Opinion of "Occupy Wall Street"

[Link]

How long are the lot of you going to keep this up?

The irony is you posted over an hour after people stopped posting.

[Link]

Anyway, my history teacher...

The problem with a lot of posters on this forum is they are teenagers with minimal real life experience who presume to know the struggles of people in their late twenties or thirties.  Life isn't as simple as you think it is young buck.  A lot of those protestors you "don't care about" were young idealists that did as they were told, got a solid education, obeyed the law, and at the end of it all all they got was six figures of student loan debt and a pink slip while Wall Street 1%ers get seven figure bonuses.

It is still too early for people on the right or left to characterize who these people are.  Some have college degrees and some are blue collar.  I think both you and your teacher are wrong.

[Badger]

Christ. Reading all this back and forth sh**t is depressing. How long are the lot of you going to keep this up?

Anyway, my history teacher, Democrat, claims the Occupy Wall Street crowd are "workin' class people", to which my response was "Um, I'm not sure, but how would working class people have the time to occupy wall street?"

Unemployment?

[Lief 🗽]

Protesters breaking city laws when camping overnight.

Yeah, people who break the laws are always bad, and people who uphold them are always good, I agree.

[courts]

Protesters breaking city laws when camping overnight.

Yeah, people who break the laws are always bad, and people who uphold them are always good, I agree.

And anybody arrested by the police is always guilty, the police never arrest protesters or beat them up for no reason.

[Napoleon]

Protesters breaking city laws when camping overnight.

Yeah, people who break the laws are always bad, and people who uphold them are always good, I agree.

I don't believe I said that.

[courts]

Protesters breaking city laws when camping overnight.

Yeah, people who break the laws are always bad, and people who uphold them are always good, I agree.

I don't believe I said that.

No but certain people seem to think that.

[Lief 🗽]

[Keystone Phil]

Don't forget: Tea Parties dress up like jackasses...

[lowtech redneck]

There can be no clearer sign of the difference between the Tea party and the OWS movement than the treatment of them by the media.

You mean the media that has treated the OWS with kid gloves and huge exposure while alternatively ignoring/demonizing the Tea Parties for almost two years?

[All Along The Watchtower]

There can be no clearer sign of the difference between the Tea party and the OWS movement than the treatment of them by the media.

You mean the media that has treated the OWS with kid gloves and huge exposure while alternatively ignoring/demonizing the Tea Parties for almost two years?

Are you kidding?

[Keystone Phil]

The Invaders display their brand of patriotism - http://news.yahoo.com/photos/member-occupy-wall-st-movement-walks-over-u-photo-210130472.html

[Link]

The Invaders display their brand of patriotism

Barbarians.

[Keystone Phil]

Classy, too, Link...

[Associate Justice PiT]

     They're basically just the left-wing Tea Party; really dumb & really angry. As such, I approve of all attempts to make this circus funnier.

[courts]

     They're basically just the left-wing Tea Party; really dumb & really angry.

Both groups are statistically more educated than the average american.

[Associate Justice PiT]

     They're basically just the left-wing Tea Party; really dumb & really angry.

Both groups are statistically more educated than the average american.

     The average American should hang his head in shame, then.

[All Along The Watchtower]

     They're basically just the left-wing Tea Party; really dumb & really angry.

Both groups are statistically more educated than the average american.

     The average American should hang his head in shame, then.

The average American is probably a lot smarter than the wealthier, "better educated", politically active Americans.

[courts]

2. "Educated" is not equivalent to "informed about politics, finance, and economics." That said, both Tea Partiers and Occupiers are apparently relatively educated, and the Tea Partiers at least are relatively wealthy. Then again, politically engaged individuals typically are.

Oh of course, having actually been on a college campus I could have told you that. But it had to be pointed out. And PiT's response is my standard one to anything political anyway.

[All Along The Watchtower]

     They're basically just the left-wing Tea Party; really dumb & really angry.

Both groups are statistically more educated than the average american.

     The average American should hang his head in shame, then.

The average American is probably a lot smarter than the wealthier, "better educated", politically active Americans.

Smarter in what sense?

Well for one thing, they're probably more in touch with the ugly reality of the United States economy.

[Associate Justice PiT]

     They're basically just the left-wing Tea Party; really dumb & really angry.

Both groups are statistically more educated than the average american.

     The average American should hang his head in shame, then.

1. Some would say the same of those who use sexist language and make uninformed generalizations.

2. "Educated" is not equivalent to "informed about politics, finance, and economics." That said, both Tea Partiers and Occupiers are apparently relatively educated, and the Tea Partiers at least are relatively wealthy. Then again, politically engaged individuals typically are.

3. Some of the Occupiers' concerns, particularly those relating to student loans and the increasing cost of post-secondary education, speak directly to the median American's lack thereof.

1. Generic third-person singulars are highly problematic in English. It's either sexist, dehumanizing, clunky, or just grammatically incorrect. Jumping on someone for not using the one you want is pointless in the extreme. Besides, my attitude is pretty much the same as Mint's; assume the worst about any politician or political movement, for you will likely be correct.

2. Aye, educated people can be blitheringly stupid. They have less excuse for it, though, since they are supposedly more informed about the way things are.

