I got a little blowback from Occupy folks from yesterday's Op-Ed. Undeserved methinks, I don't think I am alone in not understanding the message behind the port protest and worrying that they are losing the plot, but I'm glad folks are paying attention.
But, since then I have had to have a root canal and my son told me he supports Tottenham Hotspur. So if you are upset with me, don't worry the fates have punished me sufficiently.
Today I take a break from blogging to convalesce.
Update: A reader admonished me for my statement that "...the vast majority of American citizens, who have not seen their standard of living improve in two generations."
I agree, I had intended to write "substantially improve" but failed. My bad. But the motivation of the Occupy movement and it's supporters was not the point.
I have also been taken to task for both criticizing and supporting the Occupy movement. I was doing neither - I understand from whence the passion comes, but don't know if I agree with the remedies proposed, because I have not heard much about their remedies. Which was the part pf the point of the Op-Ed.
5 comments:
I have not yet read your oped (is it online yet?) but i agree with that you have stated on the blog.
While i am pretty sure I support the Occupy movement in general, i worry when we start talking specifics.
I spent a day in at the Occupy Portland camp doing a survey of the Occupiers and others walking through to try to learn more about the movement. While i am still working on the data my impression was that there was really no consensus on the solutions to the issues of economic injustice that the movement says it is about.
The Port shut down i think was an odd action to take since it was only loosely connected to the issues that Occupy is about. The best answer anyone could give me for why shutting down the port was important was that they needed to get more media attention. I think that occupy has more then enough attention now and needs to shift more towards meaningful discussion of what specific policies it wants to see
If the O doesn't put your column online can you post it here Patrick?
You could always refer critics to Barney Frank, who said in last week's New Yorker Political Scene podcast:
"I don't understand why people think that being in a physical place does much.... Standing in a park--how does that help?"
As a perhaps more mature old pinko (whose views are regularly discredited by the pragmatic professor), I couldn't agree more. You have to have a demand. Lech Walesa did not organize a group of shipworkers to stand around with signs vaguely critical of the soviets.
Hang tough, comrade.
http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2011/12/occupy_portland_for_political.html
Congratulations on having completed the root canal. They are better appreciated in hindsight.
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