[PeakingAroundtheCorner]

the99percentDeclaration is NOT a real OWS working group (User Submitted)

http://occupywallst.org/forum/the99perc ... -working-/

[Serial_Worrier]

OWS = the usual coterie of left-wing agenda groups under a new name. BTW - where are their protests against Obama's warmongering activities?

[Sixstrings]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Serial_Worrier', 'O')WS = the usual coterie of left-wing agenda groups under a new name. BTW - where are their protests against Obama's warmongering activities?

[Sixstrings]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('PeakingAroundtheCorner', 't')he99percentDeclaration is NOT a real OWS working group (User Submitted)

http://occupywallst.org/forum/the99perc ... -working-/

[DomusAlbion]

I was at university in the late sixties, early seventies. When we had demonstrations we were unified and we knew what we wanted and we were loud and angry and powerful.

These people are like spoiled kids lying on the front porch, holding their breath and sometimes kicking and screaming; waiting for the adults to fix things. I find them rather pathetic.

[Sixstrings]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('DomusAlbion', 'T')hese people are like spoiled kids lying on the front porch, holding their breath and sometimes kicking and screaming; waiting for the adults to fix things.

[DomusAlbion]

Hey Six, I'm not dismissing the movement. There are legitimate concerns out there and some of the people involved are addressing some of the important issues. I'm just saying that I believe that most of the young people involved just don't have the "right stuff".

[Ibon]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('DomusAlbion', '
')These people are like spoiled kids lying on the front porch, holding their breath and sometimes kicking and screaming; waiting for the adults to fix things. I find them rather pathetic.

[Loki]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('DomusAlbion', 'I')'m just saying that I believe that most of the young people involved just don't have the "right stuff".

[DomusAlbion]

@ Loki,

I don't know how old you are, but I can say that I was there and most of us left-leaning/socialist students were very clear about our agenda. There were two main gripes at the time: Vietnam and social/economic justice for Black Americans; the rest was rather minor and fringe. And we were very serious about the issues and very vocal and very active. Rallies and demonstrations drew 10s of thousands not hundreds.

I'll repeat that there are currently real issues that need to be addressed but I just don't think these kids have the heart, the skills or the fortitude. I think most of them are whining because they got themselves into major debt to get their Liberal Arts degree, can't find employment and somehow feel betrayed. This a problem no doubt; however the unemployment rate for college grads right now is not much higher than the general unemployment rate. Young people with degrees in useful skills are getting hired.

Sitting around and defecating in public parks will get them where?

[DomusAlbion]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ibon', 'G')et out and mentor to them. They are young and represent the very generation that will inherit the consequences of our generations hubris.

[Lumpy]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('DomusAlbion', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ibon', 'G')et out and mentor to them. They are young and represent the very generation that will inherit the consequences of our generations hubris.

[rangerone314]

Maybe I should introduce them to the idea of Logan's Run. Get rid of all the old gray and white haired that are pillaging this country. The conservatives hate social security? We could save a lot of money getting rid of people who are a drag on the economy... starting with the life sucking vampires.

Start with Congress; introduce them to "Life Day".

[DomusAlbion]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('rangerone314', 'M')aybe I should introduce them to the idea of Logan's Run. Get rid of all the old gray and white haired that are pillaging this country. The conservatives hate social security? We could save a lot of money getting rid of people who are a drag on the economy... starting with the life sucking vampires.

Start with Congress; introduce them to "Life Day".

[Novus]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('rangerone314', 'M')aybe I should introduce them to the idea of Logan's Run. Get rid of all the old gray and white haired that are pillaging this country. The conservatives hate social security? We could save a lot of money getting rid of people who are a drag on the economy... starting with the life sucking vampires.

Start with Congress; introduce them to "Life Day".

[Outcast_Searcher]

There was a pretty good 30 minute documentary on the OWS movement on PBS last week.

It seemed (gasp) balanced, and didn't make any critical or political observations about fringe elements or individuals who might make unreasonable statements.

They pointed out that BOTH the OWS and the Tea Party are FUNDAMENTALLY about:

a). People that are unhappy with the state of the country, and wanting change.
b). That fundamentally, they just have a different belief in the nature of the problem:
i). OWS sees business or the "greedy rich" as the problem (and often government or regulation as the solution).
ii). The Tea Party sees "big government" as the problem, and believes that with less regulation, business can make the economy better.

They then talked about possible solutions to problems from either perspective. One thing they made clear -- the likely reality is that the "truth" is somewhere in between, and some kind of compromise (instead of attacks and disinformation) from BOTH sides would seem to be called for.

It was refreshing to see this type of rational, intelligent, thoughtful, honest discussion. You don't see it much.

(Sorry for no link. I saved this on my DVR, but don't have access to it now, and apparently am not using the right search terms on Google to be sure I'm finding the right show.)

FWIW, I believe that Fareed Zakaria's GPS while not always successful, at least TRIES to make this sort of quality analysis the order of the day. (Since he doesn't always interview both sides -- on a given day there may be very poor "balance" about a particular issue though).

[Sixstrings]

About the mentoring..

You can do this online. I've popped into that OWS NYC chat a few times (it's on their site). They're nice, if you sound like you know what you're talking about they listen.

If this is a people's movement, then older folks need to do their part at some point. You really can't expect 20 year olds to have all the answers, now can you?

The anarchist-leaning types, they're nice, but hard to reach. I'm starting to understand it anyway.. they're rebelling against THE WHOLE DAMN THING. Corporatism everywhere. Regimentation. "The Man."

Domus has some good points above..

some of this seems like whining, honestly this young generation is the "entitlement generation." Their parents were very good to them, and now they see the world is not like that. A positive way of viewing this though is that MAYBE this is a generation who will stand up and actually demand change. It really is up to them. They were raised to expect certain things out of life.. so, if as a group of voting citizens they demand those things, then it will happen.

[Loki]

DA you're building an idiotic strawman using talking points straight from Fox News. It's really hard to take you seriously. And I very much doubt you participated in any meaningful way in the anti-war and Civil Rights movements of the 1960s, otherwise you'd know how fractured those movements were.

The occupy mvt has been around for what, ONE frickin' month now? One month, but you've determined they're a bunch of useless hippies who just want to shit in a public park and get free college education.

Last I checked, the anti-war movement of the 1960s took a decade to affect any serious change. A DECADE. The first anti-war marches were in 1964, the fall of Saigon wasn't until 1975.

As for your ignorant contention that the occupiers are all 20-year-old whiners with liberal arts degrees and student loans, I'm seeing a whole lot of gray hairs in the pics of Occupy Portland, and their message seems fairly clear---not a damn word about student loans:


I work on a farm with two 20-somethings who went to the closest occupy march last weekend, neither of them have student loans or college degrees, they're working-class kids who bust their asses doing farm work for very little pay. They're just tired of seeing the bank bailouts, and other coddling of the ultra-wealthy while the poor and middle class get shat on by the political and economic elite.

[DomusAlbion]

Wow, touched a nerve there, I see.

I guess we'll be seeing your face among the Occupy Portland( or Salem, or Eugene) squatters.

[Loki]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('DomusAlbion', 'W')ow, touched a nerve there, I see.