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Original poster

Occupy London

288 replies

glasnost · 07/10/2011 12:38

p.twimg.com/AbGk1-FCQAAjoi7.png

Well, why not MNers?

What have your kids got to lose? In NY there are alot of families with children protesting and occupying that doesn't get mentioned in the mainstream press.

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whomovedmychocolate · 08/10/2011 17:35

Well it would appear from the queue at IKEA that not everyone decided to occupy the bridge Grin I assume we will not hear from any of you for some time if you join the occupation

Nice for some of the people involved to have an occupation. Beyond sofa politics and grumbling. Grin

claig · 08/10/2011 14:52

'They'd be fools not to, and they are not fools.'

Hmmm. That sounds pretty categoric. But am in agreement about the Coalition.

Solopower · 08/10/2011 13:20

Glasnost - great thread and loads of interesting links.

Good luck with the protests. We have to do something to protect the NHS. If occupying a bridge is all we can do, then let's do it. Sorry I can't join you - I would if I was in London.

But those of us who can't be there can also write to our MPs, as someone else suggested, and to newspapers. And post on here and on Twitter, etc.

What do demonstrations achieve? They draw the attention of the media and the government, and make the people participating feel less alone, less unhappy and frightened, and more supported. They might also sometimes give a false sense of power and euphoria, but I actually think the government does sit up and take note - very much so. They'd be fools not to, and they are not fools.

crazynannawitchbitch · 08/10/2011 11:10

Don't worry Glasnost...I am aware of the Standard's Fat Cat leanings...just look who owns it Hmm

crazynannawitchbitch · 08/10/2011 11:09

Glasnost.....I am in a protest group linked to the article,and a few weeks previous to this,we protested in the local ATOS office and had a 'sit in' and were escorted off the premises by the Old Bill...another working class Tory casualty. I missed this particular protest doing that thing that us scummy Lone Parent scroungers do...working.

As for my name...cheers Comrade Smile Was looking for a Halloween name (usually crazynanna),and this was dd's suggestion Hmm Grin

Original poster
glasnost · 08/10/2011 11:09

P.S crazynanna don't be too taken in by the quasi sympathetic slant of the Standard piece. The Standard represents those corporate interests the Occupations are against. When the corporate media starts coopting the movement is when we haveto be most vigil otherwise it'll go the way of the Tea Party in the States. I posted on this earlier today. It's really vital to bear this in mind.

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crazynannawitchbitch · 08/10/2011 11:04

Once shame is overcome and self esteem restored protest becomes natural.

Could not agree more.

Original poster
glasnost · 08/10/2011 11:04

Great link nanna re. the incapacitated protesters.

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Original poster
glasnost · 08/10/2011 11:01

I smell the sulphurial pong of Millbank..................Alouiseg.

crazynannawitchbitch (wicked name!) the biggest obstacle to overcome is a sense of shame these corrupt criminals instill in the very VICTIMS of their evildoing. Once shame is overcome and self esteem restored protest becomes natural. THAT's exactly why the haves will use all their dirty tricks (media in primis) to beat down emotionally the havenots. It's the psychology of subjugation that - once understood - can be shown up for what it is and resisted.

Ditch the telly and get out on the streets!

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crazynannawitchbitch · 08/10/2011 10:49

You are surprised Incapacitated protest,AlouiseG? Check this out... page 10

edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk/launch.aspx?referral=other&refresh=aK190n4RH70p&PBID=2f9afebe-4a00-40aa-9192-95b0e13806d6&skip=

crazynannawitchbitch · 08/10/2011 10:43

Good last post,Glasnost. I like the comment re "being ashamed".
Good atricle in last nights Standard.

www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23995658-the-anguished-march-of-the-wall-street-warriors.do

Alouiseg · 08/10/2011 10:37

I would be surprised if anyone claiming incapacity benefit turns up "available to protest" I would imagine that being fit to protest would imply they could be fit to do some sort of work.

Original poster
glasnost · 08/10/2011 10:30

Rent a mob? Weekday protesting is so viable you haven't a clue. People who claim an unemployment benefit of some kind is at five million in Britain, according to the Department for Work and Pensions. About half of these people are claiming incapacity benefits, so they are not registered as unemployed. The other half of the claims are made up, mostly, of job seekers allowance and then some lone parent income support. If they got out on t'streets instead of hiding at home feeling they've something to be ashamed about they should get out, get (pacifically) angry and show the REAL shameful criminals their (pacific) rage and demands for change.

