As recently as Sunday I was arguing that at this point Occupy Wall Street was too small and too disjointed too accomplish anything significant. At this point I am standing by that statement but I see a couple trends that are making me think they may be on the verge of moving into the mainstream:
1. People are still incredibly angry at Wall Street. I have said before that populism usually breeds bad decisions.
2. They are start to develop some semi-innovative ways of getting their message out. One example would be these infographics:
In addition the last couple of “spokespeople” I have heard didn’t sound like braindead stoners whining about their student loans. They sounded intelligent and put out a lucid argument. I may disagree with the argument but it was coherent.
3. They are getting more organized. Probably the big labor influence, but it still makes them a more viable force. Of note is the fact that they now have $300,000 in the bank (enough to pay back the student loans of two art history majors) not a phenomenal amount but it shows some organizational ability, and there are reports that they have stockpiles of supplies to carry them through the winter.
With those things in mind my conclusion on @OccupyWallStreet has now changed to, “If they make it through the winter without breaking up they will be a force in next years election”
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