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Forum Post: ---------------- What's NEXT for Occupy Wall Street Movement: Where We Could Go From Here

Posted 12 years ago on Nov. 6, 2011, 2:51 p.m. EST by therising (6643)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement

I agree with others who say we are in a battle for the hearts and minds of the American people. We, the 99%, have been dazzled for too long by consumption. It has ruled our minds and occupied our hearts.

But now that is changing. And the big beast (the 1% machine) that orchestrates and profits from consumption is PISSED. As we resist this beast, we need to remain nonviolent and engage in tactics that bring more supporters to the movement by shining a light on the corruption. Then, once united, I think we should do THIS: http://occupywallst.org/forum/proposed-list-of-demands-please-help-editadd-so-th/

GA must approve any actions of that size though. Our processes all along the way must be transparent for the end result to be just, authentic and lasting.

And main goal at the end is to get our own candidates in there if demands not met. First and foremost, I agree with many others who say we must spend our time now discovering all we have in common. We the 99% need to realize we have the power and have had it all along. Once we unite, we'll realize the absurdity of 1% ruling over and exploiting the 99% for so long. Then we'll be in a position to make decisions from a position of unified strength rather than making demands from a position of divided weakness.

94 Comments

94 Comments


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[-] 3 points by GypsyKing (8708) 12 years ago

I want to personally thank therising for his/her many intelligent posts on this site. We desperately need voices like this - thoughtful reasoned and full of the passionate intensity of riteous indignation! Cheers!

[-] 1 points by therising (6643) 12 years ago

ThanksGypsy King for your encouraging words and your excellent posts. You've been a voice of strength and resolve for many. Cheers :)

[-] 0 points by TIOUAISE (2526) 12 years ago

I think you would LOVE this "Rolling Stone" article :

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/how-i-stopped-worrying-and-learned-to-love-the-ows-protests-20111110

"Much more than a movement against big banks, the OWS protests a rejection of what our society has become." (Matt Taibbi)

[-] 1 points by therising (6643) 12 years ago

Right on!! Thanks. I'll definitely check it out. Love Matt Taibbi

[-] 2 points by GypsyKing (8708) 12 years ago

I would say buliding coalitions. We need to draw as many people who agree with our goals as we can into the fold. Unfortunately, from what I have seen recently the forces of division are starting to get the upper hand. I particularly think the demonizing of the Democtatic Party is counter productive. I am just as angry about Obama's capitulation to Wall St. as anyone here. But reality is that most of the progressives in this country are Democrats. Antagonising them seems like a really stupid idea to me. We must find a way to not let our goals be coopted/diverted/destroyed, while at the same time reaching out to everyone who supports those goals. The same goes for labor unions, minorities, progressive clergy, etc. We are up against powerful forces and need all the numbers that we can get.

[-] 1 points by therising (6643) 12 years ago

I hope people are paying attention to what Gypsy King said here.

[-] 2 points by GypsyKing (8708) 12 years ago

Thanks, we need to start where Martin Luther King left off when he was so evilly assassinated. He was working to bulid coalitions between minorities, working people, the poor, and the intelligencia to stand against this "neo-liberal" totalitarianism.

[-] 1 points by therising (6643) 12 years ago

I agree completely. King was a coalition builder and that along with monviolent tactics were the two sources of real power for the civil rights movement.

People who are a part of the OWS movement would do well to read King's essays. He, like Jefferson, wasn't the cuddly character he's made out to be. He was a radical fighting for real change for real people using proven tactics of Gandhi.

I think we'd all benefit from watching the film Gandhi too. It doesn't take long to realize how Gandhi (like King) worked with his supporters to intentionally create tension. It was also no accident how both of these leaders made sure the press was right there to witness the reaction to this tension.

The books of Gene Sharp expertly detail nonviolent tactics that work.

I hope that people donate hundreds of copied of books by King, Gandhi and Sharp to each of the Occupy sites around the nation. It would have a real and positive impact on the movement. The tactics and the mindset are powerful.

