November 8, 2011

"The Occupy Wall Street protesters are confronting a classic Manhattan problem: lots of people, not a lot of space."

"So they're solving it in classic Manhattan fashion: arguing about it, making deals and building upward."
The move toward larger tents has some protesters worried. They prefer the privacy of individual dwellings.

"I don't mind them in and of themselves, but if they begin moving up by claiming eminent domain, it would be hypocritical and ironic," said Brian Thomas, a 32-year-old from Maine. "[Larger tents] are sturdy and more handy, but I think it's going to take away people's personal space and that will exacerbate the already rising level of tension."
The individual and the group.

ADDED: This feels like verse 2 of "Like a Rolling Stone":
You’ve gone to the finest school all right, Miss Lonely
But you know you only used to get juiced in it
And nobody has ever taught you how to live on the street
And now you find out you’re gonna have to get used to it
You said you’d never compromise
With the mystery tramp, but now you realize
He’s not selling any alibis
As you stare into the vacuum of his eyes
And ask him do you want to make a deal?
The finest-school kids encounter the mystery tramp and the deal is a real estate deal.

28 comments:

traditionalguy said...

Everything in common equally is not what people want at all. They want more for themselves and maneuver to get that and then protect it.

Gravity also works the same way every time.

Fen said...

From the comments:

Ryan: "Communists concerned about personal property rights on property that isn't even theirs to begin with! Hilariously hypocritical!"

Animal Farm meets Lord of the Flies.

Will it be wrong to laugh as Boxer is taken away to the Glue Factory?

David said...

They need a plan commission and a zoning board.

Shanna said...

I think it's going to take away people's personal space and that will exacerbate the already rising level of tension."

So go home! Idiots.

Wince said...

Well, We're Movin' on Up!

Richard Dolan said...

"The individual and the group."

Well, yes. It's a park, albeit on privately owned land subject to a public easement. Many people used to use it daily for lots of activities before OWS arrived. Presumably it will return to that state when OWS goes away, as many wish it would.

The article quotes a nurse from Las Vegas, a guy from Maine, a dog walker from Bay Ridge and a college freshman from Staten Island. The nurse is there to service the medical tent; the dog walker has (apparently) more entrepreneurial interests; while the kid from Staten Island and the guy from Maine are just hanging. It's a weird throw-back on the old song about going to San Francisco, flowers in your hair, blah, blah, blah. Z Park is just a place where they want to be, as in a be-in. But this time it's come back as farce.

The last time NYC parks were overrun by tent-people, the reasons were more basic: they were (ostensibly) homeless, and had created enclaves in the parks in preference to other options (City shelters, New Jersey). After a while, Rudy had enough and they were forcibly evicted, in a process that made it quite clear no repetition would be tolerated. And so it ended. This one will too, when Nanny B finally finds his inner Rudy.

kjbe said...

I think this whole thing would work better if they employed a more flash mob strategy.

Calypso Facto said...

From the comments:

Ryan: "Communists concerned about personal property rights on property that isn't even theirs to begin with! Hilariously hypocritical!"


Yeah, my first thought too. "Now that we've completely flaunted our disdain for property rights, laws, and law enforcement, we sure wish we had a system of property rights, laws, and law enforcement."

KCFleming said...

So the long march through institutions has been a success, and young people believe the lies of socialism, and are completely blind to the lessons right in front of their noses.

They see normal human behavior, which has been reliably constant in all of recorded history, but cannot fathom it, no matter how many times they see it repeated.

Invincible ignorance, thanks to the leftist indoctrination in the US.

Stupid young adults, good for nothing, going nowhere, wasting their time.
Thanks, Annenberg Challenge!
Thanks, Bill Ayers!
Thanks, Howard Zinn!
Thanks, Noam Chomsky!
Thanks, John Dewey!
Thanks, FDR, and JFK, and Bill Clinton!

Another Lost Generation.

LordSomber said...

They need to get themselves organizized.

KCFleming said...

@LordSomber

Someday a real rain will come and wash all this scum off the streets.

TosaGuy said...

"I think this whole thing would work better if they employed a more flash mob strategy."

Precisely! In the parlance of military strategy, by their just sitting there they have put themselves on defense. Those on defense cede the initiative to their adversaries and can only react. OWS is falling under due to its own weight and the story is now about them, not what they want to say.

