I didn’t particularly like marching under that banner. I believe in capitalism as a practical science, not as a system of morals. Just because we have lived our entire lives under corrupt capitalism, doesn’t mean we should automatically reject it in principle. I just want to register my voice, outside the GA and here in this forum, because some have told me this is an inherently anti-capitalist movement. I believe in radical reform, not in trashing the whole concept of working for what you enjoy. We definitely have placed too much emphasis in this culture on the individual and on the satisfaction of the individual, but we also need to cherish individual rights and question goons from the Democratic Party and elsewhere who invoke ideas of “collective responsibility” to justify theft of rights and property. What we should seek is a new balance, but what I see too much from Occupy Oakland — and I am out there with the streets as well as on the net — is way too much idealism and extremism. What we are doing is democracy in action. Slogans like “DEATH TO CAPITALISM” are actually divisive, whether the people putting them up know it or not. It puts Occupy Oakland into a box. It makes us look like we are playing out of our league. I’m down with the presence of Marxists and Communists in our movement, but they never did anything constructive in the last century and won’t in the next either. We need to escape their paradigms just as we need to escape the corporate models of reality.
“Death to Capitalism”
Categories: Open Mic
4020
We’re facing capitalist crises. What do you expect? What makes this movement so powerful is that is seems to understand this.
I was really irritated by the “Death to Capitalism” banner at 14th +Bway. I can understand groups marching with the banner but for it to be hung centrally as if it represents the message OO wants to convey deeply divides the core constituency. Majority of this country are not anti-Capitalists + want to see justice instead of a burn it all down to ashes approach. I highly encourage people to hang broader democratic messages in representing this movement because the 99% are not anti-capitalists.
Support July4Patriot!, noticed those Prison Planet youtubes are you a Libertarian/John Bircher into conspiracies?
I’m glad to have Marxist and Communist voices in the movement, but a huge sign that says “DEATH TO CAPITALISM” is something that the vast majority of my fellow Americans will not gather around. Nor should we — Marxist revolutions have inevitably led to oppressive governments where the people have no freedom of speech. Marxists say that they did it wrong in Russia and China — to me, it is rank arrogance to assume that we would do it any better in the USA. We don’t need it, we don’t want it, and it will always fail. Marxists among us should just be glad for the opportunity to voice their beliefs in a free and open forum, and if we succeed in our goals of radical reform they will be much closer to achieving their goals as well. The people in Occupy Oakland who imagine that this is going to become some kind of Marxist revolution are deluded, they’re putting the movement into a tiny box.
I, for one, value our Marxist and Communist voices. Maybe because I lean their direction. They have been marginalized, manhandled and misrepresented in this country and I’m not about to let that happen in this movement..
You may not agree with Marx (probably because you’ve never read him), but, lo and behold, he was right.
Maybe you should walk around the banner instead of under it.
With the mere presence of Communists and Marxist in the ranks, you are already being labeled just that. MARXISTS! Most Americans are buying into this and are dropping support real fast. Militias are greatly split on wether to support or trash you all. Many are just buying into the biased media campaign to slander you all. I am one that is trying to help, but Americans at large will never help Communists and Marxists. This Black Block tactic also has to go. If that keeps up, then you will loose what little help you once had.
Signs calling for the end of capitolism, will make you hardened enemies, to say the least. I beg you all not to go that route. There is another way and that is to restore our Constitution. We are not a democracy either. We are a “Constitutional Republic”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgdTkfvQ4ao&feature=channel_video_title
It is imperative that we Americans return to our roots! Return to the essence of our Founding Fathers.
Because our leaders have forgoten those principles over that last several decades, if not an entire century, we are in the shape we are in today. Our Founders knew this would happen at some point and do have a blue print for getting back on track. This blueprint has been hidden by the Global elitists, from our youth, taken out of our schools, so their own Global agenda could be achieved.
One modern patriot that is alive today is Edward Griffin, that can help you understand what our Founding Fathers invisioned.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAdu0N1-tvU
http://www.freedomforceinternational.org/
I pray that this enlightens you atleast a bit. The more you research our original Constitution, the more its genius becomes apparent.
If you wish more direction from my perspective, I have just created a You Tube Channel to store such educational videos.
http://www.youtube.com/user/GhostHawk1776?feature=mhee#p/a/f/2/J_1HAvaWnqg