mellowtigger (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
mellowtigger) wrote2011-10-05 08:40 am
mellowtigger) wrote2011-10-05 08:40 am
Entry tags:
T minus 2 days
We aren't terrorists demanding ransom, we're protestors demanding equal representation. So, no, we don't have a convenient list of goals for you to read. People want an opportunity to list their grievances... and there are many. We are in no hurry. We will occupy until we are satisfied. It's not like we have the lure of high-paying jobs and comfortable mansions tempting us away from this process.
Meanwhile, the cleanup of media stories by management continues. I should be taking photographs of media stories rather than just bookmarking them, because they change so substantially over time. First the New York Times changes their tone to be less sympathetic to the protesters, but now I've caught Marketwatch changing their title to be less sympathetic. At least the original url still takes you to the article, and it is a good read.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/occupy-wall-street-is-a-tea-party-with-brains-2011-10-04
One idea gaining agreement is the sense that American democracy is "bought". Politicians sell themselves to the highest bidder, and neither major party can be trusted. Perhaps it is time that we erect a barrier separating business from government for the same reason that we created a barrier separating religion from government: they can't help but corrupt each other and cause suffering among the people that government claims to serve.
Yes, there is a lot to talk about. So go join an occupation in your area. Find your voice, and experience democracy firsthand. You will find people just like you. Attend the general assembly. Learn the sign language used by crowds to silently express their opinion. Experience the power of hearing your neighbor's voice through "the people's microphone".
I've experienced this new language already in Minneapolis. I hope you will too.
Meanwhile, the cleanup of media stories by management continues. I should be taking photographs of media stories rather than just bookmarking them, because they change so substantially over time. First the New York Times changes their tone to be less sympathetic to the protesters, but now I've caught Marketwatch changing their title to be less sympathetic. At least the original url still takes you to the article, and it is a good read.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/occupy-wall-street-is-a-tea-party-with-brains-2011-10-04
One idea gaining agreement is the sense that American democracy is "bought". Politicians sell themselves to the highest bidder, and neither major party can be trusted. Perhaps it is time that we erect a barrier separating business from government for the same reason that we created a barrier separating religion from government: they can't help but corrupt each other and cause suffering among the people that government claims to serve.
And for us people in Europe it is an open secret that the USA are more a Plutocracy then a Democracy. I am not here to discuss political definitions, but please, have you never heard about basic democratic principles in ancient Greece? It is about a system of representatives of many community groups, not about 2 parties of representatives of the richest people in a country. So you have to understand, why we Europeans can only quiet smile about your “Democracy” .
...
We European would like to see Captain America in the same way we are used to. And Captain America isn’t a greedy old man or a GI trooper. He is a dream.
- plus.google.com/u/0/100729828843019249206/posts/F8eTvBy2eYe, a German computer engineer
...
We European would like to see Captain America in the same way we are used to. And Captain America isn’t a greedy old man or a GI trooper. He is a dream.
- plus.google.com/u/0/100729828843019249206/posts/F8eTvBy2eYe, a German computer engineer
Yes, there is a lot to talk about. So go join an occupation in your area. Find your voice, and experience democracy firsthand. You will find people just like you. Attend the general assembly. Learn the sign language used by crowds to silently express their opinion. Experience the power of hearing your neighbor's voice through "the people's microphone".
From Egypt, social movements across the globe have learned of the power of camping together in city squares; from Spain the movements have learned to make decisions in large assemblies of thousands of people, by agreeing or disagreeing with specific proposals made by speakers via the use of sign language; from America, the most striking tactic has been the use of the ‘people’s microphone’. After a ban on using megaphones, the people at Occupywallstreet have taken to using this tactic in order to allow everyone in the crowd to hear the speaker. It simply involves the crowd repeating all the words of the speaker in order to collectively magnify his or her voice. It seems like a minor issue to focus on, but the reality is that it unites by getting people to relay information to others while also saying something to themselves, and, in addition, it shows the limitless power of creative civil disobedience.
- http://dissidentvoice.org/2011/09/the-"people's-microphone"/
- http://dissidentvoice.org/2011/09/the-"people's-microphone"/
I've experienced this new language already in Minneapolis. I hope you will too.