Wall Street Protests

[classicman]

~~~

[SamIam]

Originally Posted by henry quirk

HA!

All: irrelevant.

I get that's what irks you (and many others): so what?

You are not the first person to discover cynicism. It's a great cloak for the "You're stupid, and I'm right" crowd.

So what?

I'll tell you what. You are the winner of Sam's

Poster Not Worth Seriously Replying To Award.

This prestigious award has been won by only two other posters in Internet history - Urbane Guerrilla and a poster on another board who shall remain anonymous. Congratulations! If you wish an actual paper depiction of your Award, embossed and with gilt edges, please e-mail a SASE complete with small barking dog to AynRandAnonymous.com. A link to your Face Book page is optional.

And don't worry. Everyone else around here will probably continue to humor you. And Merc is gonna cream his pants when he reads your shit er stuff.

[henry quirk]

"That someone (not you and not me), has the power and the money. We can't do anything about it, nor should we want or try to, so we might as well bend over and spread 'em."


There will always be hurricanes...certainly no one with a clear head believes sitting on the coast and whining will deter a hurricane, yes?

The 'rich' aren't a hurricane, but they always 'are'...navigate them as you can, depend on them as little as you can, destroy them as you can (and if you like), but don't pretend the 'rich' will move and give and sympathize because occupants sit on the stoop and whine.

Like every one: the rich are self-interested...again: within a very narrow context they are simply more successful at satisfying self-interest (in whatever fashion that self-interest expresses itself in any given individual).

#

"As well as...justice and fairness have no place in business (society?). Lying, cheating, stealing, and any other means of obtaining what you want are perfectly fine. Again, he who has the money has the power and those without need to STFU and get over it."


Fictions can be useful and have whatever place you make for them...just keep in mind the other guy may not share your sentiment.

As for STFU: perhaps instead of 'talking', the occupants should 'do'.

#

"Who cares? Everything is irrelevant and pointless anyway."


What's important to you 'is' important to you...again: be aware the other guy may not share your sentiments.

Each and every one will order and discharge his or her life as he or she chooses (according to personal preference and inherent inclination).

This includes the each of the 'rich' and the 'poor'.

##

"I never said anything about fairness."


Not directly, no, but you did speak about the dangers of exceeding "a limit to where it hurts the country as a whole", the limit being a part of "socioeconomic systems favoring the rich"

Unless I'm mistaken, Like Dana, you point out the increasing disparity between 'rich' and 'poor', yes? A disparity that is "bad for the country” because "the actions of a few" hurt many...from this I infer inequity or 'unfairness' with the obvious solution (though you never pin one down) being a restoration of some kind of 'fairness'.

Did I read too much into your post?

If so: I apologize.

##

"If you wish an actual paper depiction of your Award..."


No thanks. Considering it's 'your' award, it probably wouldn't even make very good toilet paper, which is about the only use such a thing has.

[classicman]

An Open Letter to the Citizens of Oakland from the Oakland Police Officers’ Association

1 November 2011 – Oakland, Ca.

We represent the 645 police officers who work hard every day to protect the citizens of Oakland. We, too, are the 99% fighting for better working conditions, fair treatment and the ability to provide a living for our children and families. We are severely understaffed with many City beats remaining unprotected by police during the day and evening hours.

As your police officers, we are confused.

On Tuesday, October 25th, we were ordered by Mayor Quan (Democrat) to clear out the encampments at Frank Ogawa Plaza and to keep protesters out of the Plaza. We performed the job that the Mayor’s Administration asked us to do, being fully aware that past protests in Oakland have resulted in rioting, violence and destruction of property.

Then, on Wednesday, October 26th, the Mayor allowed protesters back in – to camp out at the very place they were evacuated from the day before.

To add to the confusion, the Administration issued a memo on Friday, October 28th to all City workers in support of the “Stop Work” strike scheduled for Wednesday, giving all employees, except for police officers, permission to take the day off.

That’s hundreds of City workers encouraged to take off work to participate in the protest against “the establishment.” But aren’t the Mayor and her Democratic Administration part of the establishment they are paying City employees to protest? Is it the City’s intention to have City employees on both sides of a skirmish line?

It is all very confusing to us.

Meanwhile, a message has been sent to all police officers: Everyone, including those who have the day off, must show up for work on Wednesday. This is also being paid for by Oakland taxpayers. Last week’s events alone cost Oakland taxpayers over $1 million.

The Mayor and her Administration are beefing up police presence for Wednesday’s work strike they are encouraging and even “staffing,” spending hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars for additional police presence – at a time when the Mayor is also asking Oakland residents to vote on an $80 parcel tax to bail out the City’s failing finances.

All of these mixed messages are confusing.

We love Oakland and just want to do our jobs to protect Oakland residents. We respectfully ask the citizens of Oakland to join us in demanding that our City officials, including Mayor Quan, make sound decisions and take responsibility for these decisions. Oakland is struggling – we need real leaders NOW who will step up and lead – not send mixed messages. Thank you for listening.

This has got to be a first.
Link via Occupy Philadelphia.

[Happy Monkey]

Is it the City’s intention to have City employees on both sides of a skirmish line?

Don't make it a "skirmish line", then.

Quan gave a crappy order, but police excitement about breaking out the fun weapons and playing war exacerbated it.

[classicman]

meh - we can't paint the whole dept by the actions of one or at most, a few.

[Lamplighter]

Life can be confusing, can't it.

[xoxoxoBruce]

The point...

[ZenGum]

These protests started with everyone shouting their own message. What Bruce just posted is, I think, the message that most seem to agree with, and is becoming distilled as "the" message of OWS.


DOWN WITH PLUTOCRACY!

[Aliantha]

and buying is only one letter away from burying...

[Happy Monkey]

Originally Posted by classicman

meh - we can't paint the whole dept by the actions of one or at most, a few.

The "open letter" is ostensibly from the whole department, and they used the "skirmish line" war terminology there.

I don't think it was "a few" who armed the cops with tear gas and flashbang grenades against a peaceful protest. I think it's a general problem across the country (and the world), where all sorts of cool "non-lethal" weapons and black paramilitary outfits are given to cops with very loose regulation. It might only be "a few" who actually hope for a riot to occur to justify the use of that equipment, but dressing everyone as stormtroopers and giving them grenades all but guarantees they'll get their wish.

[classicman]

Yeh I'm sure thats what they were thinking - NOT.
I'm rather sure they'd prefer to be home with the wives/husbands/families.
Instead, they are all working ridiculous overtime standing for hours at a time
day after day after day... Looking for a fight? nope. There may have been a few.

For example - The ONE guy that threw the flashbang into the group helping the fallen protester should be dealt with legally.
On the other hand the protesters were repeatedly warned to clear the area. They refused. They knew what was going to happen if they didn't. IF they had, perhaps he wouldn't have been hit as no tear gas would have been necessary.

[glatt]

Originally Posted by classicman

On the other hand the protesters were repeatedly warned to clear the area. They refused. They knew what was going to happen if they didn't. IF they had, perhaps he wouldn't have been hit as no tear gas would have been necessary.

What does the Constitution say about the right to assembly and the right to free speech? What does a "right" mean? Do the cops get to decide when we have rights and when we don't?

[Lamplighter]

In one of my links to Occupy Portland, the article included a paragraph
about the "trainers" telling the group that if they were arrested,
to plead "Not Guilty", and they would be freed at their court hearing.

They said the City did not want to go to trial on the City's "curfew" Ordinances
because they feared they would be ruled unconstitutional.

So far in PDX, it seems to have worked out that way

[classicman]

Wasn't there a curfew or something?

ETA - Lamp posted same time.