Some Thoughts on the Occupy Wall Street Movement

Some Thoughts on the Occupy Wall Street Movement

Suppose that a great commotion arises in the street about something, let us say a lamp-post, which many influential persons desire to pull down. A grey-clad monk, who is the spirit of the Middle Ages, is approached upon the matter, and begins to say, in the arid manner of the Schoolmen, "Let us first of all consider, my brethren, the value of Light. If Light be in itself good--" At this point he is somewhat excusably knocked down. All the people make a rush for the lamp-post, the lamp-post is down in ten minutes, and they go about congratulating each other on their unmediaeval practicality. But as things go on they do not work out so easily. Some people have pulled the lamp-post down because they wanted the electric light; some because they wanted old iron; some because they wanted darkness, because their deeds were evil. Some thought it not enough of a lamp-post, some too much; some acted because they wanted to smash municipal machinery; some because they wanted to smash something. And there is war in the night, no man knowing whom he strikes. So, gradually and inevitably, to-day, to-morrow, or the next day, there comes back the conviction that the monk was right after all, and that all depends on what is the philosophy of Light. Only what we might have discussed under the gas-lamp, we now must discuss in the dark.

G. K. Chesterton, "Heretics", 1908

Now, I happent to be of the opinion that the "Organize Wall Street" movement is being orchestrated and encouraged by some rather nasty people toward some nefarious end. I may be wrong in substance but, as Chesterton points out, it matters little. Human nature being what it is (sin-filled and depraved) even the most benign interpretation of the OWS movement reveals an undercurrent of lawless anarchy which can only end badly for those on the street and our society as a whole.

One need only recall the French Revolution is a more accurate template for OWS than the American Revolution and then look to the consequenses of that period in history. The French Revolution was led by libertarian idealists resisting an irresponsible and oppressive regime. It was not organized by nasty people for nefarious purposes. It had far more legal and moral justification than the OWS movement. But when the mob acted the world crumbled. It turned upon itself with unprecidented savagery and destroyed everything in its path. The mad thrill of pure destruction.

When the madness reached its apogee and he horror (the Terror led by Mm Guillotine and the Mob) was universally appalled by the rank and file citizens, in stepped the "Strong Man", Napoleon, with his cannon and a "whiff of grapeshot", stepped to the forefront and seized power. His ambition and hubris led him to attempt the conquest of Europe with all its consequent death and destruction.

And that is the fruit of the misguided idealists. The "nasty people of nefarious ends" have viewed and calculated this fruit as a necessary and desirable price for the attainment of their goals. So, even if I am paranoid and wrong about the nasty people orchestrating the OWS movement that should not be cause for relief.

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Comment by James Robertson on May 2, 2012 at 9:25am: May 2, 2012 - AmericanThinker
Occupy Wall Street May Day 'Relaunch' a Monumental Fizzle
Rick Moran

Exhibit A: This article in the Guardian describing the "relevance" of OWS goes on for more than 1,000 words without once mentioning any numbers as far as protestors in New York, Seattle, Oakland, and San Francisco.

Exhibit B: No mention of OWS May Day protests on front page of New York Times site today. They may have had something yesterday but if it had been impactful, they would have run front page stories for days.

Why? Suppose they began a revolution and no one showed up? If I was a left wing rag, I wouldn't have mentioned numbers either.

They billed it as "A Day without the 99%." Calling for a "general strike" and asking people to take "a vacation" from shopping and especially banking, as well as requesting students to stay home from school, the expectations before May 1 - which was also designated as the official relaunch of OWS - were very high:

"It's going to be important for the morale one way or the other of the movement," said Todd Gitlin, a social movement historian and Columbia professor who led Students for a Democratic Society in the 1960s and is the author of a new book on Occupy Wall Street. "If you want to convince people who are not inside the circle of the committed that the movement is back then you have to be able to make a case to them. Numbers are the easiest way to do that."

[...]

Demonstrations will focus on midtown banks for the morning and early afternoon, when activists will march from a pop-up occupation of Bryant Park to Union Square and hold a 4 p.m. rally. Later, there is a city-approved march from Union Square to Lower Manhattan, where Goldman Sachs' headquarters could be targeted for protest.

"A success would be relatively good press and relatively decent numbers," said Gitlin. "If the numbers in New York turn out to be much smaller than the numbers from the big marches in October and November, it will be hard to spin that."

The Huffpo blog on the San Francisco-Oakland OWS May Day event begins, "Hundreds of protesters flooded the streets of San Francisco and Oakland on Tuesday as part of the nationwide May Day general strike organized largely by Occupy Wall Street."

