Forum Post: OWS - The TV reality show being planned by Nature.

Iv'e been following Occupy for a week, and I must admit I'm more captivated by the anthropological nature of the movement than by what they are trying to achieve.

I agree with the premise. There's definitely a multitude of problems relating to greed and corruption at the upper echelons of power. Capitalism, like any other economic system, has its major weaknesses and these are definitely being exploited in US and many other countries. However, I lost hope that these issues would be resolved by OWS on the day I started following the movement. The 99% tag line lost me since I hate being included in something before I even know what that thing is. And, to paraphrase Woody Allen - "I'm always skeptical of a club that would want me as a member."

What interests me is knowing if the drummers will have their way, if the campers will master the art of winter survival skills, if they will manage their micro-economy based on donations in an effective manner respected by all, if they'll start using their feces to create a natural fertilizer to feed the park plants, if the Hare Krishna will dance side by side the yogis, if Jeremy will master his headstand by the end of the week, and what's going to be the name of the first baby born in the park. Will he or she be named by all in some kind of new age group voting session? Will that session be followed by transcendental yoga poses?

The older folks are going to jump all over me now and say this already happened in the 70's. I wasn't there, and I don't mind a live rerun. I find it amusing. And, it's not the 70's anymore. In the 70's, hippies had public sex in the mud, now, presumably because of HIV/AIDS, the Occupy Wisconsin protesters had to resort to public masturbation. I know, "Don't bash masturbation, it's sex with someone I love."

It's amazing that so many people came together for a great cause, but it's so saddening to see that instead of inducing change through a well thought out plan they are wasting their time learning the basics of communal living. Couldn't they use the $500,000 dollars to pay for a basic course in anthropology and bypass the rudiments of learning to live in a micro-society? This has been done before, why not learn from the past? Haven't they watched Survivor?

I would go on hiatus and use the $500,000 dollars to hire a team of high end scholars to analyze the current affairs in US economy and write a book about their findings. The OWS protesters could then discuss the findings and decide what their goals should be from that. We have the Internet, so they could do all this from home. No need to waste time learning how to deal with the problems of urine disposal that every commune faces. When they figure something out, they can hold a powerful march or two. Hit with a bomb, instead of being an annoying barbwire fence that scratches people on every turn.

An important aspect of democracy is letting others speak. So why purport to speaking for 99% of the people. Why force others to hear your way of solving the issues day after day after day. Say what you have to say in a clear and well articulated manner, then leave the park for all to use. I can understand your message the first time around, no need to repeat like a parrot.

I assume the protesters are waiting for the cops to kick them out. By now, this seems like the only positive outcome for them as it would portray them as victims and potentially earn them more supporters. Martyrdom is a positive thing in such a mess. That's fine. If I were the government, I would just let winter take care of the problem. That and the fact that people will eventually start getting sick in their own excrements.

I'm hoping this gets turned in to a reality TV show. Nature could create a program designated to the study of communal living. There could be expert anthropologists giving their take on the issue. Hippies from the 70's could be invited to join the protesters and act has father figures and impart their practical knowledge of communal living. There could be a contest to find the oldest hippy alive. So many possibilities.