To Those Opposed To The Occupy Wall Street Movement – Think Before You Speak
Posted: Wednesday, November 16, 2011
by Judge Dred
Many opinions have been floated publically in reference to the Occupy Wall Street Movement, both pro and con. Let us deal with some of the opinions that have been opposed to the Occupy Wall Street Movement. There have been statements, which boil down to one “thought”- Why don’t they put their (the protesters) energy into getting a job? Before allowing those words to spew forth from your mouths, maybe some of you should think before you speak.
Hey New Yorkers, remember that you have a mayor, Michael Bloomberg, who is a billionaire. He had the term limit laws changed to be elected to a third term, and most of you slept through it. Here he is today, cutting your library hours, cutting funding to public education, and slashing essential services, such as closing fire houses and reducing the number of police officers to be hired. Why? Think it has something to do with New York City’s investments going into the toilet due to Wall Street’s misdeeds?
Did Bloomberg readily disclose that his girlfriend sits on the board of the company which owns Zuccoti Park? By the way, how did a private corporation acquire ownership of public space to create Zuccoti Park? Why is Bloomberg motivated to run New York City for a salary of one dollar a year? Does he really have your best interests at heart? Or is he enabling his wealthy friends to add to their portfolios through dealings with the city? Ask Woody Johnson, owner of the New York Jets and Johnson and Johnson Corporation. His friend Bloomberg attempted to give away the air rights over the West Side Long Island Railroad rail yards to the Jets for a new football stadium in Manhattan (under the guise of a bid for the Olympic Games). That didn’t work out, did it?
As for retired civil servants, be careful. Think before you speak. Some of you say the protesters need to get a job. Unless you are independently wealthy, you won’t have a problem if Bloomberg takes your negotiated retirement benefits away, will you? Retired NYPD cops should remember that he wanted to take your “Christmas bonus”. Think that’s all he wants from you? If you are a paycheck, rent or mortgage payment away from foreclosure or homelessness, this will result in you protesting something. Possibly your unforeseen negative financial situation caused by your wealthy mayor.
New York City Police Officers descended on the Bronx Criminal Courthouse recently to protest the arrests of numerous officers in the so-called ticket fixing scandal. Your right to protest was protected that day by the First Amendment. What makes the cops different from the Occupy protesters? Oh, they did not occupy 161st Street in the Bronx. By the way, are any of you feeling a little uneasy about what the city asked some of you to do in the middle of the night?
Other New Yorkers have possibly forgotten where they came from. Where would you be without your jobs, if you are lucky enough to have one? There are New Yorkers who have gained their status through their hard work, blood, sweat and tears. There are those who have their jobs and status through nepotism, marriage, payoffs and other means. You know who you are. Do not make the mistake of drinking the conservative or bigoted Kool-Aid by denigrating those who are protesting at Zuccoti Park. Give it a little more time; you may be joining those same protesters soon.
To recap, people have the right to protest, with or without tents or sleeping bags. You don’t have to like it, but the protesters are protected by the First Amendment. New Yorkers have much to think about. Mayor Bloomberg will throw you all under the bus to achieve his goals, whether you are Occupy Wall Street protesters, civil servants or a resident. Lastly, be careful when criticizing people when they are hurting. Don’t you think they would rather be working than protesting? Reconsider why the protesters are there. Don’t allow someone to assign an opinion to you without the benefit of thinking for yourselves.
The people you pass on the way up are the same people you will pass on the way down. No one is immune to this.
If any New Yorkers have a differing opinion, you can reach me at WryteStuff.com. I don’t expect to hear from you.
Until next time.
JD
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Top-level comments on this article: (5 total)Please spare me the sanctimonious “Think before you speak." Of course the First Amendment protects free speech. New York City is host to numerous protests annually. Free speech and individual conduct have their limitations. Please don’t exercise your rights and trample anyone else’s. The First Amendment is not absolute, not available to you at any cost to other’s rights.