[-] 1 points by GypsyKing (8708) 12 years ago

I agree that everyone in this movement should study Martin Luther King and Ghandii, as well as Einstein's vision of political reform. These realizations must be combined with an understanding of our problems on an individual level, a psychological and spiritual level, to produce a wholistic vision that can confront the problems common to humanity. Our nation is now split between a dark age revision of Christianity and a soulless, athiistic science, that cannot produce a rational and unified society. I would reccomend Plato's Socratic dialogues as a starting point for a new philosophical order. Plato's Academy included many Christians before the Catholics cracked down on reason in late antiquity. I am working on a new novel to support this thesis. Unprecidented problems require unpresidented solutions.

[-] 0 points by TIOUAISE (2526) 12 years ago

"therising" writes with his customary wisdom : "People who are a part of the OWS movement would do well to read King's essays. He, like Jefferson, wasn't the cuddly character he's made out to be. He was a radical fighting for real change for real people using proven tactics of Gandhi."

YES!!!!!!

I sometimes wonder if even some of the leaders of OWS see nonviolence as a form of idealism or weakness.... Nonviolence is NOT the path of the cowardly nad the weak, it is the path of the strong and the brave.

Gandhi and King espoused LOVE but they were at the same time FIERCE WARRIORS!!! I had to laugh when I heard philosopher Slavoj Zizek exclaim : "Gandhi was more violent than Hitler!!!"

[-] 1 points by therising (6643) 12 years ago

He beat the British out of India wielding no weapons while wearing a bed sheet. But he knew how to bring injustice out into the light and make sure the world press was front and center when the injustice was coaxed out. Tension. Tension. Tension. What's needed right now is Gene Sharp tactics, Gandhi tactics, King tactics, all forceful, all transformative, all informed by agape so the end result had the best chance of being recognized as "good".

[-] 1 points by therising (6643) 12 years ago

Gandhi kicked ass

[-] 0 points by TIOUAISE (2526) 12 years ago

He sure did! That toothless, bespectacled little guy dressed in a loincloth BROUGHT THE BRITISH EMPIRE TO ITS KNEES.

I have a feeling that we have somewhere in America a woman or man of the same moral stature who could one day take the helm of the Movement and possibly achieve even greater things than King or Gandhi.

[-] 1 points by therising (6643) 12 years ago

I suspect the same. Time for them to rise and shine.

[-] 0 points by TIOUAISE (2526) 12 years ago

YES! I think it's time to stop romanticizing the "leaderless Movement".

Naturally, the choice of the leader or leaders will be crucial. OWS doesn't want leaders on a conscious or unconscious power trip. The best leader is usually someone who does NOT want the job one bit and who has to be coaxed into accepting it.

I have a feeling that the person or persons have already been chosen by Life itself and need to be recognized and invited to "rise and shine"... Let's pray that they will have the strength to accept the challenge to lead this Sacred Struggle.

[-] 1 points by therising (6643) 12 years ago

I'd give this a hundred up votes if I could. Very important point.

[-] 2 points by bensdad (8977) 12 years ago

We have a large number of great, well thought out, COMPLICATED ideas that will require a huge amount of "selling" and “explanation" and will garner GREAT OPPOSITION.
We need to be realistic & pick an issue that is simple – and that is popular -
that 83% of Americans already agree on -
that 76% of Republicans already agree on -
that 56% of TP already agree on -
that will bring together the people in OWS with the people outside of OWS.
Everybody wins!

Our only goal should be to pass a constitutional amendment to counter Supreme Court decisions Citizens United (2010) & Buckley v. Valeo (1976), that enable unlimited amounts of anonymous money to flood into our political system.
“Corporations and organizations are not a persons & have no personhood rights”
and
“money is not free speech”.

We don’t have to explain or persuade people to accept our position – we have to persuade them to ACT based on their own position. Pursuing this goal will prove to the world that we, at OWS, are a serious realistic Movement, with serious realistic goals. Achieving this goal will make virtually every other goal – jobs, taxes, infrastructure, Medicare – much easier to achieve –
by disarming our greatest enemy – GREED.


