There was a piece on NPR this morning about Occupy Wall Street in Kansas City. Made me proud of my home town. And there's this opinion piece from the New York Times, well worth reading.
This is great. I wonder if Jon Stewart understands that he kicked this into motion when he held the Rally to Restore Sanity last year. The home-made signs, the gathering of all kinds of people with differing ideologies smells very much like that rally. I love it that there are a lot of different messages being presented and that this seems to be a real grassroots movement that is only partially organized by professional activists. I have a big problem with professional activists of all kinds due to the holier-than-thou mindset that seems to come with the territory. Why are they better than the rest of us? I've never understood that.
What I remember about the movements in the sixties is that the protests changed the way people saw the world. The social changes came into play somewhat after that. I am very excited! Regular folks are participating in our democracy. Oh yeah!!
7 comments:
so glad you opened your post with the mention of kc - i heard the story while in bed, and thought i have to go check out that sculptural backdrop! then of course promptly forgot as got out of bed and started getting the day underway!
that krugman he is always so articulate and spot on! don't you love this line with regard to the reaction of some to the occupy together movement: "The way to understand all of this is to realize that it’s part of a broader syndrome, in which wealthy Americans who benefit hugely from a system rigged in their favor react with hysteria to anyone who points out just how rigged the system is."
okay, off to find an image of the shipping container iou!
Yes, Paul Krugman was excellent in the paper the other day.
Did you see Robert's photos on my NY blog last week?
I do feel that people are stirring at last because America really, sadly, does seem to be heading in a very bad direction.
Your photo with this post was extras special
1you go, girl!
Several typos above, --apologies --
but you get the idea!
ox
it's so nice to watch the old order being replaced - perhaps a bit slower and in a kore piecemeal fashion than i would wish - by whatever it is that is necessary. i love the energy. the edgy energy that i remember from my teen years. a sweet return! steven
A sweet return indeed. I feel very lucky to have lived through two periods of social upheaval and change.
Elizabeth will go look at your NY blog. Very cool!
I've not made up my mind completely on the rallies if only because of the involvement of Anonymous after their role in the BART protests here in SF. It seemed to be increasingly less about the issues and more about the promotion of themselves in their chaotic way.
Being polite is usually not successful strategy for an activist, and rallies are important. But they alone won't make the real changes needed until there a deep systemic changes.
I've not made up my mind completely on the rallies if only because of the involvement of Anonymous after their role in the BART protests here in SF. It seemed to be increasingly less about the issues and more about the promotion of themselves in their chaotic way.
Being polite is usually not successful strategy for an activist, and rallies are important. But they alone won't make the real changes needed until there a deep systemic changes.
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