Looks like the Russians are taking a page from our playbook

In reply to Salanis: The occusquaters are not protesting laws they are protesting capitalism and demanding free stuff. They aren't even close to the same. If the were the occusquaters would be protesting anti-squatting laws.

ThePhranc, I won't bother arguing with you since you seem to be in the mood to argue for argument's sake. My point wasn't that "occusquatters" (what a charming, completely un-loaded term) are in the right, my point is that someone trying to effect a change in policy or trying to protest what is seen as an unjust law should not allow the law itself to dictate their behavior.

Xceler8x wrote: In America? We have changed. You can no longer "sit in" as civil rights demonstrators used to do. This strategy was effective during the civil rights struggle as well as during labor struggles.

The civil rights demonstrators were jailed, beaten with clubs, had their houses firebombed, got sprayed with fire hoses, and attacked with police dogs. Which, in the end, often helped make their point about the injustice they were speaking out against.

In reply to ThePhranc:

Wow, way to completely miss my point. Let me be more blatant with it:

People have the right to defy what they believe to be injustices in our society. When they do, they will suffer some amount of backlash. Public opinion and time will prove to what degree their position was in the right.

I do not feel an overwhelming sentiment to praise or villify either the occupiers or the police breaking them up.

Thanks for the conversation points guys. In retrospect my thoughts on the subject were reactionary.

I still worry about a loss of civil liberties in this country as well as the power shift from the middle class to the 1% but this situation is not similar.

Thanks for, in Chris Rock's terms, keeping it real.

In response to Sperlo's post:

Lies My Teacher Taugh Me is a GREAT book. Really helped to clarify some holes I had in American history.

Xceler8x wrote: Lies My Teacher Taugh Me is a GREAT book. Really helped to clarify some holes I had in American history.

Hmm, only $4.51 for Kindle, I may have to check it out.

Xceler8x wrote: You can no longer "sit in" as civil rights demonstrators used to do.

Don't actually know your history very well, do you?

Birmingham, Alabama. A difficult painful time in American history. We learned a lot from that, even us dumb backwards redneck Southerners.

Having said that, the report in the OP says 23 people were hauled off for public intoxication. Doesn't even come close to what happened during Stalin's purges.

Also, Russians are noted for the one of the world's highest consumption of alcohol per capita. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_alcohol_consumptionSo I am not surprised.

That just reminded me of this old video

The drunk russian

So, protesting laws that exist more to criminalize being homeless than anything else is a bad thing?

Curmudgeon wrote: Also, Russians are noted for the one of the world's highest consumption of alcohol per capita. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_alcohol_consumptionSo I am not surprised.

Russians are crazy. Made the mistake of drinking with a small group from the Russian brewmaster program my first week at brewing school. Didn't realize they were spiking all of the beers with vodka until it was too late.

Derick Freese wrote: So, protesting laws that exist more to criminalize being homeless than anything else is a bad thing?

Where is that in this thread?

Looks like America's Hat is even harder on protesters than the Russians and definitely are turning in higher numbers. They are on a roll up there.

http://www.thestate.com/2012/05/17/2279877/emergency-law-considered-in-quebec.html

foxtrapper wrote: Don't actually know your history very well, do you?

Since I'm human I'm not always right. I admitted that further up in the post. Are you related to Nelson Munz?

In reply to foxtrapper:

In response to squatting. Some Occupy-sters were protesting "camping" laws and "anti-squatting" laws.

In one of my other hobbies, I run into (well, used to, I haven't been active for a while) squatters all the time. I ran into a family of 5 about 2 years back that had been evicted from their family home after they took up one of those mortgage offers on their paid-off house. They had lucked up and found an abandonedment that still had running water, so they stayed. They even cleaned the area in which they were squatting quite a bit. Of course, I've not seen nor heard from them since, and the building is now gone as well.

Adam Carrolla on Occupy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQpXybTnGVg

NSFW (language). Honestly, I support a lot of what Occupy is trying to say, but he makes some real good points.