Professional Protesters
Protests directed at financiers continued on Wall Street for an 11th day, with occasional reports of violence from both protesters and police. But while most comments have focused on the violence, relatively little attention has been given to the content — or rather the lack of content — to the protests. A look at what the protesters actually are saying reveals the vacuity of their protest.
The group, taking its inspiration from the Arab Spring protests that swept through Africa and the Middle East, has taken up residence in a park in New York’s Financial District, calling for 20,000 people to flood the area for a “few months” to press home their point. Social media fueled those uprisings in places like Egypt and Libya and organizers are hoping it will work in the United States too.
So these people are essentially professional protesters, wealthy enough to take “a few months” away from earning a living to march and chant and throw things at people they don’t like. Given that they claim to represent the poor and disenfranchised, their ability to take such an extended period of time to indulge in a lengthy public tantrum is very revealing.
The desire to model the “Arab Spring” protests is also disturbing, given the level of violence that often was directed towards westerners, including the brutal gang rape of CBS reporter Laura Logan at an “Arab Spring” protest in Cairo. At a minimum, one would expect the protesters to be careful to differentiate themselves from the violent elements of some “Arab Spring” protests.
When they do lend policy content to their recycled-from-the-1960s process, it is laughably inane. In an apparent effort to try to match the idiocy of the “Tea Party” extremists, the protesters have apparently chosen Michael Moore as their spokesperson, with predictably weird results.
“The rich are getting away with a huge crime,” documentary filmmaker Michael Moore said Monday on CNN’s “Piers Morgan Tonight.” “Nobody’s been arrested on Wall Street for the crash of 2008. They’re not paying their fair share of the taxes.”
Yes, Michael. Presumption of guilt and show trials are such a fantastic demonstration of democracy in action, right? And the “fair share” of taxes would be … what, exactly?
Moore spoke to the protesters before appearing on CNN, telling them that he’ll be happy when “the real people in this country are in charge” and he doesn’t have to make another movie or write another book on what he sees as the social and political ills of America.
Hm. Who are the “real people”, you might ask? Well, people who agree with the protesters of course! They won’t quit until the dissent they cherish for themselves is prohibited for everyone else.
The pictures of the protesters are also revealing. The group appears made up of retreads from the 1960s (who have made a lifestyle out of trying to recreate the wonder years of the anti-Vietnam protests and have begun to sound more than just a little tinny and out-of-touch) in roughly equal parts to those wearing union logos (no mystery where they are getting their money from, obviously — too bad the unemployed they claim to represent find themselves locked out of those very same protected union jobs).
Professional protesters. It would be ridiculous if it weren’t so offensively hypocritical.
24 Responses to “Professional Protesters”
Really? Professional protesters? That’s all you’ve got? You think wealthy professional protesters are the only people who could possibly “take “a few months” away from earning a living to march and chant and throw things at people they don’t like”?
Have you been living under a rock?
(Fourth paragraph in the report: “The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks and over) was about unchanged at 6.0 million in August and accounted for 42.9 percent of the unemployed.”)
For all I know, purely for the sake of argument, there could be professional protestors. If there’s proof to be found that the protestors on Wall Street are just (or even largely) of the professional variety, I’m open to it, but, bare assertion backed up by ‘who else would have the time to spend away from making a living?’ is really weak.
I’ve seen interviews with them. Not only are they more intelligent in their protests, many of them are indeed long term unemployed.
That’s a pretty awful way to denigrate one of our most sacred traditions in this county. Anyone that can afford to protest is somehow a well funded hypocrite that doesn’t have a valid opinion about the direction of this country? I mean, I get what you’re saying. I feel it myself. I would love to go to DC and protest, or to Wall Street and do so, but I can’t afford to. Who can these days? But seriously there is a protest going right to the heart of the people that got us in this mess with their greed and you assume they don’t count merely because they can afford to do it? Hippies can be resourceful iin these matters. And if they are professional protestors? Let me know who funded them so I can donate.
It seems the same people are able to attend different long term protests without apparent need for jobs, to go to classes, etc. I don’t know if they are “wealthy” but it would be interesting to know how they pull it off.
It does remind me of protests against “globalization”, which was little more than a protest against modern communications.
I have to agree with Doug. I think there are some unwarranted assertions here. Evaluating their appearances seems to be quite a low blow also. Logan, I understand some of your counterparts on the left frequently engage in this sort of argument with regards to the tea party, but let’s not stoop to that level.
I respect the right of the people out there to be there, rich or poor, union-backed or not, as long as they are not causing unnecessary disruption. If they choose to intentionally cause disruption (which I would then call “civil disobedience” rather than “protest”), then they should submit to arrest rather than fighting it (which I would then call a “riot”). From what I’ve seen, there are people in the crowd who have crossed the line and were appropriately arrested, sometimes with force, and then there have been cases where the police have overreacted (the pepper spray incident seemed to me to have be unprovoked). But, for the most part, they have the right to be there and have their voices heard, even if we don’t agree or have trouble understanding what exactly their message is.
