I'm sure everyone can recall this image, the one that initially tarnished the Tea Party with charges of racism:
I am equally sure that this image will be used to make the same charges about the Occupy movement:
True, in that virtually every populist movement in American history--all the way back to the People's Party in the 1890s--has had elements of racism associated with it.
The why of that is deceptively simple: populist reform movements, like religious fundamentalist movements, are inherently inspired by both fear and anger.
The fears may be quite real, and the anger may be quite righteous, but the problem is that fear and anger are also the hallmarks of stereotyping and prejudice, and--especially in new movements where gathering a crowd is by far a bigger priority than vetting the people in it--separating all this is very difficult.
Unfortunately, in the current world of "gotcha" politics, it's just easier to discount entire movements as illegitimate based on the extreme fringes it attracts.
And in both cases--Tea Party and Occupy--it would be a mistake not realize that they are concurrent symptoms of the same disease.
Our economic system is broken, but that can't even be addressed until somebody fixes our broken political system.
And it's looking like junking the old two-party duopoly might just be a real good place to start.
1 comment:
This greed and corruption protest is something liberals and conservatives can come together on. Mainly because it's true and clear for all to see.
The real genuine Wall Street protesters are the ones with high powered lawyers. Citi just agreed to settle fraud charges for $250 million. AIG sued Bank Of America for $10 Billion claiming they were conned by BOA.
Two of the most conservative States, Virginia and Florida are suing Bank of New York Mellon for over a $Billion for skimming their State pension funds. Something to do with manipulating currency rates so the Bank gets more, Virginia and Florida retirees get less. Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II office called the banks conduct "unconscionable".
Washington Mutual the biggest bank collapse in US history agreed to settle a class action lawsuit for $208 million. That's just one chunk of the fraud charges they are facing. The investors say the banks executives encouraged people to invest even when they knew they were bankrupt and they were selling. The investors are winning when they go to court saying the "bank" tricked them.
Goldman has to pay back more then a $Billion for swindling people. Just one single fine cost Goldman $550 million. The biggest SEC fine ever paid by a financial firm. Goldman agreed rather than have it all exposed in court.
There's a new report out saying just six Wall Street individual CEO's pocketed $2 billion while all those pension funds were being bamboozled into buying AAA certified junk. Six men splitting up $2 billion while the the system was in collapse.
So "Wall Street" is under siege in the courts a lot more than in the streets. They're losing everytime. There;s never been anything like this before. People all over America, all over the world suing America's top financial institutions for fraud and deception and malfeasance and winning. It is a real epidemic.
All the little guy can do is write "stop the greed" on a sign. Simple sentiment. Like "I want my country back", "make government small". Simplistic but it says more than the words themselves. It expresses a feeling. We all get it.
The big guys get lawyers. So it's not like this is all a figment of some smelly hippie imagination. BOA is one their knees trying to make restitution for swindling investors withholding information about Merrill, flimflams by Countrywide. One of the biggest pension funds in the world, Dutch ABP, is suing claiming fraud.
And right here at home, venerable old Wilmington Trust. Made it through two great wars and depression but could not make it through the smooth talking greed of the last decade. The little Wilmington Trust investor left with worthless stock after a lifetime of saving. The folks at the top who ran the bank into the ground lending money to fast talking buddies, they run like rats with their pockets stuffed with money, leaving us with nothing. Resenting that is not class warfare. It's simply detesting white collar con men that rob our pensions and steal the equity out of our homes.
Sure, everybody is greedy. But we count on the people at the top to keep that greed in check. They failed us. All of us. Not the left. Not the right. All of America.
This has nothing to do with how you feel about capitalism. Capitalism is great. Everybody knows it's the only way to go. This resentment is about corruption and thievery at the very highest levels of our financial institutions. It's clear for all to see. Read the court transcripts.
Sure the protesters might smell. But that smell is a lot more genuine than the sickening aroma of expensive perfume purchased with ill gotten gains.
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