Sunday, October 16, 2011
Occupy the world
Posted by Max Brantley on Sun, Oct 16, 2011 at 7:52 AM
- 99 PERCENTERS: Some of the Occupy NWA crowd in Fayetteville yesterday.
Demonstrations attended by thousands in 900 cities worldwide yesterday, not to mention Little Rock and Fayetteville. Did the Tea Party ever gather 500 in Little Rock? They certainly summoned more incoherent rage and paranoia at the single Children's Hospital health town hall than was in evidence in the well-mannered crowd yesterday.
A dissatisfaction with the established order of things, if the ruling order is not working for the powerless, can't be a bad thing for getting attention of those in power. Can it be harnessed to attain focused goals? That's a tall order. But united people and free speech tore down communist dictatorships. Perhaps a currently unaccountable financial oligarchy is reachable, too.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Lots more photos from the Little Rock march Saturday are in a slide show on the jump of yesterday's post. Good crowd. Good signs.
Comments (48)
Showing 1-48 of 48
From the Occupy Little Rock marches this morning thread...
I can see this thing heading to this point: give us meaningful reform, NOW, or we're going to go on a debt strike. Imagine 20 or 30 million people all sitting down one week and penning letters to their creditors - Bank of America, Chase, Citibank, Wells Fargo, etc. - saying "I'm not going to pay you back." How long would those institutions survive? - JennOfArk
After the non-violent protests currently on-going, that right there is the best non-violent weapon We the People possess. Call it the 'Financial Nuclear Option', or FNO for short.
The trick would be to coordinate the movement, but given the interactive ability in our Society thanks to Twitter and Facebook, it could be easily done nowadays.
Would it take 1 month, 2 months, or ??? to have an effect? I think it would take less than that. My understanding is that the banks all operate on a 'on the come' perspective. Once the debtors refuse to repay and make notification via the letters that show up - there will become a huge ripple effect in the economy. Wall $treet will no doubt collapse as investors take their ca$h out of the market and stuff it in under their bed in boxes. At some point, Corporations will no doubt see their collective value plummet which will likely result in their ability to issue paychecks that will cash to their serfs.
When the debtors stop making payments, the Banks on hand reserves will begin to plummet as well. With no reserves, where will the cash come from when you go to make a withdrawal? So, as a preventive measure, everyone would have to ensure that when they issue the FNO, they do so only after they have emptied their accounts of all resources. With the three Credit Goon squads out there to enforce the 'rating' system - thereby ensuring that you pay or suffer the consequences, they would have to be hobbled somehow. Otherwise, perhaps there would be no further need for them as everyone's rating would be in the lower hundred area.
There are no doubt some other contingencies one would have to take if the FNO were enacted - even if it were for a limited time.
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The Washington Post just keeps on sliding to the right, doesn't it? The story points out that the demonstrations were overwhelmingly peaceful, but they picked the most violent picture available to lead the story. (Okay, not the most violent. It didn't show police clubbing demonstrators.)
"They certainly summoned more incoherent rage and paranoia at the single Children's Hospital health town hall than was in evidence in the well-mannered crowd yesterday."
That is because Occupy is about We The People, spanning both sides of the spectrum and with diverse support from all ages and stages.
The TP is composed primarily of people who have been active in Republican politics, is to the right of the spectrum, and has corporate support and funding.
One is a movement and the other is a political party. Big difference.
As always, these comments are my personal opinion and are not intended in any way to represent some kind of official position. I simply took this handle because I believe in the cause -- and before a 2012 troll grabbed it. If anyone associated with OLR wants to contact me, use occupylittlerock@gmail.com. Yeah, I grabbed that too.
I simply took this handle because I believe in the cause -- and before a 2012 troll grabbed it. If anyone associated with OLR wants to contact me, use occupylittlerock@gmail.com. Yeah, I grabbed that too. - OccupyLittleRock
A big 'Thumbs Up' to you!
