October 13, 2011

The Occupy Wall Street protester's inarticulate angst: "I can put it out there. I can say what I want."

A young man, asked to explain why he should get what he wants — to have college tuition paid for — says it's because that's what he wants:



As he takes a slug and then another slug from his bottle of pink drink, you get the feeling he's not picturing this video going viral. He probably feels like he's a nice, amiable person who doesn't gear up into fighting mode every time he's asked a question.

I got to this video via Rush Limbaugh, who played the audio on his show yesterday and said — describing the Occupy Wall Street folks generally:
These people, as ignorant as they are and as few in number as they are, by the way -- it really is a small bunch of people; and the media is doing everything it can to build 'em up and make 'em look huge. They're so jealous of the Tea Party, they want this thing to be bigger than the Tea Party, and it isn't, and it can't be. It is dire for the left right now...

The left is really flailing away. They've got nothing. Obama can't even pack a 200-person hall in Pittsburgh.
Rush's website includes the requisite Drudgetaposition:


Speaking of "the media is doing everything it can to build" up the Occupy Wall Street movement, here's a NYT article about how according to Pew’s Project for Excellence in Journalism, the protests account for 7 percent of media news right now.
The data confirms an anecdotal sense that the movement, which slowly gained speed last month, entered the nation’s collective consciousness for the first time last week, when President Obama was asked about it at a news conference and when national television news programs were first anchored from the Wall Street protest site....

Some protesters have assailed news media outlets for scoffing at their leaderless nature and lack of agreed-upon goals, but some have also carefully courted attention from those outlets.

“They insist on their story being told, even as they’re arguing about just what the story should be,” the media critic James Rainey wrote in Wednesday’s Los Angeles Times. Mr. Rainey suggested that reporters resist the urge to make instant judgments about what the protests represent: “Sometimes the most courageous story is the one that says: I haven’t seen this before. I’m not sure what it means. I don’t have a clue where it is going.”
I like Rainey's statement. It's close to the way I approach blogging about the protests around here in Madison. I just walk into the crowd with a camera and look for what's interesting, trying to get a picture of what people are doing and what they think they are doing.

90 comments:

The Dude said...

They seem as rational as all the other Obama voters.

edutcher said...

Neal Boortz has a similar post and Insta has been following them. Aside from the usual inarticulate Obamaisms, "Pay my tuition", is the big theme.

Original Mike said...

They're children.

Scott M said...

I'll give anyone a break when in a discussion and confronted with stats. Most people, day in and day out, don't get into debates like this. We here are weird in that regard.

However...I heard the audio this morning and couldn't believe that this kid could regurgitate things he had read online, but could not intelligently communicate WHY he wanted his tuition paid for. "because that's what I want" doesn't cut it.

I agree. They're flailing. Proof of that came from the Occupiers in San Fran yesterday cheering and clapping when a speaker was dissing Ghandi's method and supporting the violence of the French revolution.

hawkeyedjb said...

I can't decide which slogan is more powerful: "I want it" or "It's somebody else's fault."

I guess if you're a good enough politician, you could run on either platform.

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

Looking at these bog-standard, by-the-numbers lefty protests, it's hard to imagine how anyone with a brain in his head can say "I haven't seen this before". Which means it's easy to imagine how James Rainey can say "I haven't seen this before".

Anonymous said...

Kinda funny how it works, isn't it.

When society signals that there are no natural laws or boundaries in the moral domain, soon everyone begins to think that there are no natural laws in the economic domain or any other domain.

Pie for everybody, and nobody has to pay!

The "free love" movement is father to the free everything else" movement.

Shouting Thomas said...

I was asked by NPR to do an interview in front of the demonstrators camp on Wall Street, solely because I've attended a Tea Party Meeting and link to a single Tea Party site. I'm not a member of the Tea Party.

I declined because I'm not a representative of the Tea Party. It must be damned difficult to find a rep in NYC.

The idea was to stand up a Tea Party member next to the OWS demo, and get some kind of compare and contrast.

I'll go over to the demo site today or tomorrow to take some pictures and talk to people. I've been there once. It is a very small demonstration, and it looks to be the usual group of street people and activists you'd encounter in Berkeley or Woodstock.

