General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Do you understand why Occupy was infiltrated and broken up? [View all]Marr
(20,317 posts)Occupy was huge revelation for me, personally. Not for their message-- with which I already agreed-- but for the way it blindsided the establishment, seemingly rising out of nowhere in a matter of days.
The fact is that it didn't come out of nowhere, of course. It came out of a very broad sentiment that was (and is) prevalent throughout the population. It was like a spark falling on dry grass. It only surprised the powers that be because they so deeply disregard the general public-- especially the left leaning parts of it.
I used to think that pushing the government to the left was next to impossible in the States, just because of the way the system was rigged, and how wealth was divided. But Occupy's rapid rise to prominence, and the business/government establishment's frantic and fumbling attempts to put a lid on it, was a demonstration of what real change looks like. It's very fast, and all the police and military in the world just looks like silly, three-steps-behind window dressing next to it.
There were lots of particulars in the case of Occupy that allowed the powers that be to undermine it and deflate it, yes, but that's what real change is going to look like in the US, when it eventually happens. And it won't matter one bit which corporate hack is sitting in the White House.