Occupy Jax is coming...

[FayeforCure]

All kidding aside..........

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Occupy Wall Street demonstrators aren't just in New York.

The movement has gone from there to Washington, DC, to Los Angeles and now Jacksonville. 

A website called OccupyJacksonville is calling for people to meet at noon Saturday in Hemming Plaza for a peace and solidarity meeting. 

Geno Burch is a supporter.  "With the people joining together then we can have our voice be heard because the top corporations have ignored us for so long," said Burch.

The leaderless group is spreading its message using social media. 

It has more than a thousand followers on its Facebook page and 300 plus on Twitter. 

The demonstrators say they stand against corporate greed, social inequality and global climate change. 

"Our deficit is at an all-time high, our dollar is at an all-time low, unemployment rates aren't going anywhere...people are mad and they're not going to take it anymore," said Burch.

The Occupy Jacksonville folks say Saturday's meeting in the Hemming Plaza is just to organize what is expected to be an even larger, national movement come October 15th. 

Despite more than 700 demonstrators being arrested on the Brooklyn Bridge this past weekend, Occupy Jax supporters say their meetings will be peaceful showing of solidarity. 

First Coast News

Check out the video at:

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/article/221712/483/Occupy-Jacksonville-Assembly-Set-for-Hemming-Plaza

[simms3]

These people are mostly Mac users.  They all have iPods and many have iPhones.  They have cars and they most likely drive a car most suitable to their personality and their need.  They most likely rent in a property owned by a large real estate company or own a home with a mortgage held by Fannie or Freddie (not to mention the debt on that rental property is probably held by Fannie/Freddie, too).  They use GE appliances.  They have athletic equipment.  They eat food.  Their whole lives are run and guaranteed by corporations, many of which provide a great service or build a great product.  At the helms of all of these corporations are millionaires and billionaires.  And at the helm of the economy is Wall St and banks, whose setup, which was allowed under our great Constitution, has built a system that put our country at the forefront of everything in the world.  Without financial markets, we would literally still be stuck in the industrial revolution or worse.  Now bad government policies are hurting both Wall St and our manufacturers and setting us back.  Regulations are hurting our innovative spirit.

If they TRULY were against capitalism and corporations, they would do what real protesters/anti-capitalists did over a century ago and form a commune whereby they farmed and did everything on their own, all shared.

Instead, these are lazy brats expecting handouts and "changes" for nothing.  These are all people who if offered a $70K job with any of these corporations, would take it in a heartbeat and become that company's biggest fan.  Granted, I wouldn't expect that to happen because I would expect their laziness here to translate to laziness there, but the point remains.

We're getting to a point where it's not just the welfare society who expects stuff for nothing, it's college kids and now people who have been through perhaps the first rough patch in their lives.  As bad as it is now and as poor as we all are now, we still have it better than we did in the 1970s, let alone the 1930s or before.

I'll believe these people when they declare happiness that billionaire CEO Steve Jobs passed away yesterday and they start smashing their Apple products, vowing never to buy Apple products again.

Back to bad policy and regulation: why not protest those?  Democrats and Republicans are all passing bills with regulations meant to gain them political trust (as in with all these useful idiots), but that's all these regulations are good for.  Keeping the same people in office is the goal, not helping our economy.  We need a leader who will tell the American people like it really is, not ask us for favors or tell us who to love and who to hate, and tackle our POLITICAL problem of partisan crap and lies.

[wsansewjs]

I am a salary-paid employee in a small business company who loves to play with Macbook and Android phones. Why you have to jump to the steroetype of some lazy bums?

Come on people, be realistic,  and don't be those bunch of assholes who likes to rip new ones on forums.

I want to be part of the protest.

-Josh

[ronchamblin]

I wish I didn't have to work Saturday because I have some preliminary sketches of a guillotine I'd like to offer to the protesters in the event that future events produce a need.  I don't mean to get head of the game, but I'd hate be without the necessary contraption if things evolve nastily.  Seriously though, I do have some additional general opinions concerning the current flow of things, but I am trapped at work for a spell.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

  They eat food. 

Who?  These people.....



Yep, it's a really strict diet they follow, you know......