Peter V. Bella said...

Flopupy Chicago has been touted as the second largest protest.

Except for Monday, there have been only a few dozen people at the Fed. No cops and no media. I was there almost everyday.

Monday was union protest day. Instead of union workers enjoying their day off the flocked downtown under orders. Even the fat cat union bosses dressed down. No silk suits, pinkie rings, or paper thin loafers.

Just designer jeans, purple, blue, green, yellow, and black tee shirts.

Then they all went to the steak houses to spend their members money on beef and booze.

Flopupy Chicago is a joke.

Richard Dolan said...

"I just walk into the crowd with a camera and look for what's interesting, trying to get a picture of what people are doing and what [they] think they are doing."

If the objective is to write about an event, you need a point and a perspective. Ann offers two related perspectives: she's after what's "interesting" (an aesthetic criterion) and wants to record what they're "doing" (with her camera, a cinema-verite idea).

As agendas go, that's as content-neutral as you can get. And that's a First Amendment idea -- it comes up whenever the gov't is regulating speech, including artwork (remember the fuss over Piss Christ or Brooklyn's showing of the elephant-dung madonna?). The underlying idea is that the authority-figure lets the viewer form his own judgment, even if it's also clear how the authority-figure thinks that judgment should be framed.

To borrow Ann's slant, it's interesting how aesthetic and First Amendment values become fused to form the base for so much of her commentary.

Fprawl said...

I listened to the Campus Station yesterday, it was playing a 'Democracy Now' type show radio, didn't catch the name.
The interviewer was sympathetic, but the OWSer finally stated at the very end that Housing, Education and Health Care were Human Rights. Should be provided here as in other countries.
He had a degree in German Studies, lost his teaching job, and definitely wanted all of his $120,000 in student loans forgiven.

Salamandyr said...

Yes, most people don't walk around with statistics at the ready, in case someone asks "how does the corporate interest rate of the US relate to both historical averages and international competition?". However, this guy isn't most people. This isn't someone stopped at random. He's a protestor. He's someone who has left his home, traveled someplace, in order to cry his rage over some injustice. It's understandable to expect him to be marginally cognizant of what the injustice is supposed to be. And if he has a proposed solution, then, if he can't justify it any better than "because I want it", then he deserves our derision.

I do agree with him. He deserves a refund on his tuition, because he obviously didn't benefit from the expenditure.

Peter V. Bella said...

This is what flopupy Chicago looks like

Old RPM Daddy said...

@Ms. Althouse: "I just walk into the crowd with a camera and look for what's interesting, trying to get a picture of what people are doing and what think they are doing."

Of course, the trick is to get them to understand the difference between what they are doing and what they think they are doing. Actually, the trick is to get them to understand that there is a difference.

WV: baninge -- eating a really, really large bunch of bananas

Cheryl said...

Here in Atlanta a radio station went down to Woodruff Park to do some interviews. They stopped one young man and asked him what they (the Occupy Atlanta group) wanted. He said, "Blankets."

Okay.

X said...

He doesn't think college is of enough value to actually pay for it.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Coddled children who have never been told NO. Everyone gets a trophy, just for breathing. We wouldn't want to hurt their little "feelers" now would we? Every widdle kiddie is equal and gets praised for doing basic acts of life like taking a poop.

Mommy and Daddy give them everything with no questions asked. No chores, no responsibilities, no pressure. Life is a bowl of cherries.

No ability to reason about anything. No critical thinking skills. Life is just a bowl of cherries.

THEN.....wham. The real world strikes where we are not your Mommy and Daddy and really don't need your useless whiney ass dragging us down. You suddenly have responsibilities, have to pay back your loans, take the consequences for your stupid choices. Waaaaahhhh!!

Now....throw a giant tantrum in NYC and elsewhere.

This is what it is. A giant tantrum by spoiled children raised by other spoiled children.

Society needs a good enema.

Roger J. said...

I was all in favor of free love-money for nothing and the chicks for free

I dont see where free tuition benefits me like free love did.

Scott M said...

He said, "Blankets."

Blankets...in Hotlanta?

Col Mustard said...

I wonder if he wants just 'free' tuition or, maybe, books, fees, room and board and some walking-around money?