THE SUCCESS STORY OF THE AMENDING PROCESS The Prohibition movement started as a disjointed effort by conservative teetotalers who thought the consumption of alcohol was immoral. They ransacked saloons and garnered press coverage here and there for a few years. Then they began to gain support from the liberals because many considered alcohol partially responsible for spousal and child abuse, among other social ills. This odd alliance, after many years of failing to influence change consistently across jurisdictions, decided to concentrate on one issue nationally—a constitutional amendment. They pressured all politicians on every level to sign a pledge to support the amendment. Any who did not, they defeated easily at the ballot box since they controlled a huge number of liberal, and conservative and independent swing votes in every election. By being a single-issue constituency attacking from all sides of the political spectrum, they very quickly amassed enough votes (2/3) to pass the amendment in Congress. And, within just 17 months, they were successful in getting ¾ of the state legislatures to ratify the constitutional amendment into law. (Others were ratified even faster: Eight —took less than a year. The 26th, granting 18-year-olds the right to vote, took just three months and eight days.)


If they could tie the left and right into a success -
If Ohio won. If Arizona won. If Maine won. If Mississippi won - WHY CAN'T WE??????????


I feel that we should stay with this simple text to overturn CU:
”corporations are not people” and “money is not free speech”
for four simple reasons and one – not so simple:
1
83% of Americans have already opposed CU in the ABC/Washington post poll and the above
IS THEIR POSITION ALREADY.
2
We don’t have to work to convince people on the validity of our position.
3
Simple is almost always better.
4
This simple Amendment is REQUIRED to overturn CU.
And all other electoral reform can be passed through the normal legislative process.

5
OWS and these pages are chock full of ( mostly ) excellent ideas to improve our country.
All of them have strong advocates – and some have strong opposition.
None of them has been “pre-approved” by 83% of Americans !
Pursuing this goal – without additional specifics is exactly what Americans want.
What do we want? Look at that almost endless list of demands – goals - aims.
Tax the rich. End the Fed. Jobs for all, Medicare for all. So easy to state! Can you imagine how hard it would be to formulate a “sales pitch” for any of these to convince your Republican friends to vote for any of them?
83% of Americans have ALREADY “voted” against CU. And 76% of the Rs did too.
All we have to do ask Americans is to pressure their representatives – by letters - emails – petitions.

Wanna take your family on vacation?
Convince the 7 year old and the 10 year old to go to Mt Rushmore.
Then try to convince them to go to Disneyland.
Prioritizing this goal will introduce us to the world – not as a bunch of hippie radical anarchist socialist commie rabblerousers – but as a responsible, mature movement that is fighting for what America wants.


I feel that using the tactics of the NRA, the AARP an the TP – who all represent a minority – who have successfully used their voting power to achieve their minority goals - plus the Prohibition Amendment tactics – bringing all sides together - is a straight path for us to success that cannot fail to enable us to create and complete one MAJORITY task.

[-] 1 points by therising (6643) 12 years ago

Great points. Intriguing. It would be a big win and we could go on from there after that win...

[-] 1 points by bensdad (8977) 12 years ago

see us at 60 Wall St Nov 12 6PM "WE ARE THE 83%"

[-] 1 points by therising (6643) 12 years ago

Roger

[-] 2 points by TIOUAISE (2526) 12 years ago

"therising" writes :

"We, the 99%, have been dazzled for too long by consumption. It has ruled our minds and occupied our hearts."

ABSOLUTELY! We have been HYPNOTIZED for decades - particularly by television - into swallowing that false belief that THINGS have the magic power to make PEOPLE happy!!!

WAKIE, WAKIE, people! Time to realize that it just ain't so! Time to snap out of that trance and see that the hypnotist is just a greedy sociopath with a compulsion to empty our wallets.

"Consumption has ruled our minds and occupied our hearts for so long", writes "the rising".

There IS another way. There IS a simpler life and it is a more joyful life in every way! The joy of a simple life is THE BEST-KEPT SECRET in America.... and yet, it is there for all to rediscover.

[-] 1 points by Rico (3027) 12 years ago

Actually, many problems we face today result from the fact that people ARE slowing down their purchases of trinkets.

