Ten Ways the Occupy Movement Changes Everything

[Vince Tortelli]

You maced your kids and beat them with batons?

For future reference:

Poppa Tortelli = Not the same as Vince Tortelli. Rather, the Paterfamilias of the Tortelli family, who raised Vince and his siblings.

Has the discussion turned to police brutality? I only got as far as page 3, where the Occupiers were lauded for their willingness to exist outside of central heating and internet access before I had to post something derogatory.

I'm not a big fan of these "crowd vs kitted out riot squad situations", all it takes it one moron (on either side) to turn things into a urban action sequence from a John Carpenter film (They Live, Assault on Precinct 13, Big Trouble In Little China, Escape from New York...) and morons are the second most common element in the universe (hydrogen is of course number one)

[CNagy]

Fine. You all win the misery-off. No one in any Occupy Movement has ever had it as bad as you have or do. None of them have ever pulled themselves out of the same **** you have and into a bright shining future. You win!

But answer me this: there is proof that there are fewer people are bootstrapping themselves now than there were 30/20/10 years ago. In fact, there is proof that the trend is fewer and fewer people hoisting themselves contrary to physics by various shoe parts from the past as we move forward in time. So where does this trend go? Is this not something worth calling attention to? And were people really paying attention to it prior to the Occupy movement?

Succeeding requires a lot of effort, but most people still fail. You can tell me they all didn't work hard enough; maybe some of them didn't. Tell me how--even in a low-tax and regulation environment--how is a small business supposed to thrive if its customers don't have money to spend? Disposable income is the grease that makes the capitalist system work. You don't build something unless people want to buy it; you don't cook something unless someone wants to eat it. Demand is king, and demand requires having money to spend.

Forget the idiots who want the world given to them; does anyone honestly think that will get enough traction to come to pass? Ignore them and tell me: where does this system go if the wealth is increasingly in the hands of the few? I apologize if I've said this before, because I've been talking about this everywhere, but the rich don't buy enough houses, eat at enough restaurants, go to enough theme parks, buy enough cars and enough crap to build the necessary demand to keep the rest of us employed. So where is this system supposed to go?

I accept that government is doing a bad job; that there is a lot of waste that could be directed at methods more positive for small business and commerce. But, again, we also know where all the wealth is increasingly concentrated. Is that not a symptom of a sick system? It doesn't seem like an attribute of a self-perpetuating system.

[Hedgehogey]

Look at these lazy, stinking hippies: an 84 year old woman, a veteran and a priest. What are they gonna pepper spray next, a baby holding a flag and an apple pie?

[Hedgehogey]

For future reference:

Poppa Tortelli = Not the same as Vince Tortelli. Rather, the Paterfamilias of the Tortelli family, who raised Vince and his siblings.

Oh I thought you were kindof pompously referring to yourself in the third person.

Police brutality is a part of being an activist, as implacable, sudden and unpredictable as the weather. It's one of the factors you factor in when you decide to go to a march, no matter how nonviolent: am I going to get maced today? Putting yourself out there in the public, as they've been doing...wait, I just realized something. Are you saying your dad made you camp outside in the winter for months at a time without electricity, plumbing or even a fire while a bunch of guys in leather boots and masks watched you sleep and occasionally hit you with a club? Where you raised by Buffalo Bill?

[DCS]

What are they gonna pepper spray next, a baby holding a flag and an apple pie?

Don't give them ideas.

[dflanmod]

Look at these lazy, stinking hippies: an 84 year old woman, a veteran and a priest. What are they gonna pepper spray next, a baby holding a flag and an apple pie?

Hey hedge.
How has the demographic you're touting here fared in your much beloved comunist state????

But then again, I'm sure that you have the TRUE lineage when it comes to socialisim.

Ps. And how exactly does a human rights violation make the political positions of the protestors any more valid than they were prior to a few mild beatings? Like if I get caught raping somebody and the police beat me down during the arrest does that lend legitimacy to my rapefest?