Would he be OK with community college or online instruction or does he insist on something more like an Ivy?

Obama would love to 'give' everyone in America a college education. Just think of all the tenured teacher jobs that would 'stimulate'.

No doubt the additional tens of millions of credentialed Community Activist grads could really get this country moving again.

Sal said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Carol_Herman said...

Media hyped bullshit.

New York City is a tourist mecca!

How many museums do you want to see if you travel to NYC?

I'd bet Wall Street businesses are PISSED OFF ... because this mob is keeping tourists away!

But the media was hoping it could claim "tea party" status.

We need a BULLSHIT target; so you know when the media hype is dead center on it.

Oh, the park will be closed for "cleaning."

And, the other FACT that fell out. The organizers are paid $22 an hour. (I wonder if tax deductions get made from these checks? And, just what kinds of records the unions are keeping?)

And, IF lawyers are paid to show up as well? (Remember the gum chewing lawyer who met with you and Meade ... at the statue ... where Meade filled a bucket ... to clean off the graffiti?

How much graffiti In Zoo-bring your cot - ee - park?

Sal said...

Life can really suck at that age. If you're unskilled and unguided, you have only the prospect of a tedious job that you hate and gets you no respect.

They want other options. World chaos and revolution just might shake things up enough to provide something different, or so they think.

Scott M said...

Would he be OK with community college or online instruction or does he insist on something more like an Ivy?

You've got to wonder at the logic on the left. If they think they can come up with workable system of deciding a person's worth to society, regarding whether that person should get a hip replaced or not for instance, than surely they can come up with a workable system for deciding which degrees are more useful. Electrical Engineering vs, oh, say, Sanskrit or Womyn's Studies.

Oh...forget that entire paragraph. It's premise was flawed in the opening sentence.

Joe said...

(The Uncredentialed, Crypto Jew)



Althouse smurf-tards, listening to limblowzo regurgitating their and satanistwiccamorman talking points, little Kissenger/Nixons…comer mis cortos, juguetes de perro!

And for the Matt fans, please provide statistical evidence that this person lies within two standard deviations of the median values of the OWS posse. Your failure to do so is prima facie evidence of selection bias, and proves you are merely old farts, not keeping it real!

Cheryl said...

@Scott--Well it IS 59 degrees here at night. They're just trying to stay safe and warm.

The Drill SGT said...

Isn't the main OWS assertion that:

Wall Street corrupts Government

Therefore, the solution is that Government be given more power over our lives?


That's a really incoherent message

Scott M said...

If you're unskilled and unguided, you have only the prospect of a tedious job that you hate and gets you no respect.

Absolutely ridiculous. At that age, those things pale in comparison to getting laid (which some of the more honest Boomers will tell you was the only reason they went to the protests in the 60's to begin with).

Tank said...

For a very interesting perspective on the effect of cameras and reporters on events, this video us quite good.

Joe said...

(The Uncredentialed, Crypto Jew)
Therefore, the solution is that Government be given more power over our lives

You miss a key ingredient…it’s not “government” that is to be given more power, it is government RUN BY THEM, that is to be given more power. Alternatively, government runs by people who think like or agree with THEM, that is to be given more power. The result of which is NOT government corruption, as they define it, as comrades of proven worth are not corrupt, but merely receiving just compensation for laboring on behalf of the Masses. Q.V. Brezhnev or Charlie Rangel.

Paul said...

"They want other options. World chaos and revolution just might shake things up enough to provide something different"

Yeah like widespread crushing poverty and lots of corpses.

traditionalguy said...

They envy Wall Street guys.

They want a prepaid free card to live without work like they believe the Wall Street guys have.

The message they demonstrate against is the one that says "if they don't work, then they don't eat."

Bless their dear little hearts. Work is scary and take up too much time.

madAsHell said...

That poor bastard. I thought he was going to cry.

It's a good thing the reporter didn't tell him about the Easter bunny.

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...

They really only have a right to be angry about one thing. After taking multiple years to spend multiple thousands of dollars and earning multiple advanced liberal arts degrees, none of them has even the most basic idea of how an economy works.

The American higher education industy should be ashamed.

Paddy O said...