How many people do you know that are employed making things or providing services that anyone actually NEEDS to survive ? Heck, most of us are employed doing things that don't actually need to be done, and we need folks to buy stuff they don't need to keep everyone employed !

There's a distinct downside to having become so darned efficient at producing food, housing, etc... the things people NEED. It leaves most of us with nothing to to but mooch off those making essentials.

Modern economies are largely based on what I call the "landfill cycle." Remember the pictures from your youth showing the rain cycle where watter evaporated from the sea then rained on the mountain and ran down rivers back to the sea? The landfill cycle is the same. We pay people to dig materials out of the ground, we pay others to hammer them into pretty trinkets, and then, when we tire of them, we hire others to haul them off and put them back in the ground !

Sorry for blabbering... your insightful comments inspired me ;o)

[-] 1 points by therising (6643) 12 years ago

"They saw the light in the eyes, the only light in this world. And it is always there waiting to be found." - James Baldwin

"I look back over all the things I had to get and to reach. And I realize that there is only one thing, one great thing. . . To see the great day that dawns and the light that fills the world."

~ Old Inuit Song

[-] 0 points by TIOUAISE (2526) 12 years ago

Reminds me of something I once heard : "God is... the light dancing behind the eyes."

I'm suprised that you did not get more responses to your superb post, which goes straight to the heart of the matter.

Surprised and concerned, as it may mean that the Movement itself is still rather superficial. Granted, it is still in its infancy... Anger at the "greedy rich" will never be enough... OWS needs to ground itself in a deep spirituality. NOT conventional religion - spirituality! There is a world of difference. Gandhi, King were fierce warriors - but they were both grounded in a deep spirituality, without which their movements would have foundered.

Is there no one of such stature in the ranks of the "Occupy" Movement? I bet you anything that there is... It could be that quiet, unassuming young woman in the back who says little but listens a lot and whose presence lights up a room. She would never WANT to be the leader, the thought never even crossed her mind, and of course she would refuse... and yet, she may well be the chosen one that the Movement needs to convince to accept the sacred task of leading. People may scoff that she is much too young and inexperienced for such a task, but then Martin Luther King was only 25 when they chose HIM.

ALL great movements of this type NEED to find a leader of exceptional moral stature. And that leader will have to be as totally and unequivocally committed to nonviolence as King and Gandhi were... otherwise the Movement will self-destruct, perhaps within months.

[-] 1 points by GypsyKing (8708) 12 years ago

Thanks for this insightful comment. I am just commenting to up this post where it belongs.

[-] 1 points by therising (6643) 12 years ago

I agree and I'm confident that leaders will naturally emerge and will naturally be embraced. Authentic leaders with courage and conviction. I think some of those leaders are already exerting influence. We just haven't had the privilege of meeting them yet. I, for one, am impressed by how quickly this movement has grown and some of the credit goes to the quiet but forceful leaders behind the scenes who are doing the heavy lifting we're not aware of.

[-] 1 points by GypsyKing (8708) 12 years ago

Thanks again for this great post. I am just commenting to up this post where it belongs.

[-] 0 points by Faithntruth (997) 12 years ago

Leaders, by definition, are people who want power or control. You cant let a leader emerge because you just get someone with a high probability of abusing the role. Better to have a rotating team selected by radom drawing....

[-] 1 points by therising (6643) 12 years ago

I don't know. That random drawing makes me nervous. We don't select a heart surgeon by random drawing. The best emerge and are embraced. I personally think there are already great leaders guiding this movement although I don't know who they are. I think they've done a masterful job so far as members of the General Assembly, the original planners this summer, the web designers, committee leaders inside and outside Zuccotti Park, Ga members at occupations arou d the nation and the world, keepers of the peace during marches and protests etc etc etc etc etc etc. etc. Lots of great and heroic work by good hearted people it seems. Selfless. Admirable.

