It’s raining today, a cold October rain, and it’s drenching the protestors on Wall Street. So, now what was once a hot, dirty encampment on concrete and asphalt is a cold wet struggle not to get washed out.
The weather is against them today, but in the past few weeks Occupy Wall Street has faced many enemies and supporters as well, chipping away at their meaning and message. Looking through their notes on the real website, (there are so many “would be’s” and “Could be’s,” not to mention all the “We are too’s!”) I see a lot of “we are not associated with…. “ notices.
From conservative media TV hosts and Bloggers assigning “meanings” to the protests, fear mongering with warnings of upcoming violence (there hasn’t been any on the part of the protestors, unless you count walking in the street) to an almost national obsession with the “demands” they expect. Actually, we’re really not looking for demands as much as proposed solutions to hold up or tear down. It’s a lot to handle for a loosely organized grass roots group barely 5 weeks old. Lately progressive groups like MoveOn.org and big labor have jollied their way forward trying to get in the lead. All these groups seem to have missed the point.
When was the last time you read Rolling Stone? I like Matt Taibbi, but I don’t read him much. Rather, I hear him from time to time on the local NPR station, WNYC. However, I will read him more from now on because of what he wrote in this “off-hand” piece.
It’s a concise response to being accused of participating in the “liberal Media” plot behind Occupy Wall street, and a solid analysis of the forces trying to align the movement. I think one of the best things he points out is that his, and many other reporters emails were stolen and forwarded to the NYPD, the FBI and who knows who else.
It’s nice to uncover a vast conspiracy, but this is just wishful thinking and none of the emails indicate that he, or anyone else who had their mail stolen was doing anything more than commenting and discussing Occupy Wall Street. It reminds me of another email hacking that supposedly “Blew the lid off a conspiracy.” But that still leaves the matter of stolen messages.
Isn’t that against the law? I thought it was. Certainly David Kernell was indicted and charged with Computer Fraud and after hacking into Sarah Palin’s email account and posting the emails. That’s a felony, which is why Mr. Kernell got a year in custody. I wonder if people like Thomas Ryan and Andrew Breitbart will end up before a judge? They didn’t get the liberal conspiracy they’d hoped for, how about some time in the slammer?
However, the real point here is that Occupy wall Street is not really aligned with any one of the two warring sides in America right now. And that’s because the kinds of complaints they have cross the boundaries of all sides. I can’t think of anyone I know, on this site or any other who wouldn’t like to see less corporate involvement in government. Wouldn’t we like the omnipresent army of lobbyists to have a lot less influence in Washington? Maybe we don’t think of ourselves as “99%-ers” but we all agree on some very serious points they’re making. That’s why I think the “Occupy” movement is growing so fast, it’s wide appeal.
Stuff’s broken around here, and if not broken at least in serious disrepair. Our governments works, but not all by itself. It needs periodic tune ups and course changes to keep it representing the people it was formed for. That’s our job. We could sit around complaining and invoking vast conspiracies to blame and add to the hopelessness and helplessness of our situation, or we could go and hold up our own sign in the rain.
As for demands, I have one. The next time someone sends the NYPD and the FBI someone else’s private email correspondence, how about they haul them in and mention that’s against the law. Please?
P.S. Thomas Ryan’s blog where he bragged about the hacking has mysteriously disappeared. Awwww….
http://gawker.com/5850054/meet-the-guy-who-snitched-on-occupy-wall-street-to-the-fbi-and-nypd
Copyright Prentiss Gray 2011
Prentiss Gray is a writer and columnist and currently writes the Domesti-Tech Blog for Gannett. He can be reached through his website at www.prentissgray.com
Prentiss Gray
Prentiss Gray is a writer/columnist/blogger from New Jersey. After 27 years as a Information Systems consultant and the death of his wife of 21 years, he returned to his roots as a writer, creating the national column Adventures of the Lone Dad/ Daddy chronicles. He now Blogs for Gannet on domestic technology, and writes feature pieces and stories for general publication. He is a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors and contributes to Bloomberg News, Daily Record, Gannett and the Tribune Syndicate.
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Not sure there is evidence of any conspiracy vis a vis Taibbi and company. But the response from the media has definitely been in strong contrast to the response given the tea party, which they hammered daily. Often they have behaved as cheerleaders for 99, putting a happy face on the whole thing no matter. They skip reporting or gloss over some of the “leaders” of the group seeking to monetize the experience, or those who want to get the “zionists” out of banking and finance, the communist and socialist party support and the like.
That said, we agree that there is no doubt that we have a huge problem. We are broke and broken. Rather than to be pigeon holed and herded back onto the left/right reservations, we need to overcome our problems as citizens retaking control of the festering cesspool in Washington, which is ours afterall. That is my view.
I saw a poll result recently which said some 65% think the federal government is at fault while 30% think that Wall Street is to blame. I think that 95% have it right.