The three blogs I tend to wander to throughout the day are Althouse, Instapundit, and Boing Boing. The latter site is particularly interesting as a contrast. Over there, the OWS phenomena is already changing the world. Reading the comments is a very interesting insight into almost entirely self-unaware Lefties. That's not unique to the Left, mind you, but it's definitely on full display on this topic for them.

They really don't seem to understand how they are enabling, through ignoring the politicians, the core problems they are protesting.

Now if the OWS folks were to end the political careers of Dodd and Frank, making a huge deal about not accepting corrupt behavior in their own ranks, we'd see a massive shakeup. But, instead they really don't want actual change, just to voice their rage out into the wind.

It's a very weird and interesting insight into social psychology.

bagoh20 said...

This is how children think. It's sad that a man at his age is still such a child, but I can't say I was much better. If I thought carrying a sign around would get me thousands in free tuition, I would have done it too.

These are certainly not representative of all young people. Some are quite mature and have quality values at this age, but these are the ones the Democrats are proud of.

I spent yesterday with a young man working on a construction job that is all charity work. It was in the sun at temperatures near 100. After we worked 7am till 5pm, we got a call that the company where he worked had lost all it's power and the people were unable to work. He went there to try and fix it. He worked trying to fix it until forced to stop and go home after 8pm. He returned the next morning at six and fixed the problem before the people arrived to work. All on his own initiative. His boss did not ask him too. He insisted simply because he thought he could help.

I'm proud of that kind of kid. He would never hang with these children.

Sal said...

Stability plays right into the hands of old people. Chaos is for the young and agile who have little to lose.

Writ Small said...

Tea-ness envy.

Anonymous said...

It makes me extremely sad that this is what our higher education systems are churning out.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

It makes me extremely sad that this is what our higher education systems are churning out.

Yes.

Take this young man, who seems like a pretty nice personable, if stupid, individual and stand him next to the young man that bagoh20 described.

Which one would you want to hire? Which one would you lean upon in an emergency. Which one has character, morals and fortitude.

Not only do I blame higher education, I blame lower education, progressive values that have been indoctrinated throughout their lives, sloppy and ineffective parenting.

Society has failed these generations of adult babies and they are aware of the failure, but just don't quite know who to blame. So, like babies, they are lashing out at anything and anyone.

Societies laxity, failure and drifting from core moral principles, is going to cost all of us dearly.

Rich B said...

Somebody should suggest that Rainey read "Demonic". I think that would make things clearer for him.

edutcher said...

They've been doing it for half a century. There was a little more oomph to it when there was a draft, but this crowd is a lot more apathetic.

Not to mention stupid.

Scott M said...

If you're unskilled and unguided, you have only the prospect of a tedious job that you hate and gets you no respect.

Absolutely ridiculous. At that age, those things pale in comparison to getting laid (which some of the more honest Boomers will tell you was the only reason they went to the protests in the 60's to begin with).


You got it. And it doesn't look as if they're getting much of that, either.

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...

Of course the tea parties could end this brouhaha, very quickly.

Just head to NYC and start offering them jobs.

They'll scatter like roaches.

wv: diphyp - Don't know why but it seems appropriate.

roesch-voltaire said...

While some are inarticulate, I think the general movement has touched on something that both the right and the left can agree upon, to quote Lawrence Lessig: This government, we must chant, is corrupt. We can say that clearly and loudly from the Left. They can say that clearly and loudly from the Right. And we then must teach America that this corruption is the core problem -- it is the root problem -- that we as Americans must be fighting.

Fred4Pres said...

This movement is not serious. It is a bunch of kids who are looking to eat free pizza and get laid.

Of course, it is very bad they do not have jobs. The cause of that is Barack Obama and the Democrats hindering any economic recovery. I hope the Republican candidates address this and point out their goal is to revitalize the economy and allow jobs.

Of course, in your twenties it is fun to complain about a lack of work, eat pizza and get laid. To a point.

Fred4Pres said...

Just head to NYC and start offering them jobs.

They'll scatter like roaches.



That is true for a large portion of them.

Joe said...

