Forum Post: Why this movement will fade.
Posted 12 years ago on Nov. 27, 2011, 6:33 a.m. EST by randart
(498)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
I support the struggle of the 99%. I am a poor man and most likely to be homeless soon so I am not being a troll here just reflecting on the overall groupthink that will erode the movement.
I watched the television this week as people were mobbing each other to buy crap at a discount. People were actually pepper spraying one another just to have the chance to get an xbox, whatever that is. People in droves flooded the doors of stores waiting for the gates to open so that they can buy buy buy. I personally don't understand this feeding frenzy mentality that humanity seems to have but it seems almost genetic in some way. How can we ever bring change when the masses are indoctrinated to flood stores on a day called "Black Friday"? It is like some cultural right of passage or just plain madness that drives these people to do such insane things.
Only after the masses of people are maxed out on their credit cards will they begin to see the light. Even those who are broke are resorting to theft, robbery, and violence because they have been taught to want their entire life. The greed is pervasive from the ultra wealthy to the destitute and only when we let this go and relearn simplicity will we have a chance. Unfortunately, humans are easily led and lured to be consumers of everything that can be thought up.
Here are the facts as I see them.
Capitalism and consumerism are detrimental to the species. Overpopulation is a problem that will be too evident very soon. Governments are failing globally even with the use of force. Banks are broke but they don't want people to know this. We have forgotten the connection we must keep with Earth. If we don't change soon there will be tragic collapse of this illusion.
I am getting old and I can see where this is all going to end up but, as a species that sees itself as intelligent, humanity will wait until it is too late. The only way I can see of preserving some of humanity in the long run is to create small, independent, social collectives that can stand on their own while the larger system collapses. We need a true counter culture mindset that works as a tribe in locations where the basic resources are still fairly intact. A place where you can trust and be trusted and where everyone is family. I believe these places are few and far between but they will be the ones that might continue after the rest of the lemmings have run off the cliff.
Just a poor man's perspective.
Isn't this the dichotomy? Wanting to improve the lot of the 99%, but seeing how the masses behave is disheartening. The fact of the matter is the media does not serve the public debate in any way and actively restricts the discourse. These days everything comes down to marketing from politics to products and services. People see what is on TV, in the magazines or on the internet, and they simply ape what they see. I remember when it was considered ostentatious to display wealth. Now, it's called "bling." Relatively few people are actually thoughtful and might venture off the well beaten path to a place like this.
You may be right - but until it is incontestably proven I say we have a responsibility to institute what corrective measures we may in the hope that by some miracle of providence or modern technology we might be spared the utter collapse of civilization itself.
Great post. Keep in mind that this movement has already had an impact. 951 cities in 30 days. This has never happened before. It is a wake up call. We will grow. The simple knowledge that there are people like you out there who are eloquent and aware brings some hope.
Let's keep going.
We need to have a true and honest counter culture. I reject the current system of this world and know that somehow, someday, some of us will find a new and workable way to share this world we all live on. I also know it isn't me so I hope there are some within OWS that are finding solutions that can be implemented.
If Ronald McDonald starts singing about OWS then you will know that OWS has lost and been co-opted by big business.
http://youtu.be/78L1Ihy-uy4
The Occupy Movement is strongly reminiscent of SDS groups from the 60s...even the format of "gaining consensus" etc. is directly lifted from them. SDS groups got conversations started, but never got anything done themselves. The Occupy Movement needs another movement to follow it, one with real leadership that can actually rally people to follow one united cause.
This movement will fade, if it fails to produce a larger crowd or actual results...
It is not a greed if I have to line for 2 days to afford discounted clothes for my child so she may not be humiliated in the school yard. You are confused to parallel this with that of the Wall St. syndicate. No, it is worse. You are contaminated by Faux. Wake up! find yourself and support OWS!
I recently went to a Good Will store and bought a pair of good jeans for $3.50. If I went to any regular store they would have cost around 30-40 dollars.
Teach your children that other children are not yet aware of the type future they may be about to enter into and they might not feel so bad for themselves when teased but feel a bit of sadness for those that are already indoctrinated into becoming consumers.
I do not watch Fox News if that is what you meant. I am just a realist and I pay attention. I used to live in a woodsy sort of place and saw how Nature has balances that keep it healthy and whole. Humanity is violating the basic rules of Nature and one day it will bring the balance back.
I said in the first posting that I support OWS. I hate the greed that has overtaken our world but holding a sign and yelling at someone will not change a thing. We are ALL on a ship of fools, all believing our way is the right way but we can't seem to see that this ship of fools is sailing into a storm.
Im not into Cults thank you! I prefer to stand united my fellow mankind and fight back! Just make sure you Too DRINK THE KOOL-ADE instead of just asking your trolls to do so.
Someone who so readily disputes what this man/woman said is destined to fail.