While I don’t agree with those shouting about the rich paying their undefinable “fair share”, or (as the President is shamefully doing) implying that rich people pay less than the middle class (without qualifying that only a very small fraction of them do), but the overall point is a legitimate question about how taxes should be distributed. I remember when tea-partiers were dismissed because a few people were saying things like “get your government hands off my Medicare.” Of course that’s stupid, but that shouldn’t detract from the larger picture. Agree with them or not, the distribution of wealth and taxes is a legitimate issue and passions are understandably running high on both sides of the issues.
Show us on this doll where the hippies bruised your ego when you were in college, Logan.
“(no mystery where they are getting their money from, obviously — too bad the unemployed they claim to represent find themselves locked out of those very same protected union jobs)”
In other words, the poor capital owners and businesspeople need to be massaged and loved tenderly some more before they feel safe to employ people. And get those smelly unions out of the way please, or we will get headaches and refuse to employ more people for at least another Friedman unit!
Overall I agree with AD although if as Slamfu says the protestors are largely unemployed there certainly are more constructive uses of their time.
Their protests seem unfocused without a coherent message. From the CNN link:
Bruner said protestors plan to present a list of demands, though they don’t know when or to whom they will present them to.
Gee, perhaps you guys should find out the backgrounds (education, financial, political) of the people protesting the 2008 crash. That would be the protesters at or near FNMA/FDMC and Barney Frank’s office with a supporting cast of both Reps and Dems. What? Can’t find anyone? Send some of those Wall street protesters up to Chinatown for a bus to D.C.
LOL it’s smelly hippies against the Armani dressed American Psycho bankers. I’ll take the hippies over sociopaths anytime.
http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2011/09/everybody-wants-to-rule-world-by-david.html
Great catch rudi… here’s the video on YouTube:
. . . . . . . Trader on the BBC says Eurozone Market will crash
It’s breathtakingly unconcerned and immoral in regards to the plight of “people-in-the-middle” everywhere.
This man represents the business sector that some think should not be prosecuted, or even held responsible, for their actions.
To late to edit
My comment:
Should have read:
You have to understand, this guy is a trader, not Mother Theresa. He is paid to do a specific job, to make money for his firm, and he is telling it like it is. Defense attorneys for example don’t necessarily like their clients, but their job is to defend them. The real culprit is allowing the low capital requirements (thus leveraging) of “investment banks” (read gambling concerns). These guys are encouraged to be risk takers, or worse, by a lax system. Give a kid a loaded gun and you better duck (no pun, intended).
So rather than complain about a Wall St. that was instrumental in bringing about our current financial crisis, Logan/Jason goes after the people who are protesting against it instead. Big surprise.
Well, aside from the issue of whether it is the same thing (Logan wouldn’t be the first student who found time to write), I don’t think we should make this issue personal. This is that kind of thing we need less of.
JS, perhaps we might want to place some blame down Washington’s way:
“Fannie Mae ignored robo-signing abuses in Florida foreclosures, investigation find”
“After learning of the attorney misconduct in 2006, Fannie Mae failed to make any improvements in its oversight of the firms.”
Evidence of sloppy supervision:
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/money/foreclosures/fannie-mae-ignored-robo-signing-abuses-in-florida-1876292.html
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903703604576587580289589392.html
Duck,
Let’s say that we let the Tea-Baggers prosecute all the fine people at Fannie & Freddie that have may broken the law to the full extent, and while that is going on we use the exact same standard to prosecute the people at Goldman, BOFA, Shitty Bank, Countrywide and other such fine banking establishments, also the people at S&P and the other rating agencies and we count the amount of banksters in the big house after the prosecutions are done.
My money would be on half of the upper echelons of American Finance ending up in the big house doing 5 to 15…
Your point is? And, what about those in congress like Dodd and Frank?
If they have broken the law, nail their asses to the wall.
And after you have done that apply the exact same standard to the Repugs & Tea-Baggers.
That conservatives who are busy complaining about Fannie & Freddie rarely if ever notice that the banks are just as guilty if not more.
And liberals are busy complaining about banks and rarely noticing Fannie and Freddie. In fact, each group has their own little partisan scapegoat that substitutes for any real look at the issues. This is what the two party system has brought us, and will continue to bring us until we change it.
Having watched the Republican Party at work for the last 30 odd years, I am pretty damn confident that if they had something they could use to nail democrats or any Democratic leaning institution to the wall, they would use it.
Does ACORN ring a bell? A scandal invented out of thin air used to destroy a Democratic leaning institution…
“JS, perhaps we might want to place some blame down Washington’s way”
Oh that’s fine with me duck, I just think it’s absurd to blame protestors for engaging in their citizenly duty. There should be more protesting, not less.
Yes, JS, spread it, is my point. So why none down in DC? Partisan, perhaps?
Interesting to see responders leap to man their default positions….
I’m not sure what you mean by “nail to wall”. I guess it is something other than being on record as pushing an institution that was in the thick of the housing bubble to loosen lending standards.
The responsibility for the housing bubble collapse is broad and deep and covers both parties and everyone it pointing at someone else to cover their own responsibility.
[...] Professional Protesters Posted by LOGAN PENZA in At TMV. Sep 27th, 2011 | 23 responses Professional Protesters | The Moderate Voice Protests directed at financiers continued on Wall Street for an 11th day, with occasional reports [...]