You speak of Mayor Bloomburg. If it weren’t for him and his tolerance, OWS would have been thrown out of Zuccotti Park long ago. This is not to say I like everything about our Mayor, far from it. He has done his share of things I support and others that I do not. Eventually he will be replaced with a new Mayor. As far as him making cutbacks, a responsible Mayor has to balance New York City’s budget.
You mentioned NYPD officers exercising their right to protest. The NYPD officer’s didn’t exclude others from using public space and act like savages. The scope and length of time of their protest did not interfere with other people’s rights. I for one don’t want to pay Police Overtime for OWS extended “protest."
As most people, I am in the 99%. How many people in the 99% know what the OWS protesters want and how is it to be achieved.
To recap other people in the 99% and the 1% have rights which should not be infringed upon using "hey my rights count your don't." You can denigrate conservatives, yet you urge your readers not to denigrate OWS people. So much for fairness. You say think for myself. Thanks very much, I do. You say the people I pass on the way up are the same people I will pass on the way down. Interesting. I say the people you criticize today may be the ones giving you a job tomorrow.
I’m sure we may have agreement on the existence of problems. The question is how do we best solve them? Mobilizing a task force of individuals who do not represent the 99% seems unlikely to bring about positive change.
You said you didn’t expect to hear from any New Yorkers. Sorry if I’ve disappointed you.
Hi Michael,
It seems that you thought before responding to me. Bless your heart; I am ecstatic that you wrote a response, and I am not disappointed! To begin, let’s be clear. I am not talking about numerous protests in New York City. I am specifically referring to Occupy Wall Street. Everyone is covered by the First Amendment, but trampling on the rights of others? Like the right of the press to cover the 1 AM movement by the Bloomberg Administration to clear Zuccoti Park? Members of the press pushed back and were arrested? News helicopters not being allowed to film the events from overhead? What gives there?
The only sanctimony that you might hear is when your beloved mayor opens his mouth. Let’s briefly mention the stop and frisk policy in New York City. You want to talk about trampling on rights, now that is a great example! But that’s a Fourth Amendment issue, so I’ll stop there.
Lord Bloomberg has shown tolerance? What does that mean? If crimes were truly being committed in Zuccoti Park, there would have been arrests and closure of the park long ago. If not, that means he and his police commissioner turned a blind eye to crime. The only other option is that there was no criminal activity; hence there was no reason to go into the park.
A responsible mayor has to balance New York City’s budget. It is interesting that Lord Bloomberg wanted to balance the budget on the backs of civil servants. Remember when he wanted to take away the “Christmas bonus" (otherwise known as the VSF) and not give pay raises to cops and firefighters? He wanted to take away negotiated benefits from those who deserve them. Did he not also slash the amount of incoming cops recently in the police academy? Responsible mayors play fast and loose with the lives of New Yorkers by closing firehouses and not hiring police officers. That’s the way to balance that budget!
Please define your use of the word “savage". When a group of police officers protested in the Bronx, they were penned in by police barricades in front of the Supreme Court Building. Were they not loudly chanting and blocking a part of the street? The street is a public space. It seems that the cops were penned in just as the OWS protesters were. Looks like all savages are penned in at some point.
I am happy to inform you as to why OWS is protesting. Income inequality, which was caused by the nice people on Wall Street, who decided to act recklessly with finances entrusted to them. The failure of brokerage houses, banks and the like caused many people to lose their homes and jobs. Wealth in America is clearly flowing to the top 1% of the American population. Cuts in public and private sector jobs resulted. Young and old, Democrat, Republican and Independent, are all affected by this issue.
I ask my readers to think twice before spewing forth opinions formed by others. You obviously personalized my general statement about passing people on the way up/down. I find that interesting. There may be those that are afraid to criticize due to not being able to get a job tomorrow, but I am not bound by those constraints.
The only task forces that were mobilized were the police departments throughout America who were determined to take down the OWS encampments. Arresting and pepper spraying the protesters will not make them go away. Whether you admit it or not, OWS has entered the mainstream conversation of America, so the positive change has already started. If you are truly part of the 99%, you will realize this fact. Also, there are problems in New York and all of America. Intelligent conversation will effect even more change.
