Media Coverage Fails to Tell the Personal Stories of Occupy Protesters
by Rose Aguilar for Truthout
The spin is that the Occupiers are a bunch of losers and, according to Bill Kristol, "Marxists." In my experience, this could not be further from the truth. They are ordinary people that are fed up with the status quo, and many of them have been personally damaged by it through foreclosures, unemployment, and a sense that things are headed in the wrong direction. Others have not been affected so much personally as socially. That have friends and family that are hurting. "The 99%" characterizes them very well.
If I had to put my finger on it, I would lay the blame at the feet of President Obama, although, of course, he is himself a product of the system. But what one hears is that instead of protesting, the protestors should be working for change through the political system. The answer of many is that they did, only to be were betrayed by the president, who immediately upon being elected appointed an administration friendly to the 1%. The appointment of Rahm Emmanuel, Larry Summers, and Tim Geithner was particularly galling.
When people give up on being able to effect change through the political system, which they see as essentially corrupt and rigged against them, then they take recourse to other means. That is what we are now seeing across the US.
We was predicting the rise of social unrest some time ago. Now it is here big time, and it is not going away anytime soon. This is a trend that is going to have profound consequences socially, politically, and economically. It will turn out to be a defining moment in history.
10 comments:
Agreed - OWS is by-product of a failed political system. The main product of which was the income inequality.
I'm not sure. I've spent time at DailyKos, which has regular OWS diaries, and I don't see much angst regarding Obama. Maybe its the DK community, a small part of OWS, not sure. But its certainly a mindset of the dems are for 99% and pubs are for 1% - horribly misguided. You mention Obama's real interest, he's not alone in dem party.
Also, not sure how long such protesting will last. I think with our overall high standard of living, most people will just tire of it all and keep living.
"I think with our overall high standard of living, most people will just tire of it all and keep living."
That I think is presumption that may or may not be borne out. If the austerians and financiers get their way, we will see further deflation - contraction -unemployment, and another financial crisis. Randy Wray has been laying out the scenario for some time, and I am in agreement with his analysis. I see the world at the beginning of the second leg down in GDII. If that happens, it is going to radicalize a whole lot more people.
Cyberweez, I am just going on the feeling I am picking up that the political system is broken and change through politics seems hopeless. The Democrats had their chance and blew it. Why would anyone expect another Democratic administration to be any different? As Einstein noted, insanity is expecting a different result from the same conditions. Obama has not moved one iota so far, in spite of what he has said. In fact, he has been moving in the other direction.
And the GOP, well, they have announced with whom they stand — the 1% and the status quo.
Disagree - when 99% are fed up they take to the streets in large numbers. They go on marches, and they go repeatedly. They don't camp out as if they are homeless.
The Marxist community reports that the occupy movement is largely reformist in nature, with the belief that capitalism can be fixed by ending corruption. Maybe they are right, but they will have to learn to do this themselves. Waiting passively for the 'experts' to decide what needs to be done is what got us here in the first place.
Attempts to radicalize the movement towards a more revolutionary objective have so far failed. The recent police crackdown may offer a glimmer of hope...
She hits the nail on the head.
No way. This is in the very early stages. The same was said of the anti-war movement and a couple of years later millions were in the streets.
Well, yes Obama and Congress are to blame, but so is the Fed.
Let's leave MMT arguments about real transmission arguments aside. The fact is, if the Fed wanted to do more, they could. They could buy stocks or other assets, setting an NGDP target to manage expectations. Instead, they actually downgrade their own forecasts, but offer no additional accommodation. And their original forecasts weren't pretty. They should stop trying to forecast the market, which they've shown to be perhaps the worst at, and set a credible NGDP target until the market reflects the economy they want to see.
Anti,
They could sell oil futures, that would be interesting.... the FRA requires them to conduct monetary policy with a view to the goals of 1. maximum employment 2, STABLE PRICES and 3. moderate long term interest rates....
Selling oil futures may help with #2...
Tom, agree with most of what you say re broken politics. That's clear from any poll, w/low voter turnout or Congress' or President's ratings. People know nothing will change, really. But, life is still overall damn comfortable, and the average person doesn't care as long as that's true. Writing on the wall? Who has the time to read that? A new iPhone is coming out that responds to your voice.
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