Occupy XYZ "Movement"

It's a "movement"?

A movement with no leaders? And no demands? Is that really a movement?

There's no mention of socialism.....but of "social justice"...."wealth inequality"..."the 99%"...etc. And lots of mentions of "End the Fed"....whatever that's supposed to mean.

Strikes me this is too vague and idealistic to be a "real" social political movement. I'm very cynical about it all.

It's great that people feel motivated to complain.....that they want change.....but what change? These people think socialism was just invented? Oh, but they don't actually want socialism, do they, so....who knows....

They keep saying "we". Who is this "we"? What do this "we" want? "An end to the neo-liberal global banking blah blah blah". Oh, right, very good......what does that MEAN??? And what is it FOR? IF it's FOR an alternative - socialism - then say so? Otherwise, what is it FOR? All the "End the Fed" stuff smacks of the usual ignorant, vague, (far) right-wing American dross.

They say about themselves: "the protesters are fed up with both mainstream parties". AND SO WHAT??? Being "fed-up" is easy. What are you going to do instead? WHAT???

As a decentralized leaderless movement, in our opinion, there is no one group, organization, website or individual who can speak for the movement as a whole.

....and that's going to last how long? And err.....WHAT DO YOU WANT???

We will not be co-opted by hierarchical organizations. No matter how wonderful their cause may be.

WE won't? A decentralised leaderless movement speaks as "we"....? I don't see how it can.

I think they're making all the usual mistakes and forgetting much in the process.

We Are Winning

Every once in a while, in the course of some enormous struggle, those driven, tired, frazzled fighters have a moment or two to stop and think, to pick our heads up and look ahead. I had a moment like that a few days ago, and that’s when it hit me – like a blow to the head: We are winning. We are winning.

Sure, we haven’t captured government institutions, haven’t smashed the banks and the classes that control them, haven’t even won concrete reforms or come up with solid institutions to protect our gains. We aren’t even close to finishing the fight or creating the world we wish to live in. But – alongside revolutionaries around the world – we have helped to unlock the hidden and slumbering potential of millions of people, ready to believe again that there is an alternative.

Yes, people need to believe in the possibility of an alternative.

BUT WHAT IS IT?

Nobody knows.....oh, how reassuring!!

What Do We Want?

The media and politicians call us muddle-headed, and confused. They claim we have no demands or purpose. Well, let’s set the record straight. It’s not that we don’t have demands; it’s that we speak them in a different language. We speak them with our struggle. Our movement is made up of people fighting for jobs, for schools, for debt relief, equitable housing, and healthcare. We are resisting ecological destruction, imperialism, racism, patriarchy, and crony-capitalism. We are doing it all in a way that is participatory, democratic, fierce, and unwavering. There is nothing very vague about that.

But we do not stop there. That, perhaps, is what sets us apart from those who wish to use our tremendous and growing power for small gains or modest reforms. We want more. We want it all. We want a political and economic system that we all actually control together, one that is equitable and humane, one that allows for people to self-manage but act in solidarity, one that is participatory and democratic to its core. We want a world where people have the right to their own identities, communities, and cultures, and the freedom from oppression and constraint. We want a world with institutions that take care of our youth, our elderly, and our families in ways that are nurturing, liberating, and consensual. We want a world in which community is not a hamper on individual freedom, but rather an expression of its fullest potential.

If that’s not a clear enough statement of demands for you, CNN, I don’t know what to tell you. And you know what? We’re only getting warmed up.

As we keep fighting, we will continue to ask ourselves difficult questions. What world do we envision? What values do we want to live by? What institutions do we need in order to live those values? What structures will we build to protect what we’ve won and create a platform for continued struggle? What will we win for ourselves, and what will we win for generations to come? How will we fight these enormous battles in a way that is both effective and reflective of the new world we are ushering in?

Hmmmm. You (whoops, I am supposed to say "we", right?) want all that.......but don't ever mention socialism. You're kidding yourselves if you think you are going to get any further than making a big noise. The moment it comes to making the first decision the entire thing will fall apart into factions of left and right. End of.

It's just a lot of pissed-off people. Big deal.

Not that it's worthless, not by any stretch. But it might be even worse than that.

A look at their "economic" manifesto or whatever is like looking at a student publication, or somesuch. And no socialism. Who do they think they are kidding?

Look at the agenda, and consider no mention of "socialism"....and apparently "no demands", "no manifesto" etc.....:

--Mass Unemployment

--Working More for Less

--The Rise of the Economic Elite

--Costs of Living

Common Ground Issues That Must Be Won

It’s time for 99% of Americans to mobilize and aggressively move on common sense political reforms.

We will obviously have many differences on how our country should be run, but we can all come together to dismantle the Economic Elite by making several pivotal political reforms. As long as the game is rigged in favor of the Economic Elite, we will all lose. So let’s find common ground and focus on several obvious battles that we need to win, and can win:

Election Reform

Governmental Policy Formation

Information Platforms

Healthcare

* Medical Costs: We have disagreements on how to best provide healthcare, but we all agree that whatever the method, the result needs to be lower costs.

Real Economic Competition

* Most Americans Believe in Competition

* Redistribution of Wealth: Due to the rigging of our economic and political system, vast sums of wealth have been hoarded by the Economic Elite over the past 40 years. This money must be redistributed to the 99% of Americans who have been robbed and exploited. There will be much heated debate over how this money should be distributed, but we all need to agree that we must first hold the Economic Elite accountable and our wealth must be seized from them.
SOURCE

Oh Lordy, I can't go on with this.....it's a lot of vague populist rot. Astonishing they can get people off their arses, especially for that vague populist rubbish they're touting. Though that's probably why they can manage to motivate people to protest....it's all so vague and obviously hollow that there's no room for disagreement....just vaguely shared sentiment and dis-satisfaction.

No wonder they're so fearful and concerned about being co-opted. What's the alternative? Continue just mouthing complaints?

The empty, populist tone is worrying.