So Michael, you New Yorker, I wish to commend you for responding. This has been far from disappointing. Thanks for reading and commenting.
P.S. Be careful. Lord Bloomberg is not through trying to strip bargaining rights and benefits away from New York’s civil servants.
JD
Thanks for blessing my heart and for your commendation. Let me be clear the Mayor is not my beloved nor is he my lord. I have been is disagreement with many things he has said and done during his tenure. Personally I like to say Bloomturd. You say you are specifically referring to OWS which I am also. I found it interesting you decided to to "briefly" change the topic by inserting commentary about the NYPDs Stop and Frisk policy in your second paragraph. I'm sure you can think of other "rights trampling issues." Why didn't you mention any others? oh, right we are talking about OWS. The press did cover the event, I saw their coverage. Perhaps you wanted to see camera's pointed into peoples nostrils. Safety puts limits on some of our wants. Concerning tolerance, IMHO Bloomberg should have cleared the debris (abandoned property) long ago. Perhaps you should opine upon where you think Bloomturd should cut the budget if you don't agree with his cuts. My definition of savage: not civilized. Loudly chanting while partially blocking a street doesn't ring uncivilized to me. Please define your use and meaning of the word "savage" when you stated all savages are penned in at some point. You are concerned with the Amendments to the United States Constitution. No where in those documents does it state that income will be income equality in America. Thanks for posting my comments.Comments on my articles will always be posted whether I agree or disagree with them. The one area of commonality that we have is a dislike of some of the things that Bloomberg does. That being said:
"New York City is host to many protests annually". Not an OWS specific statement.
"Free speech and individual conduct have their limitations. Please don’t exercise your rights and trample anyone else’s" Trample on the rights of New Yorkers with an unjust stop and frisk policy. Individual conduct- NYPD going into Zuccoti Park at one in the morning, knowing that most of the media would not be on the scene. The media members that were there did not interfere with the police. Why did the NYPD not allow aerial coverage? News helicopters were not allowed to film from above.There were no safety issues.
Stop the one shot deal gimmicks to balance the city budget. Pension reform, having employees contribute to health care costs, getting rid of tax exemptions for professional sports teams and not going forth with economic development projects are some of the things Lord Bloomberg should look into, instead of slashing essential services. I also asked if part of New York City's financial troubles were the fact that the City's investments also went into the toilet due to Wall Street misdeeds.
You're right, loudly chanting and partially blocking a street is not uncivilized. Savages ( the word that you used) are penned in with police barricades, which applied to NYPD and OWS protesters. If both groups are penned in, the term applies. Being cops does not make anyone exempt.
Your attempt at being somewhat flippant with your last remark comes off as a little confused. Nowhere in my article or responses to anyone was the United States Constitution invoked when mentioning income inequality.Two separate issues, Michael. Income inequality has everything to do with Wall Street recklessness, mismanagement of funds, greed, tax codes that favor the rich, etc. Not the Constitution.
I support everything you say, Judge. Evenmore, I find it very pathetic that some middle-class people and some American workers, who in terms of income, education, resources, etc. are unquestionably part of the 99%, could be supporting the 1% who make millions, who have their bimonthly shopping trips to Paris and London, and who don't really care that much about anyone but themselves. Obviously, they failed their Sociology 101 class and need some help understanding their economic and social standing in society. Good job, Judge!Hi Nestor,
I think some people, such as Michael Murphy, just want to have something contrary to say. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but in this case, this reader states that he is part of the 99%, but his words sound as if he is a member of the 1%. There are more out there like him. Let the American dream be available to all. Even the playing field, which has tilted to the 1% of Americans, who are exceedingly weathly. Thank you for reading and commenting.I'm glad I'm in good company! Although I won't be a part of 1% unless I win the lottery, I am greatful to reside in America. Wealth will always build wealth (money makes money).
