Quote: (04-02-2019 05:53 PM)Aurini Wrote:
Quote: (04-02-2019 12:05 AM)Heuristics Wrote:
Why is it the media is quick to embrace some grassroots movements, for example: Occupy Wall street; while others, like Yellow Vests, get confined to coverage in backpages. I'm left to conclude that Yellow Vests are a movement that could actually cause change because of the large undercurrent of populism/ right wing politics within it.
Which reminds me of brexit, the media wrote it off as a joke, so I had to peruse Zerohedge, infowars and the like to get a more balanced perspective.
I remember the night the results of brexit came in. I was drinking, decent drinking. And I was laughing my ass off as the "explainer pieces" started being made... Hackery.
And here we are, 2+ years later. And Brexit still has not happened. The elite have every right-wing movement by the balls. Remember how Macron showed up out of left field? Coincidence? I think not... If brexit has not happened, and May fucked up all these votes in parliament; where is our hard brexit? The answer is it will never come. Likely, there is a decent chance, there will be a second referendum. Rhetorical question: what do you call a government that rejects the will of the people? Un-democratic. Managed democracy (that's one of my favorites). Elitist. Out of touch.
Possibility number one:
I spoke with some of the founders of Occupy Wallstreet - as they put it, they were a bunch of "Weirdo, trans, street anarchists" when they began the movement. As soon as it got popular, they were immediately pushed out by the Progressive Stack.
What, trans being pushed out by the Progressive Stack??? Well, these were the sort of people who knew how to code, and liked being weird. They were Occupying Wallstreet because they hated the corruption and wanted to cause some noise. The Progressive Stack exists to fuel narcissistic supply to the idiots involved with it.
Possibility number two:
This sort of thing was relatively new at the time; the media reported on the novelty. Plus, both it and the liberty movement of the time were easily coopted. Now, things are harder to coop, and they're no longer new and interesting - they're dangerous.
Maybe I compare OWS to Yellow Vests, because they both started out with tremendous potential, and as leaderless movements. There is something very intriguing for people in the modern world when they see a leaderless organic movement. In some way it is like watching a school of fish swim together in unison despite the fact that each fish is a unique entity.
The founders were Canadian actually I believe. Adbusters magazine out of Vancouver. I used to have a subscription to them (just for fun’s sake). They certainly were anarchists that saw the injustice (maybe not the right word) of the Bailouts and the fact that no-one was held to account. I don’t think it’s a left-right thing, it’s a thing that anyone with half a brain should have been questioning. Especially how that redistribution of wealth started during and after the recession…
Very interesting perspective. They were in every sense of the word antiestablishment.
It is very interesting the rise of these leaderless movements, we could also add to the list, the Arab Spring. In a time where things are becoming increasingly centralized and monopolized it is intriguing that these movements were not. Do I think the Arab Spring was a genuine, good-faith leaderless movement? Initially sure. Researching the Arab Spring and it’s beginnings in Tunisia is very, I repeat, Very interesting.
I think occupy was the first big leaderless movement many of us saw or experienced, although maybe there is a good case to be made about the Iraq anti-war protest movement in 03-04 or so. Those people globally were ahead of their time.
It was new, and perhaps media didn’t grasp the ultimate potential for danger these movements could have to their own interests and their symbiotic relationship with the political/ elite class.
I operate under the assumption now that everything is co-opted. My working theory is they have clamped down against dissent and associated organizing on social media, MSM, and the internet, confining these people to the margins. I also must assume social media is much more monitored and finessed than in the past, in other words less anarchic and organic.
@Oberrheiner— I knew Macron would never cave to the movement he would just do meaningless gestures because he has a solid backing (in form of elites) for his power.