[FayeforCure]

Without financial markets, we would literally still be stuck in the industrial revolution or worse.  Now bad government policies are hurting both Wall St and our manufacturers and setting us back.  Regulations are hurting our innovative spirit.

If they TRULY were against capitalism and corporations, they would do what real protesters/anti-capitalists did over a century ago and form a commune whereby they farmed and did everything on their own, all shared.

Instead, these are lazy brats expecting handouts and "changes" for nothing.  These are all people who if offered a $70K job with any of these corporations, would take it in a heartbeat and become that company's biggest fan.  Granted, I wouldn't expect that to happen because I would expect their laziness here to translate to laziness there, but the point remains.

We're getting to a point where it's not just the welfare society who expects stuff for nothing, it's college kids and now people who have been through perhaps the first rough patch in their lives.  As bad as it is now and as poor as we all are now, we still have it better than we did in the 1970s, let alone the 1930s or before.

I'll believe these people when they declare happiness that billionaire CEO Steve Jobs passed away yesterday and they start smashing their Apple products, vowing never to buy Apple products again.

Back to bad policy and regulation: why not protest those?  Democrats and Republicans are all passing bills with regulations meant to gain them political trust (as in with all these useful idiots), but that's all these regulations are good for.  Keeping the same people in office is the goal, not helping our economy.  We need a leader who will tell the American people like it really is, not ask us for favors or tell us who to love and who to hate, and tackle our POLITICAL problem of partisan crap and lies.

We want effective financial markets, NOT destructive ones.

We want effective policy, NOT just protections for the corporatists.

But in typical Republican fashion you want to shoot the messenger by name-calling: Lazy.....granola-eating.

Lets examine your own contradiction in this quote:

These people are mostly Mac users.  They all have iPods and many have iPhones.  They have cars and they most likely drive a car most suitable to their personality and their need.  They most likely rent in a property owned by a large real estate company or own a home with a mortgage held by Fannie or Freddie (not to mention the debt on that rental property is probably held by Fannie/Freddie, too).  They use GE appliances.  They have athletic equipment.  They eat food.  Their whole lives are run and guaranteed by corporations,

And these people were able to purchase thes items by being lazy? Oh sorry, they expected these for free!!

I get it:...............just wish the protesters away with irrational name-calling.

A tad bit immature don't you think?

But go ahead, continue your "laudable" efforts to protect the corporatists who caused our economic crisis, and who do not want to do their share to fix it, because they just LOVE their mega profits while we are the losers..

Who are the only ones asked to sacrifice?

Hmmmmm yeah, I thought so: WE, THE PEOPLE!

I'm sure you'd be happy to hand in your social security in order to help the corporatists restore our economy, right?

Or maybe we should just move our retirement ages up, so we are sure nobody is alive anymore to collect social security!

Those are perfect solutions for the corporatists, while they laugh all the way to the bank as we fight amongst ourselves.

[monicabrbr]

I would never be considered a liberal but even I am taken aback by those who state "just don't do business with them" as that will solve the financialization and graft (not greed boys & girls) of our society.  Okay, so 90% of us do not do business with Goldman Sachs.  How does that change anything?  The corporations do wield too much power over government; a compliant government by the way.

No, protesting or such is not the only solution either but it could be part of it.  If consumer sentiment is not relevant why does the FED give any credence to it?  Well, let's not get started on the FED as they are the third wheel of our problems.

Hell, I'm from Texas and even I don't drink the Kool-Aid!  Look at what has happened . . . this is not a liberal/conservative specific issue.  All parties in Congress are culpable.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

Been giving a little thought to this, and I know this comment is going to come out wrong, but we are using 10s of thousands of man hours to stage these - Occupy this and that - to try and force the hand of big business, and probably to no avail. 

There's a guy laughing in his grave to see how CIVILIZED we actually are.  He was able to shut us down financially, and you could say that we still haven't fully recovered, with 19 people and 3 aircraft.  Simple.  Effective.  To the point.

All these protesters can keep pushing the boulder up the hill, but what they don't seem to realize is the hill is being built faster than they can push the boulder.  Sometimes, you just need to blow up the hill (figuratively, not literally), and you can't do that while you're pushing a fucking boulder.

