Ok, granted, I've not been following this super closely.

I know the basics. Some of which I agree with, some of which I don't.
I know that there is an Occupy movement right here in Rochester as well.

Again, I know the basics.

And I know how quickly this conversation can denegrade and get locked, but I'd like to at least sound off and see what everyone else has to say before we fall apart.

Now, based on some of the new developments of last night and today, I'm being forced to re-examine this a little more closely.

Reports are that the Police in NYC have made the airspace above the park a "no fly zone". Reports/Speculation/Rumor has it this is to block newsmedia from gaining air access and broadcasting footage of what is happening at ground level.

There are also reports that the Police are putting buildings with doors that face and let out onto the park into "lockdown" to prohibit traffic within the park area.

It is being reported as if this area of NY is now a "police state" and it is garnering all the venom and rhetoric that would logically go with such a manuever.

Clearly, something is happening here that someone doesn't want to spread (whether or not that someone is part of the 1% that the Occupy movement is demonstrating against or some other party using this to further their own agenda I don't care). People are getting nervous and things are going to be seen as escalating.

So, where does this leave me and my own meandering mind?

I see a new class war brewing. And I'm willing to be we start to see a very severe breakdown between the classes in the next 20 years. I see a breakdown of government (whether due to its not being able to maintain control or the emergence of a dissident power source that is strong enough to self sustain isn't my place to say).

I see us recovering from the "wars" (I'll leave it up to you how you define the hows and whys of whats been happening there) in the Middle East to enter into a new one at home.

This has all the earmarks of a historic catalyst. Question is, what do we learn from it? And will we learn it before its too late?

Again, maybe I'm way off base because I, self admittedly, don't have all the facts. But what I have seen isn't looking too pretty from here.

IMO, they should have evicted those parasites on day two.

Some cities have taken way too long to take back those parks. Sanitation broke down, crime spread (including snoog and murder), local businesses were deluged with panhandlers and scumbags while paying customers were driven away, and the police just sat there because the mayors' didn't have the intestinal fortitude to do what needed to be done.

You wanna protest? Get a permit. But you don't have the right to occupy public parks for weeks just because you're having a hissy fit over how "unfair" life is. They tried that crap in Phoenix and it only lasted a day, because they knew Sheriff Joe wasn't going to put up with that garbage.

So glad I'm no longer a New Yorker. That state is lost.

Regarding your bigger issue, I hope you're wrong, but I'm prepared to defend what's mine if the time comes.

But tensions are high, that's for sure. I wonder if this was kinda what the 60's were like?

I am so ready
To pick up my machete
And fight the future.

I honestly don't know a thing about it and I do my best not to follow the news because really I don't care but it sounds like these nuts should have been taken care of but no one had any backbone to do it.

Granted I don't know what went down yesterday other than the police carried out the job of clearing the park but, honestly, I see all of these "actions" you've listed as normal and necessary for the safety of both the police and the occupiers as the police do what they've been tasked to do by the mayor's office. No sinister motive, just the safety of the police and the public.

The reason why I dont see that is personally I think this is just a stupid position that like lemmings every moronic person flocks to, and will go away the minute something else pops up that would be trendy to join.

Look how many idiotic kids had a rally for Joe Paterno-- (which that whole situation I believe will escalate into a child molestation ring that circles throughout all the levels of the administration)- there is nothing that anyone in their right mind should support-- yet there they were- overturning cars and destroying property...

As we have stated on many threads in here-- the youth of today and the general populace is just stupid, and will believe whatever they are told. They feel that they have a right to everything and it should be handed to them-- although honestly not everyone had to work for their wealth-- but guess what- some us have busted our ass-- and how do you expect to be rewarded by spending three weeks in a commune explaining that-- that a big hole on your resume.
I havent watched the news in months-- so I am also going about this blind-- but whenever I read something about it, it just makes me disgusted and furious-- and that is at the people involved and not the reason behind their "cause"-- There are many reasons for change-- I hope this is not the reason for it...

I wonder what Frank Miller thinks of all this?

If only there was a way we could find out...

Neil Gaiman has been fairly vocal about it on his Twitter feed as well.

His take is a bit more to the other end of the spectrum than Frank's is, although the parts he has issue with seem to be more collatorally connected than actually part of the "movement" itself.

Be 100% honest if it where the Tea Party claiming their right to take over public parks,leech electricity and make smelly compost would people still be all about it ?

Tea Party people don't have the time for this nonsense.

We have jobs and families to take care of.

