What's Your Opinion of Occupy?

[beniki]

Well... take a look at any picture. Most of the clothes they wear have designer labels, none are particularly skinny (a nice way of saying most are down right husky), all have good hair, all of their teeth, and can apparently afford to take a month off work to sit in a street and wave a piece of cardboard.

Not sure what they hope to achieve. Wealth comes from working hard, not from asking for it. This 1% stuff is kind of silly, since that 1% put in the effort to get there. Complaining about it now is pretty much the same as throwing a fit when someone pwns you on Counter Strike. Sure we could make the game easier... or you could just practice more.

I don't agree with the notion of a broken system. In my job, I see people work hard out of poverty the first world hasn't seen in decades, and then manage to make more money than I'll ever dream of. It comes at a price. There always is. Useless to complain the price is too high. Useless to be jealous of the people willing to pay.

Now doing some hard graft in whatever job you have? That's useful to everybody.

The vast majority of the 1%, got their wealth from their parents. Who got it from their parents. Not exactly breaking stone with your pickaxe type work there.

71% of OWS have jobs... and literally no chance to make more than $10.00 an hour at any point in their lives. And that's what pisses them off. The system is set up so that the classes remain the same. For every one dude who makes it to the top, 1,000 sit as the shitcatcher because the degree they got in architecture or network design isn't worth the paper it's printed on.

You don't think there is something wrong with the local McDonald's having 700 people apply to flip burgers... and according to the manager, over 100 of them have Bachelors Degrees?

71% have jobs they can afford to leave behind for a month. They have not been at work all this time, choosing instead to protest against the very people paying their wages. This might give you an idea of why they'll still be earning $10 an hour for many years to come.

I was one of those whose bachelors degree in Materials Science became useless. I did my year applying for jobs in the UK with no success. Then I became an English teacher. I left the UK, and spent 3 years teaching around the world, building up my skills and reputation. A lot of it was shit. Long hours, high stress work in places where there is maybe one other person to have a conversation with.

But I did that. And now I have a swanky apartment, my student loan is paid off, and I even have a future back home if I want to go back. These Occupy kids, who think that somehow the dreams they were sold don't come with a price are an insult to every sacrifice I made in those three years.

But that's just my story. Perhaps I belong to a minority. A 1%, if you will.

 

[EeveeElectro]

I can't actually get my head around what the hell is happening... I heard because corporations are corrupt (but they grab a Starbucks before going to protest) I also heard they're throwing a tantrum because there are no jobs. I sure as shit didn't find a job by marching around town with a sign, demanding a job. I actually went and looked for one, rather than acting like a spoilt kid and demanding people do everything for me.
Sorry if I come off as ignorant, I don't really know why it all started and I don't see much coverage of it on the news over here. All I know about it is from memes, by the looks of it, they're all going about it the wrong way. e_e

EDIT: Hoping someone can shed some light for me, [sub]preferably without talking to me like a spasticated child[/sub] my boyfriend is my 'go-to' sort of person, he seems to know the answer to everything and even he can't explain it.

 

[Glerken]

its really really stupid. lets face it this has three outcomes
1)they are ignored,arrested, and fade from history
2)they riot and lose with alot of people getting shot
3)they riot and win and we go into anarcy

all i know is if 3 happens we will have a civil war and ill tell you right now youll know what a millitary state really is.

Uh, not really.
3 is ridiculous, so go ahead and cross that out. Riots are possible, but they wouldn't reflect the entire Occupy movement, only a small violent percentage.

There's always the possibility, you know that people will start to work to change things. The OWS protesters may not be doing everything right, but neither are the police or the people covering the protests.

I think the Occupy movement extends to people who say something along the lines of "good idea, poor execution" or "I agree with their ideals, not with them" If you agree with them, then you are "the 99%." You're just not the ones that get news coverage because you're normal.

no i beleave they are self intitled fools who need to go get jobs instead of whining. protests are only for real problems not ones that could have been solved by them being smart or for heavens sake doing some hard work. i was unimploied for 3 years and you know what i did? i went out and found a fucking job and guess what? i have enough money that i can go to rome next year because i saved my money instead of spending it on things i cant afford.