[-] 2 points by GypsyKing (8708) 12 years ago

I Agree. I have been amazed at how this tech. has offered entirely new ways of building movements. In the past, squabbling over leadership has destroyed many a well meaning organization. The left is particularly prone to this problem, being people of an egalitarian, bottom-up, rather than top-down orientation; and people of various, passionate takes on the world they would like to see, makes a consensus on leadership hard to achieve. Add to this the ever-present eo battles common to all people, and you are presented with a very difficult situation. Leaders worth their salt, if we need them now or not, simply emerge over time on the basis of their actions. The computer has, I think, given us the freedom to await their emergence. Upon reflection, I think that in the past this has been major advantage tyranical systems have had over egalitarian systems. Those prone to side with tyranny have an essentially hierarchical and obedient frame of mind, and very simple goals (mostly just the advancement of their own wealth and power) that they can easily allign themselves with; while egalitarians are essentially freedom loving, free-thinkers, who resist centralized authority. Clearly the first system is easier to impose with a sufficient willingness to apply brutality. The egalitarians have generally had greater intellgence and imagination to balance the scales. The computer may help the egalitarians by reducing the infighting inherent in the freedom loving, freethinking quest for continuity. I hope so.

[-] 1 points by therising (6643) 12 years ago

Great point. I like the way you laid it out. Gives me even more hope for the future!

[-] 2 points by GypsyKing (8708) 12 years ago

I am feeling more hope that I have felt in my entire life! Once stirred, people power is as irresistable as the tide! I think that tide is finally rising!

[-] 2 points by therising (6643) 12 years ago

It's happening. There's no putting the cat out of the bag now. :) Those in the country clubs and board rooms know it. The chatter in those places right now is "this isn't going away.". They know the jig is up.

Out of the metaphorical ashes will rise a truly representative slate of congressmen and senators and a highly informed block of voters to hold them accountable. A beautiful new day is on the way. Just about at the tipping point. Then it's just hard work and details.

It's going to be like you're traveling through Montana on a bright sunny day and someone just put the top down revealing the puffy white clouds and the limitless blue sky... Like someone just took the lid off the world :)

[-] 1 points by GypsyKing (8708) 12 years ago

"Now is the Winter of our Discontent, Made Glorious Summer by this Sun of York."

[-] 1 points by therising (6643) 12 years ago

Beautiful

[-] 1 points by Faithntruth (997) 12 years ago

Thats the point of having teams...talents and abilities are diverse, but no one person is calling the shots

[-] 1 points by therising (6643) 12 years ago

I like teams. I just worry about the random part.

[-] 1 points by therising (6643) 12 years ago

The momentum in there. We just need to get our mindset dialed in. The tactics cam be forceful non-violent action but the motive needs to be love.

[-] 1 points by April (3196) 12 years ago

Dear Government,

We don't want your insufficient government programs, handouts or so-called solutions to the masses that YOU "say" is going to help us.

Like meager portion-controlled feedings to animals, for the consumption by the 99%. The 99% want to decide what is best for us, by having fair and equal representation in our government. Not a government that is bought and paid for by the 1%. Not a government that decides when and how much to feed us our meager portion-controlled programs.

You miscalculated the portion-controlled feedings.

The 99% are now starving. Starving for our fair and equal representation in government.

Repectfully, 99% of the People.

[-] 1 points by therising (6643) 12 years ago

Looking forward to REAL representative government that reflects the principle of one person one vote.

[-] 1 points by April (3196) 12 years ago

Are we there yet??

Just saw a post that the lobbyist Jack Abramoff will be on 60 Min. promoting his book about how corrupt the government is, since he know so well. Maybe that'll help a bit. Funny timing eh? Must be fate.

[-] 1 points by therising (6643) 12 years ago

I love it. Putting all the hardships, challenges, arrests and suffering by people around the country in the name of the movement, one can't help but say that at times it is just plain fun to see this movement grow and unfold. In all our seriousness, I think we should remember to laugh at the "incredibleness" of it all. Who would have thought 5 months ago we'd be here, at this historic moment with roughly half the nation behind the movement.

Rock n roll. (insert smile)

OK, enough smiling. Back to work. :)

[-] 0 points by happybanker (766) 12 years ago

He was on 60 minutes last week, dear. ;)

[-] 1 points by April (3196) 12 years ago

Really? darn, I missed it. Now I'll have to buy the book I guess! Damn capitalists. I think I'll check the library for it.