To MMurphy- you say "As far as him making cutbacks, a responsible Mayor has to balance New York City’s budget."
Well that's fine to say, but it is a statement in a vacuum. It is out of context. It doesn't address the CAUSE of the financial problems afflicting New York and everywhere else. And that's what these protests are about- the abuse, the greed, the dishonesty that has unfairly put the burden upon people who cannot and should not have to bear it.
"Think before you speak" - you may not like to hear it, but many people don't fully realize what is at stake here. It doesn't matter if the message and goals are not precisely defined. It is a beginning. If we don't start a dialogue now, begin addressing this mismanagement and miscarriage of justice, begin to push back, the growing disparity in this country will progress into a full-blown feudal system of haves and have nots. Think it can't happen here? We've been sold down the river my friends.
Hi Jack,
After reading your response, I could not have said it better myself. Many people have a narrow view of OWS because they may be inconvienced in lower Manhattan. I believe many people should take a hard look at what is going on, both locally and nationally. OWS is keeping major issues in the news. There are those who wish the protests would go away so that the gap between the rich and everyone else can widen in silence and in the shadows ( Bloomberg, for one). Thank you for reading and commenting.Jack I don't find the budget cutting out of context of Dreds discussion as he mentioned it. I'm just saying anyone in charge of a budget will have to make decisions when it needs to be balanced. Not to say I'm not concerned about what's happening in the country Jack. I think we need to focus on political leaders.
To say that they should be looking for work is to not really understand what the problem is. If the protesters get work, they'll be part of the system, being paid too little for doing too much. If a system is exploitative, it needs to be broken down in some way.
Imagine if nobody in Egypt had protested! Or no women had protested before being given the vote. The world needs protest movements, I think, and I believe protestors do a very valuable job. I think you wrote a powerful article.Hi Jennifer,
There are those that want to dismiss the fact that social unrest and protest have been the hallmarks of change in society. Some of our rich and powerful (power gained through wealth) do not want the current situation of unchecked greed to change. Hence, their political protectors in government have started the "crackdown" on OWS.
What they don't realize is OWS isn't going anywhere. This era of exploitation is going to end. It will be an interesting ride. Thank you for reading and commenting.
Sorry Judge I can't find a point of contention. Not being from New York though does not mean that I, or we down south do not have a horse in this race. In fact the long tentacles of Wall Street have every other legitimate and illegitimate government in the world intimidated into reverence, save China but let's not pretend we should look to them as our saviors, and wouldn't want it if they were. Do not expect to change the naive minds of those that support the 1% though because they are the same self centered, egocentric maniacs that they support, and are allowed just enough crumbs to believe that one day they too will be allowed into the "Club," and God forbid they should have to contribute to a strong society if they were (which they won't, they'll just be the last ones to feel the dagger in their backs). Even the most powerful tyrants need fodder for their cannons. Interesting ride though may take a backseat to unimaginable sacrifice because the inextricably intoxicating effects of ultimate power and greed will not be given up easily and lest we forget that our over burdensome military, federal and local law enforcement build up over the years was not designed to thwart foreign invasion but to quell social unrest at home and honed on foreign military maneuvers. Not to mention they own the guy with the finger on the button. They simply move to one of their other countries, and boom. Peace my brother.Hi David,
I used New York as an example due to the then goings on at Zuccoti Park. Whether it is Wall Street, China, Greece or Italy, we have a worldwide problem. Here in America,I am upset at the fact that there are those that would tell OWS protesters to "take a bath right before you get a job", and other assorted statements. Words spoken from the heart by a 1% wannabe There are those who seem to agree with those words, not realizing that by next week, they could be "bathing before looking for their next job".
Two words sum up this situation - money talks. Those that have it and have systems of gaining an extravagant amount of it aren't giving it up without a fight. That fight is taking place right now in American cities, large and small. For all to see. Will there be mass riots and anarchy in our streets? I hope not. If this situation is not solved, things will get much, much worse. With we the people vs. all arms of military and law enforcement. Thank you for reading and commenting.
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