Woody Guthrie's granddaughter leads Vermont Occupiers in her granddad's "This Land is Your Land".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=465hlIROUpE…
It is going in a negative direction. Look at all the people being arrested. You did not see that at a Tea Party rally. You did not see the Nazi's supporting the Tea Party. You did not see the anti-Semetic slurs at a Tea Party rally.
In a positive manner, refusing to feed the trolls, invoke Godwin's law, or waste time sharing facts with people who obviously have an fact-free agenda.
I think the anti-Semitism is a lie, too, unless you mean the new-fangled kind of "anti-Semitism" that substitutes criticism of the illegal Israeli seizure and settlement of Palestinian land for Jew-hating. Under that new definition, a large percentage of the Jews of the world--possibly a majority--are anti-Semitic.
As for the arrests, you didn't see that at the Tea Party rallies because the Tea Partiers are, by and large, people for who the current system is working very, very well. They want it to work even better for them, because greed knows no limits. The police higher-ups take their orders from people who serve the powerful, which includes the Tea Party.
That the police rank-and-file have been relatively well-behaved towards the Occupation is a sign of hope.
In at least one case, arrests at a Occupation-related event were incited by a right-wing provocateur: http://boingboing.net/2011/10/09/did-a-rig… It's telling that, after he posted his first account, he took it down and changed his story to sound less like the provocateur he was.
All I will say is imagine what the police response would be if Occupy America came as openly well-armed to their rallies as the TP did.
Irradiated Fuel Handler - I kinda had the moniker "DD-Day" mind...that stands for "Debt Default Day."
Don't get me wrong - I think actually following through on what I suggested would be catastrophic for the entire economy. It should definitely be looked upon as a last resort. But if all we're gonna get otherwise is suffering for everyone but those who caused the mess - as we're getting now - well, we might as well let them suffer along with us. Should it come to that, people's credit ratings would cease to matter...we'd emerge on the other side under some sort of "let bygones be bygones" or the economy could not function ever again. I think you're right to refer to it as a "nuclear option" but you should take note...a nuclear bomb creates a lot of damage and fallout. So would what I've proposed. People who chose to participate would just have to accept that they might be the ones who got caught in the fallout.
On the other hand, the first thing you do in any war is stop giving your enemy money to use against you. And no mistake - the big banks and Wall Street are our enemies. As such, it really makes no sense for us to continue to keep them in business by sending them monthly checks.
John A Arkansawyer - typically citizens who marched in support of the Soviet regime or at Nuremburg didn't get arrested, either. Funny how those who "protest" in favor of the status quo don't get pepper-sprayed, even when they show up with loaded weapons and signs threatening violence. I guess we should just commend BlueFriction for not being too cowardly to publicly align himself with the authoritarian types (because certainly there's nothing else there we can commend him for). "What do we want?" "THE STATUS QUO!!!" "When do we want it?" "NOW!!!"
Jenn...think Neutron Bomb...takes out the people but leaves the buildings behind.
More gangsta behavior from the banksters in Santa Cruz, CA. A BofA branch manager decrees that you "can't be a customer and a protester at the same time" when some occupiers go to a BofA branch to close their accounts.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/16/b…
IrradiatedFuelHandler - oh yes, it would leave the buildings standing...with no clear picture on who they belong to! Just one of the many many things that would be upended. When your bank goes under, who owns the mortgage? The one thing we can be fairly sure of, though, is that people would not be likely to be evicted. For one thing, it would take many months to even sort through, and then, no one wants a vacant house as an asset, particularly when there's no one to sell it to. Really, I do believe that they're keeping their fingers crossed and hoping people don't figure out that it's entirely up to them to decide whether or not to pay back what they've borrowed.
"When the debtors stop making payments, the Banks on hand reserves will begin to plummet as well. With no reserves, where will the cash come from when you go to make a withdrawal?"
The Fed, lender of last resort, king of the printing press.
Although, banks are sitting on $1.5 trillion in excess reserves, they could probably handle it themselves.
Damm Outlier...that BofA event just flies in the face of common sense.