[-] 0 points by happybanker (766) 12 years ago

You can probably watch it online. It was a good interview. Kinda makes you sick at your stomach though.

[-] 1 points by PublicCurrency (1387) 12 years ago

“Banking was conceived in iniquity and was born in sin. The bankers own the earth. Take it away from them, but leave them the power to create money, and with the flick of the pen they will create enough deposits to buy it back again. However, take it away from them, and all the great fortunes like mine will disappear and they ought to disappear, for this would be a happier and better world to live in. But, if you wish to remain the slaves of bankers and pay the cost of your own slavery, let them continue to create money.” – Sir Josiah Stamp, Director of the Bank of England (appointed 1928). Reputed to be the 2nd wealthiest man in England at that time.

http:www.TheMoneyMasters.com

[-] 1 points by Skippy2 (485) 12 years ago

Start with voting out ALL incumbents in 2012! Lobby everyone you know. Get a ground swell going. Throw those money sucking whores out.

[-] 1 points by therising (6643) 12 years ago

No good ones in there at all? Holy mackerel. Can that be true?

[-] 1 points by TheKing (93) 12 years ago

Pool your money and build an ashram where you can nibble on free food, have sex with multiple partners, meditate on world peace with all your OWS pals.

[-] 1 points by therising (6643) 12 years ago

As our patience wears thin and our energy builds, let's reconfirm our commitment to nonviolence.

[-] 0 points by TIOUAISE (2526) 12 years ago

YES!!!!!!!

[-] 1 points by therising (6643) 12 years ago

More important than ever to make this commitment - must train to deal with provocateurs.

[-] 0 points by TIOUAISE (2526) 12 years ago

CRUCIALLY important indeed!

[-] 1 points by rebyou (2) 12 years ago

Pull that money out of that corporate bank now! Put your money in a local credit union or small bank. Chase bank is giving away $500 per hour 24 hours a day for 1 month in their credit card sweepstakes. Hmm..... alot o money, calling it "giving a little something back to our customers"

[-] 1 points by therising (6643) 12 years ago

Do they really think this will fool people?

[-] 1 points by rebyou (2) 12 years ago

1% wealthy give 2% of their wealth to a public free education or job training program with proven record of producing living wage jobs with 75% wage earner satisfaction.

[-] 1 points by therising (6643) 12 years ago

I like the way you think

[-] 1 points by therising (6643) 12 years ago

It's time to unite and begin making decisions from a position of power.

[-] 1 points by fredastaire (203) 12 years ago

very intense

[-] 1 points by therising (6643) 12 years ago

Instead of making demands from a position of divided weakness.

[-] 1 points by fredastaire (203) 12 years ago

i think it's a stretch to just jump from divided straight to power. maybe unite first :)

[-] 2 points by therising (6643) 12 years ago

, I agree with many others who say we must spend our time now discovering all we have in common. We the 99% need to realize we have the power and have had it all along. Once we unite, we'll realize the absurdity of 1% ruling over and exploiting the 99% for so long. Then we'll be in a position to make decisions from a position of unified strength rather than making demands from a position of divided weakness

[-] 1 points by fredastaire (203) 12 years ago

Really man. I honestly think if we can actually unite, by then we will have already won the fight. I watched a bank card commercial promoting "Small Business Saturday". The movement is the change.

[-] 1 points by therising (6643) 12 years ago

Not so fast. The Wall St. folks aren't going 99% anytime soon. They still need guardrails erected by Congress, probably a brand new Congress with a whole bunch of new 99% Congress people.

[-] 1 points by fredastaire (203) 12 years ago

Let me clarify. We are witnessing a global shift in humanity. In all of human history, nothing has shaped us more than social acceptance. I see a near future where the 1% falls away simply because it will be socially unacceptable. Seems irrationality and unbelievably powerful just for a social perception doesn't it? African Americans know better than anyone the power of a social stigma. It's just now, it will be focused more intelligently. Fitting for our evolution don't you think.

