Have I said enough about OWS?

We have already established that protesters, in general, have the right to assemble and make their grievances heard.  But they don’t have the right to disturb others – the first amendment does not cover that.  And they certainly should obey all of the local laws, respect the neighborhoods where they meet, and the rights of the people, businesses, and property.  It’s hard to tell in all of the conflicting stories whether the protesters are following the rules, or not.  From reading this article, I’m not sure if the man described is innocent or guilty. 

 

In other cities, San Francisco comes to mind, the police are clearly in the wrong.  Embedded in this article is video of officers using pepper spray on a group of students (UC Davis) that are sitting on a curb.  I would love to know what the police were thinking – I mean, we live in a Rodney King world where everyone has the ability to capture video.  At the least it shows stupidity on the part of the officers, and at best…well, I can’t see how there was a best there.  The University of California is not the only school with protesters – OWS organizers say that over 120 colleges and universities have had some sort of affiliated protest.

But, we can feel slightly better given that the police aren’t above arresting one of their own, as shown here.  It’s not all police versus protesters in bloodbaths, nor people living in parks and fighting to use the restrooms of private businesses, there is a little fun going on.  One man thought of a way to project a “bat signal” onto, of all ironic places, the side of the Verizon building in NYC.   To help get into the spirit of Thanksgiving, an unemployed chef is planning a feast for the protesters.

 
We can see that these are real people making up the ranks of the protesters; they have a message and are willing to undergo hardship, deprivation, and even arrest (do beatings and pepper spray count?) to get their message heard – but, who is listening.   This report is about that topic, what comes next?  Millions  of people, all across the US are ready to do something, but I don’t think even they know what that should be.

I don’t see where this can go if it is nothing more than some general grumbling.  If these people can become something more, perhaps a separate political party, THEN things might begin to happen.  Gathering together just to complain as a group doesn’t seem to be working. 

DO SOMETHING!