The corporate media is doing a good job of mischaracterizing the Occupy protesters, as can be seen even in the most balanced of Big Apple newspapers, the New York Times. They seize on and magnify every misdeed of individuals, while reporting whatever the police say as Gospel. Pretty much all the news outlets are reporting that protesters clashed with police yesterday, when the opposite would be closer to the truth. But the important stuff doesn’t take place in elite-serving newspapers; it takes place in Midtown boardrooms.
At a Midtown gathering of business leaders on Thursday, Mr. Bloomberg said that the protests were a dire sign of the public’s economic fears.
“The public is getting scared,” he said. “They don’t know what to do, and they’re going to strike out.” He added, “They just know the system isn’t working, and they don’t want to wait around.”
The last time Mayor Bloomberg made a dire warning, the Occupy protests began the next day. If Bloomberg is rattled, it’s because his system of media control and police brutality isn’t working. Of course, it is at work, but it’s not having the desired impact. He should check with Silvio Berlusconi to see how his model turned out.
The disconnect between what people are reading on Twitter, Facebook, and blogs, and seeing on livestreams, and what they are reading in the newspapers and seeing on the teevee is opening a lot of eyes. The sham is getting exposed like never before.
Meanwhile, the aristocracy is holed up in Midtown wondering why all this is happening and why talking points about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac aren’t fooling anyone.
The banks got bailed out but Congress wants the bill to be payed by the neediest and most vulnerable. The Republicans absolutely insist upon this.
If our elites want to save their necks, they ought to crack a history book, read about the French Revolution, and take some preemptive measures. And I don’t mean that they should increase the repression.
Been glued to Tim Pool’s feed, http://www.ustream.tv/theother99
One of the best ones I’ve found.
What have you been seeing?
Sorry I had to run yesterday, Tim was doing a good job covering the march, and previously, the occupation and daily general assembly. They’ve been there since day one.
They keep messing around in ways that are going to cause a massive backlash.
yup.
i was in NY yesterday helping christina move back to philly. the traffic report on 1010 WINS was required listening. Within 2 hours it went from “don’t try to drive below canal street” to “don’t try to drive below houston street”. on the way back it was “don’t drive below houston, don’t try to drive on broadway, avoid foley square, avoid union square and 14th street”. oh an also, “the police are outnumbered by the protestors”, that was a gem.
the machine ain’t working, and the state only has one arrow in its quivver: violence. And that NEVER works, especially when pictures of 84 year old ladies with a faceful of pepper spray start showing up on the internet.
I know that 84-year-old lady. She’s a force of nature. Pepper spray won’t even slow her down.
Actually, history is full of examples of state (or state-sanctioned) violence crushing popular movements.
That doesn’t mean it will necessarily work this time, just that, in my view, we do ourselves no favors by making assertions such as “violence…NEVER works”. We especially do no favors to young activists, organizers and leaders who are just beginning to learn about public life and politics.
I wish many more people had access to the non-traditional media you refer to.
I would have much greater confidence that the public would understand the bias of the corporate media.
That is, the traditional media, of course.
The phrasing I keep hearing is “The protests were mostly peaceful, but X-number of people were arrested in Some City.”
The opposite of being peaceful is getting arrested, I guess.
Violating the “disrespect of cop” statutes, no doubt.
Yesterday, at least six people stood with protest signs as Provo, Utah. About a dozen met and protested in Huntsville, Alabama. In coordinated efforts with labor unions, Occupy Wall Street local groups shut down or marched on bridges in Great Falls MT, Boston, Miami, Chicago, Seattle, …and, yes even New York City. Occupy Atlanta had an all-day speak out at Georgia State University, occupied an overpass bridge, picketed at Verizon with the CWA and picketed Home Depot.
Bloomberg has no freaking idea how big this movement is.
Whenever spome “centrist” plutocrat front-man starts babbling about Hizzoner running as a third party candidate and that he will draw more votes from the Democratic candidate than from the Republican I become so depressed I can barely stand to pay any attention any more.
Since the day the Berlin Wall came down the triumphant crowing of the plutocrats in this country has been shocking, terrifying, and very, very depressing.