Forum Post: OWS vs. Tea Party and the Mainstream Media
Posted 12 years ago on Nov. 1, 2011, 6:47 p.m. EST by Outlier
(115)
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Occupiers have indicated that many reporters from the main stream media, Fox News and the Wall Street Journal in particular, are showing up with the story already written. In other words, instead of letting the facts dictate the story, the desired narrative is dictating what is being reported.
One narrative certain factions of the mainstream media are pushing hard is the Tea Party versus Occupy Wall Street. The Tea Party is protesting big government whereas OWS is protesting big money. This is a deceptive paradigm perpetuated by BIG MEDIA which elegantly serves the 1% by pitting ordinary Americans against one another. Reporting the fact that the occupiers oppose big money’s influence on our political system, or the incestuous relationship between big money and big government, does not serve the expedient narrative, so it is left out of the story. http://outlierideas.com
Yeah, people are seeing the bigger picture...thanks for your comment
I visited the website of Party-X and tried to send an email, but the contact information listed on the site didn't work.
I do not have a website, could not tell you what Party X stands for on that site you went to. Party X stands for Generation X cleaning up the mess made by the baby boomers. However, OWS is not organized enough or willing to start a new party, it is rouges like me who is looking to make alliances with like minded thinkers.
I am closer to the tail end of the boomers than generation x. However, I believe we share common goals--cleaning up our political system--getting the corporate money out of the political process, etc....
I find myself running into people who think this is a joke with some of the comments I'm finding on this website.
Their are many on this site, and others, that simply are in it for the entertainment value, others are in serious need of therapy and use this site as an alternative to vent. We must accentuate the positive and hold onto common ground.
right on, keeping it real
Wall Street Journal & Fox News are both owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.
I agree, the narrative being pushed is that we're anti-corporation when it is the influence of money on government that is the real issue.
Corporate controlled (mainstream) media has also misrepresented the tea party and their participants.
Just as OWS is being misrepresented.
It would be foolish to assume that OWS 'leaders' or spokespeople will make demands that all OWS participants agree with just as it is ridiculous to assume the same for the tea party.
You refer to the 'tea party' as if they must all agree with every person and issue - that is impossible.
Bottom line is ordinary people KNOW their governments have been hijacked by special interests, the elite and international banksters.
It is irrelevant whether they align with tea party or OWS principles.
The smart OWS people know that by focusing on those issues that both the tea party and OWS agree with will bring widespread support and success.
Finding common ground will translate = WIN WIN
Alternative media has been discussing the hijacking of the US government by Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and others for YEARS. The revolving door between Washington and Wall St is a common talking point.
This movement will be effective if they can start with these issues FIRST.
The government (at all levels) needs to be PURGED from its legalized criminality.
The US has 312,538,444 citizens. It is time to accept that the Federal governments scope and influence should be reduced to core responsibilities and departments.
I agree that common ground=WIN WIN
I didn't mean to imply that everyone in the tea party agrees about everything.
My point is the tea party is made up of thousands of people who KNOW something is very wrong within the government. They grouped together to try and make a difference. They have been labelled as Nazis, racists, red necks and everything else.
Who by? By the corporate controlled (mainstream) media.
And the labels have stuck.
To the point where some OWS participants refer to them as the same.
But they are just people who are fed up with how the government has been hijacked. They started as a Ron P A U L supporter group but have been co-opted by the Republican party. They are not the same as when they began as a grassroots group of disenfranchised people wanting change in government.
So now there are thousands of OWS participants who also KNOW there is something very wrong with government. But instead of the media focusing on the issues, they want to create a divisive narrative between the two groups that doesn't exist.
I think it's what to be expected. It suits them because media love reporting conflict. They wouldn't dare report that both groups share key grievances with government.
I agree that ordinary citizens need to arm themselves with as much knowledge as possible. In this regard understanding monetary policy, inflation, the bailouts and how printing money has affected everyone's standard of living is paramount.
I have been guilty of some tea-bashing myself, but I am trying to turn over a new leaf, so to speak. I'm with you on ending corporate control of our government.
It reminds me of a post I read somewhere about a lady who attended a tea party rally. She took her young children and she said it was a great way to be able to talk to other like minded people. She described it like a family day out.
When she got home and watched the news that night the media reported it like it was a skinhead convention. She said they found the most extreme signs and focused on one or two people that sounded really angry for their sound-bytes.
So the media had attended with a predetermined angle. I remember her writing that was a turning point for her and that she has never forgotten it.
Much the same with OWS.
The labels started immediately. Unemployed hippies and such.
The corporate controlled media are desperate to keep the tea party and OWS apart. It is all over the news and online media.
But you just have to speak or communicate with another human being to realize this is just a divide and conquer strategy that is also fueled by the false left right political paradigm.
This is an often repeated strategy to keep the population dumbed down and fighting each other while those at the top are left alone doing business as usual.
100% agreement!
May I suggest Viral Syndication- Marketing OWS Content Now. It’s Easier Than You Think! Posted here...Link:
http://occupywallst.org/forum/viral-syndication-marketing-ows-content-now-its-ea/
I personally am not that electronically sophisticated, perhaps you should make your suggestion to the Press Relations Working Group of the General Assembly: http://www.nycga.net/groups/public-relations/
Thanks. Would be great to recieve feedback.
I think the Tea Party sucks. I've seen what their candidates are about and it's mostly tax beaks for wealthy individuals and corporations, no revenue for government - we'll just take the money out of Social Security and Medicare. No thanks. None of that tea for me.
Clearly, both Wall Street occupiers and rank and file Tea Party members are united in their apprehension and opposition to Wall Street money going down to Washington and corrupting our politics. The hostile response by those who have great influence in the mainstream media can be interpreted as alarm for the potential discovery by ordinary Americans, on the right and the left, of common ground.
Well then, maybe we should all sign a list of common stated goals. The last article I read on the subject had a Tea Party leader saying he wanted nothing to do with the scruffy hippies on Wall Street.
Irrational prejudice is the enemy of every movement that attempts to unite decent people in a worthy effort. Identifying a message that is uniting rather than dividing is a first step.
Come up with list. That would be the first step.
I believe the overwhelming majority of Americans, of all political stripes, are concerned about the corrupting influence of corporate money on our government. As long as corporations can purchase campaigns and politicians to warp the political process in their favor, we will not be able to address more specific concerns. In other words a healthy democracy is a prerequisite for tackling education, health care, energy and other policies that contribute to a fair and sustainable society. Fixing our democracy is fundamental and must be primary.
I believe the first step is forcing a national discussion which acknowledges our democracy is broken and that fixing it is fundamental to ensuring our sustainability. I believe there are people throughout our society that have ideas about how we might accomplish this.
Blablabla...let's see the list.
Corporations are not human beings and the distinction, surprisingly, must be defined in statute. I would recommend that, if necessary, Congress consider expert testimony from medical doctors as well as museum curators that study systematics–kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus and species;
Corporations cannot contribute to the political process, including but not limited to political campaigns and individual politicians, since they are not human beings and therefore not citizens of the United States. The human beings who work for corporations are afforded the same rights as other citizens; and
There shall be 100% transparency with respect to financial contributions to the political process.
Instituting these reforms would make for a more democratic republic, a more representative democracy.
I consider myself an artist, activist, writer, prankster, student, educator and entrepreneur who wants to advance the new social activist movement of the information age.