Mike, my comment is coming from a legitimate place of ignorance. I'm all for protest if there's something to protest, but seriously, what are they trying to accomplish? Is there a goal? Is there a plan? Is there leadership? Is there an endgame? Show me any of those things, and I'll get behind it 100 percent. If you can enlighten me as to what this is *actually* accomplishing, I genuinely want to know.
I am with you that they appear to be unorganized. But I think that will come with time.
They are drawing attention to the problems of wealth inequality and the shrinking middle class in the US. More importantly, they are drawing attention to the concept that the common people in this country are not represented in our government. As I was following the Arab Spring movements this summer, I often said what will it take for that to happen in this country? The occupy movement is the Arab Spring in the US.
I don't feel represented by our government. In my opinion, there is too much influence of money on policy making and regulation, too much money spent on defense and not enough money spent on infrastructure and education. Maybe this has always been an issue. Maybe there are no solutions and this is human nature. And certainly the richest 1% work hard for their money and deserve what they earn. But I believe that by swinging the pendulum away from benefiting the 1% and towards benefiting the lower and middle class there will be repercussions that benefit everyone (the richest 1% included) more than the current system does.
In 1971, Carnegie Mellon professor Herbert Simon wrote that "a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention." In the information age, attention is a commodity. Now the Occupy movement needs to convert from getting attention to producing substance.
5 comments:
I dunno...jobs?
(sorry for the non-sympathetic answer, but I just don't see what they're actually trying to accomplish by hanging out in a park with snarky signs)
Seems like they're making full use of Parks and Rec services.
Scott what would you suggest they do?
Mike, my comment is coming from a legitimate place of ignorance. I'm all for protest if there's something to protest, but seriously, what are they trying to accomplish? Is there a goal? Is there a plan? Is there leadership? Is there an endgame? Show me any of those things, and I'll get behind it 100 percent. If you can enlighten me as to what this is *actually* accomplishing, I genuinely want to know.
I am with you that they appear to be unorganized. But I think that will come with time.
They are drawing attention to the problems of wealth inequality and the shrinking middle class in the US. More importantly, they are drawing attention to the concept that the common people in this country are not represented in our government. As I was following the Arab Spring movements this summer, I often said what will it take for that to happen in this country? The occupy movement is the Arab Spring in the US.
I don't feel represented by our government. In my opinion, there is too much influence of money on policy making and regulation, too much money spent on defense and not enough money spent on infrastructure and education. Maybe this has always been an issue. Maybe there are no solutions and this is human nature. And certainly the richest 1% work hard for their money and deserve what they earn. But I believe that by swinging the pendulum away from benefiting the 1% and towards benefiting the lower and middle class there will be repercussions that benefit everyone (the richest 1% included) more than the current system does.
In 1971, Carnegie Mellon professor Herbert Simon wrote that "a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention." In the information age, attention is a commodity. Now the Occupy movement needs to convert from getting attention to producing substance.
http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/6909937/how-does-oregon-football-keep-winning
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