"Flooded?" Who is the writer trying to kid? You don't "flood" the streets with only "hundreds" of protesters. Thousands or tens of thousands of protestors are needed to "flood" the streets. The fact that only 25 protestors were arrested the entire day tells the real story of participation in the May Day OWS relaunch.

San Francisco was also the scene of mindless violence as a couple of dozen black clad anarchists trashed about 30 businesses in the Mission district. The violence mystified the small business owners:

Owners of vandalized businesses said they were hardly representative of the corporations targeted by Occupy activists.

"They're coming through the Mission, where there aren't any corporations, just a lot of small businesses, which is what they're all about," Koskoff said. "It doesn't make sense."

Jeremy Tooker, owner of Fourbarrel Coffee, said a friend had stopped a protester from smashing the glass storefront with a crowbar - and had taken a hit to his arm. Someone else splashed paint on the window.

"This just seems like they're frustrated with their impotency at this point," Tooker said. "It's like, 'Look at me, I'm still here, I'm still occupying.' "

Although the march sprang from a rally for an Occupy action, other Occupy protesters shunned its participants as outliers. Several said police must have been to blame, including one man dressed all in black at Tuesday's May Day protest in San Francisco, who gave his name as Banana Mouse.

"I think it was infiltrators. I don't think it was Occupy," he said. "They (the police) were instigating."

Some business people, however, said Occupy bore responsibility for the damage.

"Occupy is saying it's not them, but we wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Occupy, now would we?" Michelle Horneff-Cohen, a real estate broker, said as she surveyed the broken window of her workplace, Property Management Systems.

When in doubt, blame the police. The cops made the wackos break windows, spray paint stores, and cause tens of thousands of dollars in damage? Nice story if you can sell it.

Seattle was the worst city as far as violence:

Leaving the park, the group soon grew from about 50 to a couple hundred people. While many in the crowd were peaceful, simply chanting and carrying signs, it soon became clear that a fringe group was ready to cause problems.

The group was easy to spot. Most were dressed in all black and had bandannas or scarves covering their faces. As the crowd wound its way through the streets of downtown Seattle, it eventually became violent. At the old Federal Courthouse at 1010 5th Ave., vandals smashed three plate glass doors on the back of the building.

Police reported recovering homemade incendiary devices made out of toilet paper rolls and fruit juice boxes.

A longtime KING 5 photographer was assaulted by a marcher dressed in black. Richard Departee said the marcher hit him with a wooden pole, bloodying the side of his head.

The group continued down Sixth Ave., eventually smashing plate glass windows at the NikeTown store. In front of the store, parked cars were targeted. Windshields on the cars were shattered, tires slashed. As the vandals moved farther down the street, Seattle Police arrived in full force. Dozens in full riot gear came up behind the group.

At least eight people were arrested for everything from vandalism to pedestrian interference to assault.

At an afternoon press conference, Mayor Mike McGinn said a group known as the "Black Bloc" did extensive damage to the Federal Courthouse, then moved on to block traffic.

"A number of the core group of 'Black Bloc' members returned to Westlake, where we saw some of them live on video changing back into street clothes and blending into the crowd," said McGinn.

Violence in several cities, promised tens of thousands who would take to the streets and revitalize the OWS movement not in evidence anywhere, a general stike that was a joke from the beginning and that 99.9% of the 99% ignored, and a liberal press that barely noted the events.

What does that sound like to you? The New York Post pegs it correctly: OWS is "now in the 16th minute of its 15 minutes of fame":

Which is to say, no one cares anymore - assuming anyone ever did.

OK, some did: Besides the usual suspects - anarchists, anti-capitalists and misfits - the "movement" had lots of support in the mainstream media.

Attempts to picket and disrupt local corporate headquarters essentially fizzled.

The closest thing to an actual disruption that was evident was a few bags of initially suspicious white powder - corn starch, it turned out - mailed to several banks. It all made for good video, but little else.

Fact is, the vast majority of New Yorkers - the real 99 percent, in other words - spent their day doing precisely what OWS had promised, and failed, to stop them from doing: They went to work and school.

Which is as good a response to May Day as we can think of.

On the count of three, everyone point their finger at the left and laugh. And then thank them for giving us a front row seat to see the end of Occupy Wall Street.

Comment by James Robertson on May 1, 2012 at 1:35pm: Associated Press ^ | May 1, 2012 | THOMAS J. SHEERAN

CLEVELAND (AP) -- Five men, at least three of them anarchists, plotted to blow up a bridge near Cleveland, but there was no danger to the public because the explosives were inoperable and were controlled by an undercover FBI employee, the agency said Tuesday in announcing the men's arrests.

