OWS: flash in the pan ?

[dogtowner]

looks like it

anyone surprised ? no didn't think so...
no focus = sure fail

Occupy Irrelevance: Is Movement Already Fizzling Out?

On Oct. 5, just 18 days after the Occupy Wall Street movement got started, NBC news anchor Brian Williams declared that it had "spread steadily and far beyond Wall Street, and it could well turn out to be the protest of this current era."

About a month later, Columbia University professor Jeffrey Sachs wrote in the New York Times that the Occupy movement was "most likely the start of a new era in America," adding that "those who think that the cold weather will end the protests should think again."

Countless other pundits and advocates claimed more or less the same — that Occupy Wall Street was a grass-roots movement equal to if not potentially more influential than the Tea Party.

But two months after it began, the movement is giving every sign of running out of steam. Recent protests have been resounding flops, public support is slipping, and even Democrats are reluctant to embrace the movement.

Some recent Occupy failures:

Black Friday Protest. Occupy Black Friday planned to dampen sales at publicly traded retailers on the biggest shopping day of the year to "hit corporations that corrupt and control American politics where it hurts." It was a bust. Just four showed up that morning at a New York City Macy's, for example, and only two dozen protested at downtown San Francisco stores. Meanwhile, Black Friday sales climbed 7% to a record high and the S&P Retail Index on Monday had its best one-day percentage gain since August.

UC Davis Strike. Occupiers promised a general strike at the University of California-Davis Monday to protest tuition hikes, with the goal of shutting down the campus. The strike never happened, and classes went on as scheduled.

Shutting Wall Street. Movement organizers planned a massive "street carnival" on its two-month anniversary Nov. 17, promising at least 10,000 would attend and "shut down Wall Street." Only about 1,000 showed up and Wall Street business went on as usual. Other "day of action" events around the country attracted only a small number of protesters.

Student Debt Campaign. The Occupy Student Debt campaign is trying to enlist one million people to default on their student loans to protest the rising cost of colleges. So far, just over 1,700 have signed the online pledge, according to its website.

With city governments clearing out many Occupy camps, including Occupy LA early Wednesday morning, it's now unclear if the movement will have any meaningful presence at all in the near future.

 

[Pandora]

Good! I am glad they are done pretending they are hippies from the 60s with an actual cause. The only thing they did was cause destruction and damage. No wonder they fizzled so soon.

 

[dogtowner]

Good! I am glad they are done pretending they are hippies from the 60s with an actual cause. The only thing they did was cause destruction and damage. No wonder they fizzled so soon.

being angry is no cause. even the union organizers sent in to try and make something of it failed. no way to organize people with no sense of purpose. especially if you can't bring out the Louisville Sluggers.

 

[Dr.Who]

Unfortunately, these ideas have been around for decades and show no sign of ever dying out. The latest round of supporters may get tired for a while but they will be back.

This is why it is ever important to counter with sound principles rather than just opposing the flavor of the day.