Former USSR citizen confronts the Occupy Wall Street protesters
Matt over at Conservative Hideout has been doing a fabulous job at keeping us informed on the Occupy Wall Street protesters and quite frankly I am not sure how he does it. It seems as if every time I visit there are several more updates and it is hard to keep up with him. But what follows is a video I saw on Conservative Hideout this morning and I feel is the best video on the OWS protesters to date. It features a man who lived in the former USSR for 29 years confronting a woman who is holding a poster with leftist icon Che Guevara. He asks her the difference between North and South Korea and her answer will amaze you.
But the best, and most telling, part of the video is when the man tells the Che fan and another younger protester that he is speaking from experience; the young man states that the Russian man must be an exile who was thrown out of Russia for robbing the people. Someone might want to explain to this young man how they really dealt with political enemies in the USSR because he is in obvious need of a history lesson or two.
America's Watchtower 
Well. after watching that video, I am of the opinion that you can’t change some peoples minds even with solid facts. You had 2 different generations there and they were equally not willing to listen to someone that lived the life they are wanting here. Also, they could not really answer the questions he asked, their answer was to attack him. Amazing that it has come to this. If you can’t answer something, you start calling names, we have that here on your blog, Steve. We don’t need to go to the OWS protesters to hear the same thing. Apparently they all got the same memo with the same talking points.
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Yeah, when he points out that he lived in the USSR they attacked him instead of listening to what he had to say. They were not interested in his experience and you are right, there is nothing he could have said that would make them change their minds.
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It’s inaccurate to say that the fellow “lived the life they are wanting here.” He lived under communism, not socialism.
And honestly speaking, when someone’s demonizing communism, what we invariably hear are references to the excesses of an authoritarian government – the one-party rule, the secret police, the imprisonment of dissidents. These excesses aren’t unique to communism.
Don’t misunderstand – there are plenty of drawbacks to communism and its reliance on a command economy. If communism really worked, it wouldn’t need the repressive machinery of authoritarian governments; I do not know of a single case where communism survived in a free society.
Another point that ought to be considered when ruminating on the apparently comprehensive stupidity of these two protesters – their displayed ignorance about the situation in North Korea. Sounds an awful lot like how lefties described Stalin’s Russia back in the early 50s. Ask them about all the documentation in the media about what life is really like there, and they’ll look at you pityingly and condescendingly tell you that the mainstream media is controlled by elements that have an interest in distorting the reality of life in workers’ paradises like North Korea and Cuba. Sound familiar? I’ll bet today’s lefties are still kicking themselves for not having been the first to think up the term “lamestream media.”
Take good care and may God bless us all!
TGY
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The only thing we learn from history is that people forget it.
Three Bronx cheers for our educational system.
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So true, the people forget the history because we do not teach it anymore. Lessons can be learned from history, and I think important lessons at that, yet it falls by the wayside.
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I was going to say that just because someone grew up in the old USSR doesn’t make him an expert on either system, just a close-up eyewitness. He sure found himself a couple of idiots to make his case for him, though, didn’t he?
This sort of thinking would have appalled the old cold-war democrats.
Note, though, that these people didn’t call for communism, but socialism, which is de facto practiced in much of Europe, in the solvent countries as well as the less than stable ones.
A friend recently pointed out the incredible disparity between American executive pay and that of other countries. In the US, top executives are paid something like 400 times the average worker’s pay, far more than the ratio found in other countires.
I am uncomfortable when people, including President Obama, suggest that someone has made too much, but at the same time, I look at that ratio and wonder what it is about our system – in this self-proclaimed Christian nation of ours – that compels executives to value themselves so much more highly than those who work for them. If our system involves no measure of self-control or self-discipline, which clearly it does not, do not be surprised at movements like OWS which are simply reactive. Not only are our executives paid obscene amounts of money while making decisions that plunged this country to the brink of bankruptcy, when we bailed them out from having to face the consequences of their mismanagement, they used the bailout money not to prime the pump and restore the American economy, but to reward themselves with bonuses.
I hope nobody is surprised at phenomena like OWS. The surprise is that while so many of those protesting have been so deeply harmed by the vanality of those against whom they protest, their actions were limited to blocking traffic and other acts of civil disobedience. I’m sorry some of them appear terminally stupid, but don’t think that their anger isn’t genuine, or justified.
Take good care and may God bless us all!