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Unfortunately, the problems needing solving need politicians involved. We really only have two choices in who to side with.
And the guy who got, and gets the most money from Wall Street is Obama and he is cheering them on as if he is not implicated.
And yes we want lobbyist influence lessened, just like we want smaller government.
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Michael, where did you see reporting about getting “zionists” out of wall street? That sounds like a calculated slur to me. I follow the movement every day and I haven’t seen it.
David, I’m not sure we do have to pick a side, but you’re right politicians will be involved.
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John Stossel did a segment from the protest, on O’Reilly. I saw the video and heard it said. There were several of the group in agreement. There are also reports of one gent defecating on a police car. I haven’t seen the police report, so I can’t confirm that. I’m just saying that the press in general has encouraged this group and treated them favorably as compared to their treatment of the tea party, which they hammered daily.
The reason you haven’t seen these reports is because the press in general is polishing the apple, on the channels you are watching…
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Uh oh, Never assume. I don’t watch much broadcast TV. Sunday mornings mostly. But I will look up that report and well as the defecation incident and let you know what I find. Thanks Michael.
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Ok here’s what I found. In the John Stossel interview there was no mention of Anti-semitism. Although, what a hard time the protestors gave him. That is becoming more common for associates of Fox News though. O’Reilly has suggested it though and there was a school teacher found in the Occupy LA crowd who made comments at the rally and was later interviewed on Fox in LA. She’s lost her job for those comments by the way, (Doesn’t that remind you of Minnette’s story?). The American Nazi party has announced they’re lending their support to OWS, but have been spurned, and it’s important to note that one of the big events at Occupy LA was the open “Sukkah” organized by several Jewish groups in solidarity with Occupy LA. So, as usual there’s more to every story. I would have to conclude that there is no evidence of any wide spread anti-semitism in the movement, just a couple of problem children.
As for the police car defecation, saw the picture, what a nut. Demonstrations draw them what can I say? if that’s the worst thing that happens in the Occupy movement, it will be a good thing. It’s kind of funny that so far only the English papers have run the actual picture, how English is that?
Forces on both sides want to put their stamp on the protests, so what else is new. One idea (not official) is the addition of a charge or tax on stock market transactions. I like that a lot, even though I trade regularly. It would make the lightning electronic trading that has made the market go haywire several times slow down. I have a lot of problems with that business for many reasons, forcing inequality being one of the main ones.
Did you catch that the Host of ” World of opera” and “Soundprint” Lisa Simeone lost her job? There are shows that air on NPR affiliates but are produced independently. The complaint was that she was working on a steering committee for a group in Wasington DC that, while not being part of it, shared similar goals with the Occupy movement. People working for Public radio are sensitive lately.
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I think both of the parts were featured on the O’Reilly show. I don’t seek to label the folks as anti-semite, any more than I seek to label the tea folks as racist. I hate to see this kind of demonization, especially in the press. But I still think that press is selective in their coverage. And why wouldn’t we report the defecation here. There was much reporting otherwise all favorable.
It is funny to watch the parties trying to get in front of these protests. Once again trying to force us into left/right…they hate for us to all get together and kick their butts…
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Prentiss I don’t have a lot to say on this. That doesn’t mean I don’t have a strong opinion I’ll just say that the folks that are so upset about the “Occupation” of Wall street and other locations (around the globe) are the parents and grandparents who once did the very same thing during the 60’s and 70’s.
People are tired. People are fed up with the greed and the lies and the failures and bailouts. People are tired of fighting day after day to make ends meet, to have decent housing and clothing and food. People are tired of not being able to go to the doctor when they become ill or when their children become ill. Young men and women are tired of working their butts off to graduate high school and then college only to find themselves up to their foreheads in student loan debt and working in a supermarket or driving a cab. They are tired of having their eyeballs gouged out so some fat cat someplace can fly off to an exotic retreat or sail there while we try to get enough gas money to get to work during the week and maybe have enough left over to try and relax on an overcrowded beach just outside the city limits.
So young folks are saying enough is enough and yes, there are kooks and crazies; they show up anywhere and everywhere but, the real deal is that people are tired and history has shown them that civil disobedience, peaceful or not, works.
So to answer your question, “Who are the 99%?” They are the Poor, the Middle Class and the Elderly. They are college students and the retired. They are men, women and children. They are Black and White, Asian and points in between. They are Christians and Jews, Hindu and Agnostic. They are Atheists and they are teachers and firefighters and doctors and lawyers and cab drivers and food servers and sanitation and postal workers…
And, if I were a few years younger and a few miles closer I’d be right there with them.
To those who like to say that these folks don’t have a clear message I say BUL@#$%! You know exactly what their message is and you know exactly what they want.
(I guess I did have quite a bit to say. Hmmm)
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That is exactly why I love you Kaye. Nice comment.
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