I've been watching the live stream from Occupy Portland.
I've also talked to a few local supporters. I find I agree with a lot of their complaints.
Sure there is a growing gap between the upper and lower classes.
I'm not much of a fan of banks and large corporations.
Student loans are a ticket to debt slavery.
Sure we live in a police state.
But...
Watching the video feed is so frustrating. All this blather about corporations and the 1 percent misses the point.
The big corporations and the huge banks care about only themselves and they always have. Everyone has seen, "Its a Wonderful Life." There was the Industrial Revolution. There was the Great Depression. We have seen it all before.
So we make laws to regulate these guys.
Then it turns out that no one was actually enforcing the rules and that the rules had been relaxed and when the banks got caught in their own Ponzi Scheme who bailed them out?
So, going out and protesting the banks and corporations is pretty silly. They just are following their nature.
And, it appears that we are ignoring huge violations of regulations which have resulted widespread economic problems and personal suffering but yet individuals and small businesses are saddled more and more regulation and loss of personal freedoms which are enforced to the full extent of the law. Amish people are raided by SWAT teams for selling raw milk. A friend of mine faced huge fines for selling beef which was basically mislabeled though several mistakes and misunderstandings and the whole thing could have been handled by a visit by an inspector and a civil conversation.
I think this whole Occupy movement will somehow be used to restrict civil rights in some way, advance some sort of political agenda that will give even more power to different big corporations and big government, somehow it is going to take money and land from small and medium sized business owners and land owners and give it to people who will remain in perpetual dependence on the government.
It has happened before...
It is sad to see that there is no resolution I can see. Do you really think the Republicans have any great statesmen in the works? Look at the morons running for president? The Democrats are worse, it is going to be Obama and change and they are going to claim the Occupy people as their own- I suspect.
Perhaps I'm just negative.
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They are useful to a point, which I think they have made. Now they are just costing the taxpayer money to pay for all the cops at probably overtime pay, and they are restricting my right to walk through the park blocks.
ReplyDeleteWe need an Occupy Ballston. Perhaps we could protest the closing of the fertilizer plant. We could all ride the train out from Whiteson.
ReplyDeleteMuddy, they make me claustrophobic
ReplyDeleteG706, That train ran over the Scooter boy's sheep. The old Willamina Wobbler has a bloodlust! Lulu is occupying the living room.
I've been thinking of Occupying Bellfountain. Some say the old folks closed the store because they wanted to retire. I say it was pure greed. And who shut down the gas station? I bet Big Oil had a hand in it! Oh, wait....nope....twas the EPA!
ReplyDeleteYOU, Budd? Negative? Why you're as much a Pollyanna as I am!
ReplyDeleteI think that soon the weather will shut down the occupiers here in Sask. I can't imagine anyone dedicated enough to spend the winter in a tent in some of our -30 blizzards.
ReplyDeleteOrin, I'm thinking more about occupying Panama City Beach. I was watching the live feed from Portland Sunday and it is funny to see people write things like "Obama is watching." I see you do have the proper rationalization on the Store but you know it was Big Oil who planted the evidence and bought off the EPA to shut down the gas station because they were thinking about getting an ELECTRIC forklift and to take local attention off the BP OIL SPILL.
ReplyDeleteGorges, yes I like to whistle while I work.
Ralph, I keep scratching my head and wondering what the real story is. Occupy Sask? That is just funny!