Occupy Wallstreet

[Tycherin]

The ridiculous part is that this was just starting to fade from the public consciousness. This is terribly timed on the officials' part.

[Digital Dolphin]

Yep, all they've done is rally a lot of new support and re-invigorated the existing support for the #OWS cause.

[empath]

One might wonder if they did do this to help the protestors and sustain public attention to the movement's message?

[JackSlack]

Apparently what happened was #OWS threatened to "Shut Down Wall Street" and "Occupy the Subways" today. The police action preempted it.

Which now looks more like #OWS threw down a staring contest at the city, and the city blinked first.

[Digital Dolphin]

Apparently what happened was #OWS threatened to "Shut Down Wall Street" and "Occupy the Subways" today. The police action preempted it.

Which now looks more like #OWS threw down a staring contest at the city, and the city blinked first.

Nope, that was planned for the 17th, and from what I've been seeing on the various feeds, people are planning to make it a much bigger action than originally planned.

[empath]

This overreaction on the part of 'The Authorities' is really starting to worry me; former judges clearly identified as legal observers threatened and assaulted?

Milgram apparently didn't know the half of it.

Only conclusion I can make is people are fucking EVIL and any power or authority over others will invariably corrupt.

Makes me wanna start making plans to buy some land out in a wilderness area, establish a secure dwelling there and stock up for the seemingly-inevitable self-disintegration of civilization.

[Fezzul]

Can I come, Empath?

We could Occupy Nowhere.

[sdhonda]

Except that many of these guys stay just within the confines of the law, and no further, in order to provoke a reaction from their targets so they can sue them.

Many of the occupiers also want to provoke a reaction to fulfill their fantasies of civil disobedience and martyrdom, but they kinda screw it up and break the law from the get go.

[empath]

Yeah, the Law Firm of Phelps, Phelps, Phelps, Something-Phelps, Phelps-SomethingElse and Phelps never actually camps out for days on other people's property (or if they did, they'd secure written permission).

[empath]

The fun part is; that COULD be NYC, now.

[empath]

Dear 'Occupiers':

Look, 'back in tha day' a bunch of hippies got together to protest the Vietnam War in DC and tried with the collective will of thousands of them, to levitate the Pentagon as a symbolic gesture of their dissent…it didn’t work, obviously…

…but their choice of actions is STILL BETTER THAN ANYTHING YOU’VE COME UP WITH.

Standing around, blocking traffic, and demanding that evil rich bastards voluntarily give up their power and money would be foolish and pretty pointless, but it would STILL be a symbolic sign of actual EFFORT on your part.

I was disappointed with the well-intentioned but muddled-to-the-point-of-incomprehensibility that the OWS message has been...and it HASN’T IMPROVED; the ONLY thing y’all have accomplished is to get a bunch of yourselves beaten and arrested.

And DON’T try to come across with the bullshit about ‘public awareness’ - everyone KNOWS things suck and that the rich are probably PROFITING OFF OF OUR MISFORTUNE; what’s next? “Occupy NOAA to get the message out that the seas are rising”?

The BEST thing to come out of the Occupy movement is “We are the 99%” - a slogan and wonderful tagline...to nothing. No call to ANY sort of action whatsoever.

Look, you’ve tried passive resistance and non-violent protest, and you’ve just shown that the 'grey' 1% people are good at doing what they’ve been doing to us for decades and centuries: IGNORING US. All the complaining we do isn't going to amount to ANYTHING productive with regards to this bunch.

...so maybe...

AW, fuckit - I’m not an American, and living in a place where even the government officials are probably feeling the same pinch as the rest of us, but I’m too old to really CARE anymore:

MAYBE IT’S TIME FOR SOME VIOLENT PROTEST; MAYBE EVEN TIME FOR SOME ARMED INSURRECTION - storm some of these glass and steel towers that keep y’all out with force and superior numbers and drag the 1% over to that square with the plane trees and the empty wooden frame…

Yeah, I went there - and I’m probably now on some FBI or NSA watchlist, but I’m too fucking tired to care about that shit anymore.

(be honest; the historical reference was a waste, wasn’t it?)

[Psyclone]

We made a point to NOT be affiliated with OWS, but I don't know where else to put this...

So, today, this happened. It was pretty awesome.

[Metcarfre]

That's pretty boss.

[Elomin Sha]

Yesterday some people held an Occupy Swansea.

Biggest bunch of idiots yet.

[gcninja]

their current facebook "about"

Revolutionary Occupation in Swansea, fighting to make some thinkers,Thinking = Victory.

[psychopez]

16 minute video showing everything that lead up to the UC Davis pepper spray:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... hPdH3wE0_Y

[JustAName]

So, new phobia of mine that I just discovered because of that video: mobs. I mean, I knew I had problems with crowds, but... Jesus fuck. I'm sorry. I try not to display opinionated behaviors. But... What the fuck did they think the police would do? Capitulate? They didn't think about anything - the members of the police, the situation... They just wanted to make a stand in the face of authority, and they wanted to be martyrs. I understand that not everyone there did, but... groupthink is a bitch. And people are FUCKING scary.

[Tycherin]

So, new phobia of mine that I just discovered because of that video: mobs. I mean, I knew I had problems with crowds, but... Jesus fuck. I'm sorry. I try not to display opinionated behaviors. But... What the fuck did they think the police would do? Capitulate? They didn't think about anything - the members of the police, the situation... They just wanted to make a stand in the face of authority, and they wanted to be martyrs. I understand that not everyone there did, but... groupthink is a bitch. And people are FUCKING scary.

None of us is as stupid as all of us.

[empath]

THIS.

The collective IQ of a group is equal to the sum of the IQs of the individuals, divided by the SQUARE of the number of people in the group...

[Dutch guy]

To summarise: Never underestimate the stupidity of smart people in large groups.

Also, I've been in riot drills, I know what it is like to be in a large mob like that. You DO get ample warning, and once it comes to the stage of not being able to move away, there is only one solution. Move to the back and stay there, stay on your feet and wait. IF a charge is made, there will always be a way out.

Contrary to popular belief the police kinda have a plan in these kinds of events. And contrary to popular belief it servers them no cause to use unnecessary violence.

[Metcarfre]

It's a shame, because if there were ever a time this message and a constructive plan needed to be heard...

[Digital Dolphin]

From the tweets I've been following re: OWS, it sounds like things are going to get a lot worse soon.The phrase "extralegal action" has come up a few times.

There are discussions about a system of internal rules and "laws" being created for within the OWS movement, presumably to help govern right and wrong actions from the perspective of people who have lost faith in their government.

And apparently OWS has a blimp now?

[Metcarfre]

Oh, Randy should have a field day with that one.

[sdhonda]

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manh ... 60rSMhcEgP

[Tycherin]

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/occupier_gets_an_occupation_o8x0D8DkpsWB60rSMhcEgP

More evidence of corporate- wait, no, let me try that again. Damn Occupiers, they should get a... No, that isn't right, uh... Speak out against political... corruption... or something? What?

I'm not sure how I'm supposed to feel about that article.