Sunday, November 20, 2011

Weighing in on Occupy Wall Street: 60s wannabes or what is the message?

I firmly support the right to freedom of assembly.  The OWS supporters have just as much right to be heard as the Tea Party.  I don't have to agree with the message of either. but they do have the right to assemble.  Having said that, I do not agree that they (OWS protesters) have the right to camp out in areas where camping is not allowed, and for which they have not paid a user fee.  In Baltimore, the mayor has tread very carefully. She did cut off their access to electricity (occupy campers were plugging in heaters & coffee pots to the outlets on the light poles). I drive by the tents every morning, & they are an eyesore.  A legitimate charitable group that paid their fee was denied access because the Occupy group refused to move.  There has been at least one incident of sexual assault & drugs/paraphernalia found among the tents.  Still, there have been very few arrests here, and the protests have remained peaceful.   They conducted a positive march & demonstration at the Howard St. Bridge this past week.  But I don't really get their message. I understand the 1% vs 99% part, but the protesters offer no solutions. Neither the solutions of the 40s (jobs through public works) nor the solutions of the 60s (end the war) seem to apply to the current situation. Do they want socialism?  Do they want corporations abolished?  To pay higher taxes? To be regulated? To limit profits? To abolish bonuses for CEOs? I agree that these individuals (OWS protesters) need jobs, but who will hire them if there are no corporations?  Who will hire them when they have an arrest record (charges of loitering, trespassing, fail to obey, vagrancy or even assault - takes very little to be charged with assaulting police)?  Who will hire those who are unwilling to start at entry level and establish a work record worthy of promotion? At best, they are engaging in civil disobedience, which is a time-honored method of bringing about change.  At worst, they are a nuisance and an eyesore, with a negative effect on tourism & increased potential for crime.

3 comments:

  1. I'm racking my brain to come up with the specific goal/s stated by Martin Luther King jr. and Ghandi.

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  2. I'm perfectly OK with the demonstrations & marches. Just not the camping.

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  3. They probably fear that if they went home every nite they wouldn't be thought as being serious about the demonstrations.

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