A flashmob would be an offensive action that would force the intended target and the media to react to them, rather than paint them into a corner.

Patrick said...

Funny, I always thought it was "Mr. Lonely" goint to the finest schools and getting juiced.

edutcher said...

And they're solving it the way the Dutch did relative to the Indians -

We want it,

you got it,

give it up,

don't give us any trouble.

Iron Eyes Cody must be spinning.

Carol_Herman said...

So the crap that gets attracted to Zucotti, who come from far-off places. What do they see?

Why they see "free food." "Free tents." And, sometimes "free drugs." OR drugs that can be shared with others ... With the dealers RIGHT THERE, too!

FREE HEAD LICE, as well.

Who are these people? What do they need to "qualify?"

Enough money for a plane or a train. Or a bus ticket. To Manhattan. And, STUDENT LOANS coming out their ying yang's.

You bet. Classrooms can be full of these folk. Because they're willing to take out loans for an education they aren't quite qualified to receive.

But it only shows up when they can't get jobs! AND, if they had jobs, they just ran out of their unemployent checks!

WHO CAUSED THIS MESS? Mayor Bloomberg. And, other politicians. Who knew that Zucotti had to "provide" the space.

Even though a contract that says "you're open to the public 24/7" doesn't mean you get a free tent to squat in.

We know, too, that George Soros supplied ALL the money to CODE PINK.

But is George Soros also behind OWS? What's the media's role? They seem to supply lots of the paraphernalia you need ... to make this show a topic on "news" shows, no?

Richard Dolan said...

Pogo: "Someday a real rain will come and wash all this scum off the streets."

Well, it will certainly end, and be quickly forgotten when it does. Other than behaving foolishly and spouting silly ideas that are going nowhere, the OWS crowd is easily ignored and quickly out of mind. Some kids being sophomoric, some perpetual undergrads playing to type, some lost souls still trying to figure out where they are, with a few real creeps thrown in as well.

So many want to make this a big deal. It's not, at least in NYC. So relax.

W/V: unity. Not going to happen.

Patrick said...

"She worries she may lose her coveted spot.

"They better not," she said when asked what would happen if someone tried to make her move. "I have been here since day two. I have paid for everything in my space, and I don't want to live in a tent with a bunch of people."

Damn rabble better keep their hands to themselves. I got mine!"

cubanbob said...

Richard Dolan said...

Interesting comment but there is no evidence that nanny B has an inner Rudy to get in touch with.

foxlets14 said...

My son, a registered Democrat, attended a dinner at the Waldorf last night and had to pass through OCW protesters on the way in. He was shocked at the vituperation and irrationality he encountered. Couldn't understand why the Democrats are supporting these people. He now says he will vote Republican in 2012.

Anonymous said...

Maggie's farm

Miss elite school.

Didn't he ever run into obnoxious male hippies playing bongo drums?

chuck said...

Theft was the classic Manhattan solution? I think the OWS crowd should be paying rent for the property and fees for services.

gerry said...

"I would probably just move into one of my friend's tents because they would love to have an air mattress," she said.

Selfish, greedy bitch. She who has an air mattress is preventing someone else from having one.

Alex said...

I'm pretty sure there are regulations governing the usage of Zucotti park. I thought liberals were in LOVE with regulations.

ricpic said...

Personal space
Personal space
I've got to have my personal space.

Doesn't mean I doesn't love you
No matter your gender or your race.

We're 99
We're 99
Except for my 1 and only space!

ricpic said...

As long as the turd is dry
It can pile up to the sky.

But when the turd is wet,
That comrade, is a nyet.


--Excerpt from Chairman Barry's Little Brown Book

Eric said...

Another Lost Generation.

I try to look on the bright side. I'll be in the labor market for another twenty years or so, and the less competent these children are the easier it's going to be to maintain my standard of living.

Crunchy Frog said...

I can think of so many more productive things to do with my time.

For example, the Duggars are expecting child #20.

Every sperm is sacred
Every sperm is great
If a sperm is wasted
God gets quite irate

Heywood Rice said...

The finest-school kids encounter the mystery tramp and the deal is a real estate deal.

Incredibly stupid.