Occupy Waterford

Yes Boss

I past by twice today and there was only 3-4 people in the camp...They did not last very long...I thought it was all about presence:rolleyes:

Sully

Yeah I think most of the tents are for show tbh. Anytime I pass by, there is less than a handful there.

Hoffmans

celticutd87 wrote: »

People get fairly upset when you point things out.

http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=307573495935091&id=291038797588561

http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=307799492579158&id=291038797588561

lol if thats not trolling dunno what is ...........




passed last nite there was more than a dozen sat there well fair play to them when the real cuts kick in there may be a good deal of people looking for a place to protest

dayshah

Sully wrote: »

Yeah I think most of the tents are for show tbh. Anytime I pass by, there is less than a handful there.

I accept you might be new to camping, but sometimes people go into the tents.

Weird, eh?

dayshah

CuriousG wrote: »

Genuine question- Can anyone tell me why there is a black panther-esque fist in the air any time someone beeps (which is rarely)

The clenched fist salute is a general 'resistance' salute.

CuriousG wrote: »

What has flouride got to do with the banks?

I can only guess its used for money laundering.

CuriousG wrote: »

If they hate capitalism and financial gain etc, why do they have so much expensive equipment??

I wonder what they want with a gazebo

dayshah

celticutd87 wrote: »

People get fairly upset when you point things out.

http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=307573495935091&id=291038797588561

http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=307799492579158&id=291038797588561

Point what out? That Facebook is sometimes slow?

There are legitimate criticisms that can be laid against the protesters. I don't see why people need to make stuff up.

jonnyfingers

I'm glad that the "Occupy" people are bringing attention to certain important issues, but I don't think they'll get anything done.

I was at St. Paul's Cathedral in London at the weekend and had a look at "tent city" there. It was horrible. The protestors were filthy, they were leaving human excrement on the ground outside, and even on the carpet inside St. Paul's.

Most were just sitting around smoking and having a laugh, showing off a cool anti-capitalist t-shirt they had made to their friends.

It was pathetic. I hate being stereotypical but the majority just looked like serial protestors who've never had a job. Some were even legless drunk at 2pm on a Saturday.


So I'm all for taking a stand against what you perceive to be wrong but rather than just telling everyone what is wrong with the world, how about coming up with some alternatives, some ideas of how to improve things?

merlante

Was down at the Waterford protest last night for a couple of hours. Met some very nice and decent people. There are a fair few hippies and socialists down there, which is why I think it's important that the group gets larger and more varied. To be fair to the people I spoke to, they had a lot of good points to make, but most people wouldn't advocate some of what they would consider major social change. I made the point that the group has to stick to just a few major priorities that everyone can agree on and get normal people down there. You need people of all ages and backgrounds down there, and they agreed with that. You need to see a few suits down there as well.

This 99% thing is not just a tagline, and it's more like 100% in Waterford anyway. Every nation in Europe is so tied into a broken financial system at the moment, that it is having a stronger effect on how countries are run than the democratically elected parliaments. And the only end to this situation is some kind of Eurozone implosion, which is not going to be any prettier. This would have sounded crazy 5 years ago, but it's demonstrably true today.

I'd love to see more people at the occupy movement making arguments for a modified capitalism rather than throwing the whole system out. These movements always start off with more extremists, because by definition they are the ones willing to stand and sleep out in the cold on the basis of ideology before the reality hits home for others. But the guys I spoke to were very decent and accepting of all views -- maybe too accepting but you have to start somewhere.

I personally think that the only way of empowering people when nation states are completely over a barrel (and can't represent their electorate adequately) is the growth of grass roots movements. The Tea Party in the US have had a huge influence, whether you agree with their politics or not. The centre and the left are more dispersed in their views and things are going to take a bit longer to get together. I think the occupy movement is a good opportunity to get people talking, and there is plenty of good conversation going on down there. Sometimes talking and getting things straight is the most productive thing that can be done at a given time. I would encourage everyone, no matter what views you have about capitalism or anything else to go down there and add to the debate. A strong, inclusive occupy movement might go places, and I'd say most people agree on the most of the main issues.

dayshah

Interesting article in the News and Star.

http://www.waterford-news.ie/news/mhgbaukfmh/

CuriousG

dayshah wrote: »

The clenched fist salute is a general 'resistance' salute.

Resistance to what exactly? A wash and a shave????


PS, fancy cars, and generators aren't exactly cheap, and don't give me the donated line, because no one donates big flashy cars.:rolleyes:


They are so pathetic it isn't even funny, and I would bet everything I own itis more 20% than 99.

Hoffmans

flashy cars ,whats that all about?

there seems to be some confusion there with their objections to stuff as the real occupy crowd have a beef with banks and bond holders these guys seem more "occupied" with fracking and flouride and conspiracy theories ,alas that could be coming from that james nut on the radio that was leading some freemen gang in town, power to the sheeple...... .99%

they would do a lot better if the conspiracy nuts stayed in their tents for the family open day tomorrow....

smegg26

Hi all! Couple of guys from "Occupy" sitting in the middle of floor in Aib on the quay this morning.They didn't seem to get much support from the customers/public inside the bank.I do not question the protesters motives, I do however wonder how much they are supported by the general public? Thoughts?

merlante

It's like this, the more "normal" people get involved, the more "normal" the protest will be.