TGY
PS – I just know someone’s going to see my mention of Christianity and want to whimper something about not being allowed to pray in school or post the 10 Commandments. Do us all a favor and don’t expose your ignorance and hypocrisy by suggesting that a nation’s faith is measured by its tolerance of permitting a majority to impose its religious beliefs on the minority.
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TGY, but it would be perfectly fine to bring Sharia Law here, wouldn’t it? I am tired of muslim/islam beliefs being forced down our throats. Christianity is taking a big hit with this administration.
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I never thought that in America we would have to tiptoe around a religion so as not to offend them. This has gotten way out of hand.
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What are you talking about? What Muslim/Islamic beliefs are being forced down out throats?
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In our area we have their religious holidays that have to be recognized, but can’t celebrate Thanksgiving or Christmas, because that might offend them. We have the mosques here, but can’t have christian churches in a muslim country, they can not be built. We have the mosque close to the twin towers area, which should not be happening, we have time set aside at the schools for prayers, but kids of christian faith can not do the same. Even our airports have areas set aside for foot washing. I am not sure why this is happening, maybe it is not in your area, but it is here.
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Well, if you’re being forbidden from celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas, you’ve got a real beef, no doubt about it. I cannot believe that you actually live in the US if that’s the case.
Exactly what do they do – knock on your door on December 25 and come into your house looking for shrubbery with artificial lighting and wrapped gifts? As you arrested for having celebratory decorations outside your home?
I don’t understand why you would want to condition our permitting Muslims to build mosques here on the practices of some Islamist governments far from us. Our particular system of government generally permits people the free exercise of religion (within reason – that free exercise may not infringe on the rights of others, for instance). As an American – and as, I think, a self-professed Christian – are you suggesting that immigrants here should be subjected to religiously-oriented discrimination if we disagree with the policies of the governments they fled?
As to the foot-washing thing, that’s a ridiculous complaint. I read about the situation at one airport, where the airport set aside a single area so that the mostly Muslim cab drivers could wash their feet, which is apparently an important artifact of their religion. I do not understand why Christians would be upset over the airport’s action in accommodating these people.
Let me put it another way – .I am positive that the airport included, as a matter of design, a chapel where Christians can pray, which is one of the most important artifacts of our religion. I’m also fairly certain that most of the self-professed Christians who are up in arms over this footwashing thing have no idea that the chapel even exists, let alone where it is. Where in the teachings of Jesus does He instruct us to resent the blessings given to others while ignoring those we ourselves are granted?
Take good care and may God bless us all!
TGY
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Of course they don’t come into our houses. I am speaking about the schools and what they are allowed to do. We also have issues in alot of the stores. It is creeping in a bit at a time. You are assuming I am a Christian.
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I am neither impressed nor intimidated with underlying sarcasm. I find it a very negative trait. People are entitled to their own opinions and as Dalton said in the cult classic Roadhouse, “peoples opinions vary”.
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People’s opinions certainly vary, but facts are less melleable.
My sarcasm was in response to yours; sorry for not understanding your double standard.
Nice avoidance of the issue, by the way: why is it appropriate to deny to Muslims accommodations we assume for Christians and Jews as a matter of right? Or are we to assume that because of a demented minority of Muslims, all are violent jihadists unworthy of any rights or considerations?
Why is it inappropriate for Muslims to buy land and build a mosque near the World Trade Center? Why is it wrong for an airport to provide factilties for religious observances by a group of people working out of the airport?
Take good care, and may God bless us all.
TGY
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TGY, there was no sarcasm directed at you, if you took it that way, I apologize. This is how I see things going in my area, yours may be different. We are supposed to “not offend” certain groups, while they are not having to do the same for us. This in my book is a one way ordeal and I resent this. If you were dealing with this, I imagine you would see things from a different point of view. Tell me why celebrating Christmas or Thanksgiving or dressing up for Halloween is offensive? Everything has gotten to be so “political” anymore, we can’t seem to celebrate anything without it offending someone. We are losing OUR traditions in order to not upset someone else. I guess I am just angry we are in this position. What happened to people trying to fit into an area as an American when they move here? Again, I apoligize if you think I was attacking you with my comments, that was not the intent.
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Lou, the fact that a school principal may decide to forbid Christmas decorations out of concern that non-Christians may be offended points out not a societal change, just that the principal is unsuited for the job.
