This is just a brief diary. I am putting a question out to the community, for what it is worth.
All the Police actions against OWS have me really concerned. (DOH!) There are many reasons to be concerned but I will focus on one.
What are these actions designed to accomplish? I mean really accomplish.
This is a very important question to ask at this juncture, to help OWS respond to what is actually going on both on the surface and beneath the surface, so that they can be much more effective and preserve their right to protest.
Because I cannot help but think that the OWS movement is being strategically 'caged' with these tactics, i.e. being corralled into upping the ante as they are being mistreated, abused and shut down from expressing their legitimate first amendment rights.
In other words, it wouldn't surprise me if the movement is either intentionally or unintentionally being provoked into behavior or actions that will justify a crackdown.
Then think: imposition of local or state laws that will forbid any demonstrations, because they will be deemed to be threatening, the 'internment camps' of street lore, and basically demonizing this powerful political force BEFORE the next election.
My in depth studies of group behavior, leads me to believe that we need to apply what these disciplines have to offer. Such as, we need to take a systems perspective, viewing what is going on around the country as a whole, looking for common patterns and any types of causality that appear. Such as, run a quick look at the type of police action compared to the political party of the the governor, mayor, etc. Run a quick look at whether this is being ordered from the local vs. state level. Etc. ETc. Whatever correlates we can think of.
The police methodologies and tactics seem to me to have a common pattern across the country, so I wonder if there is some kind of coordination going on at some level? Let's entertain that thought hypothetically? If so, who/what would do the coordination? Police manuals? Dept. of Homeland Security guidelines? Terrorist guidelines? Prison-for-profit briefs designed to get more customers? Some sort of brief put forward by an organization like ALEC? Rove and the Republican Party?
Whatever patterns are found, then we need to try to ask the following question, over and over again: "Who or which group would stand most to gain by OWS being shut down, either by the refusal of permits to demonstrations (which I would imagine is unconstitutional,) or being cracked down upon because 'they turned violent?'
It is important that this be an inductive process. That is, that we work from the facts open mindedly to reach where the facts take us. We may all feel, well this would benefit the Plutocrats and that it would, but the process I am suggesting is connecting the dots.
There are several things that can be done, once dots are connected. Once we can finger who is doing what and why and for what purpose. First of all exposes can be written, secondly if warranted legal action can be used, thirdly and most importantly the OWS movement can be better protected by knowing what is really going on, in specific.
We must provide OWS with all the help we can so THAT IT CAN CONTINUE. We must help OWS not to get provoked and we must find a way so that the demonstrations can continue peacefully.
Anyway, those are the questions and thoughts I pose, because I smell a rat here. Call me paranoid if you will. But the stakes are too high for this coming election for allowing the OWS movement to upset the R playbook. Do I think that the R's are behind this crackdown. Probably. But it will do no good to run around indignant about this thought, rather we need to get facts or as close to facts as we can. We need solid information that is tracked down with the use of systems thinking and simple statistical correlations.
WE MUST PROTECT AND PRESERVE OUR RIGHT AS CITIZENS TO DISSENT. WE MUST PROTECT OWS AT ALL COSTS.
8:37 AM PT: On CNN (or FoxLite) this morning 11:30est: talking about the police crackdown in Oakland with video:
Interview with Jon Avlon, Senior Political Columnist, Newsweek
(comparing the Tea Party to OWS, with Tea Party being more organized,
"for Democratic Party....what alienates more than it attracts,... if they focus on specific reforms, ... (i.e. specifics)....but FOLKS WOULD BE ADVISED TO NOT TO GET TOO TERRIBLY CLOSE AS LONG AS THIS IS GOING TO DEGENERATE INTO THE VIOLENCE WE SAW LAST NIGHT"
And there you have it, the Republican Talking Points have hit the street, the morning after:
STAY AWAY FROM OWS BECAUSE OF THE PROSPECT OF VIOLENCE THAT MAY ERUPT. The meta message: This movement isn't specific and not stable: STAY AWAY.
HMMM? I want to connect the dots. This is not a Conspiracy Theory but a search for actors behind the scenes.