[-] 1 points by therising (6643) 12 years ago

Sounds good to me but would want to be sure it jives with the MINDSET part of this http://www.occupywallst.org/forum/thinking-about-a-donatiion-2-things-that-i-persona/

[-] 1 points by therising (6643) 12 years ago

The momentum is with us. Reaching a tipping point.

[-] 1 points by tarotdiva (3) 12 years ago

It just occurred to me this morning that although many people support OWS not everyone can join you physically.

There should be a way to announce your support for OWS in a tangible way.

I suggest we all put hearts in our windows and our cars as a way of expressing that we agree with the movement.

I would love to be driving down the street and see hearts everywhere.

[-] 1 points by therising (6643) 12 years ago

This is a GREAT idea. Let's spread it!!!! Everyone tell ten people.

[-] 1 points by Corium (246) 12 years ago

Take a standard shape valentine heart. Draw a 9 on the left side with the vertical line down the middle and the round part following the top left lobe, then part way down the left side and then straight (horizontally) in to the vertical line. The idea is to have the lower left quarter of the heart missing, to represent the folks in the 99% that are the missing piece. The second 9 is simply the right lobe as a full circle with the 'vertical' part of the 9 following the right side of the heart down to the point. Just a thought.

[-] 1 points by therising (6643) 12 years ago

Now is the time to explore what we have in common. Once we unite, we the 99% will be unstoppable.

[-] 1 points by therising (6643) 12 years ago

We're reaching the tipping point in a very good way.

[-] 1 points by therising (6643) 12 years ago

It's time for the American people to rise and shine.

[-] 1 points by spflhome (41) 12 years ago

If you really like to change things, please click the following link and start a campaign to get millions to sign it......Thanks.

http://www.change.org/petitions/members-of-congress-and-senators-fix-the-economy-and-balance-the-budget-now?pe=d4e

[-] 1 points by pissedoffconstructionworker (602) 12 years ago

I hate to break it to you, but the 99% are not about to lose interest in "consumption".

Their beef is that the 1% are making it impossible for them to consume at the rate they'd prefer.

[-] 1 points by therising (6643) 12 years ago

I hope you're wrong but I can see how it's possible you're right. I'll remain hopeful though. I'm a glass half full kind of person.

[-] 1 points by brightonsage (4494) 12 years ago

I think if we get the changes to the Constitution that we need, we will get the Congress that we need, and the laws that we need.

If we don't get the changes just mentioned, getting the candidates will not change a thing. Trying to get consensus on all of the hair brained issues that have been brought up are carts before the horse.

You can agree on most of them and it will not change a thing. We are not going to get a brand new system, If we are lucky, resolute and disciplined we will get the changes necessary to get the incentives changed to match the objectives, As long as the incentives are counter to the objectives, we will remain a grumbling mob.

First, fix the process, changing it to one that will work. By the time that is done, you will have the players in place to do what needs to be done in an orderly way. Oh, there are some things that can be done in parallel, but we can't afford to be distracted from getting the money and corruption out of government and the election process.

That is the most urgent and the most important thing we can do. The rest is pointless dithering. It is tine to get serious, stop bashing each other, and proposing pie-in-the-sky utopias that have zero chance for success. I know I'm running out of time. I believe WE are running out of time.

Remember, "People get the government that they deserve." We have to do better, to get a better government.

[-] 1 points by therising (6643) 12 years ago

Yes, we need to begin being the change we wish to see in the world as Gandhi put it.

