I don’t get why some people seem to burn with hate for the OWS folks.
Really? I don’t agree with large swaths of TEA party activism, but I don’t think they are wrong to have a set of values and act on them in a show of political dissent. That’s what political dissent is for. I think whining about taxes in the US is silly. But, hey, if it’s bothering you, you should feel free to say something and to make yourself heard.
Twenty years ago, it was possible to demonstrate your dissent by putting together a furious book, and you’d get attention out of it; 10 years ago you could have a furious blog, and it might get you some attention. But now your voice will be drowned out easily.
Is it really all that wrong to be worried about things like the costs of the bailouts, or underwater homeowners, the spiraling costs and growing inequalities in medical care (have you been to a doctor lately? I’d rather been seen my dogs’ vet! He seems to give a crap, at least, which is more than I can say about any doctor I’ve seen in the past 5 years); the growing burden of tuition, etc?
Is it really that wrong to camp out for a bit? Sure, it raised some municipal cleanup costs, but so do a bunch of other things, like parades and streets fairs, and nobody asks me if I want to pay for those.
I don’t think so. I think the bottom line is that democrats will a small d in the US have become so strident, and that toleration in the Locke sense of the word has become so thin, that people hate the public voice/presence of anybody who doesn’t hold their values.
Hatred? I really haven’t seen any hatred. I haven’t seen any counter-protests or fights breaking out.
I’ve seen more of the feeling that you have towards the Tea Party. I certainly don’t hate the OWS folks or the movement, but I reserve the right to think it’s silly and to ignore it. I’ve seen a lot of apathy and even some bewilderment, but hatred, not really.
The way you characterize the OWS movement, it’s hard to disagree with it. Of course, Tea Partiers would characterize their movement as having two main objectives: making sure the U.S. Constitution is adhered to and reigning in excessive government spending. Hard to disagree with that also.
I think most Americans are frustrated- liberal, conservative, black, white, hispanic, rich, poor. Both the Tea Party and the OWS movements arise from this frustration. Whether either group is pursuing the right avenues to change is subject to debate. So far, the debate has generally been fairly civil.
I just don’t see the OWS movement as pursuing social justice for the truly poor. I know one person pointed out a rally or something about people whose mortgages have been foreclosed. Poor people don’t have mortgages though. Their landlord could have their mortgage foreclosed on, but the landlords that rent to the poor generally are not in that situation. Many landlords with foreclosure problems are middle- to upper-class speculators who bought at the peak of the market.
I’m thinking a lot of the whole “hey, you dirty hippies blocked the street, and thus you deserve the baton/pepper spray to the face you’re getting” strikes me as pretty full of hate.
Who said “hey, you dirty hippies blocked the street, and thus you deserve the baton/pepper spray to the face you’re getting”? I’ve never seen that. Police officers have cleared out some of the encampments and people who disobeyed the law were arrested. Did the police officers display “hate”?
I was paraphrasing, much of what I am reading in the comments on major news outlets–these people are usually crazy and unpleasant, but since you asked, take a look at the comments here (just scroll don’t, don’t have to read story unless interested):
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/11/20/142562402/video-after-pepper-spraying-a-powerfully-silent-protest-at-uc-davis?sc=fb&cc=fp
But John Nolte is an example:
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/article/39453_Breitbart_Editor-In-Chief_Incites_Violence_Against_OWS_Protesters
That stuff is just ugly. Nolte is an active twitterer, so it’s one of the main ways he promotes himself as a brand outside of Big Hollywood.
I’ve also seen a lot of nasty around FBoo and Twitter.
And I didn’t say that police officers displayed hate. Honestly Jess–read what I said. I think it’s wrong to exult in another person’s pain.
The UC Davis example strikes me as an example of some poorly trained police who simply over-reacted.
I guess there are nuts everywhere. I still say that’s pretty isolated. I saw more hatred directed at the Tea Party, or maybe it was just insulting disdain.