"Occupy" Protests

The T wrote: And what is so bad about the word "anarchist" that I see people here use, as always since you've been conditioned to, in abject fear? Oh I imagine you immediately picture gangs of people pillaging everything and setting the cities on fire....

Sounds like a plan to me.

In the end there probably won't ever be a unified set of demands, but if you think they want to either abolish the free market or have total governmental control, then you have oversimplified to point of being completely wrong.  This more like tea party kind of thinking.  We can't raise taxes because raising taxes means everyone's taxes get raised.  As if you can't just raise taxes on the super wealthy. 

Then there's these other moronic concepts like all regulation is bad, all taxes are bad, the government can't create jobs...


Edited by Slartibartfast - October 12 2011 at 16:59

Equality 7-2521 wrote: Henry Plainview wrote: But American soldiers and national guard troops are less likely to obey orders to shoot civilians. Maybe. lolDon't be so naive.

I guess it's just that people think "oh our boys are not like those crazy muslims..."

On the other hand, they were all trained to obey orders blindly and were all trained to kill so you are probably right.

Without reading any of the previous discussions and hoping that no one except me (and on the offhand chance Padraic Pat) cares somewhat about Rhode Island, the protests have come to Providence.

King of Loss wrote: The T wrote: Equality 7-2521 wrote: Henry Plainview wrote: But American soldiers and national guard troops are less likely to obey orders to shoot civilians. Maybe. lolDon't be so naive. I guess it's just that people think "oh our boys are not like those crazy muslims..." On the other hand, they were all trained to obey orders blindly and were all trained to kill so you are probably right. I don't think they're going to do that. Maybe some good ol' police brutality, but nothing too crazy.

Tell that to Oscar Grant.

Best possible future: 4 party system: Tea Party, Republican, Democrat, Occupy

King of Loss wrote: Equality 7-2521 wrote: King of Loss wrote: The T wrote: Equality 7-2521 wrote: Henry Plainview wrote: But American soldiers and national guard troops are less likely to obey orders to shoot civilians. Maybe. lolDon't be so naive. I guess it's just that people think "oh our boys are not like those crazy muslims..." On the other hand, they were all trained to obey orders blindly and were all trained to kill so you are probably right. I don't think they're going to do that. Maybe some good ol' police brutality, but nothing too crazy. Tell that to Oscar Grant. Yeah, well. sh*t happens. Cops are not exactly the most tame kind of people. They're trained to be pragmatic, realistic and very brutal.

Then why do you assume nothing too crazy will happen?

Soldiers and cops are paid to defend the government and to enforce its laws. They aren't paid to defend the people or to protect the people. If they have to choose between obeying orders from those who command them or defending/protecting the people, while some will probably want to do the latter, most will definitely choose the former. The first thing they are taught are not to question authority and to see the "other" (soldier from other army/criminal/suspect/whatever) as someone with a lesser degree of humanity than they have (if not they wouldn't be able to kill, they HAVE to learn to view these people as "others"), so this is not really the best recipe to guarantee that, in the case of an uprising, protesters wouldn't be hurt. Yes, many are good natured people and will not abuse their power and will think before they shoot, but many won't. And the impunity that their status gives them doesn't help.

Edited by The T - October 12 2011 at 22:30

King of Loss wrote: Proletariat wrote: Best possible future: 4 party system: Tea Party, Republican, Democrat, Occupy What would that accomplish?

It would force the republicans to come up with some real platforms / force the govt to start to think about the issues now swept under the rug, give voters options beyond "vaugly kind of liberal but mainly just like welfare alot" and "kind of moderately conservative, but mostly just homophobic"

For what it's wort, I really am realistic about all this.

This guy on FB is annoying me with his now militaristic profile pic and continual updates of anarchist punk songs, qutoes and statuses about how this is the revolution....

JJLehto wrote: For what it's wort, I really am realistic about all this. This guy on FB is annoying me with his now militaristic profile pic and continual updates of anarchist punk songs, qutoes and statuses about how this is the revolution....