Thursday, November 10, 2011

20111116 The Occupy Brisbane Movement.



The Occupy Brisbane Movement.

A few months ago a small band of insignificant protestors gathered in Wall Street New York to make their voices heard regarding their perceptions of the 'greed of the corporate world' in America.

Like so many ideas that come from the United States of America it had at least two attributes: it was appealing and it was stupid.

Instantly and all around the world, at least two more people behaved in such a manner as to suggest that this was regarded as a fairly good way to take advantage of the rebellious idea that it was now ok to camp in a public place. And so, the daring few carried their tents into Post Office Square and made a stand for what they truly believed to be true. They were determined, they were resourceful, they had no idea what they wanted nor how to get it but that was not the purpose. Their purpose was to get some attention and pretend to be just like their American idols.

The basic idea of a protest is fairly simple: the protestors make everybody else feel uncomfortable until everybody else makes the protestors feel comfortable. This tactic has been astonishingly successful, and has proven to be necessary for the survival of the species, among those younger members of our society who have yet to develop their ability to speak, walk, or use civilised and customary systems of personal hygiene.

From the outset, the Occupy Movement has either deliberately or ignorantly refused to be part of the very system of change that is needed to meet their demands. If they only knew their demands.

The false hope that the Occupy Brisbane movement has created is sad to the point of being criminal. During the Occupation of Post Office Square, the news reported the industrial action at Qantas. One person actually asked the Occupy Brisbane movement to take action. This plea for help was a turning point in my perception because it occurred to me that some people in the fair city of Brisbane actually believed that a bunch of people sitting in a park had real power.

From these events, it is evident that there are people who believe that a public protest is the first order of action for change in a civilized society. The Queensland education system could not be so incompetent that it has utterly failed to tell students how the political system works. That is not the case. The Queensland Curriculum includes lessons at the year 9 level:

• Contact between cultures has produced movements to improve democratic participation and citizenship rights for specific groups
e.g. government policy and legislation to increase opportunities for participation in electoral and government
processes for women, Indigenous people and young people.

So, the question remains on why these people continue to follow a leaderless and illegitimate political movement. Possibly, they either missed class that day or they do not have the equivalent of a year 9 education.

In an effort to guide some of the wayward followers, I asked them if they had writen to their local member about their concerns. Not one of them had done so. They had a feeling of helplessness and isolation and that their concern would be disregarded. I asked others if they had looked at any of the policies of the existing parties to see if their concerns were already being addressed. Again, nobody had taken the time, about 3 minutes of research on the Queensland Government website, to find out.  While chatting with the supporters on facebook, I came to a realisation that there really are people who need to be protected from themselves. These people are truly a danger to society. As a political movement, it is a sad dismal failure. As a joke, the Occupy Brisbane Movement is an elaborate social success that went severely bung.


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