business and less like a group of angry college kids to get anything done. I'd love to see them set up some solid ideas and try to get a new political party started. They certainly have enough support for the signatures they'd need and if each person protesting gave a dollar.. they could raise enough money as well. But, I'm worried they're going to run out of steam and significance without having accomplished anything because their goals are too vague and broad.

I was at the OWS Chicago protests for a few days and got a headache from how poorly organized it was.. entire groups of people arguing about who was there first, who's really for the movement.. etc.

 

[Pittsey]

. I heard the OWS group is London is also protesting Scientology? That may not be accurate, but you know.. if it is.. wtf?.

I am not aware of this at all.

And these protests won't achieve anything but get the message out that we have had enough of the corruption. Which in itself is enough. I don't think anyone is expecting a camp out to become a revolution. Unfortunately the media and the government has everyone convinced that the protest is the just the great unwashed moaning about nothing, and has convoluted the whole "movement". It's not a protest against the hard working, it's a protest against the large boys club which has enabled a small percentage to rob us blind, and then taken our money to pay themselves back. This isn't capitalism it is anti-capitalist.... It's what Saddam and Gaddafi did, and yet their behaviour was the justification we needed to invade.

While I won't be out there protesting, and I don't expect, nor really want, a revolution. Hopefully it will open a few ruling eyes to the fact that people are aware of what is happening.

We do need a new political party... But they will soon be corrupted. Look at all the freedom fighters turned tyrannical leaders. Power corrupts.

 

[S O F I]

The fact that OWS is a very loose, open source organization with a wide spectrum of goals only speaks to the problems that we're facing in this country. This movement works better without a leader because that way the public and the media can't focus on one person and try to discredit them. You can't stop a leaderless movement because you have no one to target. What I believe the OWS movement is doing at this point is creating awareness, rallying people, and starting a dialogue. For the first time in a long time, mainstream media is reporting on income inequality on its cover pages. It's hard to intellectually argue that occupying a bank branch and putting up a tent inside it serves a good purpose. But it's an act of exasperation. It gets media attention and gets people to start talking. We're going to need to see a lot more police brutality for lazy people like me to start taking action.

 

[Casey]

We're going to need to see a lot more police brutality for lazy people like me to start taking action.

Do you foresee it getting to that point though? I think what most people who are even simply following the protests don't understand is that actually, most people still don't really give a fuck and it's very easy to ignore it or even be largely unaware of all of it. With that in regard, I don't see it changing anything really unless it gets a lot more widespread and/or more violent.

I mean, maybe I'm just too self-involved but that's how I see it right now.

 

[Pittsey]

The government won't allow it to get that way, if they can help it. But like SOFI said, people won't get involved until there is a real reason too. At the moment people are comfortable. When people are hungry, people will join.

 

[S O F I]

Do you foresee it getting to that point though? I think what most people who are even simply following the protests don't understand is that actually, most people still don't really give a fuck and it's very easy to ignore it or even be largely unaware of all of it. With that in regard, I don't see it changing anything really unless it gets a lot more widespread and/or more violent.

I mean, maybe I'm just too self-involved but that's how I see it right now.

In my opinion, protests are only effective if they're able to inconvenience people. On Thursday night, Occupy Seattle shut down University bridge that helps connect the east side to Seattle during rush hour. A lot of people were pissed. Even those who sympathize with the cause were outraged that they had to spend an extra hour in traffic after work before they got home. The protest and the bridge occupation were about the need for job creation and not job cuts. The bridge was occupied to bring attention to the urgent need for infrastructure investment in this country. It can easily be argued that it's not the smartest way of going about things, but like I said, until people start feeling inconvenience and getting angry, nothing is going to get accomplished.

Also, I do believe that we'll see a lot more police brutality. November 9th at Cal-Berkeley was a clear example. Just because we live in an age of camera phones doesn't prevent cops from acting like complete fucking assholes. They pepper-sprayed an 84 year old lady in Seattle. Shit made national news.

I know the shit is making me angry. I wouldn't mind if the Occupy movement started arming itself. In the words of Bobby Seale, we need an equalizer. It needs to be shown that what the police has is an illusion of power and authority.

 

[Synful*Luv]

I definitely get the benefits of a leaderless movement. And yeah, they're definitely creating an awareness but I'd just love to see so much more come out of this while people are still kind of feeling the energy and together as a group. It would be so much easier to make the transition now, as opposed to later when people aren't really talking about this anymore.

They occupied a bridge here in Chicago as well and the police started arresting people. It concerns me that the police in Chicago (maybe other places?) aren't even being required to wear any type of identifiers on their uniforms. You get attacked by a cop on a rage streak and there's no way to trace that back to anyone. It's getting pretty violent. It's why I stopped going. Sad as it may be, I support the movement but I can't risk being arrested, even if it is for a good cause.

IDK I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

 

[Synful*Luv]

Conservative reporters who were writing critical articles about the protestors were handled "aggressively" by NYPD but helped by the protestors.

http://thinkprogress.org/special/20...y-caller-beaten-by-nypd-helped-by-protesters/

 

[Flipmo]

This era of protesters are wussies for the most part. Always thought that, and will continue to do so. They want change, but they're afraid to push to the extreme for it. The Occupy Protests is a good start, but it's not crossing that line of no return where they're invested into it wholeheartedly. The biggest (and most successful) social changes and revolutions arose from a gun-barrel, not by the pacifist word (don't point out Gandhi, extremely different situation). I know I'm really over-simplifying this and there are a lot more variables to it all, but I still come back to the importance of a strong leader. The likes of Lenin, Maximilien Robespierre and more had the smarts, charisma and leadership qualities to push movements to the top of their potential.
Meh, maybe I'm getting too emotionally involved with this... :\

/rant