It's still early days, plenty of time to get involved and have an influence. Already the Freeman, Brehon laws stuff are off the printed material. The flouride stuff is only the opinion of one or two people. The crazy has already been toned down and numbers appear to be increasing.

Assuming people agree that there is a problem with the banks, etc. and that something should be done -- increased regulation at a minimum -- I don't see any need for this 'us' and 'them' kind of attitude. I mean, why would you be against a protest like this? Seriously.

seanybiker

smegg26 wrote: »

Hi all! Couple of guys from "Occupy" sitting in the middle of floor in Aib on the quay this morning.They didn't seem to get much support from the customers/public inside the bank.I do not question the protesters motives, I do however wonder how much they are supported by the general public? Thoughts?

seen the pic on their Facebook page. Seemed to be getting ignored in the pic.

Cabaal

merlante wrote: »

The crazy has already been toned down and numbers appear to be increasing.

Did the crazy people tone themselves down or did somebody else make/tell them to tone down their craziness and take down their signs?

Bottom line is the movement is all about people being able to speak and having a voice yet even you comment that what these people were spouting was "crazy", surely no matter how nuts or crazy somebody is they are entitled to their voice?.

I'm not saying what they are saying isn't crazy (imho) but its very hypocritical for you to call "stop fluoride in the water etc" crazy and agree that such stuff should be toned down when at the same point we can see both here and on facebook that many in the occupy movement criticize anyone who doesn't agree with their agenda (imf out, people entitled to their voice etc etc).

Of course this in itself is hypocritical because surely those that don't agree with the whole movement are also fully entitled to their view without being abused or being shouted down

Are you not being pretty selective here regarding whats acceptable and whats not, as much as your entitled to look for the IMF to get out of Ireland these "crazy" people are also entitled to put up their signs for stuff that means alot to them, just because they don't suit you or you feel they embarrass you doesn't mean they are wrong.

Care to comment?

dayshah

Cabaal wrote: »

Did the crazy people tone themselves down or did somebody else make/tell them to tone down their craziness and take down their signs?

If people want to campaign about fluoride, cycling, abortion, whatever, they are perfectly entitled to.

But almost every agrees the occupy movement is about the banks, and the massive redistribution of wealth that has occurred from normal people to the super rich over the past 2/3 years. The occupy people have already said they don't want any political or trade union banners. I don't see why they shouldn't be allowed say they don't want any anti-fluoride protesters in their camp. The anti-fluoride people can always set up their own movement.

Cabaal

dayshah wrote: »

If people want to campaign about fluoride, cycling, abortion, whatever, they are perfectly entitled to.

But almost every agrees the occupy movement is about the banks, and the massive redistribution of wealth that has occurred from normal people to the super rich over the past 2/3 years. The occupy people have already said they don't want any political or trade union banners. I don't see why they shouldn't be allowed say they don't want any anti-fluoride protesters in their camp. The anti-fluoride people can always set up their own movement.

They may not want political partys having banners up but it is clearly evident from the people involved in the Waterford protest that it has a political element involved. They are simply jumping on a bandwagon hoping to gather future support for themselves.

Whilst these people may not hold up banners they would clearly be able to push the protest in a way that serves their own agenda's.

The movement may have "some" goals that at face value appear to be fair goals however clearly many of them are unrealistic and just won't happen for numerous reasons which would cause far more problems then they would resolve.

If in some insane world they did succeed then commerce would go tits up and far more then the likes of 14% odd of Ireland would be unemployed, then of course they'd complain about this also.
:rolleyes:

merlante

Cabaal wrote: »

Did the crazy people tone themselves down or did somebody else make/tell them to tone down their craziness and take down their signs?

Bottom line is the movement is all about people being able to speak and having a voice yet even you comment that what these people were spouting was "crazy", surely no matter how nuts or crazy somebody is they are entitled to their voice?.

I'm not saying what they are saying isn't crazy (imho) but its very hypocritical for you to call "stop fluoride in the water etc" crazy and agree that such stuff should be toned down when at the same point we can see both here and on facebook that many in the occupy movement criticize anyone who doesn't agree with their agenda (imf out, people entitled to their voice etc etc).

Of course this in itself is hypocritical because surely those that don't agree with the whole movement are also fully entitled to their view without being abused or being shouted down

Are you not being pretty selective here regarding whats acceptable and whats not, as much as your entitled to look for the IMF to get out of Ireland these "crazy" people are also entitled to put up their signs for stuff that means alot to them, just because they don't suit you or you feel they embarrass you doesn't mean they are wrong.

Care to comment?

Less 'crazy' or 'extreme' people wanted the message toned down, sure, but they are all part of the occupy movement. I am happy to associate myself with the movement as well -- although I am not a spokesman by any means.

