OWS 'r' US
Once in a lifetime opp to drive out the Controllers
by Dr. Robert M. Bowman
Editor's Note: So happy to have received this message and article via one 'lotus,' a common acquaintance of Bo Keeley and me.
Lotus was sent the message by Dr. Bowman, who is leader of The Patriots. I don't think anyone has stated the desired core culture of OWS--at least the core culture I would like to see--better than Bowman in this article.
OCCUPY THIS!
By Dr. Robert M. Bowman
Lt. Col., USAF, ret.
National Commander, “The Patriots”
Occupy Wall Street (OWS) is a recent grass-roots movement which has caught the attention of millions of people across the country (and indeed around the world). It has garnered the support of people of all ages, all walks of life, and all parts of the political spectrum. It is one of the most promising phenomena of recent times. It represents a true populist uprising of the 99% who have been locked out of the political process, ignored, marginalized, and impoverished against the 1% who have used their immense wealth to manipulate the political system so as to further expand their already obscene wealth. Indeed, another name for the OWS movement is “The 99%.”
If we (the 99%) are to continue to be successful, there are several things we must do: (1) We must remain nonviolent. (2) We must avoid being co-opted. (3) We must be clear who we are and who it is we are against. We must be inclusive, rejecting divisiveness.
Nonviolence
Many of us believe that nonviolence is the morally superior path. Others may not. But we must ALL understand that in a grass-roots movement like this, nonviolence is absolutely essential because it WORKS and because it is the only way that can. (All those guns did not help the Branch-Davidians.) The forces we are up against have not only great wealth, but also access to enormous firepower … but only so long as the police and armed forces will obey their orders. Once our nonviolent resistance and our reaching out in love reminds the young folks in the police and armed forces that they too are part of the 99%, they will not take action against us. Once our nonviolence wins the hearts and minds of the mayors and generals, they will use their power to PROTECT US! Most importantly, once our nonviolence wins the support of the people of this country, we cannot lose!
If we are infiltrated by rock-throwers or car-burners, we must physically restrain them and turn them over to the authorities. (Usually, they are police officers ordered to infiltrate us.) Most importantly, we must never carry weapons. The 1% are scared silly by nonviolent resistance. That’s why they will try to infiltrate us with violent “anarchists.” We must not let that happen!
Co-Option
We must vigilantly avoid being co-opted by agents of the very forces we are protesting against. We must not go the way of the Tea Party. I was keynote speaker at four Tea Party conferences, beginning in 2000. The first three were in Boston. By the time I spoke in Tampa, most of the Tea Party had already been infiltrated by Glenn Beck, the Republican National Committee, the Koch Brothers, and Sarah Palin. Instead of a grass-roots movement protesting the evils of a government controlled by big money, it became the protector of big money. Instead of protesting the phony “war on terror” and calling for an end to corporate wars of aggression in Afghanistan and Iraq, it turned to promoting tax cuts for the wealthy and an end to any government program benefitting the poor and middle class. In other words, it became a tool of the 1%. The Koch brothers were able to buy up the Tea Party because it had never stated who they were and what they were against. We can’t make that mistake.
Identity
We who engage in protests must be clear who we are and who it is we are against.
First, who is it we are against? Are we against everyone in the 1% wealthiest people in the country? Of course not. There are some very fine rich people who have not used their wealth to manipulate government to the detriment of the rest of us. There are also some greedy folks not in the 1% who have done nasty things in an attempt to get there. We must also remember that among those we are against are Wall Street banks, financial companies, and insurance giants who have devastated the economy, taken government bailouts, and used the money to buy up other banks and give their executives obscene bonuses. Whatever the Supreme Court says, these institutions are not “persons” and are technically not part of the 1%. Yet we are against them, just as we are against the Enrons and Exxons who write energy policy and the giants of big pharma who write laws like Medicare Part D to enrich themselves at our expense. We also oppose the corporate media giants who control what we see, hear, and read, and who ignore or marginalize any candidate (like Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich) whom they do not control. In sum, we are against the persons and companies whose greed causes them to use their power and wealth to buy up politicians and elections, and to write laws enriching themselves and impoverishing the rest of us.
And who are we? We are the 99%. That means we are Democrats, Republicans, Independents. Libertarians, and Greens. We are conservatives and liberals. Supporters of Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich should feel equally welcome. We are also police and military officers and their troops. Most of us oppose the corporate wars of aggression. We understand that they are major ways of transferring trillions of dollars from us to the 1%. But there are others who haven’t come to that conclusion yet. They believe the wars are necessary. They too are part of the 99%. As important as the wars are, they should not be a litmus test. Neither should health care, nor abortion, nor gay rights, nor school prayer, nor gun control, nor tax reform, nor monetary policy. People on both sides of such issues make up the 99%. Once we succeed in taking back our government, we can argue these issues and resolve them....
YOU are the 99%. Support Occupy Wall Street. Can’t get to New York City? Then occupy your town. Occupy a Federal Reserve office. Occupy a big bank. Occupy something. You are the one. This is the time! This is the place! OCCUPY THIS! [Find the full article at thepatriots.us.]
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2011 December 19
Copyright thepatriots.us, excerpt via The Coffee Coaster™
Occupy Wall Street | OWS | Patriots | Robert Bowman | Ron Paul | 99%