See, you're pretty ignorant on the whole protest then. Hell, one of the main ideals being pushed for has nothing to do with jobs, but with corporations playing a lesser role in politics.
It's not just a bunch of lazy poor people. But I'll leave you research it on your own.

 

[ecoho]

its really really stupid. lets face it this has three outcomes
1)they are ignored,arrested, and fade from history
2)they riot and lose with alot of people getting shot
3)they riot and win and we go into anarcy

all i know is if 3 happens we will have a civil war and ill tell you right now youll know what a millitary state really is.

Uh, not really.
3 is ridiculous, so go ahead and cross that out. Riots are possible, but they wouldn't reflect the entire Occupy movement, only a small violent percentage.

There's always the possibility, you know that people will start to work to change things. The OWS protesters may not be doing everything right, but neither are the police or the people covering the protests.

I think the Occupy movement extends to people who say something along the lines of "good idea, poor execution" or "I agree with their ideals, not with them" If you agree with them, then you are "the 99%." You're just not the ones that get news coverage because you're normal.

no i beleave they are self intitled fools who need to go get jobs instead of whining. protests are only for real problems not ones that could have been solved by them being smart or for heavens sake doing some hard work. i was unimploied for 3 years and you know what i did? i went out and found a fucking job and guess what? i have enough money that i can go to rome next year because i saved my money instead of spending it on things i cant afford.

See, you're pretty ignorant on the whole protest then. Hell, one of the main ideals being pushed for has nothing to do with jobs, but with corporations playing a lesser role in politics.
It's not just a bunch of lazy poor people. But I'll leave you research it on your own.

no its worse its a bunch of self intitled people, of which about 40-50% are unemploied. so yeah i did my reasearch did you?

 

[Johnny Impact]

If this thread has ben done a billion times (or one and it was moderately popular), I apologize.

If?

Love the movement, hate the people, not sure if I like the way they're handling it...

Pretty much this.

On the one hand, I think democracy is an illusion propagated by the upper crust. We get tricked into thinking we're in charge because we have a mostly free press and get to make tick marks on pieces of paper every few years to "decide" things. But who do we think decides what we get to decide on? We sure don't. Nothing ever makes it onto a ballot without some rich guy deciding it should be there. And political advertising? Don't even get me started. Money, money, moneyyyyyyy, and power, power, powerrrrrr. The rich and powerful aren't necessarily corrupt scumbags, but they definitely run the world, and they tend to run it in ways that benefit them. Business, finance, and government all follow this trend. It happens on the local level, too. You should hear my mother ***** about corruption on the school board in the little 5000-person hamlet where my folks live.

On the other hand, defecating on cop cars, masturbating in public, threatening to throw rocks/Molotovs/whatever, and turning the area into a cesspool of trash and excretions is not the behavior of a concerned group of civilized human beings with a genuine, well-reasoned argument. It is the behavior of a troop of monkeys. If a group expects to be taken seriously, rule number one is don't act like monkeys. And please don't hand me the argument that it's just a few of them doing this. If the ones who want to be taken seriously don't stop the ones who act like monkeys, the entire group is to blame.

I find the whole thing darkly humorous.

 

[Glerken]

its really really stupid. lets face it this has three outcomes
1)they are ignored,arrested, and fade from history
2)they riot and lose with alot of people getting shot
3)they riot and win and we go into anarcy

all i know is if 3 happens we will have a civil war and ill tell you right now youll know what a millitary state really is.

Uh, not really.
3 is ridiculous, so go ahead and cross that out. Riots are possible, but they wouldn't reflect the entire Occupy movement, only a small violent percentage.

There's always the possibility, you know that people will start to work to change things. The OWS protesters may not be doing everything right, but neither are the police or the people covering the protests.

I think the Occupy movement extends to people who say something along the lines of "good idea, poor execution" or "I agree with their ideals, not with them" If you agree with them, then you are "the 99%." You're just not the ones that get news coverage because you're normal.

no i beleave they are self intitled fools who need to go get jobs instead of whining. protests are only for real problems not ones that could have been solved by them being smart or for heavens sake doing some hard work. i was unimploied for 3 years and you know what i did? i went out and found a fucking job and guess what? i have enough money that i can go to rome next year because i saved my money instead of spending it on things i cant afford.

