Occupy Wall Street – Legitimate Movement Or Unorganized Hippies With Nothing To Do?    by Greg Wenzel

in Society / Politics    (submitted 2011-11-02)

What's the difference between a Liberal Democratic occupation protest and that of a Conservative Republican demonstration of the same?

The Liberal concoction is an unorganized peace and love fest with good intentions and sensible ideology vs. the Conservative brand propaganda of a specific and measurable force powered with clear intent and ruthless action to achieve the prescribed objective.

This is exemplified in the recent developments associated with the group identified as Occupy Wall Street and it's pseudo hippy association with "granola bar", "earth muffin", "tree hugger" and "peacenik" type personalities. Or consider Rush Limbaugh's pompous, elitist, self-righteous reference to the OWS group -

""Occupy Wall Street, Occupy Sacramento, Occupy Philadelphia, Occupy Washington, wherever they are, what exactly are the contributions to society these protestors have made? How many jobs have they created? How many jobs have they held? Have they built any homes for people? Have they invented any lifesaving drugs? These protestors, who are actually few in number, have contributed nothing. They're parasites."
"Many of these protestors are bored trust fund kids, obsessed with being something, being somebody, meaningless lives, they want to matter. Others are just showing up for the fun of it to rabble-rouse."

Anyone who has watched television, been online, listened to the radio and been less than isolated from American pop culture will not be surprised by Rush Limbaugh's comments about the OWS organization. It makes one consider why he, along with his contemporaries, have such terrible things to say about the protestors. Especially considering that Rush and his cronies are self-expressed patriots and defenders of The American Way. Why is it that they despise other Americans standing up for justice and bringing attention to an unequal and well orchestrated exploitation of the middle class as is exemplified by the behavior of "Wall Street" and the banking and investment establishment here in America. No one can deny the mismanagement of investments, unethical business practices and ultimately the creation of a world hostage crisis with the recent financial failure of our banking system requiring a $900 billion "Troubled Asset Relief Program". TARP of which the middle class's taxes paid for and of which the wealthy Wall Street banking and investment institutions received billions of dollars in unqualified and unaccounted benefit. Yes, after receiving the "Moral Hazard" delivery of bailout money the poor, poor investment bankers on wall street set aside millions upon millions of dollars for new corporate jets, corporate cars, new offices and if you're Goldman Sachs - over $200,000 per employee for bonuses in the year of the banking system failure.

So what does this have to do with the Occupy Wall Street Gang of Thugs and The Conservative hatred of the same? Well, it's hard to identify the problem and it's difficult to ascertain what it is exactly that rips the heart out of conservative bodies when engaging in dialogue about OWS.

Here are some recent thoughts and observations regarding the movement and what it may reveal about our country and the priorities of the governing and ruling bodies of the US.

First off, there isn't a problem with the OWS movement - well orchestrated or not, it can be considered a movement as it takes on the form of a global organizing principal

There is criticism of OWS as having no message or purpose. Many grass roots organizations begin with an undefined message - perhaps dissatisfied with the current state of the economy, nation or community, small groups/cultures/organizations reach out to like minded individuals in hope of finding common ground and a plausible, reasonable, conscientious consideration for creating change - a change in an environment that is controlled by what may be considered an oppressive or otherwise unequal social, economic or political structure.

It isn't necessary to have a clear message in order to conclude that a system of government or commerce is inequitable and there are forces or groups that capitalize, exploit and profit on the unequal structure at the expense of the oppressed group.

As an idea, group or movement gains momentum it is possible that a centric, concise and well conjured message can arise - OWS isn't a well planned conspiracy, it is an organic demonstration of people coming together to support a common cause - no reasonable person can dispute, and some capitalists will not only dispute but throw fits of anger and rage, that an injustice on the American public has been displayed and orchestrated by the forces on Wall Street, The Federal Government, banking and investment interests and our Congressional leadership.

If someone is resistant to the idea of there being an injustice on the American public, drop the conversation as it is pointless to continue.

This movement, as I will refer to it, is happening on a Global basis - this isn't simply an American concern - this is a Global idea comprising of Occupy events in North America, South America, Asia, Europe, Africa and Australia. This indicates that there is an implied or actionable meaning or message on some level.

Contradictory to many reports or accusations, OWS demonstration participants aren't lazy free-loaders. I would suspect, as with any group, that there are exceptions and I doubt this group is different. We've all heard Rush, Hannity and Coulter reference the nakedness, boozing and drugging reminiscent of the Woodstock festival of the 60's - fact or fiction doesn't matter - one or two incidents don't represent the population. The point is, these are average Americans, college educated, available and ready to work, committed to making positive contributions to the country and are not sucking the life out of America as many opponents will suggest. These are patriotic Americans, many who have served through military, or public service, who are seeking a "Fair Shake" as opposed to the current financial mismanagement and evolving crisis that the majority is effected by and, in fact, it was the wealthy and powerful 1% who created it. These OWS protestors represent America - the individual and collective Americans who have been used and exploited to provide a privileged and unethical manipulation of our country's assets to serve the 1% with no regard to the US economy, US citizens, stability of our nation or the world economic collective.

Clear and defined message or not, this organizing principal is indicative of a shift in thinking and willingness to act formerly possessed by an otherwise apathetic US population.

No action has been taken thus far relating to accountability of the members of the banking and investment firms responsible for the current financial crisis. It is possible that the OWS will prove a disappointing passing memory in the collective consciousness of Americans who have supported and promoted the movement. Only time will tell - We can only imagine that no action or participation will most certainly provide a similar path to the one that we have chosen in the past. The hope for America is that at the very least there will be pressure to promote reform and regulation that will suppress this type of predicament in the future.

If this protest/movement/cause is misdirected, then it is one of the most popular misdirects we have seen globally in quite some time. This cause, regardless of its' lack in centric development, has brought commonality and necessary reflection on our priorities to the forethought of a global community.

The underlying themes to the OWS demonstrations are "People before profit" and a contradictive ideology to "Profit at all cost". This is a paradoxical anthem to the zealots who preach capitalism over democracy and humanity.

Regardless of personal perspective this global phenomenon has surpassed the scope of national, cultural and ethnic boundaries and provides an opportunity for conversation and debate regarding what priority best serves our country and global community moving forward.

© 2011 Greg Wenzel | Bison Media Group

About the Author

Chief Operations Officer at Bison Media Group | Prime Productions
COO | Executive Campaign Manager | Conditional Partner at EM Inc.
Instructor - Department of Health and Human Performance at University of Houston
Director Of Operations | Project Manager at Distributed Network Services Corp

bisonmediagroup.com
gregwenzel.com