3. Assuming they have identified the issues correctly. Of course, that there is a "need" for post-secondary education here is the real issue, since it is devaluing higher education. A college degree used to be a great boon that set an applicant apart from the pack, now it is a basic requirement for a good job. I would suggest more rigorous secondary school curriculum that included actual preparation for real-world employment, so people can make better money on a high school diploma.

[Keystone Phil]

Some of my friends and I went to the Scumbaggers rally at City Hall. I have some great pictures on the way!

[courts]

3. Assuming they have identified the issues correctly. Of course, that there is a "need" for post-secondary education here is the real issue, since it is devaluing higher education. A college degree used to be a great boon that set an applicant apart from the pack, now it is a basic requirement for a good job. I would suggest more rigorous secondary school curriculum that included actual preparation for real-world employment, so people can make better money on a high school diploma.

Except it really isn't. There's plenty of well paying (skilled) blue collar work out there that you can get with just technical training, community college, etc. And plenty of majors obviously don't pay well. Of course I'm a hypocrite since I'm in History right now and basically all that you can get with that alone is stuff in archiving, curating, government work or maybe a position as campus butt monkey adjunct professor. I have no idea what I'll do if I don't go onto something like Law School.

In any case, what will happen with the college bubble is pretty obvious. It should be fun to watch when tuition spikes and enough people de-facto default on their student loans to bankrupt the system. I'll probably be done with all this by then though.

[Associate Justice PiT]

I would suggest more rigorous secondary school curriculum that included actual preparation for real-world employment, so people can make better money on a high school diploma.

Agreed! Though I can't help but to point out that this seems to contradict your point about how the average American should "hang [his or her/their] head in shame."

Apropos your "assume the worst" attitude... I'm also cautious about politicians and movements, but I think that there's also a danger in writing them off as stupid or ignorant by default. Besides, respect for the political process and those involved is vital to the health of any democracy.

Educated people may have "less excuse" for stupidity, but one reality of education in the United States is that it doesn't put a huge emphasis on civics. It's easy to get an advanced degree, even in the social sciences or the humanities, without ever thinking very much about American politics or acquiring much understanding or knowledge about the current state of affairs or how the process works.

Another note: My point about gendered language is not relevant to the matter at hand, but I don't consider it to be trivial. Better clunky or ungrammatical than sexist.

     The comment on hanging one's head in shame was less of a serious point & more of a way of lamenting how little value education can have.

     I think these movements can be stupid or ignorant & still have value. The problem is, the stupidity & ignorance of these movements act as a barrier to them actually doing anything, which causes them to be self-marginalizing. Looking at the Tea Party, they have actually helped elect Democrats in certain instances (DE-SEN being a glaring example). Pretty sure that doesn't help them achieve their goals.

     Not to mention people growing up with the politics of their parents or their communities who accept that view as gospel & don't really bother to question it. College campuses these days are something of an echo chamber, which is quite a shame. I was once told that the greatest commendation of the cosmopolitan lifestyle is that it makes you consider other points of view, but then I saw that it doesn't even do that right.

     It may not be trivial, but I do not really think about such things, & have used other forms as the spirit moved me. The implications of language are quite horrifying if one really thinks about it, but we use it throughout our lives with little thought.

3. Assuming they have identified the issues correctly. Of course, that there is a "need" for post-secondary education here is the real issue, since it is devaluing higher education. A college degree used to be a great boon that set an applicant apart from the pack, now it is a basic requirement for a good job. I would suggest more rigorous secondary school curriculum that included actual preparation for real-world employment, so people can make better money on a high school diploma.

Except it really isn't. There's plenty of well paying (skilled) blue collar work out there that you can get with just technical training, community college, etc. And plenty of majors obviously don't pay well. Of course I'm a hypocrite since I'm in History right now and basically all that you can get with that alone is stuff in archiving, curating, government work or maybe a position as campus butt monkey adjunct professor. I have no idea what I'll do if I don't go onto something like Law School.

In any case, what will happen with the college bubble is pretty obvious. It should be fun to watch when tuition spikes and enough people de-facto default on their student loans to bankrupt the system. I'll probably be done with all this by then though.

     I thought about apprenticing after making that post. It is definitely possible to make good money without a college education, but many people don't realize that. That is part of why we see the devaluation of education, or the college bubble as you describe it. Another part is the idea of middle-class entitlement combined with a lack of knowledge of how to actually achieve such a thing. People often seem to believe in silver bullets; if I get a degree then I will live well, when things are not that simple.

[Keystone Phil]

We began by seeing "Shiz Mac's" little creation. Yes, he emphasized that he created this. It's a work of art, not just some mess...





...ran into Mitt Romney on our journey around the premises...





...then had the expected dose of paranoia...






...saw Senator Toomey....





...and topped it all off with the indisputable best finding at the event. It's something that could unite all of us. Amazingly enough, something at this rally would even bring a tear - or should I say especially bring a tear - to Naso's eye...







Yes, folks, '80s Prom Night at Occupy Philly. It was held after the "General Assembly" meeting so we missed it but I can just imagine the greatness. And that sums this all up: serious rally? No. Joke? Absolutely.