This is what the Republicans DON'T get:

[PCIntern]

the New Deal was created to stave off revolution here - it was not so much 'altruistic' but it was mostly all about survival of the Republic as it had been conceived. If the morans think for one minute that people will allow their families to starve among wealth, that people deprived will not hop onto the bandwagon upon which many millions had in the so-called Arab Spring or what amounted to the disintegration of the USSR and the Eastern Bloc, then they are mightily mistaken.

We are seeing the first manifestations of this in the flash mobs here, in the riots in Britain, and in other venues. The American Revolution was born of fiscal revolt and the so-called Tea Party has inspired seditious behavior in those within and without their ranks. You can pontificate all you want about how they are hooligans, but this is how it starts.

[RevStPatrick]

1. Those who do not learn from history...

...are doomed to repeat it.

Or something like that. Over and over and over again!

[Bonhomme Richard]

2. What we are witnessing is organized looting from the powerful.

It is no different than the looting that might occur in a poor neighborhood. Just as thug looters are rushing into the shops and grabbing as much as they can, then running, before the cops arrive. So too are the Wall Streeters, bankers, Politicians, Leveraged Corporate Management, and anyone else with the wherewithal to make a quick buck "before the cops arrive".
They are exactly the same. They are grabbing what they can of the country's wealth "before the cops arrive".

On edit: There is a difference. These looters were smart enough to pay off the authorities before they started the looting. Also, it isn't the cops showing up that they are afraid of. It's the store owners (us) banding together and dolling out some vigilante justice before they can get away.

[Patiod]

3. The flash mobs in Philly are just assholes. Not protesters. Just assholes

blah blah blah revolution.

Not talking about a need for jobs, not organizing protests, just intimidating people, stealing cell phones, and being jackasses.

[PCIntern]

4. I actually do not agree with yu\ou...

it's a symptom of utter breakdown of fear of the law and feel that consequences are inconsequential.

[Patiod]

5. Okay - I'll go with that

You look at the riots in London, and they were preceded by protests, vigils, and other organized dissent, with people trying to get the attention of the authorities and the media to draw attention to a problem.

None of that in Philadelphia - just, as you say, an utter breakdown of fear of the law and or consequences. Reduced policing, no followup on warrants; these are just guys who think they can get away with shit. 120 years ago, they would have been the Cowboys, terrorizing the West.

Any time young males feel they can get away with shit, they do.

[PCIntern]

7. Yes, and 'even' I did...

I guess my point was that we are starting to see this in many of society
s strata.

Go Phils!

PS I'm at the epicenter of the Flash Mobs here...on 16th near Walnut

[surrealAmerican]

6. It takes more than fear of the law to maintain social order.

People need to feel like they are a part of the society, like they have something to gain by being a participant in their society, like there is some chance at a secure future, like their lives are not completely meaningless.

If the only thing left is a fear of consequences, people will do whatever they think they won't get caught at.