I’ve heard of cases like this from time to time, and a segment of the media and commentators make a big deal out of them, but the fact is we have hundreds of thousands off schools in this country. That a few should be directed by people unqualified to hold leadership positions, or are pushing their own agendas, shouldn’t come as a surprise. If it happens in your area, your job is to speak up. Separation of church and state doesn’t mean that schoolchildren cannot celebrate Christmas in school, it means that schoolteachers shouldn’t be leading schoolchildren in prayer and instructing them in their religious observances. (And it’s not just lefties, agnostics and atheists doing it; some Christians are just as guilty when they get into positions of authority; check out the Air Force Academy.)
I still don’t understand what the problem is with the footbaths in the airport. I seem to recall the cab drivers had a bunch of other demands as well. For instance, they wanted the right to refuse to take passengers carrying alcohol. They said that being required to carry passengers who might be carrying alcohol in their luggage interfered with their right to exercise their religion. They were denied that right because it was a severe restriction on the rights of their passengers, some of whom made duty-free purchases of alcohol before returning to the US. Cab drivers are licensed by the city there, and the license requires them to transport fares regardless of the contents of their luggage.
Also at issue was the laughable idea that the cabbies, in order to determine who was and wasn’t carrying alcohol, would have to be granted the right to inspect passengers’ luggage. If the government cannot inspect my luggage without a warrant, I’ll be damned if a government-licensed cab driver can.
Take good care and may God bless us all!
TGY
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TGY,prayer in school is not the issue, there is none. I am not sure, but I do not think the kids have to say the pledge, either. We have “autumn days” (that covers Halloween and Thanksgiving), we have “winter solstice” (that covers Christmas), but we can not even bring anything red or green and there is no mention of Santa and if the kids dress up it has to be as a tree or turkey for the autumn days, etc. My kids are out of school years ago, but this is what I hear now. They can’t pass out anything that might resemble a “holiday”. Of course they can do Valentines day, but have to make sure everyone gets a card. Parents are there for just a short time and then have to leave. It used to be we were welcome to come and observe whenever we felt the need to, now it is as if we are not wanted there. Illinois is a very “different” state to live in. We have high taxes, companies that want to move out to other states and we now have the “smart meter” for Ameren-IP. It has gotten pretty bad here, the welfare programs are huge and we have a big influx of people coming here just for that….out taxes went up 65%, they need the money to pay for the benefits. I am very bitter, guess that comes out in what I say. The whole administration in Springfield is a mess, you think we have problems at the White House, come here….nothing changes, we vote, they find more votes to keep the Democrats in office…this is just what Pres. Obama is made of, Illinois corruption. Take care!
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Living in Russia may not make him an expert, but it gives him a grasp of what happens under a communist regime that people in American can never really have. These people did call for socialism, you are right, but Che was no socialist was he?
I do understand why these people are upset and want change, but to topple the whole system and replace it with socialism or communism (and yes, there have been people also calling for communism) is not the answer. The whole reason this movement bothers me is because it is quite similar to many communist revolutions of the past with a leader promising to fight for the workers and urging the workers to rebel.
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Steve, they are just someone to do the dirty work. All this while Obama sits back watching and waiting for the outcome. We know how much of a time bomb this can be when there is a massive crowd that has passion for what they believe, be it misplaced.
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The road to hell is paved with good intentions, there are a few European countries in the past who can attest to that!
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Steve, you’re right that OWS resembles other movements that took place in other places that led to communist revolutions. The other elements simply aren’t there, though, and that’s one of the basic flaws of communism.
Marx insisted that communism was the natural progression of economic evolution, and that it would come first to the big industrial powers – Germany, England, the USA . . . What Marx always overlooked, though, was human nature, and the development of the middle class in those powers. The only place where communism ever really had a chance was in the underdeveloped countries whwere oligarchies controlled the economy and practiced pretty brutal forms of repression to keep the people – the proletariat – in line. Like Czarist Russia. And when communism has been able to take over – as a result of mobilizing the people, appealing to their discontent and victimhood – it maintains its power only by denying the people the right to control their own futures.
Despite the excesses of Wall Street and the moneyed classes in this country, and despite the indignities they’re visiting on the middle and lower classes (note the current trend among the GOP candidates to insist on raising taxes on the poor while cutting the taxes of the high earners), the middle class is nowhere near sufficiently pissed off to institute radical change in this country.
Take good care and may God bless us all!