I used the word crazy because that's the level of the debate on here at the moment. Extreme would be better. The issue is that although most people agree regarding the situation with the banks/markets, and so on, there is a very broad spectrum of positions, and radicality of those positions, held on various matters. The point is not to put people off the main item on the agenda by spouting a bunch of unrelated stuff that others might not agree with.

Forget about Facebook anyway, and go down there and talk to people. And if you don't like what someone has to say, talk to someone else. I personally think there are too many anti-capitalists down there. There should also be people down there who think that capitalism can proceed in a modified or regulated form. This would reflect the stance of the population in general. But you have to start somewhere. The fact is that people with the more extreme views are always the first to get involved in these things, and many of the them will be veterans of other 'campaigns'.

The bottom line is that occupy Waterford has to focus a few main objectives. I don't believe it should be a free for all where everyone gets to say 'occupy Waterford is all about flouride in the water...' etc. That is not what it's about. Individuals are free to hold whatever beliefs and opinions they wish, and they are entitled to propose ideas at assemblies, but they are not entitled to unilaterally dump their ideology into the mix. There is a 'leave your politics at the door' rule in these movements and I think the same should go for unrelated ideologies. There are a lot of signs up that are off topic at the moment and these should probably be taken down imho, or at least signs should be put to a vote before they go up.

dayshah

Cabaal wrote: »

If in some insane world they did succeed then commerce would go tits up and far more then the likes of 14% odd of Ireland would be unemployed, then of course they'd complain about this also.
:rolleyes:

Maybe some of their aims, but I strongly doubt there would be any negative effects if Greece imposed losses on bondholders or we didn't pay $1bn to unguaranteed holders of Anglo debt.

the watchman

Take a look at this. This thing is just getting bigger and bigger:

http://www.ustream.tv/theother99

Patrick697

o how great is is people can sit on their ass on the net and have such wrong views. thats dedication, thats true belief.

I get fed up with people on the internet with such views, get a grip of the real world.

Turn of XFactor.

seanybiker

Patrick697 wrote: »

o how great is is people can sit on their ass on the net and have such wrong views. thats dedication, thats true belief.

I get fed up with people on the internet with such views, get a grip of the real world.

Turn of XFactor.

Calm down kid. Interweb does more than sitting on yer arse on the quay.
Best of luck to occupy but I honestly can't see it doing anything. But but but if that's what people want to do then more power to them. \m/

Sully

Bigger crowd since it started alright, but I remain unconvinced those tents by the bus shelter are ever used. I never see anyone getting in or out of them, they never move, and it never looks like there is any life of them. There just appears to be a crowd in the main tent.

Its a complete waste of time anyway as it serves no purpose. Its achieved nothing useful since they started despite being covered in media, and the silent protests. The government haven't seem to even take any notice, and councils are starting to get fed up of this silly movement and are evicting people at home and abroad.

Hoffmans

not sure what the occupy freemen crazies are up to this evening but they seem to be up around the christmas lights cermony, with one dressed as a santa chanting anti capitalist stuff through a megafone, very confusing for the kids around, as some are running over to the anti capitalist nut shaking his hand.. just hope hes vetted....prob not tho..

kittymiss

Hoffmans wrote: »

not sure what the occupy freemen crazies are up to this evening but they seem to be up around the christmas lights cermony, with one dressed as a santa chanting anti capitalist stuff through a megafone, very confusing for the kids around, as some are running over to the anti capitalist nut shaking his hand.. just hope hes vetted....prob not tho..

that awkward moment when anti imf santa offers your child a lollypop.....:)

looksee

They made a feeble and irritating effort to stop the mayor going to switch on the lights, the party just walked through them and they gave way, but it was a bit unnecessary at what was a 'promote waterford' and family event.

dayshah

looksee wrote: »

They made a feeble and irritating effort to stop the mayor going to switch on the lights, the party just walked through them and they gave way, but it was a bit unnecessary at what was a 'promote waterford' and family event.

Santa is part of the 1%, living it large while the elves and reindeer do all the real work.

ziedth

looksee wrote: »

They made a feeble and irritating effort to stop the mayor going to switch on the lights, the party just walked through them and they gave way, but it was a bit unnecessary at what was a 'promote waterford' and family event.

In what way did they make an effort? Sounds like ridiculous thing to do.

chelloveks

dayshah wrote: »

Santa is part of the 1%, living it large while the elves and reindeer do all the real work.

Let's occupy the North Pole! That fat fook and his lazy cookie eaten wife living off the sweat of the elves and Rudolph....the only reason he gives all the gifts out is to get a tax write-off and screw the 99%even harder....a few tents up there should teach em a lesson! People of the world unite, you have nothing to lose but you chains....and maybe a house and car or two....

looksee

ziedth wrote: »

In what way did they make an effort? Sounds like ridiculous thing to do.

They gathered and created a barrier in front of the Mayor by standing in a block. There were a lot of people and the crowd was just dividing to let the Mayor's party through but the protesters stood facing as a barrier, doing a bit of shouting of slogans. They gave way without much issue though and the shouting was lost in the noise of the crowd. The vast majority of the crowd would not have noticed anything.