Not a cultist. Religion doesn't fit in my brain. I am a realist though and I can see beyond today. I do see this system failing in a massive way and this will probably happen soon. I am only thinking that if this species we call intelligent is really intelligent then it should plan to try and survive beyond the belief that technology will save the day because it might not.
I find the belief that we will all change a cult thought process. I am only stating what I see and I see people fighting over things that are, in truth, meaningless. I don't drink Kool-Ade but maybe you should consider that you already have.
You are a very smart man, and are seeing through the veil that's been put over our eyes. However, instead of small, independent communities, we could consider switching to a global resource based economy. It has to start somewhere, and here's a good example of how such a system could work... http://www.thezeitgeistmovement.com/mission-statement. You can also check out http://www.unitinghumans.com/.
People ARE waking up. This movement is not going to fade away BECAUSE people are waking up. The movement may change it's appearance, evolve somehow, but it will not fade. Once someone is awake and aware, it's very hard to just go back to sleep...I know I cannot.
You said it well but I would argue that apathy is not as large as it may seem (as the MSM and elites want us to believe). It is astounding that OWS grew at a pace not seen (even back when the Viet Nam anti-war protest began) before and encompasses multiple issues. What is happening is a cultural shift and even if OWS ends, what is learned from it is invaluable and will go on. The country thought they were voting in “hope” during the last presidential election. They were wrong. This movement has given me hope because it is a wake up call and even the most apathetic people are hearing that call. The 99% are aware they are being screwed. Some are frightened to participate (seeing the violence of the police) and some are still getting by (paycheck to paycheck) and so continue to want everything to remain the same but they know and will soon know even closer to home because austerity measures are being implemented and will soon reveal the horrific hurt we are in. I, too, am old and may end up homeless. I say “go OWS, you are our hope, especially the youth”. Has anyone watched this video of a speech at OWS London by David Harvey? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sLKdLPh5Cw He seems to say it all.
You are enlightened and not so poor. God bless and hopefully the people joined here will listen.
We must build sustainable local communities.
We can do it now, or we can try to do it after the collapse.
it already is fading
i totally agree with your last paragraph - small social collectives, far and few in between - I agree.
but I dont think occupy will fade anytime soon, not now, and not for the next five years.
There will always be a few who are driven to stand and I am in full support of them. I am grateful for those who are brave enough to place their freedom and safety in jeopardy for the many who are not willing to stand.
The banks and corporations are sitting on enough cash to repair this economy and put people back to work but they don't and I think that in their business calculus they factored this movement in and know pretty well how long it will last. They are just waiting it all out so they can drop wages even more on the lower classes of people.
After watching the madness of the shoppers rushing and fighting to get in to buy more crap I really don't think it will last a year except for a small few who have taken it as their goal to make the change happen. I know a small number of sane people can change the world but I wonder how many sane people remain after seeing the shopper's feeding frenzy. All of this madness inspired by whom and for what? So we can have a new phone attached to "the cloud" that is ten seconds faster than the phone you already own. It is all madness and this will be harder to change than you might hope.
99% of the people do not act on problems, they re-act. so yes, i would agree that we go on down the road of collapse and react after it has happend.
those who think about healthy sustainability and justice are few, and surely less than 99%. but they can't help themselves, they need to try to change the system, no matter how small the chances.
in my opinion 99% of the people don't care about an unjust society as long as they profit from it. maybe it's an evolutionary advantage, i don't know.
it seems to me, that we should call our movement "we are the 1% who cares", "the 99% are content as long as they have money to buy stuff".
Capitalism and consumerism haven't failed our species, the excessive out of balance capitalism has.
Nature always takes care of itself. It will eventually correct itself to its rightful balance.
But will we go by the way of dinosaurs during that correction.
Do we really have a capitalistic society? And what happened to the term "free enterprise." We used speak of the "American free enterprise system."
outstanding post
Do you know of any such places? "A place where you can trust and be trusted and where everyone is family. I believe these places are few and far between but they will be the ones that might continue after the rest of the lemmings have run off the cliff."
Tribal cultures were and are like that. Now of course we are far too populous to go back to tribalism, but that doesnt mean we cannot take the best aspects of their lifestyle and attitudes and base a NEW system around it. Tribal cultures largely don't use money, or if they do have a form of currency it is not used on a grand scale. TRIBAL PEOPLES DO NOT LOCK UP THE FOOD. All the resources are there for all the members equally. They value their members as their strength and primary resource. In a tribal system, there may be a leader, a warrior class, even a class of shamans, but no single individual is more or less important than any other. A warrior does not deserve more because he is a warrior. There is no hierarchy as we know it.
My only purpose in bringing up these cultures is to point out that OUR way is not the ONLY way. We can do better than this!
I do not know of such a place but I am going to go on a quest to find it. I am considering the Pacific Northwest where rain is plentiful and helps grow crops for food, and where the water is still fairly clean.
You could also create one.
I know there are people learning to be more self sustainable ...
Good point about the rain ... Growing food here in Austin, TX is a bear!
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