OWS didn't fail. The Tea Party did.

[renie408]

I just wanted to get that out there. I just read that someone is calling OWS a 'failed movement' because...well, I am not sure why they think it failed.

How many national discussions about inequality did we have before OWS? OWS isn't 'in your face' like the Tea Party, but that doesn't mean that it failed. The root concepts that drove OWS have filtered into the national discussion. Yeah, the Tea Party gave itself a name and got some guys elected. But they also marginalized themselves by their extremism and may have killed the Republican Party for at least a decade. And what has the Tea Party ACCOMPLISHED?? What lasting legacy are they leaving behind? All the Tea Party did was slow progress for awhile. That's it. The Republican party is stepping away from them quickly and we are about to get a tax increase on the wealthiest Americans.

In the meantime, inequality is becoming of greater and greater concern on the national stage and, thanks in part to Romney's 47% comments, may have just won the GE for Obama.


Again...OWS didn't fail. The Tea Party did.

[malaise]

1. Yep the OWs were significant in terms of putting that fairness question

on the agenda. They helped to wake up America.

[On the Road]

2. To Answer Whether OWS Succeeded,

you have to ask what its goals were. They were much higher than simply triggering a national discussion. There was widespread dismissal of incremental political gains (like raising taxes) in lieu of more fundamental changes to society and the political system.

What the occupy movement really sought was never going to happen. The 'sit-in' tactics were not well chosen for the more general, long-term changes that were sought, and there was never a path of small concrete changes to get there.

[renie408]

3. I hear you, but...

So, this might not mean anything, but the Occupy Wall Street movement was the first thing that really got my college aged son's attention. Something about OWS resonated with him where my life long political talk hadn't. He voted this election. His girlfriend, who has never been political before, was moved by his passion and she voted this election. His best friend, whose parents are intractable Republicans, voted for Obama and a straight Democratic ticket. We live in South Carolina, BTW.

I am not by ANY means a radical lefty. I supported OWS. I never paid attention to inequality before. I mean, it floated around in the back of my mind, but I never really LOOKED at it before OWS. What did the phrase 'the 99%' (or, conversely, 'the 1%') mean before OWS? Was any mention of forgiving student loan debt before OWS?

I thought the goals of the OWS movement was to change the course America was on FOURTEEN MONTHS ago. Yeah, the protesters moved into Zucatti park in September of 2011. That really isn't that long ago. Change doesn't happen overnight.

I understand what you are saying about needing structure and concrete changes. But before you can make a concrete change, you have to have an idea. You have to realize that the change needs to happen. Something has to draw your eye to the problem. Things have to shift before they move. I think OWS helped draw America's eye and that helped to shift public attention.

Again, given the long term goals of both groups, which one do you think will have a lasting legacy? I guess we will see in the long run. But it is WAY too soon to say that OWS failed.

[LisaLynne]

7. Maybe, but the Tea Party claimed they were going to take over the country ...

and that hasn't happened. They didn't get the presidency. They didn't get the Senate. So, arguably, they have failed. Yet, you don't see a lot of attention being put towards that. OTOH, the media seems to be really quick to proclaim the demise and failure of OWS.

[randome]

4. If you don't understand the threads from yesterday, you should read the article that generated them.

http://www.wired.com/opinion/2012/12/a-eulogy-for-occupy/

Because the GA had no way to reject force, over time it fell to force. Proposals won by intimidation; bullies carried the day. What began as a way to let people reform and remake themselves had no mechanism for dealing with them when they didn’t. It had no way to deal with parasites and predators. It became a diseased process, pushing out the weak and quiet it had meant to enfranchise until it finally collapsed when nothing was left but predators trying to rip out each other’s throats.

It failed because no one was in charge. There are still parts of it that are doing great things but we were all told that the GAs would solve the world's problems. That didn't happen.

[Bjorn Against]

6. No it did not fail, look at Occupy Sandy and tell me it is a failure

The big reason you don't see big Occupy encampments anymore is not because of problems with the GA system, it is because the police used violence to shut down the camps. Through Occupy Sandy and the rolling jubilee however Occupy is making a comeback and establishing itself in new ways that are sure to win it public support and will most likely grow the movement in a big way in the years to come.

[Selatius]

8. I think a fair amount of the failure could be attributed to extensive pressure applied by the police

Nothing can jam up a General Assembly more than a body that has to deal with the constant threat of agent provocateurs as well as occupy members who have grown frayed over constant attacks by the police and are discouraged at no concrete ways to stop the incessant attacks.

[Bjorn Against]

5. The Tea Party actually "accomplished" a lot, unfortunately it was all bad

[ProSense]

11. I'm not a witch!

They cost McConnell the Senate and he has been a more bitter man since then. What was the name of the candidate whose ass Harry Reid kicked?

It wasn't all bad!

[Doctor_J]

9. the Tea Baggers were and remain a force in Congress

they dragged the country from far right to fascist (see the recent MI debacle). OWS barely changed the discussion at all, and failed to impact the ideology of the Congress at all.

Most of this is due to Big Media being made up of teabaggers, but still your post is silly.

[LisaLynne]

10. I agree. I think in the long run, OWS will be seen as much more important.

As you said, beofe OWS, you couldn't even get people to really admit that there was a huge problem with income and wealth inequality. Now, it's on the table. You can discuss it without people thinking you are crazy. I think that was a huge shift and our country is the better for it.

[Buns_of_Fire]

12. They brought the term "teabagger" into general usage.

And helped keep the Intertubes blown out and free of dustbunnies by all the people Googling to find out what a "teabagger" was.

"I'm not worthless. I can always serve as a bad example."