See, you're pretty ignorant on the whole protest then. Hell, one of the main ideals being pushed for has nothing to do with jobs, but with corporations playing a lesser role in politics.
It's not just a bunch of lazy poor people. But I'll leave you research it on your own.

no its worse its a bunch of self intitled people, of which about 40-50% are unemploied. so yeah i did my reasearch did you?

Can't tell if you're being serious. So, I'm not going to continue this anymore.
I'll just leave you with some links if you want to actually research.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/99_Percent_Declaration
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty_Square_Blueprint
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass-Steagall

It's certainly not just a bunch of self entitled people, and when you throw around percentages with absolutely no source you only look silly.

 

[ecoho]

its really really stupid. lets face it this has three outcomes
1)they are ignored,arrested, and fade from history
2)they riot and lose with alot of people getting shot
3)they riot and win and we go into anarcy

all i know is if 3 happens we will have a civil war and ill tell you right now youll know what a millitary state really is.

Uh, not really.
3 is ridiculous, so go ahead and cross that out. Riots are possible, but they wouldn't reflect the entire Occupy movement, only a small violent percentage.

There's always the possibility, you know that people will start to work to change things. The OWS protesters may not be doing everything right, but neither are the police or the people covering the protests.

I think the Occupy movement extends to people who say something along the lines of "good idea, poor execution" or "I agree with their ideals, not with them" If you agree with them, then you are "the 99%." You're just not the ones that get news coverage because you're normal.

no i beleave they are self intitled fools who need to go get jobs instead of whining. protests are only for real problems not ones that could have been solved by them being smart or for heavens sake doing some hard work. i was unimploied for 3 years and you know what i did? i went out and found a fucking job and guess what? i have enough money that i can go to rome next year because i saved my money instead of spending it on things i cant afford.

See, you're pretty ignorant on the whole protest then. Hell, one of the main ideals being pushed for has nothing to do with jobs, but with corporations playing a lesser role in politics.
It's not just a bunch of lazy poor people. But I'll leave you research it on your own.

no its worse its a bunch of self intitled people, of which about 40-50% are unemploied. so yeah i did my reasearch did you?

Can't tell if you're being serious. So, I'm not going to continue this anymore.
I'll just leave you with some links if you want to actually research.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/99_Percent_Declaration
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty_Square_Blueprint
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass-Steagall

It's certainly not just a bunch of self entitled people, and when you throw around percentages with absolutely no source you only look silly.

you know your right their not self intitled they're delusional. the Liberty square Blueprint is a pipe dream. you know great but idea impossible to do.
as for the glass steagall act if you didnt want to risk your money you shouldnt of invested your money in anything but gold.


embracing open-source technology, not enough info to know if this would be good or bad

ending all wars, wont happen untill we can unite against a common enemy or our race is about to die

eliminating "discrimination and prejudice," this has been tried and all it did was make it worse

reappropriating "our business structures and culture, putting people and our Earth before profit. putting people first is what any good business does because you make more profit

helping the poor, only works if they're willing to help themselves first.

 

[Saltyk]

There's some good ideas there, but I heard some people throwing around the word "oppressors", and I decided I really didn't want to get involved in either side.

Really? Because my "favorite" one was when people compared the black mayor of Atlanta to Bull Connor. For the record, Bull Connor is famous for unleashing dogs and fire hoses on the Birmingham Protestors, and even lamenting that someone left the incident in an ambulance as it should have been a hearse. Kasim Reed, mayor of Atlanta, signed a law to allow the protestors to stay in the city park, state law wouldn't have allowed it normally, and even said that he sympathized with them, and was eventually forced to make them leave due to public safety concerns.

Yeah, Mr. Reed is a terrible beast and that comparison is completely justified. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarcasm]

 

[Vicarious Vangaurd]

My main problem with them is the lack of a clear goal, if members of the group starting petitioning for specific bills to pass or against certain laws then I could get behind them but right now it's just a lot of people yelling "we want things to be better, make it so for us."

