28th
laissez-unfair
part of me wants to see the cops leave the protests alone, just entirely leave it alone. And then wait for some asshole raping a drunk hippie chick and running from an unruly mob to knock over a pot of cooking oil over an unsafe open fire while the cops and firefighters just watch and rats feast on the conveniently cooked corpses.
Burn, motherfucker, burn.
I realize it may seem like an abridgment of your rights. But there is a reason people are not allowed to live in crowded tent cities without proper sanitation.
Yes, I know my burner friends know how to live properly in those conditions. You are rare. Yes, I know the sanitation rules are draconian and unevenly enforced. but, no, it is not your right to live in your own shit. We used to do that, then we discovered cholera. Yes, I know most people don’t behave badly. Just a few people are responsible for the poor sanitation and behavior, maybe 1%.
A-ha. Most people know how to behave, and a few don’t, and fuck it up for the rest. Just like MOST ceo’s are not assholes. A few are. Yes, it’s the 1%, but it’s not the rich 1%, it’s the ASSHOLE 1%, about 1% of whom happen to be rich too.
Fact of the matter is, ungoverned mobs of people are dangerous. Not particularly dangerous to the ruling class, but dangerous to THEMSELVES.
Quote from Oakland PD: (emphasis mine)
Sanitation conditions worsened with frequent instances of public urination and defecation, as well as improper food storage. The existing rodent problem on the Plaza was exacerbated and vector control was unable to implement measures to control the rat problem due to the presence of overnight campers. The Plaza was physically damaged on a daily basis by graffiti, litter and vandalism. Fire hazards continued unabated, including cooking with open flame, improper storage of grease, inadequate fire extinguishers, density of tents and flammable materials and smoking in tents. There were reports of public drinking and intoxication.
We have an open forum for discussion. Lots of them. We always did. You were just ignoring them. You could get a lot more done sleeping in your house and drinking water from the tap (which the 1% “stole” your money to pay for) than you can shitting in the park. There’s your “sustainable long-term water solution”
Quote from OccupyLA (that’s what got me ranting)
Occupy LA Resources says the Occupation is growing very low on water and are asking for water and sustainable long-term water solutions .
Funny, I live a mile away, and I have plenty of fresh, clean water. I PAY for it, in a low monthly bill that is, I believe, subsidized by taxes.
I’m gonna get more heat for this. Maybe even lose more FB friends. Folks, I AM on your side. I am interested and supportive. I do like pointing out incongruities and I feel responsible for making people think outside their bubble - whichever bubble they are stuck in.
What would the occupiers say if, instead of the police enforcing the laws preventing these things, they just stay back and let the protesters do what they want? Steal each others cameras, piss in the fountain, serve a bunch of salmonella-tofu burritos, go ahead, but don’t come bitching that the system you reject doesn’t come save your ass.
Yes, things are not perfect. Yes, things could be better, and they will be. But “things” are generally better than they ever were. We had worse robber barons. We crowned them kings, lived in literal slavery under their despotic rule, and slowly but surely, we came up with a better system that allows us to change things, and things have been getting better.
Everyone in the USA that wants to work can easily afford food and shelter. Not big-screen TV’s and cars and nice new iPads, but food and shelter are pretty cheap. Those than don’t want to work get given money for food and shelter. I’ve met quite a few of them. NONE of them spend that money on food and shelter. They sell their food stamps to buy liquor and lottery tickets. (the ones that actually CANNOT work do spend it wisely, for the most part… I’m not talking about the handicapped.)
The 1% of CEO’s are not the problem. The 1% of sociopathic assholes are, and that includes the poor those who feel “entitled” to a free three squares a day and full free medical. Perhaps the 1% of the CEO’s who are also in the 1% of assholes are the biggest problem. Perhaps. But money is not the problem.
Apathy and ignorance are the problems.
Wipe your ass, throw out that expired tofu, pack up your tent, go home, and start spending your day writing letters to your congressmen, or running for office, or reading the fine print on the next loan you sign, or getting a fucking job. Or, fine, come back in the day, let them clean up your politically significant turds like Disneyland does, and then you can come back tomorrow and play protest some more.