Another undercover FBI operation?

Comment by Dave Gosse on May 1, 2012 at 1:22pm: One of the leaders of the Occupy Cleveland movement, Brandon Baxter, is one of those arrested for today's terrorist plot to bomb a bridge in Cleveland. Occupier Brandon Baxter appears to have gotten the guidance he sought.

OCCUPIED — Occupy Cleveland organizer Brandon Baxter gets some shade in the Occupy Cleveland tent in downtown Cleveland on March 21, 2012. Baxter, one of the few remaining members of Occupy Cleveland’s physical presence downtown, said the group has seen a sharp decline in numbers since last October because of increasing disorganization. “We need guidance,” he said.

Another of today's suspects is Anthony Hayne, named previously in a report on Occupy Cleveland. “I just want to be very clear: we are not occupying Lakewood,” said Anthony Hayne, who is organizing the information session. Hayne, a Lakewood resident since 2001, said there will be about six or seven members of Occupy Cleveland, which stems from the Occupy Wall Street movement, at the table Saturday.

Barack Obama embraced the Occupy Movement when he saw his poll numbers sliding. Now, with so called Occupiers calling themselves anarchists and hurling Molotov Cocktails, that's still apparently not far enough for some. CBS has the names and official complaint here. The plot is now directly linked to the Occupy movement. A Doug Wright, found here on Facebook, also appears to have been involved.

[...]

Full story

Comment by James Robertson on May 1, 2012 at 12:06pm

Comment by James Robertson on April 30, 2012 at 12:11pm: April 29, 2012

The Nation
by Allison Kilkenny

"Occupy Wall Street hopes to capture headlines once again next week with the May 1 'General Strike,' long advertised by the group as an event that will prove to the public and media that OWS is currently experiencing a resurgence. Whether workers, students or banking customers, OWS is calling on all Americans to stop offering their labor and money to corporations for one day and join their local Occupy chapter for a day of resistance. The plan initially drew the ire of some labor leaders who quickly declared their members would not participate in the so-called strike." (04/27/12)

http://tinyurl.com/7jtsbdr

Comment by Dave Gosse on April 29, 2012 at 9:57pm: Meet the New Farm, Same as the Old Farm? Occupy Seizes Berkeley’s “Gill Tract”

April 29, 2012 - 5:15 pm - by Zombie

Are you ready for the most ridiculous and pointless Occupation ever?

Last week, on Earth Day, the Occupy movement illegally took over an entire farm and transformed it into…a farm!

So proud are they of this revolutionary act that they showed off the farm to the media yesterday, so naturally I had to check it out.

The farm they seized was not a working farm per se, but rather a “research farm” for the University of California, near its Berkeley campus. The only difference between the way the farm used to be (prior to a week ago) and the way it is now is that the Occupiers have transformed what was essentially a well-maintained and important open-air laboratory into a disheveled and ultimately purposeless pretend-farm for trustafarian dropouts.

The struggle over the farm is not just a struggle over land; it is a Battle of Narratives. The “Occupy the Farm” group (loosely affiliated with Occupy Cal and Occupy Oakland, but a new separate group) has already put up a slick web site called “Take Back the Tract” which explains the “philosophy” justifying their behavior:

We are reclaiming this land to grow healthy food to meet the needs of local communities. We envision a future of food sovereignty, in which our East Bay communities make use of available land – occupying it where necessary – for sustainable agriculture to meet local needs.

…followed by a raft of conspiracy theories involving Whole Foods and senior centers and baseball fields.

The university, on the other hand, has fired back with a devastating press release of its own, dismantling Occupy’s ludicrous theories and moral gymnastics:

[...]

Read more

Comment by James Robertson on April 27, 2012 at 2:13pm: So come with me and smoke pot. I got some stashed inside my backpack and a good idea it's a lot. I got some friends from the insane, the profane, the birdbrain, and the upshot is that we complain about our place in this world, okay? Sweat and strain? No, let's not. Because to build a better world, all you really gotta do . . . is jack squat.

OccuPoet Misty Rowan of Minneapolis

Comment by James Robertson on April 26, 2012 at 10:04am: One has to go to the foreign press for such facts. The domestic press is more about "the narrative" than the facts.

Comment by Dave Gosse on April 26, 2012 at 9:37am

Reuters' Chris Francescani has written a detailed article that paints a far more sympathetic portrait of George Zimmerman than most media coverage to date.

Francescani visited the Twin Lakes neighborhood in Sanford, Florida where Zimmerman shot unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin in February.