TGY
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Very good pointsTGY, and yes we still have middle income Americans who have not reached the point where they can be exploited in the way which Russia exploited the proletariats but middle America has been losing ground for years and is still losing ground.
Most of us are worse off then we were not too long ago. Will middle America ever reach the point where a communist revolution was able to gain traction? I doubt it, unless the whole global economic system collapses and the people have nowhere else to turn but toward the government, and Europe is in chaos right now.
But still it is unnerving to see what so many of our youth are calling for here, it shows us that we have not properly taught them American or world history and you know what they say about people who haven’t learned from history…..
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My elder daughter, some years ago, was incredibly blessed with an opportunity to take a semester at sea, on scholarship. We had an orientation meeting in New York where we learned more about the journey around the world our kids would be taking.
As a matter of tradition, the excursion begins in the Bahamas and makes its first stop in Cuba, where the students are addressed by Fidel Castro. Some of the other parents were just about wetting their pants over this, the prospect that their kids would be honored to sit in the presence of this great man. “The man’s a mass murderer!” I told one pair of parents. They looked at me pityingly and condescendingly advised me that omelets cannot be made without breaking eggs.
I didn’t object because our daughter was in college, and was of an age to make up her own mind. She had learned about the atrocities committed by communists in gaining and keeping power.
Later on, I asked her about Fidel’s address. Four hours it was, although it would only have been two hours if it hadn’t required translation. Nevertheless, she said she listened intently to the first ten minutes or so, decided it was a meaningless rant, and attended to catching up on the sleep she’d missed the night before.
Overall, the trip had a significant impact on my daughter, who resolved to pursue further education in public health. She wants to be part of the solution to the many health-oriented problems facing populations around the world. Not only wasn’t she impressed with the man’s self-aggrandizing speaking, she was not at all convinced that the health system Fidel set up in Cuba was sufficient even for that little island, let alone to growing problems around the world.
Take good care and may God bless us all!
TGY
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It sounds as if your daughter is doing well and you should be proud. I agree with your decision to let her make up her own mind and I do the same with my boys. My oldest is 19 and we watch the debates together and I enjoy watching them with him. I would never tell him who he should vote for because he is an adult and can make up his own mind.
If he were to decide to vote for Obama I would not be happy, but I would not even try to stop him because it is his decision to make.
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Well, Europe isn’t exactly solvent, as we can see by the Euro sitting on a three legged stool. The system wasn’t sustainable, and now they’re out of money. Same in the U.S. When the big social programs were implemented, apparently, nobody had to foresight to see that these things would have to be paid for perpetually. The system failed, and now we have the result of that failure occupying Wall Street. They, as we all were, were groomed to think government hand outs would always be there. Well, we’re out of money. Even if we taxed the wealthiest at 100%, it wouldn’t cover the annual federal budget. The system failed and now we have heck of a mess, exacerbated by those that are arguing for more of the same.
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RJ, the system has failed. To think that something like wanting to do a test to see if a welfare recipient is clean from drugs before they get their check is considered a breach of their privacy. Apparently our government thinks this is unfair. But, people holding down jobs get random drug tests. There are generation after generation on the dole with no incentive to get off.
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It appears as if none of our elected officials has the guts to do what is needed and I am not sure we can recover from this–not at this rate.
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Lou, a drug test is a search, no?
To search something, isn’t a warrant needed?
And isn’t probable cause needed for a warrant?
What is it about an application for public assistance that suggests probable cause for a drug test?
When I ran an HR department in a factory, we implemented DOT policy on our truck drivers, imposing random drug tests on them. I was never opposed to those tests because the drivers could pose a significant threat to public safety. There are plenty of jobs that similarly impact others – police officers and firefighters come to mind.
I don’t think it really matters, though, if the cashier at Home Depot blows off a joint or two over the weekend, but it’s important to the people that run that business, and so it’s their rule that employees get random drug tests. Business owners are permitted to do that, as they’re permitted to insist on hiring only non-smokers as a matter of policy affecting their costs. When they’re hired, employees of such places sign an agreement permitting the testing.
So – once again – private individuals and businesses (to a lesser degree) are permitted to take actions, sometimes discriminatory, in ways the government is prohibited from doing.
Now, if it could be proven that a majority of public assistance recipients are on drugs, it would justify the drug test. What are the actual numbers? Or is this drug testing mania born of appeals to emotions, getting people all riled up about anecdotal evidence of such behavior without actual, you know, evidence?
