Now for the serious side of pepper spray. This is from wikipedia.
Pepper spray typically comes in canisters, which are often small enough to be carried or concealed in a pocket or purse. Pepper spray can also be bought concealed in items such as rings. There are also pepper spray projectiles available, which can be fired from a paintball gun. It has been used for years against demonstrators. Many such canisters also contain dyes, either visible or UV-reactive, to mark an attacker’s skin and/or clothing to enhance identification by police.
I was reading this little snippet from Rousseau the other day, and couldn’t help but think of Occupy Wall Street although the passage refers to a simple government and the OWS movement is more of a pursuit of a better government, I still believe the passage is relevant.
James Pilant
This is from Rousseau, Book IV, Page 1, first paragraph of The Social Contract.
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As long as a number of men gathered together regard themselves as a single body, they have only a single will, which is concerned with the survival and well-being of all of them. In this case, the state’s machinery is all vigorous and simple and its rules clear and luminous; there’s no tangle of hidden agendas; the common good is always obvious, and only good sense is needed to perceive it. Peace, unity and equality are enemies of political subtleties. Simple straightforward men are hard to deceive because of their simplicity; lures and ingenious excuses don’t work with them—they aren’t even subtle enough to be dupes! When among the world’s happiest people we see a group of peasants gathered under an oak
to regulate the state’s affairs, and always acting wisely, can we help scorning the sophistication of other nations, which put so much skill and so much mystery into making make themselves illustrious and wretched?
I’m not the only person to see Rousseau as being applicable to the Occupy Wall Street, there’s a fellow named Jason J. Campbell. His take is based on Rousseau’s A Discourse on Inequality. Please click on the link to see a very thoughtful, intelligent discourse on Occupy Wall Street and it meaning.
I have printed these in full from the Occupy Harvard Web Site. I believe that Occupy Harvard wanted its principles published in full as widely as possible. If I am mistaken in this, please let me know and I will remove the document or cut it down to “Fair Use” size of a paragraph or so.
James Pilant
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Statement of Principles
We are Occupy Harvard. We want a university for the 99%, not a corporation for the 1%.
We are here in solidarity with the Occupy movement to protest the corporatization of higher education, epitomized by Harvard University.
We see injustice in the 180:1 ratio between the compensation of Harvard’s highest-paid employee—the head of internal investments at Harvard Management Company—and the lowest-paid employee, an entry-level custodial worker. We see injustice in Harvard’s adoption of corporate efficiency measures such as job outsourcing. We see injustice in African land grabs that displace local farmers and devastate the environment. We see injustice in Harvard’s investment in private equity firms such as HEI Hotels and Resorts, which profits off the backbreaking labor of a non-union immigrant workforce. We see injustice in Harvard’s lack of financial transparency and its prevention of student and community voice in these investments.
We stand in solidarity with Occupy Boston and the other occupations throughout the country. We stand in solidarity with students at other universities who suffer crushing debt burdens and insufficient resources. We stand in solidarity with the students who occupied Massachusetts Hall one decade ago, and we continue their pursuit of justice for workers. We stand in solidarity with all those in Boston and beyond who clamor for equity. We are the 99%.
A university for the 99% must settle a just contract with Harvard’s custodial workers. A university for the 99% must adopt a new transparency policy, including disclosure of Harvard’s current investments as well as a commitment to not reinvest in HEI Hotels & Resorts or in land-grabbing hedge funds like Emergent Asset Management. Further,
A university for the 99% would offer academic opportunities to assess responses to socioeconomic inequality outside the scope of mainstream economics.
A university for the 99% would implement debt relief for students who suffer from excessive loan burdens.
A university for the 99% would commit to increasing the diversity of Harvard’s graduate school faculty and students.
A university for the 99% would end the privilege enjoyed by legacies in the Harvard admissions process.
A university for the 99% would implement a policy requiring faculty to declare conflicts of interest.
Our statement of principles is subject to change by the Occupy Harvard General Assemblies.
Zuccotti Park was a friendly place, surprisingly orderly, contrary to expectations from television. People sweeping, others staffing the free food tent, others reading or cheerfully chatting with visitors like me. There was a library, several pet dogs (apparently OWS is dog-, not cat-friendly) and a few baskets seeking donations. I saw lots of American flags and posters, but nothing ugly or much beyond run-of-the-mill progressive political ideas.
That’s been my perception as well, that Occupy Wall Street is replaying elements from previous eras of American Progressivism. Certainly, you can catch glimpses of the Grange, early labor organizers like Samuel Gompers and more than a little Chautauqua.