He talked to many residents of the neighborhood, who provided details about Zimmerman and a recent crime spree that had plagued the neighborhood in the months before the shooting.

The George Zimmerman that Francescani describes is quite different from the "violent racist vigilante" that many have made him out to be.

The background information doesn't make what happened any less tragic, but it does provide more color about Zimmerman's behavior.

Here are some of the details that Francescani reports:

Zimmerman grew up in a mixed-race household
He was an altar boy at his Caltholic church from age 7-17
He is bilingual
After he finished high school, he studied for and got an insurance license
In 2004, Zimmerman and a black friend opened an Allstateinsurance office (which soon failed)
Zimmerman's 2005 arrest for "resisting arrest, violence, and battery of an officer" occurred after he shoved an under-cover alcohol control agent at a bar when the agent was trying to arrest an underage friend of his (he was 22 at the time)
Zimmerman married his wife, Shellie, in 2007. They rented a house in Twin Lakes. Twin Lakes is about 50% white, 20% Hispanic, and 20% black.
In 2009, Zimmerman enrolled in Seminole State College
In the fall of 2009, a pit bull broke free twice and once cornered Shellie in the Zimmermans' yard. George Zimmerman asked a police officer whether he should buy pepper spray. The cop told him pepper spray wasn't fast enough and recommended that he get a gun.
By the summer of 2011, Twin Lakes "was experiencing a rash of burglaries and break-ins." In several of the cases, witnesses said the robbers were young black men
In July 2011, a black teenager stole a bicycle off the Zimmermans' porch
In August of 2011, a neighbor of the Zimmermans, Olivia Bertalan, was home during the day when two young black men entered her house. She hid in a room upstairs and called the police. When the police arrived, the two men, who had been trying to take a TV, fled. One of them ran through the Zimmermans' yard.
After the break-in, George Zimmerman stopped by the Bertalans and gave Olivia a card with his name and number on it. He told her to visit his wife Shellie if she felt unsafe.
The police recommended that Bertalan get a dog. She moved away instead. Zimmerman got a second dog--a Rottweiler.
In September, several concerned residents of the neighborhood, including Zimmerman, asked the neighborhood association to create a neighborhood watch. Zimmerman was asked to run it.
In the next month, two more houses in the neighborhood were robbed.
A community newsletter reminded residents to report any crimes to the police and then call "George Zimmerman, our captain."
On February 2, 2012, Zimmerman spotted a young black man looking into the windows of a neighbor's empty house. He called the police and said "I don't know what he's doing. I don't want to approach him, personally." The police sent a car, but by the time they arrived, the man was gone.
On February 6th, another house was burglarized. Witnesses said two of the robbers were black teenagers. One, who had prior burglary convictions, was soon caught with a laptop stolen from the house.
Two weeks later, Zimmerman spotted Travyon Martin and called the police. The last time he had done this, the suspect got away. This time, he disregarded police instructions and followed. A few minutes later, Martin was dead.

Again, none of this makes Trayvon Martin's death any less tragic. But doesn't it make you feel a bit differently about Zimmerman?

Read Chris Francescani's article here >

Comment by James Robertson on April 23, 2012 at 2:38pm: Occupy Wall Street (OWS) Training: Their Target is the Tea Party
Trevor Loudon ^ | 4/23/12 | Trevor Loudon

Hundreds of OWS training workshops took place this month throughout the country, in all 50 states, including small rural areas. Inside one of the training workshops, attendees report that OWS is “specifically instructed to go to any and all Tea Party gatherings, rallies, etc., to be confrontational and create havoc and disruption.”

They are being trained to recruit and enlarge their numbers in their assigned geographic locations, to use the correct messaging, to incite any opponents, engage in confrontation, employ tactics to evade police blockades and create gridlock.

OWS workshops are extremely organized and clearly well funded. Each workshop had a trainer, DVD’s, handouts and a training manual.

OWS has deep pockets and they will be providing food, water, entertainment and more… just as we saw last Fall with the gourmet meals, tents, hotel rooms and printing presses for their newspapers.

OWS is not a grassroots movement, as demonstrated by the training, resources and coordination at their workshops. OWS is orchestrated and organized by George Soros’ MoveOn.org and Media Matters, Van Jones, Steve Lerner, Francis Fox-Piven, Barack Obama, Union leaders (e.g. SEIU, AFL/CIO, UAW), Communist Party USA (CPUSA), Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and other radical far-left anti-American organizations who are dedicated to the destruction of our free market system and the overthrow of our Constitutional form of government.