Well, don't for a second pretend like "tea partiers" don't have time for frivilous, time-wasting pursuits that support extreme wastefulness and backing up something gross (sarah palin comes to mind IMMEDIATELY). I mean, they're called Tea Partiers. That's a flooving waste of time if ever I've heard of one. Would you do something like this, shell? No, I assume you have more sense than that. Would even the extremier ones do it this way? No, probably not. This is the kind of thing they love to complain about. But if the government tried to shut down the NRA or institute a policy of fedral funds going to safe abortion procedures, and glen beck gave everyone the impression that if they just sat and stewed in their own juices in the middle of the town square that it would do some good to change things, you can bet times square or central park or wherever would have more red asses in it than a babboon orgy.

What this really serves to do is drive a bigger wedge between the party system, divide americans further apart, cause more internal conflict and blah blah blah. Let me tell you a secret: Barack Obama doesn't give a shingbling about YOU. Newt Gingrich doesn't give a shingbling about YOU. Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh, Hillary Clinton, Bill Maher, Mitt Romney; none of them give a shingbling ABOUT YOU. They are politicians and their job is to make the people who support them feel like they made the right decision to do that and make the other guys look like idiots for following the other candidate/pundit/party/whatever so that they can maintain their position of power and not having to actually go to work. It's like saying "WE WON!" when your favorite sports team wins a game. Nope, THEY won. You didn't do shingbling. You may pad their pockets with money from all the shirts and static car clings and baby onesies you buy with thier mascot on it, and as individual players that probably makes them feel good (and over-entitled to GIGANTIC sums of money for throwing a ball around like the greed that just shut down the NBA), but they do not give a shingbling about you and you did not win that game. I'm not suggesting you shouldn't support your pursuits/interest/hobbies, but don't make this into something it isnt. When the shingbling goes down, all these little humans with their self-righteous beleifs and holier-than-thou agendas will scatter like the cockroaches they are and you will have no one to help you but yourself. flimmerflog republicans, flimmerflog democrats and flimmerflog a bickering two party system that expects me to tell my kids that democracy works and communism doesnt when we just sold our flooving country to china. Buy a machete and build yourself a bomb shelter in the mountains and leave this convoluted stupid world behind.

Shis, I think you should quit pussyfooting around the topic and tell us what you really think

Honestly, I don't know much about the specifics of this. I'm kinda just barking in the dark, but I know how I feel about america and americans in general. I mean, the occupiers enjoy all the things that come along with the ability to live in this country, so they should also respect the rules about not making a sh*t stew in the middle of public property. at the same time, this government was founded on our ability to just go in and take whatever land we want and use it as we see fit, so maybe it's MORE american to do what they're doing. also, all the homeless people that sh*t all over parks never get in trouble for it. why? cause they don't have an opposing political agenda to yours? i say we stick to our guns about the seperation of church and state, federally commandeer all of the churches in america, and turn them over to homeless people. then we take the opportunity to commune with god out in public parks and turn our tithings over to the parks and recreation dept and spread good will toward everyone out in the open and create a sense of togetherness while providiing shelter and sanitary pooping conditions for our less fortunate fellow americans. but man, think of all the agendas that would get crushed if something like that were to happen. so let's be good little american monkeys and do what our zookeepers tell us to and continue flinging sh*t at each other all day, both metaphorically and literally.

Sorry, but that makes it clear you are not listening to the story cause everything I have read has said they want jobs but no one will hire right now.

I have to say I understand that position haveing just gone back to school and aquired my bacholor's at last. Since graduating I have applied for every job coming and going (I honestly couldn't count how many) and still nothing. I haven't followed the story very closely since, yeah, I'm looking for work all the time. But I admit my frustration is building.

Not asking for a million dollars or anything, I've been told I am overqualified to flip hamburgers even. I would seriously take that job just to get me through right now, but nope because they figure I'll only be there a week I guess (which is beside the point since NOTHING is coming back).

Not saying I agree or disagree but this is getting stupid. A job, not the worst thing in the world to want and yet nothing, emplyment office is a joke (Lady actually told me to go back to school, to which I pointed out I had a degree, it was very clear she didn't even look at my my qualifications, yet kept telling me how unqualified I was for each job I inquired about). There have been a couple of independant employment agencys that have at least gotten me to ithe interview stage, butagain that is the farthest it reaches.

So all this "They don't wanna work" and "If you don't have a job it's your fault" crap is just that, crap. Right now you can nail everything but there are five other people who nail it too and you gotta hope your name is drawn out of a hat (OK I know that isn't a real thing but I was attempting to vent in a humorous way).

I mean this whole deal is just stupid.

Sorry you are having such a hard time right now.

But you just proved my point. You're out there busting your butt trying to get a job, while these idiotic occupy morons are camping out in their own feces whining about how they can't find a job. Guess what? You're not gonna find a job chanting slogans in a park. These people need a reality check.

Hope your luck on the employment front changes soon.