OccupyPhoenix/Wallstreet/Arkansas/Los Angeles/etc. …really, you think this is a worthwhile use of your time?

So, yeah, this happened. #OccupyPhoenix on Facebook and Occupy Together on Facebook as well.

The stupidity, it’s spreading…

The worse part about stupidity? There is no cure for it. You can cure ignorance, but you can’t cure stupid.

This “Occupy Everywhere” thing is apparently a movement. I have one quote for you on that.

“And most of them would be to young to know what a movement was…”

-Arlo Guthrie, Alice’s Restaurant (live)

What is a movement really?

A political movement is a social movement in the area of politics. A political movement may be organized around a single issue or set of issues, or around a set of shared concerns of a social group. In contrast with a political party, a political movement is not organized to elect members of the movement to government office; instead, a political movement aims to convince citizens and/or government officers to take action on the issues and concerns which are the focus of the movement.

-Wikipedia (yes, yes, I know…)

Okay, so let’s break this down.

This movement does not have a clear issue it is organized around, in fact it doesn’t even have a set of issues. The Occupy Phoenix page says, at the end of its little rant about how evil our state has become (if you hate it so much, move to California),

“WHAT WILL BE OUR DEMANDS?”

Huh-wha? You have a protest organized, and you don’t even know what you are protesting?

You’re doing it wrong…

Red Eye did a piece on this a few days ago. Check it out, as usually the hosts are hilarious. Andy Levy describes the Wall Street protestors as “half-naked trustfunders”. Which, considering they have the time to camp out for weeks protesting the fact that other people make money by doing jobs, seems pretty likely. Either that or their just homeless, jobless, gormless, idiots…which trustfunders could fit into that category too I guess…at least the last three.

Next part of a movement. “Shared concerns of a social group”. Which social group would that be? Those that feel the “rich” (though that is only those making over $250,000 by IRS standards) are making too much money and not sharing with them enough. How much of society is that?

They claim to support the “99%” instead of the 1% of rich folk. I fall in that 99% and am frankly offended that they think they support my ideas. I’m working hard to better myself, I don’t have time to sit out on a street for 2 weeks on a corner and wave a sign about how capitalism is destroying the country.

If you do have that sort of time, you might want to consider going out and accomplishing something and making some money of your own. Instead of demanding that other people hand their money over to you.

Finally.

to take action on the issues and concerns which are the focus of the movement.

But they don’t have any real issues or concerns, nothing concrete, and they certainly have no goals that, for my part, can be found anywhere.

What they do have is a lot of loosely connected protests, listed on a website, on different dates, all over the country. Where people wave signs and, whether they admit it or not, push for socialist ideals in this country.

However, even worse than the fact that there are still people who, regardless of a preponderance of historical proof to the contrary, still believe socialism will work, even worse…they are just a bunch of idealists with no idea how to accomplish their goals.

I’ll borrow a quote from Nixon, also used in Republicans and Reincarnation.

“Idealism without realism is impotent. Realism without idealism is immoral.”

They have no realistic view of how to accomplish there goals. They don’t even have a realistic view of the things they are protesting. One of the things I saw as being protested was the fact that “our tax dollars were sent to banks” and so they gather outside of the main offices of Wells Fargo in my city to protest the banks.

First of all, “their taxes”. All of them pay sales tax, I’ll give them that, but that’s a state tax. I highly doubt many of these people are paying much, if any, federal income tax. So that money that was sent to banks was likely not “theirs”, at least not a high percentage of it.

Secondly, if you have a problem with the bailouts…then protest at the White House and protest Barack Obama who insists that spending more will fix our economy.

Try that, see how long it takes for Attack Watch to knock on your door then…or, well…on your tent flap or cardboard box in this case.

Be realistic at least. I support your right to protest and be a dumb-ass, but at least do the rest of us the favor of at least knowing what you are protesting for.

You’re making it too easy to mock you. This is like shooting fish in a barrel.