I understand that OWS is supposed to avoid platforms, etc.; but what stops them from publishing a constantly updated list of examples of the kind of behavior that they are in the streets about? For example, the corrupt Congressional insider trading revealed on yesterday's "60 Minutes".
What stops them from publishing a list of trenchant analysis of the problem? For example, Charles Hugh Smith's crystal clear explanation of the hedge/skim economy that takes the profits and dumps the losses on the taxpayer.
I do not have infinite amounts of time to spend on politics. In fact, I barely have time to write something every week or two. But OWS does. Below the squiggle, I will amplify my request that OWS publish some lists.
I am afraid that, without a focus, OWS will degenerate into a soap opera about whatever bad thing happened to it today. I am not being flip here. OWS is supposed to inform the world about its view on why the 1% must be regulated and prosecuted.
But, lately, all I am seeing are emotional discussions about the legitimate tragedies and travesties of justice that have been inflicted on OWS encampments. It may be that this is tactical, that revolutionary movements need martyrs. But, they also need a clear message.
I only have time to follow the Occupy OWS and the Occupy Boston websites. These are major sites in the Occupy movement: the foundation site and a highly technically literate site, neither of which are currently faced with eviction or police action. On neither site do I see the lists that I think would add value to the OWS effort.
1. Lists of readings
I hear talk about the libraries of various sites. Well, how about posting the books that are in the libraries? I will start with one that everyone should read:
The Divine Right of Capital: Dethroning the Corporate Aristocracy, by Marjorie Kelly, with a Forward by William Grieder. The book is elegantly simple and focused. It has a chapter outline that summarizes the problem:
The Six Principles of Economic Aristocracy
1. Worldview - In the worldview of corporate financial statements, the aim is to pay the stockholders as much as possible, and employees as little as possible.
2. Privilege - Stockholders claim wealth they do little to create, much as nobles claimed privilege they did not earn.
3. Property - Like a feudal estate, a corporation is considered a piece of property - not a human community - so it can be owned and sold by the propertied class.
4. Governance - Corporations function with an aristocratic governance structure, where members of the propertied class alone may vote.
5. Liberty - Corporate capitalism embraces a pre-democratic concept of liberty reserved for property holders, which thrives by restricting the liberty of employees and the community.
6. Sovereignity - Corporations assert that they are private and the free market will self regulate, much as feudal barons asserte a sovereignity independent of the Crown.
The book then offers "The six principles of economic democracy."
Please tell me why this and other equally good writing about the cause OWS is fighting for are not in a list of readings on the OWS website?
Is quoting the books in your own library not "horizontal" enough? Would it make the author a "cult figure"?
2. Lists of ongoing outrages
The war of the 1% against the 99% continues, day by day. The corporate media ram home their opinion on these events. Where is the counterpoint from OWS?
I am sure that OWS is livid about BofA dumping $75 Trillion of derivative losses onto the FDIC. So why haven't any of the Occupy websites got that in a list?
As rotten as the SuperCongress is, they are now trying to pull a "two-step" sequester process to screw the 99% now and maybe, just maybe, give the 1% a slap on the wrist later. Why isn't this despicable scheming on a website to encourage people to call the sell-out Dems on this committee?
3. Lists of OWS martyrs
We have already seen deaf women pepper sprayed, one veteran shot in the head with a tear gas cannister, and a musician beaten into nerve damage. (ON EDIT: I already forgot about the reporter who got shot while asking the cops where to stand.) There are probably many other legitimate stories that would make the vague BS of the right (about their supposed suffering) look like pathetic whining.
So, where is the list of court cases filed by the ACLU and the NLG on behalf of the Occupy movement?
4. Low power radio
Unless I completely misread the law. It is now perfectly legal to set up a low-wattage (I'm not sure what the wattage is, but I think the coverage radius is about 2 miles.) radio station to get their message onto the airwaves.
Why isn't OWS working on this?
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Perhaps I still misunderstand the nature of the Occupy movement. I am willing to be educated. But I am frustrated by the utterly vague "Statements of Solidarity" on the Occupy sites, and I would like to see more lists - sort of like Martin Luther's "99 Theses". I would like to see more non-violent offense, and less non-violent heads beaten in.
Over to you, DKos.