I’ve been going to the Occupy Baltimore protest twice a day since it started Tuesday. I’ve done what I can with them with the limited amount of time I have. The spirit is there, no doubt, but they’re not going to get the support of more than 150 people until they have a unified message.
Are you attending a protest in your city?
Only 150? You should come out to Portland. There’s 5000 of us that know how to party, I mean protest. This town is FULL of loudmouths who love protesting!
I’m waiting to see what’s happening here in my local area. It seems it’s a drive to either West Palm, or Miami. If either of them gain some steam I might go on my days off.
Christ, 5000?! Y’all are making us look bad! :mad:
I’m in DC this week and am going to try to head over and check out the occupation before I fly home later today.
I’m looking for the website that tells you how to help out by sending food into the protesters. If things work out, I’ll join them on the line before long. I am so proud of these great Americans who have finally realized that our country exists for us, not the privileged few. I’m especially pleased to see this has exposed the Tea Baggers as useful idiots for the Republican/Conservative/RobberBaron coalition.
Talk about an unfocused group-I’m looking at a photograph of the protest and among the signs are ones that say:
“Stop Funding Israeli Apartheid”
“Quit Killing Innocent People”
“Social Security Belongs To The People”
“Humanity, Not Communism”
“BDS”
“IRS = IRA”
“Send The Government To Prison”
Oh Its On"
“US Govt + Bank$ = Organized Crime”
and, many, many more.
In your opinion, is that a good thing or a bad thing?
Agent Foxtrot, remember where you are. I’m surprised you could find even 150 people who wanted to occupy Baltimore. 
And what should their signs say? Or should they start burning things?
If this is supposed to be a “Wall Street” type of protest, then protest things that have to do with Wall Street-business, finance and the like. Focus a bit so that the people you want to influence know that you are talking to them in particular. As it now stands, nobody is in a position to address the concerns of this crowd.:
Stock Market Representative: “I understand that you have concerns about how the stock market is currently run, and I’m here to answer any questions you may have.”
Protester #1: “What are going to do about Israeli apartheid?”
Protester #2: “Why are you gutting Social Security?”
Protester #3: “What are you doing about Communism?”
Stock Market Representative: “…”
That’s why comparisons between the Occupiers and the Tea Party are apt. Like the Tea Party, many of these folks are ill-informed, fond of over-the-top rhetoric and lack well-defined goals. And I say that as someone who would typically be in sympathy with these protesters. Hey, I don’t blame anyone for being pissed at the banksters who trashed our economy, but just what is it that they want to do about it?
I attended in Houston yesterday. We had about 600 (and one, lonely tea-partier).
There were opposing opinions on whether or not the OH attendees could stay in the park in front of city hall overnight. The cops said “no”, but the Mayor said “yes”. 65 slept over.
So where are you getting your numbers? Corporate media has a corporate stake in this and they appear to be downplaying the importance of the protests.
I am joining the occupation in St Louis. Right now it appears to be just a core group of 30 or so, but good turnouts for rallies and marches. This weekend should give an idea about big it can get.
I am not too concerned with what the signs say at the moment or any particular level of consistency among them. I just love the fact that people are out there holding signs, and show no signs of leaving. Eventually a consensus will form on what the ‘priority’ list will be.
The most important thing right now is just sustaining the momentum and that means being as inclusive as possible.
The wonderful thing about St Louis at the moment is there are no ‘leaders’. Everything is by consensus, and hopefully that will continue. They will be a time for ‘delegates’ to coordinate actions and an agenda, but not yet.
The biggest concern is if there will be enough momentum before the weather turns.
You know what all these occupiers should do, since they have such disparate goals? They should all get together and decide on one or a few people to represent them. Then all the representatives should go to one city, preferably one building, and argue back and forth about who exactly should be doing what. And every once in a while…say, every other November… those chosen people should have to go back to where they came from and try to get re-chosen by the people in order to go back the building in the different city.
Then once that group decided what to do, they could give the decision to some other guy (chosen by all the occupiers) to actually execute the plan. He doesn’t have to stay at the big building, but he should probably stay in a house nearby.
Yeah, that’s the ticket.
I don’t think people are getting it. It’s not up to them to fix the problem. The people who are supposed to be fixing our problems aren’t, and this is a polite reminder for them to do it, which will be ignored, and then they will start burning things. I am proud to be an American again.
Bull. This is a disparate mob yelling at tall buildings and demanding that a hundred different problems, some of them vague, be solved by …somebody. Now! I have to admit that as rabble-rousing goes it ain’t half bad, but I have no idea what specifically they want to happen, and who exactly they want to do it.
How about this? I can get behind it:
I plan on going to Occupy Portland in the near future, and that will be the demand I write on my sign. Clear, simple, concise.
Yes, they won’t even leave the parks at the 10pm curfew. What purpose is served by getting arrested for that? Presumably these are all local people–go home, get some sleep, and come back tanned, rested, and ready at 6am tomorrow.
Or have I missed a sign? “End the 10pm park curfew!”