All You Need Is Love

quickhits:

…that mass arrests and pepper spray at a Tea Party rally would result in an unprecedented political shit storm.

(via paxamericana)

progressivefriends:

“But this is why I’m taking Occupy Wall Street — or, perhaps more specifically, the ‘We Are The 99 Percent’ movement — seriously. There are a lot of people who are getting an unusually raw deal right now. There is a small group of people who are getting an unusually good deal right now. That doesn’t sound to me like a stable equilibrium.

The organizers of Occupy Wall Street are fighting to upend the system. But what gives their movement the potential for power and potency is the masses who just want the system to work the way they were promised it would work. It’s not that 99 percent of Americans are really struggling. It’s not that 99 percent of Americans want a revolution. It’s that 99 percent of Americans sense that the fundamental bargain of our economy — work hard, play by the rules, get ahead — has been broken, and they want to see it restored.”

More here.

autumn-and-eve:

honeyandtoska:

I have so many mixed feelings about Occupy Wall Street. On one hand I agree with the protesters, there is a problem with corporate America, but on the other hand I do wish they would communicate it in a more eloquent and believable way, especially since many of them are young and educated people, even if they are in debt.

I wish people would propose some concrete solution, or at least point fingers at a specific group of people or legislation (and I don’t think “the top 1%” is specific enough). The signs about people’s personal circumstances (e.g. “My dad was laid off, my grandmother has no healthcare,” etc.) have opened my eyes to the reality of poverty, and I do reblog them because I care, but they still don’t propose any streamlined solution to all of these problems. “Tax the top 1%”? Well, maybe, but you don’t see large numbers of people crying it out loud at once. There is no single goal that is being grasped at, while the protesters at Tahrir wanted specifically for Mubarak to step down.

From the reports I’m seeing on Tumblr, it just looks like one big hippie fest. And while that language may make sense to the protesters, I don’t think that the White House or even the media is going to take them seriously until they start “cleaning up their act” (I’m sorry, I have no idea how to phrase this in a less aggressive way, because I don’t mean to be aggressive). I mean it in sincerest concern for the movement and its people.

I want to know what other people think. How do you feel about Occupy Wall Street?

You’re definitely right. The reason why it’s hard for Occupy Wall Street to come to a consensus on these issues is because it is occupied by a large group of anarchists and socialists with “radical” philosophies. That’s where the problem lies, it’s tough for them to think of baby steps when in reality they want giant steps. None of them like the government or capitalism, and we can’t really say “Okay our main goal is making America communist”.
But don’t be fooled, Occupy Wall Street is a very organized group. There are labor groups (PR, Direct Action, cleanup, comfort crew, etc.), nightly General Assembly meetings, and even their own newspaper, staffed by OWS writers and artists (I swear, it’s called the Occupy Wall Street Journal, if you get it).
It’s not really a modern Woodstock either. There were hippies, but also punks, anarchists, plain-clothed people, people in business attire. Also, there were a ton of people of color, people with disabilities, queer people, etc.

(via autumn-and-eve-deactivated20120)

liberalsocialist:

Funny how the mainstream media had a circlejerk over the Arab Spring but when the possibility of real change comes to their own backyard it is completely ignored.

This is beautiful terminology.

(via lolsheviks-deactivated20120831)