But there is definitely some new stuff here. These guys are very media savvy and, however, much disdain the fact attracts, the truth is that the Occupy Wall Street Movement is part and parcel of the demonstrations across the Arab World a few months ago. Citizen activism is catchy like the flu. And there is a lot of this flu going around. I expect to see more and more in Europe as their austerity budgets kick in.
Please go to Ethics Bob’s web site. I have provided several links. You should never rely on one paragraph to get the whole sense of his writing.
I was watching Gasland, the Josh Fox documentary with my class a few days ago. There were two scenes in the film that struck me. Fox tries to call a gas company for comment and gets the run around, a vigorous spirited run around. It gave off a scent of “We don’t have to tell you little people anything, ever.”
But don’t we get that treatment all the time? We call our bank, we call our computer company, we call the cable company, and we call and we call, and we find ourselves enmeshed in a web of partial answers, refusals, and promises to call back later. I hate promises to call back later, they always come when I’m in the middle of something (like teaching class) or they don’t come at all.
It is certain that some organizations, some companies, have these telephone walls, merely to channel messages or discourage the unnecessary message. However, with the giant corporations in this case the gas companies, these phone walls have a more sinister purpose, that is, to deny the public the interviews, the information that would place the companies in a bad light. After all, there is a strong implication that having lobbied successfully to evade federal regulations, even the most mundane studies, that you are doing something wrong.
Of course, it’s hard to imagine a great corporation accessible without going through a gaggle of public relations minions and the occasional attorney. But we are not yet a complete oligarchy of corporations, corporate clients and a compliant government manipulating a passive, electronically entranced populous, American citizens still have responsibility to other citizens. I happen to believe that when you are a corporate citizen and are building a nation wide infrastructure of gas wells, you have a responsibility to give an occasional interview.
I have long been a fan of Garfunkel and Oates (Kate Micucci and Riki Lindhome) since I came across their video “Sex with Ducks” some years ago. If you want smart, intellectual humor you can find plenty on their You Tube web site or you can go to their main site here. (WARNING – Strong Language) I’ve written about them before but their new video calls for comment on my part.
Here is the video – just click on the link below –
Music is often a vehicle for social comment. Garfunkel and Oates usually aim their musical commentary at the weird social scene of Southern California but here they show some sharp satirical teeth regarding economic inequality.
This one captures with I believe considerable accuracy the views of many in the Occupy Wall Street Movement and the 99 percenters. It’s topical and it is very funny.
Besides, an occasional jab at the Republican spin phrase, job creators, is something I relish.
Lindhome and Micucci showed skill in their playing and tightly blended voices. The vocal clarity and articulation were excellent. This is important. Some people think that with comedy they can forego skill in certain performance elements, because doing something badly is funny. However, most comedians who have received the biggest laughs for this sort of gag, do so out of genuine ability and understanding how to make something hilariously bad. Victor Borge was famous for this. Micucci and Lindhome do not take this approach. Instead they ensure they deliver their material with such competence that nothing gets in the way of the jokes. It’s a very smooth package.
You hear that, Herman Cain? It’s against the law to ban mosques in America. You hear that, Christine O’Donnell? It’s against the law to teach creationism in public schools. You hear that, Bill Haslam? It’s against the law to impose curfews in an attempt to stifle the right of the people to peaceably assemble. You hear that, Bank of America? Goldman Sachs? Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac? We’re done meekly allowing you to rape, plunder and pillage the 99 percent for the benefit of the 1 percent. Can you hear us, all you bought-and-paid-for Republicans and Democrats alike, telling you we’ve had enough from you both, consider this our petition for a redress of grievances.
“I hear your complaints,” Bloomberg said at a Tuesday business breakfast. “Some of them are totally unfounded. It was not the banks that created the mortgage crisis. It was, plain and simple, Congress who forced everybody to go and give mortgages to people who were on the cusp.”
VIDEO: Oakland Police Toss Flash Grenade At Protesters Helping Injured Person | Despite initial denials, Oakland-area police deliberately fired and tossed flash-bang grenades at Occupy Oakland protesters last night, even ones who had been visibly harmed by the police assault. Video shot by KTVU shows flash-bang grenades fired by riot police deep into the protesting crowd. Near the barricades where a Veteran for Peace holds his flag amid tear gas, a protester is knocked down by a flash-bang grenade. After a crowd surrounds the victim, riot police toss more flash-bang grenades into their midst. The police initially denied that officers had used flash-bang grenades. “The loud noises that were heard originated from M-80 explosives thrown at police by protesters,” a statement from the department falsely claimed.
It appears that the police claims that they used neither flashbangs or bean bag or rubber bullets were just nonsense. There are too many films and recovered fired ordnance.
My understanding is that this poster is free to use and I recommend you post it as well and visit OCCUPYWALLST.ORG. The struggle is just beginning.
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