A bunch of self-entitled hipsters that don't actually know what they are talking about, but are rather upset about it. The real problem is that they are occupying Wall Street when Wall Street can't fix the economy (or socioeconomic tiers that are a part of pretty much all society) any more than the protesters can.

It's the easiest way to discredit any movement. Take pictures and statements from the yahoos who are there because they want to be edgy. Ignore the ones who started the movement, have actual motives, ideas, and ways to fix the problems.

So what you're saying is to ignore the (now) majority of people that are a part of this movement and look at the people that started it because they actually had a point? Their movement will not work considering it was taken over by aforementioned self-entitled college kids.

The movement was started by people who lost their jobs because of the wall street crisis. Not sure where you're getting the college kids from, since the only ones who have called them that to my memory are Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity.

The majority of people who are with OWS know what they're talking about. But they tend to get lost among the "Look how cool I am" crowd.

Literally every video I have watched of OWS involves a majority demographic of college age kids. I do not see why you brought up two politically charged pundits.

 

[Glerken]

its really really stupid. lets face it this has three outcomes
1)they are ignored,arrested, and fade from history
2)they riot and lose with alot of people getting shot
3)they riot and win and we go into anarcy

all i know is if 3 happens we will have a civil war and ill tell you right now youll know what a millitary state really is.

Uh, not really.
3 is ridiculous, so go ahead and cross that out. Riots are possible, but they wouldn't reflect the entire Occupy movement, only a small violent percentage.

There's always the possibility, you know that people will start to work to change things. The OWS protesters may not be doing everything right, but neither are the police or the people covering the protests.

I think the Occupy movement extends to people who say something along the lines of "good idea, poor execution" or "I agree with their ideals, not with them" If you agree with them, then you are "the 99%." You're just not the ones that get news coverage because you're normal.

no i beleave they are self intitled fools who need to go get jobs instead of whining. protests are only for real problems not ones that could have been solved by them being smart or for heavens sake doing some hard work. i was unimploied for 3 years and you know what i did? i went out and found a fucking job and guess what? i have enough money that i can go to rome next year because i saved my money instead of spending it on things i cant afford.

See, you're pretty ignorant on the whole protest then. Hell, one of the main ideals being pushed for has nothing to do with jobs, but with corporations playing a lesser role in politics.
It's not just a bunch of lazy poor people. But I'll leave you research it on your own.

no its worse its a bunch of self intitled people, of which about 40-50% are unemploied. so yeah i did my reasearch did you?

Can't tell if you're being serious. So, I'm not going to continue this anymore.
I'll just leave you with some links if you want to actually research.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/99_Percent_Declaration
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty_Square_Blueprint
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass-Steagall

It's certainly not just a bunch of self entitled people, and when you throw around percentages with absolutely no source you only look silly.

you know your right their not self intitled they're delusional. the Liberty square Blueprint is a pipe dream. you know great but idea impossible to do.
as for the glass steagall act if you didnt want to risk your money you shouldnt of invested your money in anything but gold.


embracing open-source technology, not enough info to know if this would be good or bad

ending all wars, wont happen untill we can unite against a common enemy or our race is about to die

eliminating "discrimination and prejudice," this has been tried and all it did was make it worse

reappropriating "our business structures and culture, putting people and our Earth before profit. putting people first is what any good business does because you make more profit

helping the poor, only works if they're willing to help themselves first.

At the very least they're trying to change things.
You can call them whatever you want, but at least they're not complacent.

 

[Todd Ralph]

So is a toddler thats screaming for candy

 

[ecoho]

its really really stupid. lets face it this has three outcomes
1)they are ignored,arrested, and fade from history
2)they riot and lose with alot of people getting shot
3)they riot and win and we go into anarcy

all i know is if 3 happens we will have a civil war and ill tell you right now youll know what a millitary state really is.

Uh, not really.
3 is ridiculous, so go ahead and cross that out. Riots are possible, but they wouldn't reflect the entire Occupy movement, only a small violent percentage.

There's always the possibility, you know that people will start to work to change things. The OWS protesters may not be doing everything right, but neither are the police or the people covering the protests.

