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From an unlikely source!
Reason Magazine, the Koch Brothers funded libertarian publication had a surprisingly fair and balanced look at the Occupy Wall Street movement.
Occupy Wall Street: Beyond the Caricatures
Outsiders are criticizing a heterodox movement that they choose not to understand.
It’s very easy to decree from afar that the Occupy Wall Street demonstrators flooding Lower Manhattan right now are there for no other reason than to recite hackneyed leftist bombast. Indeed, without interviewing a single attendee, National Review editor Rich Lowry determined that the thousands who have flocked to Liberty Plaza in recent weeks are nothing more than a “woolly-headed horde” spouting “juvenile rabble.”
I strongly disagree. By and large, the folks I’ve spoken to have not come off as “woolly-headed” in the slightest. On Wednesday, for instance, I chatted with Jack Zwaan, a self-described “Tea Party Libertarian” and Ron Paul supporter who had flown in from Little Rock, Arkansas, to attend the demonstration. Zwaan wielded a humongous Gadsden flag—yes, the kind of flag commonly seen at Tea Party protests.
While he does say that it’s a largely “leftist” movement it’s one of the first articles I have seen that that admits Tea Party members are participating. He also said that Ron Paul had guardedly supported the movement.
“The banks got bailed out / we got sold out” is probably the most common chant I’ve heard at Liberty Plaza, and I think it best encapsulates the protest’s overriding sentiment: that regardless of political persuasion, people are sick and tired of a select few billionaires, in collusion with government, making decisions that hurt the rest of us behind closed conference-room doors. The feeling is fundamentally post-partisan. Everyone knows, on some level, that “Shit is Fucked Up and Bullshit”—as one placard put it. And rampant police abuse has only confirmed that something’s got to give.
It was that very police abuse that got OWS the attention it was seeking. He quotes Ron Paul:
Then on Wednesday, hours before more protesters and journalists were beaten and pepper-sprayed by the NYPD, Paul elaborated on how he views the protests: “I think civil disobedience, if everyone knows what they’re doing, is a legitimate effort. It’s been done in this country for many grievances.”
And speaking of police abuse:
On Sunday evening, as I spoke with a cop on the sidewalk, some kind of “community affairs” officer approached me and asked if I was recording audio. I said yes and showed him the voice recorder I’d been holding in my hand. He instructed me to cease recording. I complied, then took out a notepad. The officer informed me that I was not allowed to write notes either. When I asked the officer issuing these instructions for his name, he refused to provide it; he was wearing a royal blue polo shirt with no name tag.
“The directive that you had to stop recording and taking notes was unlawful,” said Chris Dunn, an associate legal director at the New York Civil Liberties Union. “Not disclosing his name would likely be a violation of department rules.” Indeed, on Monday, when I asked another community affairs officer whether departmental code requires members of his division to provide their names upon request, he replied in the affirmative.
The OWS people have changed the conversation and the plutocrats are very afraid. Is that why Goldman Sachs gave several million dollars to the New York City police department? You bettcha.
8 Responses to “From an unlikely source!”
Linked to this piece in JG post:
http://themoderatevoice.com/125088/quote-of-the-day-is-occupy-wall-street-really-the-lefts-tea-party-movement/comment-page-1/#comment-287678
This is one time where Reason is resonable, of course this isn’t a “regular” columnist.
Thanks Rudi – I couldn’t remember where I got the link. I have given you credit.
Love hiw journalists now do investigating from behind a PC screen.
At least Reason actually sent someone to a rally. Most US papers are ignoring the protests. The US version of “The Guardian” had something on it’s front page. Via BJ – OWS Indy Media The NYT and WP not so…
I saw what the assumers said about the tea party, and for that matter, continue to say today. This isn’t surprising in the least to me.
I do find it funny that the unions are trying to play in this anti-establishment movement. They’re about as establishment as you can get.
I think all politicians need to worry about this movement as well as the Tea Party as there are some very important similarities between the two. Although the Tea Party has been made to look like a right wing extreme organized movement by the press and liberals, the tea party is also made up of moderate centrist tired of our government wasting tax payor moneys on corporate welfare. One only needs to look at Solyndra for one very good example. Others are the tax policies that provide corporations with tax breaks that the average american does not get, but pays for. So when the Wall Street demonstrations spread and they are attacking the financial greed in the corporate structure, the tea party can find some beliefs they can endorse and support.
But one knows that little will come from any movement since the politicians can not get close to being a candidate, let along win an election without corporate money to fund their run for office. And once that happens, they are bought and paid for.
My liberal sister-in-law isn’t smelly and she wants to go to the “protest”. I hope she meets up with one of those rare TPers and gets exposed to other viewpoints on the economy and our government. From my couch, it looks like a diverse group of complainers (justified and not) and I commend them for doing what I don’t (get off my ass).
And, it is a shame that some cops and “officials” don’t obey the law, but unfortunately that happens here and abroad especially with large and unorganized crowds.
If our economy collapses, and, our nation decides that it must protect the wealthy at the expense of those deemed “less valuable”, will future generations uncover mass graves? Did I hear a “never in America” out there?
Nope.
Prof, you are wrong about unions. They have their problems to be sure, but on balance they have long been advocates of the working class, which means average Americans, not faux protesters propped up by wealthy Americans and faux newz organizations. In any case, they have been demonized and much disinformation about them has been spread since the advent of Reagan – mostly to our societies detriment.
As for Rich Lowery? Good grief, what a cliched reaction on his part. No wonder I don’t care for the guy. It’s incredibly easy to predict how and where he will come down on almost any issue. I well remember all the bile and ad hominem crap that was thrown at genuine protesters in the past, meaning those who were protesting in good faith for WORTHY causes. Same old.