(The Uncredentialed, Crypto Jew)
This government, we must chant, is corrupt. We can say that clearly and loudly from the Left

But you can’t R-V, and that’s what you Progressives can’t grasp…GOVERNMENT is corrupt, but the Left’s solution is always, MORE GOVERNMENT. So basically, you guys complain about the thing you advocate, it’s essentially sterile and pointless. Q.V. Cookie about Fast and Furious Cooke has no problem blaming Presidents and the Power Elites for war crimes, but cannot bring him/herself to actually criticize the government apparatchiki, why because they are the government…Cooke wants more government, so the “problem” is the “elites” or “stupidity” but it cannot or can never be, the fact that government is a dangerous beast, best kept small and well-caged.

Bottom-Line: Government is corrupt, but people like yourself made it so large that its “corruption” threatens us all, and your solution is only to make it MORE powerful. Einstein’s definition of “Insanity” springs to mind. Lastly, the TEA Party does NOT equal OWS.

SGT Ted said...

The short of the OWS protest is that they are pissed that they didn't get any of the large that Obama sprinkled around.

Real American said...

Occupy reality, you fucking idiot.

X said...

the really stupid thing about the 99%ers is that they live better than 99% of all humanity has ever known. They are the 1% whether they know it or not.

Vince said...

This young man is a college student or graduate-I am not clear as to which one-and He couldn't articulate the reason for his opinion other than the assertion that it is what he wants. I don't think he could articulate why he had to take a piss, assuming, of course, that he noticed the urge before it went down his leg. Imagine him seeking a job from an employer who saw this video.

Known Unknown said...

Just head to NYC and start offering them jobs.

Why would I want to hurt my business like that?

Paddy O said...

roesch, I totally agree with you.

My frustration is that the politicians on the Left seem entirely shielded from the angst, and the rhetoric is absolutely anti-Tea Party reforms.

There is a massively shared frustration with corruption, and the only politician I've heard who put that together was Sarah Palin, but try to mention her on a Left-leaning site and you'll get utterly mocked.

There's a blindness that the OWS has towards their own corrupt politicians, and redirects the angst towards people who are otherwise trying to say much the same thing.

Scott M said...

This government, we must chant, is corrupt. We can say that clearly and loudly from the Left. They can say that clearly and loudly from the Right.

I'm with you on that, RV. My problem is that the only way to end it, or at least start to get a handle on it, is to starve the damned beast and remove as many layers as possible. Each layer of regulation and bureaucracy adds more opportunity for grift, cronyism and any other common form of government corruption.

The left doesn't seem very interested in starving the beast. Indeed, they wish to give it a six-course dinner completely with their choice of fine wine and after dinner mints.

Fen said...

He couldn't articulate the reason for his opinion other than the assertion that it is what he wants.

In a just world, I would say "I want a pony" and this could would have to pay for it.

It never occurs to him that his "wish list" involves taking money from other people.


I "want" Goldman-Sachs to pay off my mortgage. Its only $150k and I say they have more money than they need.

You too Ann! You clearly have more stuff than you really need. Gimme some.

Michael said...

I have a friend whose daughter is beginning a career on the evil Wall Street. She commences her day at her desk at 6am and generally does not leave until after midnight. She gets the benefit of having a black car drive her home so she can be ready to be back on deck at dawn. Saturday and Sunday are slow days, I am told, when she puts in only five or six hours each day.

This routine will go on for a year or so until she drops out or is promoted at which point she will be working a leisurely 70 hours or so.

The people occupying Wall Street have no idea of what the people in the business actually do and how hard they work for their millionsandbillions.

Seeing Red said...

I agree. They're flailing. Proof of that came from the Occupiers in San Fran yesterday cheering and clapping when a speaker was dissing Ghandi's method and supporting the violence of the French revolution.


It must have been a crowd of history majors.

Pastafarian said...

He's just a nice, amiable person who wants to extract money from me, and other productive citizens, by force of arms and under threat of imprisonment, so that he can go to school and drink pink wine coolers, smoke pot, fuck college girls, and occasionally study his useless sociology and anthropology courses just enough to skate by with a gentleman's B.

Althouse, if looking at these spoiled little bastards doesn't stir you to dark and violent impulses, then you've been cloistered in the university for too long.

Scott M said...

It must have been a crowd of history majors.

