Occupy Wall Street -- just venting

[tulip]

Oak,
Not that you will read this because you put it on ignore, but please don't assume you know what I think of this simply by the posts or non-posts on this thread. People are doing their best to get by. Some people are speaking out. Some people are just putting their heads down and forging ahead as best they can. Some people don't have anything to worry about. There is room in the world for all those people; they have value no matter what where they stand on this, or any other, issue.

Pam can speak for herself; I found her observations from the ground to be very interesting. I did not feel the need to comment on it one way or the other, though.

Personally, I spent the day with a dying friend. I will see her one more time over the weekend, and then never again since I will have to travel for the next few weeks and she won't be here when I get back. My concerns are a bit closer to home at the moment; I would even venture to say more important in my world. We all contribute in our own way; we do not have to do it your way in order to have value as a person. So what if I don't particularly give a hoot about these protests; it does not mean I don't care about the issues (not that it should matter). I just go about it in a different way than you or the protesters do, apparently.

I can't speak for anyone else on the forums, but I felt moved to respond to your post. Ignoring the thread is a good idea if it doesn't say what you want it to say. I do that all the time.

[salsabike]

Oak,
Not that you will read this because you put it on ignore, but please don't assume you know what I think of this simply by the posts or non-posts on this thread. People are doing their best to get by. Some people are speaking out. Some people are just putting their heads down and forging ahead as best they can. Some people don't have anything to worry about. There is room in the world for all those people; they have value no matter what where they stand on this, or any other, issue.

Pam can speak for herself; I found her observations from the ground to be very interesting. I did not feel the need to comment on it one way or the other, though.

Personally, I spent the day with a dying friend. I will see her one more time over the weekend, and then never again since I will have to travel for the next few weeks and she won't be here when I get back. My concerns are a bit closer to home at the moment; I would even venture to say more important in my world. We all contribute in our own way; we do not have to do it your way in order to have value as a person. So what if I don't particularly give a hoot about these protests; it does not mean I don't care about the issues (not that it should matter). I just go about it in a different way than you or the protesters do, apparently.

I can't speak for anyone else on the forums, but I felt moved to respond to your post. Ignoring the thread is a good idea if it doesn't say what you want it to say. I do that all the time.

Lovely, Tulip. Truly. Thank you. And I am sorry about your friend.

[ShubieGA]

Tulip, So sorry about your friend. Cherish your time with her.

PamNY - thanks for the info, as there will be one in Atlanta tomorrow too - may change my lunch plans.

[PamNY]

I was contemplating why I posted about this in the first place. Finally figured out the reason for my first post: this is a place I'm comfortable talking about fear in general, and on the street in particular.

My first post was about a large, fast-moving crowd that I didn't expect or know about -- and a cop ordering me to not run across the street away from them, for reasons which I understand now, but didn't then.

I certainly wasn't looking for sympathy, but I knew my experience would be understood in this group. I didn't think of my post as political at all -- in fact, my complaint was about our city government, not about the protesters.

Later, the story became that individual people in the neighborhood and (mostly) our unpaid community board volunteers are doing all of the negotiating with the protesters about small, day-to-day issues. I mentioned a bit about the human-scale things that were taken away on 9/11 because it's an interesting local detail, and I made it very clear that OWS, in general, is paying attention to our concerns. It is quite remarkable that five OWS people attended a community board meeting in the middle of yesterday's march of 15,000 people.

My story would be the same regardless of who was camped out in Zuccotti Park; if the Tea Party was over there with a drum circle, you can be assured that we would try to get them to stop at a reasonable hour. Nothing political about it.

Tulip, thank you for your eloquent post, and I am sorry about your friend.

[NbyNW]

Pam, I have not found your posts to be political. It's really great that you've shared your observations and what you've experienced of how this has impacted and interacted with the neighborhood on a day-to-day basis. As I mentioned before, I haven't heard much on that perspective from the news sources I frequent.

By and large I think this thread has avoid crossing over into what could become a political and possibly inflammatory discussion. I think most of us have a sense of where that line is, and thus avoid crossing it.

