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The difference between Occupy Wall Street and the Tea Party
Oct 13th, 2011 | 17 responses
After seeing that Occupy Wall Street protestors are organizing a hackathon, I googled to find out if the Tea Party had ever done such a thing and came up with predictable results. The fact that coders are getting involved to build tools around the protests suggests a level of sophistication and maturation around the movement that many are still failing to recognize.
Simon Owens is a PR consultant and journalist. You can read his blog, follow him on Twitter, or email him at Simon.bloggasm@gmail.com
17 Responses to “The difference between Occupy Wall Street and the Tea Party”
LOL!
Disenfranchise those college kids at your Peril!
Mine eyes have seen the glory….
[...] The difference between Occupy Wall Street and the Tea Party (themoderatevoice.com) [...]
The major difference between the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street is that the OWS is reality based, while the Tea Party is addicted to fictoids.This was something that the great political philosophers Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart examined in their Rally to Restore Sanity and or Fear March. http://www.deliberatelyconsidered.com/2010/11/fact-versus-fictoid-in-the-age-of-cable/
As soon as comedians are labeled as “great political philosophers”, it’s hard to take anything seriously.
Entertainment is a poor source of political commentary.
Since few people really seem to understand either group that well, it’s hard to take a discussion on differences that seriously. The biggest difference that I can see so far, is age.
Grrr, this isn’t about “tools”. It’s about Anonymous/Lulzsec using the OWS movement to continue on their cybercrime games.
I’m not a fan …
Well, that and the OWS people don’t have to go to work in the morning, their parents are paying their bills, so they don’t have to go to work at all, don’t have mortgages, don’t have kids that might get sick, don’t have medical bills they have to pay, don’t have to pay for their insurance, don’t have to clean up after themselves, and aren’t facing serious consequences for bad behaviour even if they get caught doing it.
They have free stuff, they want more, and they want it to continue.
SM-
You have a point.
Cannonshop-
How would you know what these people have and don’t have? Take the ass out of assumption please.
As with most conflicts the answer to the question is simple for many.
The difference is I agree with group A but don’t agree with group B.
Therefore Group A is pure and wonderful and Group B is dumb and/or evil.
Simple isn’t it ?
I will concede the premise that all arguments are equally invalid and biased (ie. Group A wonderful Group B bad) if I can hear an adequate defense of how wealth distribution, as it currently stands, is healthy for our democracy and our economy.
Hmmm…the Tea Party is right wing, with some undertones of racism. The OWS seems to be primarily left-wing, with some undertones of anti-Semitism. Both have plenty of cranky people who are looking for somebody to blame for their problems, without offering pragmatic, workable solutions. As a moderate, I see both groups operating out of similar psychological,if not political, templates.
Both sides also have valid points, but those points are often overshadowed in part by the issues mentioned above
dsegal, aside from some remarkably shaky assertions by their opponents, there isn’t a lot of “race” involved-in either movement.
but a quick poll, if you will…
Would your employer let you take a couple weeks off to go attend a protest aimed at his/her/their major client(s)? If your answer is yes, then either you work for a PAC, or a Federal Government job represented by the SEIU.
IF your answer is “No”, then move on to the next question: will you have trouble paying your rent/Mortgage, making bills, or getting your kid into the doctor if you don’t go to work for a week or two, additionally, if you are arrested for behaviour during a protest, is that going to imperil your current source of means? If Yes, congratulations, you’re probably an adult. If NO, congratulations, you’re probably living off the kindness of someone who IS an adult-and probably went to work this morning, instead of attending Occupy ‘x’ location, or you’re a retiree.
Next Question: Do you know what you are protesting for? Can you articulate it? Is it going to be worth the time off to go?
Next Question: Are you doing this to seem sophisticated to your friends? Are you getting College Credit for it from your Prof?
From the newsclips, including clips run on very LIBERAL sites, the OWS people are mostly what I consider “Children”-they don’t have adult responsibilities, their actions are without consequences, they’re doing this to have a ‘woodstock’ story to wow their friends, colleagues, and future significant others with, but it’s no-risk for them.
Someone goes to a TP protest, they’re at risk of being accused (often falsely) of Racism, they run significant financial risks if it goes too long, (say, exceeding the weekend), or if they’re arrested, because they have DAY JOBS, and if their employer happens to buy into the hype, they’re running serious risk of retaliation at work (esp. if they also belong to a Union, or work in a Union Shop.)
Get it? The level of ACTUAL commitment shows up, when it isn’t mommy and daddy who have to throw your bail or pay your rent, or when you, not someone else, are responsible for getting the kids in to see a doctor (who does not work on credit or promises.)
The two movements aren’t even on the same PLANET in terms of relative risks and consequences, and thus, not even on the same planet in terms of who is attending or why.
It’s a very real difference, between doing something meaningful, and doing something Fashionable. It’s FASHIONABLE to attend “Occupy” protests.
@Cannon
I guess the military let this one take time off. Another “dirty smelly hippie.”
http://www.belgraviadispatch.com/2011/10/ows_1055_pm_october_13th_1.html
Um, Rudi, the guy’s not on active duty, and I can tell you that just looking at his haircut.
[...] The difference between Occupy Wall Street and the Tea Party (The Moderate Voice) [...]