The funny thing was that he was saying that the result of Ghandi (ie peaceful protest) is 600 million living in poverty. I know India has it's problems just like everyone else, but I thought they were where all of our IT jobs were going? Doesn't India have a growing middle-class, kids with eight limbs, etc?

Michael said...

RV: The "government is corrupt" is a pretty thought but what does it mean? The guy at the DMV is on the take? The evil bankers have coopted the traffic cop? Or the assistant to the assistant to the deputy in the Treasury? What is the solution? To have a law against corrupt government? I think we have thousands of such laws.

Term limits. A voting public that did not look to the government to employ its power to affect economic outcomes. These would go most of the way to ensuring that corruption was minimized.

Joe said...

(The Uncredentialed, Crypto Jew)
The funny thing was that he was saying that the result of Ghandi (ie peaceful protest) is 600 million living in poverty

The funny thing is India has so many poor BECAUSE they adopted OWS “solutions” to their socio-economic problems. Only after moving AWAY from OWS ideas has India seen good growth.

Robert said...

The government is corrupt. Were it ever so. Nothing OWS will ever say or do has the slightest chance of changing that. OWS is an annoying exercise of infantile self righteousness. Jack Frost will put an end to it.

Paul said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Paul said...

"He's just a nice, amiable person who wants to extract money from me, and other productive citizens, by force of arms and under threat of imprisonment, so that he can go to school and drink pink wine coolers, smoke pot, fuck college girls, and occasionally study his useless sociology and anthropology courses just enough to skate by with a gentleman's B."

Umm...I don't think this guy wants to fuck girls.

Joanna said...

When will OWS start blaming the universities for their high tuition?

Peter V. Bella said...

I think I will join.

I want my property taxes paid.
I want my home insurance paid.
I demand my mandatory car insurance be paid.
I want my electric and gas bills paid.
I want my cell, cable, and internet paid.
I want to be able to shop and get everything I need, want, and desire for free.
I want a hundred grand a year plus 5% cost of living raises included just for doing nothing.

Why? Because I want it.

Unknown said...

My daughter got her college tuition paid. How? She worked her ass off in high school, got excellent grades, so she was able to get a scholarship. Full tuition, room and board, and books, paid for four years.

Somebody ought to tell the dope in the video THAT is how you get it done--you fucking EARN IT. Don't come picking my pocket because you're a lazy piece of garbage who can't even articulate his reasoning beyond the two-year-old's cry of "I want it!"

DADvocate said...

Heard the guy on the radio earlier. Got a good laugh.

I got a glimpse of some of the occupiers in Cincinnati yesterday. Looked like a bunch of homeless people with signs. They're worried about getting arrested now.

I was going to take a closer look but I was preoccupied.

DADvocate said...

My daughter got her college tuition paid. How? She worked her ass off in high school, got excellent grades, so she was able to get a scholarship. Full tuition, room and board, and books, paid for four years.

Good for her.

My son took a similar course. Good grades and played football, very well. Now he has a combined academic/athletic scholarship worth $29,800 a year to attend a small private school with higher academic standing than any public university in the state or any surrounding state. Dumb jock. NOT!!

(They're also in the hunt for a national championship in football at the level at which they play.)

LordSomber said...

I lose what little pity I have for ignorant people once they turn eighteen.

Mark said...

My four-year-old twins think they should be able to get anything they want just because they want it, too. It's my job to make sure they're not still thinking like that when they're 8, let alone 18+.

Peter said...

Perhaps the "because I want it" protester is just taking consumerism to the next level.

After all, "because you deserve it" is a common theme in advertising. It's just that the advertiser is asking you to buy what's being offered.

So, perhaps the next step in "because you deserve it is to just help yourself?

Scott M said...

My four-year-old twins think they should be able to get anything they want just because they want it, too. It's my job to make sure they're not still thinking like that when they're 8, let alone 18+.

Hell, 5 for crying out loud. My oldest daughter is 7 and I can't imagine what our house would be like if she still thought she could have everything she wants.

EFB said...

This video reminds me of how the Daily Show and other viral videos would lampoon the Tea Party.

You can find idiots in any crowd and hold them up as representative.

Also, the questioner is disingenous and that kid is out of his element.

jamboree said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Salamandyr said...