Take good care, and may God bless us all!
TGY
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I fail to see why if we have to take a drug test to hold down a job and then money is taken out of our paychecks to pay for welfare, that they should not also be tested to be able to get that money. There is alot of fraud going on with the money. We have gone from food stamps to a link debit card to make it easier to use. Those cards change hands in return for other things. We have a generation thing going on here with being on welfare. They don’t try to look for work and just expect the state to take care of them. When you see the people driving better vehicles than you have, wearing more gold jewelry than you have, have big screen tvs, cable/computers and cell phones, I think we have the right to not want our tax money to support that. We have Section 8 housing that our state taxes pay half the rent, as well. We have a high tax rate where I live and our state is broke, I am tired of working to earn money to give to someone that refuses to work. The benefits are really great here. You may not think this is right, but where do you draw the line on “free-bes” at someone elses expense? You do, however make valid points, but this is not a normal world we live in anymore.
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TGY, I agree with your point on private businesses. If a private business has a drug testing policy I have no problem with that, they should be free to institute whatever policies they wish in a free society.
And for the most part I would be against the government instituting mandatory drug testing, but I do feel that if a person is going to take government money that they need to adhere to the rules that the government sets for them regarding that money. If those rules include drug testing then so be it.
I don’t think this is an indictment or an accusation against people who apply for government money but rather an assurance that taxpayer dollars are being spent on what it is suposed to be spent on.
Believe me, I am conflicted on this, it goes against what I proclaim to believe in, but if people know the rules when they sign up there should be no reason to expect them not to live up to them.
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Lou, I think you’re comparing apples and oranges with the drug tests. When hiring someone, a company enters into a contract; part of the contract can be the drug tests.
The government isn’t a company. It is restricted by the Constitution in ways that employers aren’t. Drug tests are considered, legally, a search, for which a warrant is required; a warrant requires probable cause. Thus, if it’s thought that a specific applicant (or recipient) is using drugs, fine, get a warrant and a urine test. The government may not, however, assume that everyone in a particular group is guilty and require them to take a drug test to prove their innocence.
Temember – employers are not bound by the Constitution – the document was written to define the powers of government and protect the people from government’s excesses.
Take good care and may God bless us all!
TGY
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So many people today are upset, many of them with good reason, but I would ask them to remember that our government may not be perfect but it is the most perfect. Please do not “jump out of the frying pan into the fire” because you are angry. If history was taught, then more of the Occupy Wall Street protesters would know this. We have many freedoms that are taken for granted, but trading those freedoms for a government that will “take care of you” is a very scary path that I for one do not want to go down.
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I agree with everything you have just said. Anger comes from being frustrated because we see our beautiful country being yanked out from under us. Because of alot of history being taken out of our history books OR being tweeked, it is not as it was. I don’t want the government to take care of me or mine. The president said today, if we did not reelect him that we were on our own…I like being on my own, I don’t want the government in my business, so YES, I agree with you.
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DIdn’t Churchill say something like, “democracy is the worst form of government ever conceived, except when compared to all the other forms of government?” That is what is at issue here, we may not have a perfect government but we have the best and, like you said, if our children were taught history the OWS people would understand this and be embarrassed for the positions they currently hold.
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We were doing ok until Wall Street got a bit too greedy. That said, I still believe we have the best system of government. The news out today that the top tier of the wealthiest individuals are increasing their percentage of total wealth does not help us one iota in making our case for a free market economy.
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bunkerville, we were doing ok until Wall Street got a bit too greedy? I don’t remember Wall Street holding a gun to anyone’s head and forcing them to spend excessive amounts of credit on cars, houses, and other goods. I’m not here to say that Wall Street wasn’t apart of the problem. But let’s not forget the individual who lived beyond his means. And most importantly, let’s also not forget the government with the lax regulations that did not prevent this from occurring.
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You don’t remember Wall Street holding guns to people heads, insisting that they use credit to buy the biggest, the bestest, the newest?
What do you think they were doing, spending millions of dollars on advertising? Analyze some time how much advertising aimed at the general public is truly informative and how much is simply emotional.
As to houses, banks find it easy to sell their mortgages even to people on the edge. I’ve heard lenders tell prospective mortgage borrowers “Sure, it’ll be tough to make your payments for the first year or two, but the payments will stay relatively stable while your compensation will increase – in a couple of years, paying this mortgage will be easy.” and “I’ve been in this business twenty years; I can assure you that if things keep going as they have been, you’ll do perfectly fine with this mortgage.”
