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Occupy Wall Street
Nov. 4th, 2011 11:16 amSo, I've said several times that I found the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement as illogical as the Tea Party movement. After reading Jim Wright's rather lengthy thoughts on the subject, I think "uneasy" is a better word. Maybe "problematic." Here's some more specific thoughts:
1) I sympathize with the OWS movement. Income inequality is real, and it certainly appears that "the fix is in" - wealthy corporations get bailed out while everybody else gets the shaft.
2) As Jim says, "OWS is opposed to unfettered business, the Tea Party opposes unfettered government. The Occupiers want business out of government, the Tea Partiers want government out of business. These things may appear similar but they are in reality Yin and Yang. The only workable way for OWS to achieve its stated goal of reining in capitalism is through more government. The only way for the Tea Party to achieve its stated goal is less government."
3) Unfettered capitalism sucks unless you're really rich - see the Gilded Age for that.
4) Where OWS is falling down is exactly where the Tea Party is most effective.
The Tea Party is trying to use the political process (AKA, "voting") to effect their changes, while the OWS movement is using unfocused protests. Unfocused protests tend to become riots, because they are unfocused.
The OWS movement needs to take a page from the Tea Party manual - focus on voting and political action, not hanging out at the park.
1) I sympathize with the OWS movement. Income inequality is real, and it certainly appears that "the fix is in" - wealthy corporations get bailed out while everybody else gets the shaft.
2) As Jim says, "OWS is opposed to unfettered business, the Tea Party opposes unfettered government. The Occupiers want business out of government, the Tea Partiers want government out of business. These things may appear similar but they are in reality Yin and Yang. The only workable way for OWS to achieve its stated goal of reining in capitalism is through more government. The only way for the Tea Party to achieve its stated goal is less government."
3) Unfettered capitalism sucks unless you're really rich - see the Gilded Age for that.
4) Where OWS is falling down is exactly where the Tea Party is most effective.
The Tea Party is trying to use the political process (AKA, "voting") to effect their changes, while the OWS movement is using unfocused protests. Unfocused protests tend to become riots, because they are unfocused.
The OWS movement needs to take a page from the Tea Party manual - focus on voting and political action, not hanging out at the park.