EFB, see my response above. If he didn't want to take the time to be able to give a coherent response to questions, he should have stayed home and quite mucking up the park.

Jamboree, maybe they should have spent a little time coordinating before having their big pow-wow then.

Anonymous said...

The data confirms an anecdotal sense that the movement, which slowly gained speed last month, entered the nation’s collective consciousness for the first time last week, when President Obama was asked about it at a news conference and when national television news programs were first anchored from the Wall Street protest site ...

Yes, and we all remember when the national television news programs were first anchored from the TEA Party protest sites and were given similarly sympathetic, non-judgmental coverage in the media, right? Right?

(I wonder whether media critic James Rainey was a member of the JournoList ... or of the Cabal List that replaced it.)

EFB said...

Salamandyr, why? There's no law that says you have to be coherent. In his own head he probably made perfect sense.

David said...

Rush is right. Ignorance is the common thread for these folks.

I don't fault them entirely, since they have grown up surrounded by adults who are either just as ignorant, or who won't tell them how little they know. Might damage their self esteem.

Scott M said...

I don't fault them entirely, since they have grown up surrounded by adults who are either just as ignorant, or who won't tell them how little they know. Might damage their self esteem.

When I was 19, I coached a little league team for 5-year-olds. I was shocked when I was told by the league admin that we weren't allowed to keep score and had to tell the kids each game was a tie. I clearly remember asking if the kids were that clueless at five (I hadn't had any of my own at that point...that I knew of :) and he shrugged saying that baseball wasn't about winning and losing at that level. It was about learning the fundamentals. It somehow escaped him that lessons gleaned from winning gracefully and learned from losing are just as valuable, if not far more so, than how to run the bases in the proper order.

Somehow, in the subsequent years, the "fundamentals" became more and more important to each higher age group as well until it was junior high before some of these kids ever officially won or lost a game.

How else do we expect the children of boomer children to act in the face of such overwhelming political correctness? What I don't get is how the left can unleash PC on the world and then disown it whenever it comes up.

Mark said...

It somehow escaped him that lessons gleaned from winning gracefully and learned from losing are just as valuable, if not far more so, than how to run the bases in the proper order.

I concur. The culture itself is making it harder and harder to teach responsibility. (If you want to see how bad it is, watch an episode or two of "Ni Hao Kai Lan" some time. That's now absolutely banned in our house after my kids started modeling the bad behavior of the characters. I swear my kids never thought that getting mad was a way to get what they wanted until they saw a few episodes. If I ever meet the creator of that show I am going to act just like Rintoo experiencing "negative emotions" and see how she likes it.)

Unknowable said...

OWS is more a societal bowel movement than protest movement.

This would not be happening in a healthy society.

Micha Elyi said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
DADvocate said...

Ignorance is the common thread for these folks.

Ignorance is the common thread for most of the left.

Looking at pictures of the occupy Cincinnati protests and the Cincinnati Tea Party protests, I see one commonality, signs against the bailouts.

Otherwise, the Tea Partiers want less government and don't expect handouts for themselves. The occupiers want government to solve the "problem" by taking money away from someone else and giving it to then. Little individual bail outs of their own.

You can listen to a in studio radio inteview by the organizer of Occupy Cincinnati who believe you should only make as much money as she feels you need, HERE. Communism.

Micha Elyi said...

You might have started something, Fred4Pres.
I can almost hear the dozen or so OWS'ers beginning their vain and repetitive chanting already.

What do we want? Free pizza!

When do we want it? Get laid!

What do we want? Free pizza!

When do we want it? Get laid!


Just head to NYC and start offering them jobs.
They'll scatter like roaches.
-NorthOfTheOneOhOne

You bet. That's the reason you don't see panhandlers holding Will Work for Food signs anymore. We did it before and we can do it again.
 

AllenS said...

Some of the dumbest people in this country, are college educated. Fuck 'em.

Freeman Hunt said...

I want a college student to come rake my leaves. For free.

SukieTawdry said...

Sixty Grit said...They seem as rational as all the other Obama voters.

They seem as rational as the people in Madison.

Freeman Hunt said...

The "Give Me Sh*t!" protests.

Their signs should say that. They could chant it too. That seems to be the theme.