We tout home ownership as some critical element of the American dream – so people set the goal of home ownership. Then banks advertise all sorts of exotic loans and those people are enticed to buy a home and get a mortgage they can’t afford, but the bank doesn’t tell them they can’t afford the loan, the bank says “sign here.”
A couple of years later, the economy tanks and some of those homebuyers lose their jobs and even if they have a 6-month emergency fund, that’s wiped out after 6 months or so. Others hang onto their jobs, but find their home values decliningg to the point where they’re underwater. They’d like to refinance, but no bank is going to refi a $300k loan on a house that’s appraised at $250k, and not a lot of the affected homeowners have an extra $50k sitting around. And selling the house is out of the question for the same reason.
And what’s amazing about this scenario, besides the fact that it’s more appropriately characterized as “history” than a scenario, is the fact that so many of those who could easily find themselves in that homebuyer’s place are so willing to blame him and not the system that duped him into making a disastrous decision.
You may think that because no actual firearms were involved, that Wall Street can sitt back and say “Not my fault,” but the fact is that our system is predicated on average people responding to Wall Street’s cajolery. Just because it was a con instead of a gun in the ribs doesn’t make it any more moral.
Take good care and may God bless us all!
TGY
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I remember when we got our first loan for a house, we were told we could purchase XXXX amount. We went home and thought about it and decided on about 1/3 of what they told us we were good for. That way we had money to fall back on and were not strapped. That worked out well. I know people that have the house, but can’t afford the furniture, I never wanted to be in the position. I guess it is called “personal responsibility”, you know if you can do it or not. Just because some banker told you that you could, well, it was your decision in the end. We also settled on a fixed loan, but I know people that did not and they had a learning lesson when their payments went up. They hold some of the responsibility for what happens, but in the end you are responsible for your own actions.
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Same here. I remember the bank telling us how much we were approved for and my wife and I looked at each other because we both knew we couldn’t afford the loan the bank was willing to give us, so we bought a house at a proce we knew we could afford.
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The man who asked what is the definition of capitalism doesn’t know what he’s talking about. In The American Heritage College Dictionary, the definition of capitalism is an economic system in which the means of production and distribution are privately or corporately owned and development is proportionate to the accumulation and reinvestment of profits gained in a free market.(Found on page 214 second column along the line with caparison).
We don’t need Socialism, what the United States of America is true capitalism. No government regulation on price. If we don’t like something about a store, then we don’t eat there. Then, we let them go bankrupt. Afterwards, a new store will open up and replace it.
Also, the U.S.A should not have a 2 year unemployment compensation because people sit around doing nothing for a year and half, and in the last 2 months they “miracuosly” find a job.
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That’s an incredibly naive understanding of how capitalism works. For a more accurate understanding of unregulated capitalism, read a book by a fellow called Upton Sinclair called The Jungle.
Don’t think for a moment that when the wealth of the nation is concentrated in the hands of a few, as it is, that the many who are basically living paycheck to paycheck have any real economic leverage. You may be able to force a mom & pop luncheonette out of business because you dislike their sandwiches; literally millions have expressed their displeasure with some of the corporate practices of WalMart and that hasn’t slowed the giant down a bit.
And if you don’t like unemployment insurance, don’t file for benefits when you’re laid off for reasons beyond your control.
Take good care and may God bless us all!
TGY
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I’ve been really concerned for several years now that the younger folk among us who didn’t live through at least some of the Cold War (and I’m not talking about living through it only as children) would at some point consider communism a better alternative to capitalism or democracy…not too unlike the holocaust deniers today. They didn’t see or hear the stories about East Berlin and East Germany; they don’t believe that Stalin murdered 20 million (or was it 25 million?) of his own countrymen; they don’t comprehend the repression of the communist regimes. Geez! it almost makes me foam at the mouth when I see kids wearing Che t-shirts, and when asked about it, think he was simply a “revolutionary” without actually understanding what he did.
As for the pile of horse shit (i’m talking about the people) of OWS, I have nothing but disdain and disgust for many (most?) of them. So many of them anarchists, communists, socialists, I-want-to-marry-a-goat-ist, that I can’t take them seriously. Do some of them have legitimate complaints? I suppose so, but you can’t hardly find any of them who can actually articulate them…makes me want to puke…
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It is true, the younger generation have no idea what happened under Stalin in Russia and if you told them they simply wouldn’t believe you, or they would say it wouldn’t happen here. The kids wearing the Che shirts have no idea who this man was and what they are promoting. It is a sad indictment of our education system.
