Congress shall make no law respecting...the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the
Government for a redress of grievances. ~ US Constitution
The similarities between
Occupy Wall Street and Egypt's Tahrir Square revolution go beyond them both being spontaneous, popular uprising against oligarchical rule, although that in and of itself would be sufficient.
- There is police violence against peaceful protesters. NYPD didn't use thugs on camels, they employed thugs with pepper spray.
- The police are trying mass arrests but there are simply too many people in the streets. (I should note here that the NYPD is spitting on the Constitution.)
- The official media are doing their best to censor, ignore, and ridicule the movement yet it continues to grow.
- The contagion is spreading to other cities.
I'm not deluded enough to believe this will have any lasting effect. The American oligarchy is far more deeply entrenched than Hosni Mubarak's regime was. Mayor Billionaire (Bloomberg) may have to fill Citi Field with political prisoners but he will restore absolute rule by money.
1 comment:
US leaders need to speak out in favor of these kinds of demonstrations as intrinsically American and encourage them. That would be a first. For example, there was little support in Congress, and none with the President, for the anti-war movement of the 60s. And, there was little vocal support from leadership during the Civil Rights marches of the 1960s.
Of course, if the demonstrations continue, then the Koch brothers would likely fund thugs to conduct "counter-demonstrations" to provoke violence, just as management did in response to the labor movement. That has plenty of historical precedent. I agree, the likelihood of progress is small. I fear that the likelihood of induced violence promoted by the moneyed class (e.g. strikebreakers, Kent State massacre, etc.)is substantial.
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