[NbyNW]

Very eloquent response, Tulip. I too am perplexed at how Oakleaf arrived at her conclusion about those who may or may not be participating in this discussion.

Sending wishes for peace and comfort for your friend, and for the precious time that you have together.

[jyyanks]

Oak,
Not that you will read this because you put it on ignore, but please don't assume you know what I think of this simply by the posts or non-posts on this thread. People are doing their best to get by. Some people are speaking out. Some people are just putting their heads down and forging ahead as best they can. Some people don't have anything to worry about. There is room in the world for all those people; they have value no matter what where they stand on this, or any other, issue.

Pam can speak for herself; I found her observations from the ground to be very interesting. I did not feel the need to comment on it one way or the other, though.

Personally, I spent the day with a dying friend. I will see her one more time over the weekend, and then never again since I will have to travel for the next few weeks and she won't be here when I get back. My concerns are a bit closer to home at the moment; I would even venture to say more important in my world. We all contribute in our own way; we do not have to do it your way in order to have value as a person. So what if I don't particularly give a hoot about these protests; it does not mean I don't care about the issues (not that it should matter). I just go about it in a different way than you or the protesters do, apparently.

I can't speak for anyone else on the forums, but I felt moved to respond to your post. Ignoring the thread is a good idea if it doesn't say what you want it to say. I do that all the time.

I'm very sorry to hear about your friend. Sending thoughts and prayers.

Your post was amazing and well written - thank you.

[PamNY]

Honest, I was going to leave this topic alone, but the Daily Show (Jon Stewart) has addressed the bathroom issue.

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/th...treet-occupied

If you aren't familiar with the Daily Show, it is irreverent, sometimes graphic humor.

And in case you think we in lower Manhattan are obsessed with potty issues, the 9/11 Memorial does not have public rest room facilities. This lack was already putting a strain on small businesses and other tourist destinations in the area.

[ny biker]

I was going to post that Daily Show link. With a warning to not ever let those people into your home, for any amount of money. How do they not see what they are doing to some really hard-working people??

Re: the 9/11 Memorial, what exactly is open to the public at this point? The fountain area? The museum? Is the lack of bathroom facilities a temporary thing while it's all still under construction?

[PamNY]

I think just the fountain part is open now, and the area where names are engraved. Museum opens next fall and will have restrooms.

They can't have outdoor public trash cans or Porta potties near the memorial because both are security hazards -- bombs could be placed in them. It's really crowded and littered and only a block away from OWS's encampment.

[PamNY]

If anyone is interested, this article from Salon reflects what I have seen fairly well.

Like everyone else who writes about OWS, the author fails to note that this event is taking place in an established neighborhood. I was stunned that the author regards the Yom Kippur observance across the street from Zuccotti Park as a sign of "mainstream acceptance" of OWS being in the neighborhood.

They have this Yom Kippur observance every year. It has nothing to do with accepting OWS -- it has to do with Yom Kippur.

I am, of course, going to email the author about this. But I need a day or two to calm down.

[channlluv]

Pam, I appreciate your commentary, too, and completely missed whatever political angle was perceived by some. The thing that I found most disturbing, actually, was when you - I think it was you, maybe someone else - said that these protesters were stealing from the falafel vendors and farmer's market people. That really bugs me.

I thought the zombie thing was stupid, too. I am enjoying reading the signs, though, and some of the editorial cartoons that are coming out of this.

I hope that you and your neighbors can retain/regain some sense of normalcy soon.

Roxy

[shootingstar]

There is Occupy Calgary ....here.

I have not read all the protesters' grievances.

However to deal with Wall Street like folks, it might be way more effective for protestors to indicate that there is a fine line that only separates the unemployed / low-income from Wall St. folks.

It is probably a better way to think of how little separates us (TE folks) from the protestors. After all, some of us have been unemployed for an appreciable chunk of time.

Right now, some of this Occupy stuff seems like mob rule.

It makes one wonder if social media has a downside from its powerful speed to communicate worldwide and to mobilize: Down side is that unlike the speed of social media for commmunicating and getting the word out to protest, is that REAL change, for Wall St...actually is demanding for some social change. Which takes a long time.