At its core, protest is a call for anarchy
Pundits continue to debate the nature of the Occupy Wall Street phenomenon. Is it a movement without a clue, or an understandable rejection of the U.S. financial system's excesses? Have anticapitalist militants taken over a movement that started out with broad populist support, or has it been anarchist from the start? Do the protests have similarities to the tea party movement? We asked members of The Californian's Sounding Board. Here are some of their responses.
The Occupy Wall Street movement is attacking the entire financial industry and anyone who has any financial resources. A small number of Wall Street bankers and financial industry executives played a huge part in the meltdown. They were at the very least unethical and at worst criminal. Very few have suffered any consequences for their behavior. They played games with the financial industry, similar to the games Crisp and Cole played with the local real estate market. But that doesn't mean an entire industry is questionable.
To compare the tea party to Occupy Wall Street is like comparing bottled water to dangerous illegal drugs or comparing George Soros to Rev. Billy Graham.
Disturbing the peace, breaking the law and making demands are not examples of democracy in action. The OWS protestors want, want, want. They want to make a total change in how we are governed. Their approach is childish: "Do what we want or we'll just sit here until you do." Tea party patriots hope to move our government back to the basics: toward fiscal responsibility, constitutionally limited government and free markets. They will do it peacefully and within the law.
Wall Street Occupiers are promoting socialism, Marxism, anarchism, you name it. It's not democracy. It's time for them to stop messing up our parks and cities, go home, get a job and appreciate the benefits of democracy. If that's not their "cup of tea," they might consider a move to North Korea, Cuba, Russia or China. Bon voyage!
Caroline O. Reid of Bakersfield is a retired executive assistant.
The Occupy movement has engendered more buzz that anything since the Vietnam protests a generation ago, and it is fully as important. Critics are right in deploring the abuses of the fringe behaving badly, but at its core, the Occupy movement is righteous and long overdue.
In the '80's, with supply-side economics, we were in trouble. The whole concept of "trickle down" is insulting and obscene. Small wonder it crashed and burned. It's foolish to say that the 99 percenters are losers, and anyone who thinks all tea partiers are winners is delusional. Differences aside, we all need to focus some things:
1. K Street. It's time to kick some political backsides in D.C. There is a conceptual underground railroad from lower Manhattan to the steps of Congress. It is fueled by greed, and there's a lot of suction at both ends.
2. We American consumers contributed to this debacle when we agreed that we had to have 54-inch TVs and every gadget Steve Jobs invented, and when we bought 3,000-square-foot houses we couldn't afford.
3. The Occupy movement is necessary. Every major change from, the American Revolution, abolition, the labor movement, women's suffrage and Civil Rights has been accompanied by upheaval and, sadly, sometimes bloodshed. Unfortunate, but that seems to be the way humanity works. Even the serfs of Europe didn't move upward until the Black Plague wiped out 50 percent of the population.
The Occupy movement is here, it's timely, and it will get results.
Laura Brittain of Bakersfield is a retired county social worker and a former dancer and professor at NYU.
The Occupy Wall Street participants remind me of a line from a 1960's Janis Joplin song: "Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose. Nothing's worth nothing, but it's free." The original protesters appeared to be young, unemployed and disenchanted but they have been hijacked by a variety of interests who see the right to protest as a tool to promote their views.
American financial institutions and capitalism as the focal point of their anger is especially perplexing because they are not yet participants but receive the benefits. They appear to see themselves as an extension of the youth in other parts of the world who are protesting because they are not free , all the while pushing the very limits of the freedom offered here.
Comparisons to the tea party protests defy logic. Tea party members are participants in the economic and political processes.
Their events were marked by one major difference with OWS events -- the next day they were back at work! Occupy is a very military-sounding term and implies that the participants intend that their actions will go on until change happens. Tea party protests called for action through the political process by contacting your representative and voting.
The Occupy Wall Street groups are activists trying to effect change by disrupting day-to-day commerce and instilling fear of violence. OWS does not have a clear message and their target, while shared with many Americans, is not where change is precipitated in a republic.
How all this plays out politically is the real question. While the protesters may have had support from a cross section of Americans, their decline into manipulated anarchists will certainly have a negative impact on their effectiveness.
My feeling is that there will be a very strong backlash against this type of protest as we get closer to the election, as Americans will tire of hearing some of the complaints while they are working hard to keep their own lives afloat.
Karen E. Wass of Arvin is a retired real estate broker.
Here are simple and straight-forward facts about the multi-city Occupy Wall Street protests:
This is not a spontaneous movement. It's been orchestrated by a collaboration of far-left organizations -- in some cases, very far left.
Most kids involved have no clue about the issues they purport to protest.
The only common element of OWS protests with those of the tea party is opposition to the dismal status of our current U.S. economy (caused by government-created excesses).
OWS protests are the antithesis of tea party demonstrations. Compare the fastidious areas left by tea party participants with the filth left by OWS protesters. Contrast the tea party's support of capitalism with OWS protesters' support of socialism (or worse). Compare the tea party's support of our Constitution with OWS's planned up-rooting of our Constitution. Contrast the tea party's peaceful protests with the violence emerging in the OWS protests.
OWS protestations will diminish once winter weather begins, yet their far-left organizers will not permit this protest to die. Their global revolutionary plan -- coupled with the high probability of collapse of Europe's banking system -- do not bode well for the U.S.
The solution lies in our citizens' inherent understanding of the God-granted natural laws that comprise our Constitution's foundation -- plus their votes in the 2012 national elections. With new executive and legislative leadership who understand and support these same critical constitutional principles, our "ship of state" can be turned around and our economy -- as well as our personal liberties -- restored.
John Pryor of Bakersfield is a management consultant.
