occupy vancouver

[joel]

i am curious about why people feel negatively about the occupy movement?

if you don't like it, why?

[geForce]

I don't feel negatively about the purpose of the movement... I just feel negatively about the protesting part of it.

[se7entse7en]

For me, it isn't specifically the occupy movement, but rather 'peaceful' protests in general.
You know the sort. The kind where 'innocent victims' get beaten to the ground by the big bad law, when all they did was break the law and RESIST ARREST.

Tired of everybody trying to play the victim.

Maybe I'm just old and bitter... I dunno.

[nature boy]

i feel negatively towards people who waste other people's time and resources for a cause that cannot be accomplished. what does sleeping in tents on civic property do? annoy people. that is all. what's the point?

i don't care if you waste your own time, but our tax dollars go to pay cops to protect people, not make sure people who put themselves in harm's way get out of harm's way (i.e wasting the cop's time).

to me, it seems like protesting for the sake of protesting.

[joel]

well some causes are worth breaking the law, especially when the problem is the law.

not saying occupy falls under this category, tho'

[nature boy]

many times i find that those that actually break the law are doing it for the sake of doing it.

it's not well thought out. well, except for the case of ed harris' plan in the rock, in which case he just didn't account for an awesome sas agent. but again, awarding a million dollars to the families of fallen soldiers doesn't really solve anything.

protesting in general is stupid, imho. it doesn't mean we have to fall into the status quo all the time, but seriously, who ever listens to protesters besides those who are protesting?

[Duncan]

i feel negatively about it because the mess they're causing is only increasing the amount of wasted tax dollars they're trying to save for better use...

"we're pissed off that our tax dollars are being used to bail out big corps..."
"so lets waste more tax dollars by increasing policing in our protest, making a huge mess of downtown so more tax dollars can be spent on cleanup, and spend more tax dollars on supporting their asses because they've quit their jobs so they're on EI now"

(not sure if that EI part it true, but if it were, lame...)

[geForce]

I thought you can't claim EI if you quit.

[joel]

black rights in America were established largely in part by mass protesting.

[nature boy]

yeah, i don't think you can.

still i think protests are lame. the same goes for going on strike. i don't think we need to take such forceful action. people may respond under force, but they certainly don't change their minds under force (at least very rarely do they ever).

[Duncan]

[nature boy]

[nature boy]

[Duncan]

[nature boy]

then maybe "force" wasn't the right word here. every time there is a protest, i consider that force. it's doing something drastic to be heard. it's going through different channels in hopes of communication, when imho it's only evoking negative emotions and sentiment.

the change that they (in general) want to bring about cannot be solved by a simple change in action, but it has to be a change in policy, mentality and when it comes down to it, heart. and i haven't heard of that kind of change ever brought out by any kind of protest.