This is from my hometown newspaper. I'm pretty sure they don't serve any corporate interest:
http://www.gazettetimes.com/news/local/grass-seed-growers-burned-by-occupy-protest/article_4c93c61c-2530-11e1-92be-001871e3ce6c.html
I support the aims of Occupy. Occupy is the most significant social movement of the last few decades. I just don't want Occupy to alienate the working class it claims to represent. Occupy Oakland, in particular, is on rough ground. My recommendation: leave the ports alone. I've got an idea: let's march in downtown SF. Let's give speeches in front of the FRB. Plenty of hedge funds work on Montgomery St. Or the headquarters of Twitter, who claim to enable social revolutions, but who threatened to leave SF unless the mayor and the supes kicked down payroll tax exemptions. Then I'll pick up a picket sign. How about representing the unheard-of ICs who work in high-tech companies every day, but who are afraid to speak up for fear of losing their jobs? I once met an IC for Intel in Oregon who biked to work every day, but had to use a different employee locker room than the employees had. That's right, they enforced a difference between independent contractors (IC) and employees.
I totally agree with what you say above: the Occupy movement needs to very carefully consider labor & the workers with each action. And, yes, let's go straight to bigwigs like FRB (where campers have been for a while now), hedge funds, Twitter, etc. - they most deserve to be picketed. Thx for the link; I definitely sympathize with those workers who were hurt "collaterally" (& I don't use that term lightly) by port actions. I still feel strongly that the port actions did affect co.'s like Goldman Sachs & other big guns who are port shareholders, that one day of traffic brings in millions of dollars that are not shared w/Oakland (or Portland, etc.) ordinary citizens. Occupy does indeed need to take care with next steps, especially now that camps have widely been dismantled. Oakland is more challenged also, b/c of those within that don't eschew violence, for instance. Any negative aspect affects the entire movement. And do come out and join in! You (& your ideas) are most welcome!
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