Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
What does any strike accomplish? It brings attention to the plight of the people who are striking. Tuition rates have gone up, and CUNY isn't affordable anymore.
We're not talking about a protest here. You used the word strike. A strike is a refusal to do something, mainly work. In other words, a strike affects the company/government, and they have to make concessions to end it because they are losing money. So again, what does a student STRIKE accomplish? Absolutely nothing.
The protestors are not the ones who ordered the police to be stationed in excessive force. The only ones to blame for this waste of city money, which it absolutely is, are the mayor and the police commissioner.
There is no need for this many police at a peaceful protest. It is just a show of force.
I'm sure the majority of protesters are just there to state their case and that's it, but there is a sizeable fraction that wouldn't mind taking things to the next level. I think having a bit more police than necessary is far better than having not enough. Unless of course you want things to turn into a full blown riot.
to all the naysayers and the ones who say they don't care, these people are hippies/communists/nazis/hipsters/clueless. To the ones who refuse to acknowledge reality or open their minds to the corruption of this entire country. Here a pretty good write-up by Greg Palast why there are Occupy protests:
Quote:
So big deal. They evicted us. That just means we are among five million Americans evicted from their homes this year.
Our photographer, Zach Roberts, had his camera cracked and his head whacked. [See the photo of the nightstick just before it breaks the lens.]
Go ahead, kick us and evict us. That won't stop us. Because it's not about the real estate. Wall Street's just an address.
Time to remind The One Percent why we occupy.
We occupy for Stanlee Ann Mattingly.
Mattingly, an Osage Indian, saw a tanker truck poaching oil from the reservation stripper wells. Our investigators tracked the truck back to a man on a platform exhorting his company truckers to steal more of the Osage's oil. The man is named Charles Koch.
And that is why we occupy.
We occupy for Jason Anderson.
Anderson worked on BP's Deepwater Horizon rig. Through bribery and beatings, BP concealed this fact: two years before the Deepwater exploded, another BP well blew out in Central Asia––and BP execs withheld the info from the US Congress to get the Gulf drilling permit. If BP hadn't lied, Anderson would not have been incinerated.
The Deepwater Horizon wasn't an accident. It was a homicide.
And that is why we occupy.
We occupy forRobert Pratt.
Pratt, a United Auto Workers member in Detroit, has a mortgage payment that tripled because of a sub-prime mortgage scam by Bank of America's Countrywide unit. Countrywide's CEO got a half billion dollar bonus, Bank of America got a $10 billion bail-out from taxpayers––and Pratt, with five kids, got a foreclosure notice.
And that is why we occupy.
We occupy for Janessa Greig. Greig, 13-years old, and her mom, Jacqueline, were burnt to death when a gas pipeline exploded under their home in San Bruno, California. Our investigation reveals that "PIGs," pipeline inspection robots, were deliberately mis-programmed to under-report dangerous pipeline cracks ...all so gas and oil companies can save a couple bucks on repairs. The Greigs died because pipeline companies lied. And now the PIG-jackers want to build a new pipeline from Canada to Houston.
And that is why we occupy.
We occupy for Vaggelis Petrakis.
For a decade, Goldman Sachs worked a scheme with Greek politicians to manipulate currency reserves to hide big deficits. The fraud netted Goldman a secret fee of over a quarter billion dollars; and netted the Greek people, when the scam blew up, a destroyed economy and a debt––to Goldman and cronies––of $14,000 per year per family. When the debts bankrupted fruit-seller Petrakis, he committed suicide.
And that is why we occupy.
We occupy for our nation and our kids and this wounded planet.
It's not about the real estate, the tents or tarps.
It's about Them, the 1%, and Us, the 99%.
THEY get homes bigger than Disneyland, WE get foreclosure notices.
THEY get private jets to private islands, WE get tar balls and lost futures, and pay their gambling debts with our pensions.
THEY get the third trophy wife and a tax break, WE get sub-primed.
THEY get two candidates on the ballot and WE are told to choose.
THEY get the gold mine, WE get the shaft.
And that is why we occupy.
We're not talking about a protest here. You used the word strike. A strike is a refusal to do something, mainly work. In other words, a strike affects the company/government, and they have to make concessions to end it because they are losing money. So again, what does a student STRIKE accomplish? Absolutely nothing.
Students walk out of class to bring attention to the rising cost of education. Not sure what there is to miss here. If you want to call it a 'walk-out' call it that. You're arguing semantics.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stri50
I'm sure the majority of protesters are just there to state their case and that's it, but there is a sizeable fraction that wouldn't mind taking things to the next level. I think having a bit more police than necessary is far better than having not enough. Unless of course you want things to turn into a full blown riot.
How do you know there is a sizable fraction? Everyone I've met has been pro-peaceful demonstration. Look at OWS as well as the other Occupied cities: violence erupts when it is INITIATED by the police. They have yet to actually prevent violence.
How do you know there is a sizable fraction? Everyone I've met has been pro-peaceful demonstration. Look at OWS as well as the other Occupied cities: violence erupts when it is INITIATED by the police. They have yet to actually prevent violence.
Bout that animal who threatened to and very possibly (likely) would have tossed molotov cocktails at Macy's? I'd say stopping that prevented violence. In a big way.
OWS might have had some valid points but now it's out of control. Disrupting people's commute is a dumb move, not to mention the violence. And the media called the tea party "dangerous" and "extremist".
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Greig, 13-years old, and her mom, Jacqueline, were burnt to death when a gas pipeline exploded under their home in San Bruno, California. Our investigation reveals that "PIGs," pipeline inspection robots, were deliberately mis-programmed to under-report dangerous pipeline cracks ...all so gas and oil companies can save a couple bucks on repairs. The Greigs died because pipeline companies lied. And now the PIG-jackers want to build a new pipeline from Canada to Houston.
