In the past couple of weeks, there have been a number of articles in the mainstream news about the occupy movement participants being a bunch of cry babies (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204485304576640962366762204.html?grcc=c55cb65a12d38771ac008972b7e6dcb1Z3&mod=WSJ_hps_sections_opinion ) and that they are just venting their disappointments in life at Wall street. They try to portray the participants as having no practical agenda or suggestions to improve the situation but just a party mob shouting and waving placards against the 1% rich. What is getting lost in the arguments are some of the reasons behind the rise of such a movement. These people represent a voice against the unfairness we are seeing in the current society. Life is unfair and every adult recognizes this and moves on with life, sometimes bitching and moaning about it in private parties and family gatherings. But when the unfairness becomes really stark, then it galvanizes a larger group of people to take their gripes to the public arena.
We all realize that wall street told lies, sold toxic mortgages and brought the US and the world to the brink of a financial collapse and the federal govts throughout the world had to bail out the banks. I believe the bailout was necessary to stave severe depression and to save the banking institutions. but the problem is that the banks have been settling all their charges easily with the SEC - recently citibank - http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/30/opinion/sunday/friedman-did-you-hear-the-one-about-the-bankers.html?_r=1 , without admitting any guilt. On the other hand, none of mortgage relief proposals by the US adminstrn have worked - the banks have been really stingy about writing off principals on near to foreclosure mortgages. They hold the moral line as to how the borrowers need to pay in full no matter what, though there was no moral line in their bailouts. This is the unfairness you see in the society and that is what is galvanizing the people to protest.
It is ok for these occupy protesters not to have any agenda or come up with ways to solve the problem. As a sane society, we atleast need to have people protesting gross unfairness. The insititutions are not working and the financial firm lobby groups are as powerful or more than in the past. Obama has not delivered on any of the lobbying reforms he promised. What do the masses do if the institutions don't work? The african americans had to fight for civil rights to get some fairness in treatment - they got derided in a big way in the Southern US states for all their protests. The french poor probably got derided for being a bunch of lazy bums during the french revolution.
We all realize that wall street told lies, sold toxic mortgages and brought the US and the world to the brink of a financial collapse and the federal govts throughout the world had to bail out the banks. I believe the bailout was necessary to stave severe depression and to save the banking institutions. but the problem is that the banks have been settling all their charges easily with the SEC - recently citibank - http://www.nytimes.com/2011/
It is ok for these occupy protesters not to have any agenda or come up with ways to solve the problem. As a sane society, we atleast need to have people protesting gross unfairness. The insititutions are not working and the financial firm lobby groups are as powerful or more than in the past. Obama has not delivered on any of the lobbying reforms he promised. What do the masses do if the institutions don't work? The african americans had to fight for civil rights to get some fairness in treatment - they got derided in a big way in the Southern US states for all their protests. The french poor probably got derided for being a bunch of lazy bums during the french revolution.
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