Occupy America should challenge the Tea Party Patriots (sic) to some kind of contest that would be as friendly as those assholes are willing to make it. We’re all Americans.
There’s actually a proud history of bitter factionalism in America that goes all the way back to the George Washington administration. The Constitution provides a framework in which we’re entirely free to loathe our fellow citizens and denounce them in the most vile, slanderous terms as long as we don’t kill them.
Examples:
A trivia competition. Subject American history.
A robot brawl.
Battle of the bands.
You get the idea.
A couple things. I’m not sure dialogue with the Tea Party is got any hope of being productive. The TP struck me as more interested in shutting down conversation than engaging. Hence the displays of firearms and such at TP events.
That aside, I’ve noticed now in a couple diaries that you’ve mentioned various forms of competition either among those who make up the Occupy movement or competition between Occupiers and others. If I am understanding the basic vibe of the Occupiers, they’ve struck me as operating from a paradigm that emphasizes cooperation and collaboration rather than competition. I just don’t see them going for what you’re proposing. If it were an earlier era and a different generation operating off of different assumptions (up to and including us now-aging Gen-X-ers), maybe. We’re in different times, and we’ve seen the fruits of paradigms that promote competition. Just my two cents.
How does the 99% not include the now-aging Gen-X-ers? (Of which I confess myself one–born 1969.)
But, you know it’s just an invitation. I have no interest in trying to pressure anybody.
Like it or not, though, we are in a fight. I will never resort to violence, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to let a bunch of crypto-fascist assholes take my country from me.
And I certainly have no delusions about the potential for any kind of dialogue with Tea Party. That’s why thist post is titled “Propaganda” and not “Wasting Your Time Trying to Reason with People Whose Whole Identity is Based on Hating You.”
I’m not arguing that there are no relatively old-timers among Occupy. To do so would be foolish at best, given the available evidence. What I was suggesting is to look at where the energy is – who’s spearheading the movement. I’m not sure those who are supplying much of the energy for Occupy are operating from a worldview that would be conducive to competition – rather one that is conducive to cooperation. It’s possible I’m the one missing something here. I’m guessing that suggestions for various forms of competitions (whatever those might be) while well-intentioned are more likely than not to fall on deaf ears. Again, it’s possible that I’m the one who does not grok what Occupy is about, and that I’ve misunderstood the general worldview of a large proportion of the Occupiers.
Competition is just for entertainment, that’s what the TV people want. I really don’t think that’s what OWS is about. Like Vonnegut said, it’s about us helping each other through this experience that we all share.
Chris Floyd has written the best commentary on the movement that I’ve seen. Well worth visiting the link.
We all want honesty, generosity and fairness – not competition for resources.
Chris Floyd is definitely one of those bloggers who is a must-read.