From the link-
two women involved with the Occupy Santa Cruz movement in California walked into a Bank of America branch earlier this week and attempted to close their bank accounts. In response, the bank manager threatened to lock the doors and call the police on them. Her reasoning? You can't be a customer and a protester at the same time, the manager said.
Simply amazing reasoning.
Serf's Up!
If you want to see a lot of great OWS videos, go to boing boing. http://boingboing.net/
The reason people are in the streets is the same reason dictatorships were overthrown in the middle east this last year. The working classes needs are going unmet, while the rich keep on sipping champaign and living high. What the GOP/Tea Party crowd fail to understand is that we don't mind the rich being rich. As Elizabeth Warren said, God bless them. As long as working class folks needs are met, the rich living high is ok by me. But, when you have such a wide (and growing) income disparity in this country - one shouldn't be surprised that folks are taking to the streets. Look for this to only grow to purportions not seen since the civil rights era protests. And I think that is only a good thing.
>>eLwood is the man when it comes to supplying my profile pics<,
Hay no problemo.
Just leave me Jesus and the pet rappy.
Excuse me now, Miss Venezuela 2011 is coming up on KWNL
Ch 11, talk about !Hot! Swimming suits are to Venezuela like vermouth is to a martini.
When the ‘Occupy’ crowd finally grasps that much of Obama’s campaign fund comes from the big boys on Wall Street, will they march on Charlotte next summer? Oh, this brings memories of Chicago, Da Mare, the Pigs, and all the rest. Y’know, all these ‘Occupy’ events remind me of Woodstock and Altamont.. When and where will the first killing be seen?
abcnews.go.com/.../2011/.../obama-bundlers…
www.opensecrets.org/.../2011/.../financial…
thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/.../obama…
To a certain extent, I agree with the bank manager. If you tell a crowd of people you are closing your account (and may be carrying a substantial amount of money afterwards), you could be putting yourself in danger of being robbed. Better to close the account quietly and then march with a sign that indicates what you did.
Me? I'm staying with my local bank but closing a BofA credit card account -- although I don't use it and might actually improve their bottom line by pennies in doing so.
For my money though, the really bad offenders here are those banks which are using their situation to in effect become payday loan sharks -- Regions, Wells Fargo and others.
Here ya are BlueAsshole right from the master's mouth:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgbJ-Fs1ikA
Somehow I cannot make a founded mutually agreed upon connection between the OWS movement and the ANP based on the link you posted Blue.
In reflection, it would appear that the ANP is more like trying to ride upon the coat tails of the OWS movement in an attempt to promote it's hateful agenda - something that the OWS movement is not.
Nice try - but thanks for playing.
IRH, notice how the Rethuglican Party co-opted the Tea Party with the help of the Koches and Dicl Armory. With the police under control of the cities and the city leaders owned outright, at least in LR, by the monied class, OWS needs to watch who tries to jump on the band wagon with their own causes.
And BF, the TP needs to watch out for white supremeist groups which seem to have members in most of the TP demostrations or at least it sure looks like it from their signs.
Interesting facts about the sponsor/creator of your video's there Blue.
Seems as though they are put out by the Emergency Committee for Israel. A little further investigation found that the Board members are (reference the Website of Emergency Committee for Israel):
William Kristol is founder and editor of The Weekly Standard, a journal of politics and ideas located in Washington, D.C. He is also a regular panelist on Fox News Sunday, a contributor for the Fox News Channel and a monthly columnist for the Washington Post. Before starting the Weekly Standard in 1995, Mr. Kristol led the Project for the Republican Future, where he helped shape the strategy that produced the 1994 Republican congressional victory.
Gary Bauer served in President Ronald Reagan’s administration for eight years as Under Secretary of Education and as President Reagan’s Chief Domestic Policy Advisor. While serving at the Education Department, Bauer was named Chairman of President Reagan’s Special Working Group on the Family. His report, “The Family: Preserving America’s Future,” was presented to the President in December 1986. Bauer took his unapologetically pro-family, pro-life message across the country in 1999 and 2000 into the Republican presidential debates and primaries. Stressing the sanctity of life and traditional marriage, Bauer made family-friendly policies and combating judicial activism key platforms of his campaign.