[Dog Walker]

But at least they have got all of us talking about it, haven't they.  That's one of the things that demonstrations do.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

Sure.  Talking. 

Has anyone done anything?

[FayeforCure]

Been giving a little thought to this, and I know this comment is going to come out wrong, but we are using 10s of thousands of man hours to stage these - Occupy this and that - to try and force the hand of big business, and probably to no avail. 

There's a guy laughing in his grave to see how CIVILIZED we actually are.  He was able to shut us down financially, and you could say that we still haven't fully recovered, with 19 people and 3 aircraft.  Simple.  Effective.  To the point.

All these protesters can keep pushing the boulder up the hill, but what they don't seem to realize is the hill is being built faster than they can push the boulder.  Sometimes, you just need to blow up the hill (figuratively, not literally), and you can't do that while you're pushing a fucking boulder.

Yeah, interesting point of view.

Anonymous has been waging a somewhat effective "peaceful" effort, and the Arab Spring (which though wasn't non-violent) waged their effective protest through social media.

In Tunesia, a market merchant started the revolution when he committed suicide.

A woman in Libya who was raped, got a lot of media attention when she stood up against her government.

We will see if this diffuse effort of mass protest across the US will gain even more traction by Oct 15th.

What makes it so effective is that it is "local" everywhere, and right AND left can see themselves being screwed by the corporatists who demand ever more sacrifices from us while they continue to increase their mega-profits at our personal expense, the expense of our environment, and the expense of our future as a nation.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

Hundreds hold Hands Across the Sand along First Coast beaches to protest offshore oil drilling
Protesters' goal in Beaches and beyond: 'No drill, no spill!'
Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/community/shorelines/2010-06-28/story/hundreds-hold-hands-across-sand-along-beaches-protest-offshore#ixzz1a0tmzcvN

Does anyone remeber this?  I do.  I had 10 personal friends DRIVE THEIR INDIVIDUAL CARS to this event.  Sort of ironic, huh?  They were all for the cause, but had things to do later in the afternoon, so carpooling or biking was out of the question.  I'm all for it, just don't let it get in the way of my life.

So sure, I have kind of a slanted view towards 'protesting' because of this and other things. 

Not to sterotype too much, but I have to agree with Simms on a good deal of this.  If you can afford to protest, then obviously you don't need to work, which puts you a little closer to the 1% than it does the other 99%, IMO.  And yes, I'm willing to guess that the majority of the 'protesters' are willing to stand up to the big, bad corps - until it actually affects their way of life, and then they'll back down and be worse off then when they started.

It takes actual action, not standing around chanting.  Feel free to list off the causes that 'won their fight' without resorting to action.....

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

In Tunesia, a market merchant started the revolution when he committed suicide.

so his suicide effectively changed the regime?  Hardly....

The public's anger and violence intensified following Bouazizi's death, leading then-President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to step down on 14 January 2011, after 23 years in power.

So much for peaceful, huh?

[Sigma]

But at least they have got all of us talking about it, haven't they.  That's one of the things that demonstrations do.

Interesting. So what is your overall take on the effectiveness of the Tea Party?  just curious.  I realize that an 80-year old lady from Muncie, Indiana is a dangerous terrorist and racist and causes far more trouble than these fine citizens, but just wanting to get your take.

[second_pancake]

I agree with Simms.  If the protestors truly want to change the status-quo, they are protesting at the wrong venue.  Try going to Washington and protesting at the WhiteHouse and the Capitol.  That's where all these wonderful policies are decided, not within the doors of Wall Street.  The actions taken by the major corporations in our country are reactive, not proactive.  The react to a regulation or policy or law that is put in place.  They either try to find loopholes around it so they can stay in business (I know, God forbid a company makes money, right? lol), or in the case of many mortgage companies they abide by it and then take the government's bribe:  We'll pay you 'x' if you fall on the knife for us.

I agree that things are really effed up too.  But I also know there's a way to change that besides protesting to the point that you prevent hard-working Americans from being able to do their jobs and bring food home to their families:  You VOTE!!!