Capitalism, next to war, is the most naive of all human endeavors. It's a system set up to reward greed. And as I heard one person say, capitalism is a way of harnessing human selfishness for the greater good. And so-called human reason says we can trust that to always benefit us. You know, because greedy people will never fuck you.
Well, it's certainly pleasant to think so.
Those of us who live in the real world know differently. The idea of "regulating" greed is as about as idiotic as the idea of "regulating" murder (war by any other name). Sooner of later the dam always bursts. And while we argue about whether or not we should stick our fingers in the dam, we do so while ignoring the bigger picture that the dam is going to burst regardless as long as we allow the greed to keep flowing.
But I also know most people won't believe that until the dam actually breaks. As Moses said, "People will think, 'I am safe, even though I persist in going my own way.' This will bring disaster on the watered land as well as the dry." The truth is we've created a life in the shadow of a dam that's going to break. Everyone knows that, no one admits it!
"Oh, we have a plan for the facts: we plan to deny them!"
The human comedy is a pretty goddam funny thing if the consequences weren't so tragic. So let us come down from the mountain to see the ripples of human movement up close, where the friction of discourse comes to bear and souls brought to light. Yet even in tragedy there is beauty, because in the end we find the goal of all human efforts is to obtain love. And that's when we'll realize it's love we can trust - and nothing else.
The leaking of the dam is becoming more and more undeniable. Lies are crumbling under their own weight and the desperation to keep them alive only increases their outrageousness. Listen to this idiot of a Presidential candidate (that could only happen in a dying country):
Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain said the demonstrators are coming across as "anti-capitalism." [No shit, Sherlock] The former CEO of Godfather's Pizza said the Occupy Wall Street protesters are trying to distract the country from President Obama's "failed policies."
"Don't blame Wall Street, don't blame the big banks, if you don't have a job and you're not rich, blame yourself!" Cain said. "It is not a person's fault because they succeeded, it is a person's fault if they failed. And so this is why I don't understand these demonstrations and what is it that they're looking for."
Riddle me this, fat man. How many of your pizza making employees did you pay enough to get rich, you disingenuous jackass? And exactly how much money would you have made without them? The answer to both those questions is zero - same as your IQ. If we lived in a reality based society this man would be in a mental institution for delusional thinking, getting the help he so clearly needs.
And it would be provided through socialistic means.
Most people don't know there was actually a faction of liberal democratic progressives in the Russian parliament during the power struggles of the 1917 revolution. The people rejected those voices, embracing instead those who would institute policies that resulted in the starvation of tens of millions. Finally, a few decades of untold suffering later, they start to think, "Gee, democracy may not be so bad after all." Any democracy in the West could have told them this was going to happen.
It will be the same thing with greed.
With these thoughts in mind, I traveled down to Pike's Park just outside of downtown Dallas to see this ripple that hoped to become a wave. First thing I noticed was a massive police presence. From paddy wagons to plastic cuffs to a command center and a helicopter, they came prepared to keep order in our society at all costs.
Shame they don't have that same attitude towards the banksters.
I've heard some folks openly wonder just what are these people protesting. Or to put it another way, they're asking: "Why aren't these people happy getting fucked?" Gee, boss, I jess dotn't knows the ansser to that. Then with the same air of unanswerable mystery they ponder just what could these protesters possibly want. Uh, to not be fucked? (Just a wild guess there)
Though laced on the edges with some anger and frustration, the vibe at Occupy Dallas was a positive one. Non-violence and cooperation with the police were wisely stressed. The protesters were laughing and enjoying themselves. It seemed well organized and focused and if there was any grumbling there I didn't hear it.
Free provisions were made available
As often happens with the homeless, we like to show the most "deserving" ones to tell the story of that tragedy. But even the biggest asshole in the world deserves a home (Hi, Mr. Bush!) And I also read where the Occupy protesters were asked to dress in business casual so that they too could be "sold" better. Now you see why political people are never any fun.
Thank God the protestors didn't listen to that horse crap.
The planned walk from the park down to the Federal Reserve building was without even the hint of incident. The police cordoned off the streets to allow a quick and easy procession. A few cars honked in sympathy to the cause and before you know it we were at the Fed giving The Man what for!
A few watchers from on high
The arrival was pretty anti-climatic. Chants were started and signs flashed to the passing traffic. Dallas is not a protest city. There was no real outbreak of civil rights marches in the sixties. Instead, city leaders bought off the black preachers and it remains that way to this day (some even think that's their right!). So I can imagine this protest - however feckless its results might be - raised the hackles of many loser Dallasites who saw it.
I also have video from the event but that will take a few more days to process and post. The whole experience was exhausting and draining. Even though I wore my (fake) press pass to differentiate myself, the idea of being the object of so many eyeballs and the police can be a bit nerve-wracking. The protesters, however, fed off that energy and with it came alive.
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