And: The Rained Out Revolution I can't help but ask myself, what if Occupy protestors in 2010 showed up with AR-15s? On one hand, being armed may have given law enforcement pause before they use paramilitary tactics to take down the Occupy encampments all over the country. On the other hand, Occupy was protesting... Continue Reading →
A year for the history books For me, 2011 will always be the year that democracy took a deep breath and long stretch on its way to awakening. That this was a global movement inspires me with awe. That this awakening began with a fruit peddler in Tunisia rather than in an American university or... Continue Reading →
The dehumanizing rhetoric aimed at the Occupy protestors will lead to increased violence My first impression when I saw the video from which this indelible image was taken was 'my god, this person is showing absolutely no affect over what he is doing.' An emotional or empathic understanding of a process that inflicts intense pain,... Continue Reading →
Police need to ask themselves, "what if children were watching us right now?" I found myself in an awkward situation today. I was watching footage from the Occupy movement at Berkeley. Young men and women were linking arms in a line before a contingent of police officers. Suddenly the police erupted in a wave of... Continue Reading →
You are the 99%... and according to a Justice Department Report, twelve thousand of you will be out of a job next year. I know you are acting out of fear, or coerced conformity when you attack your brothers and sisters with tear-gas and rubber bullets, but the state you serve (often valiantly) has made... Continue Reading →
Images from Occupy Fort Myers Rally, October 15, 20011 Yesterday was a great day for me and for participant democracy all over the world. The Occupy movement spread worldwide as common people everywhere shouted in the face of power, informing the top tier, the top 1% (and the minions thereof) that we know that we... Continue Reading →
For those of you readers who are in the Southwest Florida area, join me and many others at the first Occupy Fort Myers event. To my knowledge, this is not a protest, but rather a planning event. We will be meeting at Centennial Park, downtown Fort Myers at the picnic benches. Please understand, this is... Continue Reading →
The Mad Sociologist Blog 