[-] 1 points by sat (31) 12 years ago

you are the inculcated... why do you have a GA? Who directs your GA? They claim the spokes council is all new, then why was it supplied by The Alliance for Global Justice who also gave OWS it's tax exempt status? Why does the GA not reveal George Soros is behind the occupy movement? Why do you ignore the Communist groups merged with Islam behind the brainwashing techniques used on those who think it's all for a "more fair" world??? Why do you not look at the history of the Spokes Council? It was used in the Spanish revolution of 1936. Why are you dehuminizing citizens by calling them the 1%? Why do you believe this is all "new" when it is all marxist? Who will run your world of "FAIR"???? Do you really believe Direct Democracy has real choices? When it has facilitated choices that rarely allows for dissent?? Are you aware of the outcome of the Spanish revolution?? Why do you blame wall street for what the progressives in and out of government did to force banks to provide mortgages to those who could not afford them?? Look up the history of Maggie Williams...a progressive activist who worked for Hillary Clinton...she was pres. in a mortgage company that went under who gave mortgages only to those that could not afford a home. I hope all corporations close. I hope all you fools work on your little farms, from each according to their ability to each according to their needs... good luck with that one... Isn't it funny what George Soros said about the global collapse, "it's the culmination of his life's work"! you are not the 99% of anything! But you are the 5% when those throughout the world look at American Citizens. stop shopping and using products that are produced by "Big Corporations" if you believe your words.... oh sorry, then you'd have to throw out your computer and cell phone.!!

[-] 1 points by debndan (1145) 12 years ago

You really shouldn't believe what Glenn Beck tells you to think.

[-] 0 points by steven2002 (363) 12 years ago

Occupy Whole foods, the 1% shop there.

[-] 1 points by therising (6643) 12 years ago

Thanks!  There's another dollar for Occupy Wall Street.  Trolldom has been monetized.  This is fun :) http://occupywallst.org/forum/we-have-monetized-trolldom-for-the-benefit-of-the-/#comment-223231 . Care to donate? Just visit homepage at www.occupywallst.org .

[-] 0 points by velveeta (230) 12 years ago

It would be cool to see a "99%" political party formed, kinda like the green party, and see some candidates get on some ballots around the country. I'd love to see the movement move away from the existing labor unions and be more independent. Existing labor unions are an opaque, bloated, corrupt reaction to a flawed system, not a solution. OWS could create a new model for the American political party, a new model for organized labor.

[-] 1 points by therising (6643) 12 years ago

I like it!

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[-] 1 points by therising (6643) 12 years ago

I feel lucky that we're all a part of this historic moment.

[-] 0 points by MeMyselfandI (85) 12 years ago

Most of you will be going to jail, or back to mom's basement.

[-] 1 points by therising (6643) 12 years ago

Going to jail for what reason?

[-] 0 points by MeMyselfandI (85) 12 years ago

Vandalism, Rape, drugs... you know the usual crap that accompanies your mob.

[-] 1 points by therising (6643) 12 years ago

Thanks!  There's another dollar for Occupy Wall Street.  Trolldom has been monetized.  This is fun :) http://occupywallst.org/forum/we-have-monetized-trolldom-for-the-benefit-of-the-/#comment-223231 . Care to donate? Just visit homepage at www.occupywallst.org .

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[-] 1 points by therising (6643) 12 years ago

I saw this but I'm afraid despite doing a great job diagnosing the problems, it runs off the rails when it prescribes utopian solutions and abandoning our republic.

Agree with most of the main points in diagnosing problem. My issue is that I think the filmmaker is throwing the baby out with the bath water. Yes, the bath water is dirty. So let's carefully lift the baby from the bath, drain the water and begin again with the baby intact. The baby is democracy / the republic. Radicals like Thomas Jefferson authored the American version of it during a momentous time. Revolutionaries fought for it. Our great grandfathers, grandfathers and fathers defended it. Men and women involved in various movements (including the civil rights movement, women's movement, Native American movement, etc.) gave their time and energy to keep it honest. Labor movement has worked hard to keep it fair.

Many have struggled. We are struggling now in an heroic way, following a great legacy of revolutionaries to keep it honest and fair. We haven't yet earned the right from the legacy of our ancestors to toss it all out. We can't toss it until we have a clear vision for what will replace it.

We can't be so transfixed by technology that we assume we can make a grand new world order out of the relationships created by social media. Why not use them, harness the power of the new collective consciousness you describe to remake our republic? We should form national general assembly and run our own candidates while at the same time occupying and transforming the market place. This baby is beautiful. Please don't throw her out with the dirty bath water.

To put it another way, just because somebody steals your bike doesn't mean you have to destroy the bike. You just need to remove the rider. Let's remove the rider. Let's use active strategic nonviolent tactics ala Gene Sharp, Martin King, Jr. and Gandhi to transform this world. We can do this!