Or would you rather they were stuck at home watching Jeremy Vile and feeling depressed/distressed?

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HoneyMomster · 08/10/2011 10:08

niceguy your point about designer clothes etc in no way negates what the lefties are saying - that cheap credit fuelled the consumer boom. Money flows uphill, as ever.

alouiseg or they'll be depicted as 'rent-a-mob' and discredited, not quite he same thing.

Alouiseg · 08/10/2011 10:01

It can't be ongoing, most people will have jobs to go to so the "occupation" will end up being occupied by rent a mob. Therefore losing any empathy/sympathy for the cause.

Original poster
glasnost · 08/10/2011 09:26

CAN YOU READ PROPERLY? The Occupation will be ongoing, hopefully. Not limited to the Saturday. Yes? Got it?

occupylondon.org.uk/

You are a sneery, snidey type who has only negativity to contribute. Why don't you suggest a constructive alternative? Scuttle off now. Just think if I called Aloiseg a "twat" now as I'm severely tempted to? Imagine the hullabaloo whereas smallwhitecat used that epithet earlier on to not a whimper of protest from the rightwingers.

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Alouiseg · 08/10/2011 08:44

Why block the Stock Exchange at the weekend? That won't disrupt anything. In fact this whole movement won't do anything.

Original poster
glasnost · 08/10/2011 08:34

The most important thing now is for these Occupation movements not to be co-opted and neutered by the corporate interests they are explicitly against. That's what happened to the Tea Party movement and it all started with FAUX (that'll be FOX) TV "sympathetically" lending an ear to their gripes and then hijacking the movement along with the Repuglican Party.

So IF the Times had a broadly sympathetic article re. the Wall St Occupation that raises hairs on the back of my neck, frankly.

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Original poster
glasnost · 08/10/2011 08:27

swc is really quite embittered at having sold out to the Man, isn't she? "twats", indeed. THAT's an unsult but where are the rigthwingers decrying it as such when they're so QUICK to label anything insulting that casts doubt on their twisted logic?

Honeymomster's spot on.

Just to reiterate. The bridge thing tomorrow is organised by UKUNCUT. The occupation is not and begins 15 Oct and will be ongoing. Does noone read the links?

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Tortington · 08/10/2011 05:32

whomovedmychocolate Fri 07-Oct-11 19:32:59
"Regurgitation gives me wind. Forgive me if I don't join you, I'm going to IKEA. I understand if you read some deep meaning into that but actually I need blankets."

I KNOW what you;re up to :

I
KNOW
EVERY
ANARCHIST
= IKEA

blankets = smothering the masses.

Disputandum · 08/10/2011 05:12

I've only skimmed the Burnham article weeonion but I seem to remember that the aircraft carrier contract couldn't be cancelled - it was signed by the last government and would have cost more to cancel than they would to build. They're also keeping a lot of people employed.

The Times had a good article about Occupy Wall Street yesterday, broadly supportive but behind a paywall unfortunately.

BarryShitpeas · 07/10/2011 22:27

Is Andy Burnham going to the bridge on Sunday?

weeonion · 07/10/2011 22:21

so much of this rang true for me.

'This column is about the cuts the government has failed to make. It?s about the profligate, pointless spending which has not been slashed, and the money Osborne could have raised but instead has decided to fritter away. For the sake of argument it accepts his estimate of the amount that will need to be saved. But it will show that over half of it could be found with much less pain.'

www.monbiot.com/2011/10/03/more-cuts-please/

TwoIfBySea · 07/10/2011 22:14

I have been following Occupy Wall Street on Twitter but without proper news coverage it is hard to understand fully what is going on.

The riots were disgusting, strikes will only harm ordinary people already struggling - why no one thought to take the protest to the financial districts before I don't know.

fwiw I've never been in debt other than the usual mortgage etc. However when my ex-dh left he managed to dump nearly £20k worth of debt and unpaid bills on me - so not everyone has been neglectful and throwing the money around but the ones who pay are rarely the ones who had fun. Plus I do blame people who gleefully jumped on the housing bandwagon - forgetting it was meant to be about somewhere to live. They made massive profits and stuffed up the entire system for a generation.

smallwhitecat · 07/10/2011 22:09

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