Hmmmm....based on these facts, it appears that we know not only who the messengers are, but because of their tactics we can easily equate these Wolves as occupying the same house that cockroach James O'Keefe does.
Yeup...that about sums it all up doesn't it?
Shooting the messenger? Tsk tsk. Go back to debate 101.
There are other sources. Pick the one you like and pretend it isn't happening.
In an openly organized demonstration, there are going to be the occasional scumbags who do not represent the event as a whole. There is nothing in either of those videos which express the sentiments of the movement as a whole, and therefore there is nothing in them to change my support for the Occupation.
The individuals who expressed anti-Semitic bigotry in those videos are cordially invited to fuck off and die.
Well Blue,
I suppose the Tea Party is just FULL of Jews, now isn't it? And tons of blacks, American Indians, Hispanics--why lordy the Tea Party is just a rainbow coalition of folks! Geez.
You've no support for your links, the one woman stated she represented herself, and you should look for another way to make a case. ANY case that makes us sit up and take notice.
I can see you're just terrified--you and people like YOU. See for about 15 years you guys have been whacking the left with a big stick. Over and over. Now the lion has awakened, it may go back to sleep. It may not and I hope it doesn't. Because you and your ilk will find that this movement has no need of posturing about with loaded guns at our rallies like the TP.
We'll change this country bare knuckled and fearlessly. And besides, weren't people like you just a while back calling for a revolution? Well, you've stirred it up and you're about to get one. I suppose you have the dry grins now, haven't you?
I've seen that second one before, LeePeart2012. It's funny but inaccurate. Those captions identify products, not corporations. People can produce without corporations. I believe they can produce better products, or produce those products in less damaging, less exploitative ways. But thanks for playing (and especially for not signing in that obnoxious squeaky voice).
ORLY?
Not if we want things like AZT or a cure for cancer (some day)
Not if we want things like the iphone or the microprocessor.
Not if we want to have anything more than a cash/barter economy.
Not if we want to have a variety of reasonably priced food.
Not if we want a standard of living approximating 10% of what we have today.
(and on and on and on.)
You're just enjoying the ends while condeming the means.
So the corporation is the only conceivable way to organize a productive society? Your imagination is lacking (and your voice is getting squeaky).
>So the corporation is the only conceivable way to organize a productive society?
A small society that only needs the bare essentials? No.
A large society with millions/billions of people who all want to have access to nice things and not die of small pox? Yes. Absolutely. The only way.
So we've reached the pinnacle of economic organization, and you know that for a fact? We live in the best of all possible worlds? You know, if I believed that, I never would have had a daughter. It's great to be alive, but the world I'm alive in could definitely use some improvement, and I'm planning on providing some.
Are there more pictures from NWA?
Has anybody comments on the coverage in the mainstream media?
Blue Friction, you didn't see civility or fairness either. You saw one narrow view with no factual basis or supporting information. Strictly opinions & beliefs.
Bluefriction, Debate 101, sophistry, etc. You think this is about who is the best debater or regurgitater of ideas,ideology, etc,? it's about trust and honesty in this nation. Question; do you agree with the legalized fraud that happened to bring about the recession? Of course love thy neighbor, not throwing stones, and let he/she among you without sin cast the first stone. Probably doesn't enter the equation, because it would balance the situation and fairness and civility would prevail.
Let's see, Citibank being a most wonderful corporate citizen, while earning the respect of us common people by letting us know that as long as we keep at least $6,000.00 in our account, we will have free checking and not be liable for the $15.00 per month charge. I don't know about most of you, but this retired educator wouldn't qualify. Maybe all retired educators should get together and form a bank. By and for the education profession. I wonder what would happen if banks were designated by occupation.
OWS has received more that $300k in donations.
They put it in a bank. Wait! What?
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