Reply To: anyone else been to OWS

no its actually quite a bit more than that. after going down there and talking to some of the protesters my opinions on why theyre there have changed. as i see it occupy wall street is essentially a public forum where people can come and exchange ideas. theres even an open stage where anyone who wants can speak their mind to whoever will listen. you need to actually go there and talk to people to undersatnd their objectives…

while its true that they have no single idea behind which they all unite, the general talking points, as far as i can tell, are basically ending massive government regulation of what should be a self regulating free market, and ending corporate influence of politicians through massive campaign contributions. the logistics of exactly how to go about both varies from person to person, but i must say i came across quite a few intelligent people with some very interesting ideas.

as they say…dont knock it till you try it. oh and the best part is? OWS is completely nonpartisan! i found that to be very refreshing.

also i think OWS is completely misrepresented by the press and politicians in general. i mean to hear the press describe them, on either side, theyre basically a mindless violent rabble comprised of idiots and rabble rousers who want to take over the city…and thats just not true at all. also, after speaking to a bunch of them, (and i intend to go back this motzaei shabbos) i get the feeling that theyre annoyed by both sides of the aisle using their movement for political advantage.

for example, on friday hannity interviewed michelle bachmann who, when asked about ows, essentially called them a bunch of socialist idiots. with a few eexceptions, i did not see anyone at OWS looking for government handouts. to the contrary, many of them are vehemently opposed to socialism! or on the democrat side, when democrat politicians tout OWS as a reason to increase social programs…theyre missing the point completely.

in fact…the one name that kept coming up over the course of virtually every conversation…was Ron Paul! in their opinion, ron paul comes closest to matching their ideals than any other candidate. that should tell you something about the movement. theres also a lot of talk about feeling misrepresented by either party…and the desire to form a third party if only our governmental system allowed for it. (to preempt…it technically does…but realistically speaking a third party would never win a national election.)

soliekyea…if youre actually curious about what they have to say…take a motzaei shabbos…theyre getting longer…and go down there to talk to some people. i think youll find it to be an interesting and enjoyable experience.