[Hedgehogey]

That's not an attempt to gain legitimacy, but a response to the stereotyping of protestors going on in this and every other thread about anything vaguely left wing. Anytime anyone suggest some sort of control on capitalism, the forum's bros mobilize, not to offer arguments but to laugh through their bad teeth and miss the point like the reactionary fratboy morons they are, while desperately hoping that they can put up a big enough screen of thought-stopping cliches (GET A JOB, HIPPIE etc) that they can deny, at least to themselves, that OWS has had an impact on the national discourse, while undermining that at the same time by making threads like this one.

But are you legit comparing sleeping in the park to rape?

[battlefields]

I have no doubt there are people in the movement who know what they are doing. But I doubt, due to overwhelming evidence that suggests the majority of people in general are fucking stupid, that they make up the majority of the movement. Let me just reiterate, people in general are fucking STUPID. I can then extrapolate that a gathering of people without employment would have an even lower average IQ than the general population. Yes, there will be some incredibly gifted individuals who have grasped the concept, who have lost their jobs or gone broke due to shady financial practices, but they will be weighed down by the incredibly moronic individuals that believe the movement is somehow going to double the size of their welfare cheques.

If the movement does enact change, I am the one going to benefit because I actually contribute to society and have done for years, I know how to identify opportunity and work towards a goal. People who don't know how to contribute to society, who don't know how to set and achieve goals because they have been handed a cheque from the gubbamint since they was kidz cause the world owes them for whatever reason, they are the ones who will still cry that they are hard done by because the redistribution of the 1%'s wealth is going to people who actually deserve it (EDIT: a bit harsh, to people who work).

Again, there are people in the movement who will benefit from the change because they ARE OR WERE PRODUCTIVE MEMBERS OF SOCIETY. They will know when change has been enacted, they will see the movement's ideals come to fruition and they will grasp the opportunities that arise from it.

[Vince Tortelli]

Oh I thought you were kindof pompously referring to yourself in the third person.

IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT YOU THINK!

The above was often said by one Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson, a professional wrestler, now actor, who was popular in the 90s. He was also known for refering to himself in the 3rd person, as in "The Rock has no idea why some jabroni on a forum is bringing up the Rock in a bad attempt at humor that nobody who wasn't a fan of the Rock is going to get."

Putting yourself out there in the public, as they've been doing...wait, I just realized something. Are you saying your dad made you camp outside in the winter for months at a time without electricity, plumbing or even a fire while a bunch of guys in leather boots and masks watched you sleep and occasionally hit you with a club? Where you raised by Buffalo Bill?

The one that employed Annie Oakley and Cole Younger in his Wild West Show or the one who might have avoided his issues if he'd just joined an 80s hair band?

So you're telling me the Occupiers lack even the skills to make fire in the woods? Or, assuming a lack of Boy Scouts, Red necks, and similar Hearty OutdoorsPeople in their ranks, the foresight walk to the gas station and buy a Bic Lighter?

And I should be against the Oakland PD getting rid of them before they further taint the gene pool because?

[Sri Hanuman]

Yes, there are genuine exceptions in that crowd, but they are the minority. There are also people who make excellent points among the protesters, but again, they are not the bulk of the mob. Just google some videos, interviews, discussions, what have you. The majority shows itself to be petulent mob of whiny little girls who want something, but are to complacent to do anything that requires true effort on their part.

Get more than one job? **** no, I'd rather stand here and bitch. Seriously, what a bunch of fucking pussies. The time I had to spend at the welfare office when I was unemployed for a time was productive. Why? Because they have classes on improving your resume, interview training, and generally some great ways to get you into the work force. Guess what, I was the only one of 2 people in that class. Wonder why...

Even now it looks like I may have to get another job to support myself and my wife, but guess what, thats what you have to do, then get off your ass and do it. As I said before, the vast overwhelming majority in that crowd has no understanding of real hardship. Again, because a vast number of them are idealistic college students. And again, yes, there will be exceptions.