Photo by the urban fabric (all rights reserved by photographer)
On October 6th I joined the Occupy Dallas protesters in the march to the Federal Reserve Bank. Since that time they have remained camped out at Pioneer Park in downtown Dallas near the convention center. They are feuding with the city of Dallas for the right to remain as the City requires the protestors to post a $1,000,000 bond.
The Dallas Observer, an alternative (i.e. honest) weekly paper, posted a blog on the march which sparked 241 comments. I admit my reaction to the movement was lukewarm at first but seeing the bitter consternation it engendered in conservatives tipped the scales completely for me. I thought I'd share a few of the more choice engagements:
I haven't really been able to figure out what the organizers of "Occupy Wall Street" are protesting against and what they are asking be done. To hear some of those interviewed, it's just a bunch of folks with too much time on their hands complaining about everything they can think of with no real objectives.
Darren Schmits and 21 more liked this
This is about exhaustion. People who are tired of watching the vast majority of the country waste away. People who are tired of privatized profits and socialized losses. This about the top 1% of the population controlling nearly 40% of its wealth, while the bottom rungs have less than 1%. This is about corruption and the influence of money at every level of government, in both parties, in all places. There are many, many voices in this movement: leftists, liberals, tea partiers, libertarians, labor unions, anarchists, independents, black, white, latino, old, young, working class, middle class, etc. The call for accountability is being made. Once those in power hear that, then we can begin to make our demands, each one of us, and map out a future for everyone.
drklassen and 33 more liked this
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What a waste of time on a beautiful fall day in Dallas.
Go to the fair, ride the ferris wheel and eat a corny dog.
You'll feel better right away.
Darren Schmits and 8 more liked this
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Lol! You could get a job and earn $ you know. I'm an actual taxpayer, with a job, and i don't owe you communist wannabes anything. Btw, don't forget...The top 10% of wage earners pay 50% of taxes...The bottom 47%? Not one cent...
Andy Nold and 5 more liked this
You want to prove your claim that the bottom 47% pay no taxes? Remember, "taxes" includes sales taxes, property taxes, gas taxes, payroll taxes, and a wide range of taxes beyond income taxes.
I ask because you won't be able to actually back that statement up with proof, seeing as how it isn't true.
drklassen and 6 more liked this
I love it when people throw out that figure.
Yes, the bottom don't pay a cent in income tax - why? BECAUSE THEY"RE POOR! You don't pay an income tax if your under the poverty line!
Taxes on food, water, property, gas, clothes and other purchases? They pay those. Social Security? Yeah, they pay that, too.
And that top 50% you're in love with? The trust-fund babies pay 15% in taxes and never work a day.
drklassen and 11 more liked this
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Want the rich to pay more taxes and suddenly you're a dirty hippie; want an American-born President to produce a birth certificate and you're grass-roots democracy in action. And they say the media is liberal.
Jay Hawk and 18 more liked this
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The new slogan of American culture: Hate anyone who has a better idea and/or better work ethic than you. I mean, how dare anyone think that they deserve more pay and a better quality of life just because they try a lot harder in life overall and take full responsibility for themselves! The nerve!
Mister_Mean liked this
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get a job
connielowe1 and 15 more liked this
I don't you noticed but after the financial institutions ruined our economy with out of control irresponsible practices and malfeasance and other companies shipped jobs overseas in the pursuit of higher corporate profits there aren't that many jobs left.
Coleman and 20 more liked this
If you cant get a job your not a very good worker or are afraid to work or your skills are outdated and you need to seek retraining
pak152 and 4 more liked this
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Sad, but not unexpected, to see some of the comments here.
Yes, there's not a lot of coherence in this movement or its goals right now. The thing is brand new. Coherence will emerge. Right now, there are thousands of people spouting off tens of thousands of agenda points. It'll get more clear.
If you don't get the gist of it by now, try this: http://bit.ly/nmr004
Douglas Rushkoff tried to help make this thing a little more understandable: http://bit.ly/mS5q1p I think he did a pretty good job.
Educate yourselves. Doesn't it worry you that so much of our nation's wealth is concentrated in the hands of so few? If it doesn't worry you, please help me understand why it doesn't.
John2247 and 12 more liked this
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Personally, I think it's too late to protest. Rare is the soul who trusts nature over money. As long as money has ultimate say in our society then doom is inevitable and inescapable. It's not the job of money to provide justice or even to provide our survival - we just pretend it is, a grand collusion to one day be defrocked. We let money decide everything for us, even who lives and who dies. As John Lennon said, it's not about what you're against, it's what you're for that counts.
But those who truly hate social justice, who despair of living for anything but greed, who find an open mind the most terrifying of all human conditions, are rightly mortified by these protests. All movements start with breaking the silence about the abuse. Those who fear they'll be left behind lash out and defame those who've broken away to a new and better future.
To me, I don't really care about the specifics of this movement. What it's really about is the human spirit. As we slowly, oh so tentatively embrace our humanity and learn to trust it, as money worship goes the way of witch burning and all other superstitions, a new dawn will emerge for those willing to accept it. When that time comes, these gods who live in ivory towers of steel and glass will see their confines for what they truly are: a prison.
Here's my video of the march on the Fed:
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