I think the Occupy movement extends to people who say something along the lines of "good idea, poor execution" or "I agree with their ideals, not with them" If you agree with them, then you are "the 99%." You're just not the ones that get news coverage because you're normal.

no i beleave they are self intitled fools who need to go get jobs instead of whining. protests are only for real problems not ones that could have been solved by them being smart or for heavens sake doing some hard work. i was unimploied for 3 years and you know what i did? i went out and found a fucking job and guess what? i have enough money that i can go to rome next year because i saved my money instead of spending it on things i cant afford.

See, you're pretty ignorant on the whole protest then. Hell, one of the main ideals being pushed for has nothing to do with jobs, but with corporations playing a lesser role in politics.
It's not just a bunch of lazy poor people. But I'll leave you research it on your own.

no its worse its a bunch of self intitled people, of which about 40-50% are unemploied. so yeah i did my reasearch did you?

Can't tell if you're being serious. So, I'm not going to continue this anymore.
I'll just leave you with some links if you want to actually research.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/99_Percent_Declaration
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty_Square_Blueprint
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass-Steagall

It's certainly not just a bunch of self entitled people, and when you throw around percentages with absolutely no source you only look silly.

you know your right their not self intitled they're delusional. the Liberty square Blueprint is a pipe dream. you know great but idea impossible to do.
as for the glass steagall act if you didnt want to risk your money you shouldnt of invested your money in anything but gold.


embracing open-source technology, not enough info to know if this would be good or bad

ending all wars, wont happen untill we can unite against a common enemy or our race is about to die

eliminating "discrimination and prejudice," this has been tried and all it did was make it worse

reappropriating "our business structures and culture, putting people and our Earth before profit. putting people first is what any good business does because you make more profit

helping the poor, only works if they're willing to help themselves first.

At the very least they're trying to change things.
You can call them whatever you want, but at least they're not complacent.

So is a toddler thats screaming for candy

i think he ment to quote you

 

[Bishop99999999]

The message of Occupy is fine. The problem is the self-righteous manner in which it is conducted. Most every issue facing the protests would be resolved if they simply left at the end of the day and resumed their protesting in the morning. Instead they largely ignore all criticism of the movement, embracing the activities that piss people off, and then delude themselves into thinking that having everyone be angry off at you is some sort of victory.

I posted this over at the Huffington Post, but I think it's a valid summary of the Occupy strategy:

"Greetings sir! I am here on this fine day to protest crony capitalism in our government­."

"Outstandi­ng! I agree with you, and though we may have our difference­s elsewhere, I-"

"And to show my discontent­, I will blow on this vuvuzela until everything is better!"

"Wait, what-"

"BZZZZZZZZ­ZZZZZZZZZZ­ZZZZZZZZZZ­ZZZZZZZZZZ­ZZZZZZZZZZ­ZZZZZZZZZZ­ZZZZZZZZ!"

"Now hold on, that's not really-"

"BZZZZZZZZ­ZZZZZZZZZZ­ZZZZZZZZZZ­ZZZZZZZZZZ­ZZZZZZZZZZ­ZZZZZZZZZZ­ZZZZZZZZZZ­ZZZZZZZZZZ­ZZZZZZZZZ!

"I'm afraid that really is quite annoying-"

"BZZZZZZZZ­ZZZZZZZZZZ­ZZZZZZZZZZ­ZZZZZZZZZZ­ZZZZZZZZZZ­ZZZZZZZZZZ­ZZZZZZZZZZ­ZZZZZZZZZZ­ZZZZZZZZZZ­ZZZZZZZZZZ­ZZZZZZZZ!"

"Cut that crap ou-"

"BZZZZZZZZ­ZZZZZZZZZZ­ZZZZZZZZZZ­ZZZZZZZZZZ­ZZZZZZZZZZ­ZZZZZZZZZZ­ZZZZZZZZZZ­ZZZZZZZZZZ­ZZZZZZZZZZ­ZZZZZZZZZZ­ZZZZZZZZZZ­ZZZZZZZZZZ­ZZZZZZZ!"

*Cue pepper spray*

"My eyes! How dare you silence my free speech!"

"Sigh..."?