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The youth are impressionable, so I guess it depends on who gets to them first. They also look back on the 60’s and see something “fun” and want to relive it. Couple that with bringing in some of the left over hippies and they are in for a good time. Apparently parents don’t have much control over what their kids do now days. That or they are NOT listening. I would have told my kids they were not going and I would surely not finance it, but luckily my kids don’t think that way and are busy in their own lives. It all falls back on what they are taught about history, Steve. This all looks like a good time to them. There are others there with maybe more motivation to try and solve the problems they see with the big banks, but the kids are not interested in that, just something to do.
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I think that you hit on something Lou. I think a number of these people look at the 60s and see something that young people were involved in as a whole and long for an issue to make their own in an attempt to recreate the 60s so they can feel like they have done something.
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It must look pretty glamorous to them, a time in the past with free spirits. The clothing industry tried bringing it back a few times, but it never seemed to take off. Now, with people like Seeger, Guthrey, etc., making a showing at the OWS areas, they are being brought out of mothballs and dusted off and they are “young” again and someone new appreciates them. This is looking pretty bad, I think it could be a time-bomb waiting to go off.
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I think it is a timebonb waiting to go off and I think that before all is said and done every Democrat who supported this will wish they hadn’t.
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Lou, I don’t know if you ever saw a movie called “Getting Straight” from 1970, but if you have a chance, check it out.
That having been said, don’t think that because some of the protesters may be caught up in the spirit of the moment, or are even ignorant of the issues, that the issues don’t exist, or that they’re not legitimate. That’s using the fallacious “guilt by association” tactic, where the implication is that if this cause is supported by this ignorant person, then the cause itself must be wrong, or bad.
I know people, for example, who won’t buy a Volkswagen or even sit in one as a passenger because the company was, in the 1930s, charged to build an affordable car for the average German family – by the German chancellor, Adolf Hitler. Likewise, during any political campaign, opponents of candidates will sometimes attempt to imply that the candidate is bad because of the identity of some of his or her backers.
On the other hand, I know that there are people who think it’s perfectly fine that while the productivity of the American worker has improved dramatically over the past few decades, his compensation, in terms of purchasing power, has actually declined, while the compensation of the boys at the top (and those who move the money around without producing a damn thing) has skyrocketed. They oppose the OWS movement, and with good reason, because it threatens their power.
Take good care and may God bless us all!
TGY
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TGY, I know what you mean, the “crazies” are what is being reported on, but there ARE legitimate level-headed people there, because there IS a problem. They, however, are not being reported on or interviewed. We see what the media wants us to see.
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I saw this over at the Rogue Operator’s sight, and it is HILARIOUS. I love the “oh reeeelly” with that Russian accent. I didn’t read all the comments in this string, but I did notice someone try to differentiate between communism and socialism, which amuses me.
These terms don’t mean much anymore. Old skool USSR communism is pretty much off the table–most of the left (except for fools like featured in this vid) has figured out they can get the same result without actual state ownership of everything. Redistribution of wealth and massive micro regulation will do the job quite nicely.
Cheers all!
Linda
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site, I mean site. not sight.
sigh.
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Linda, I differentiated between socialism and communism.
I’m old enough to remember the Soviet Union, and of course we have places like North Korea and Cuba to instruct us on the realities of communism.
There are plenty of successful socialist countries in the world, though, where education levels are high, the economy is doing well, private property is a matter of right, etc. Two of these are Sweden and Finland.
Hope all’s well.
Take good care, and may God bless us all!
]TGY
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Yes, the state will not own the businesses but with massive regulations they will be able to control the businesses. And that isn’t much better and in fact this economic partnership esembles the relationship between private industry and government is some fascist regimes.
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Lou.. Some people you can toss all the facts at them you want..They are ignorant by choice. And you can’t change their minds for anything.
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Bob, sadly you are right. Some people simply have no interest and learning the facts and many of these people fall in that catagory.
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You are right, Bob! I have quit trying to explain things to certain people I know. They know everything and of course I know nothing. I leave it at that. Someday, maybe they will have it thrown in their faces and they might think back to what I said, who knows, stranger things have happened.
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