Friday
I came across this note in one of the notes I get from banks and law firms. I am not sure of the source, but it was allegedly said by the mother of Karl Marx:
"I wish Karl would accumulate some capital, instead of just writing about it."
Of course, Marx spent a lot of his life living off the capital as generated by other people. A familiar pattern.
It continues to baffle me that the Occupy folks can simultaneously be oppressed by the government & demand we grant it extra powers.
Posted by David Spira at November 11, 2011 05:20 PM
It's more ridiculous even than that, David. They protest tax funded handouts to industries, and yet their solution to this problem is that more tax funded handouts be given - to themselves. They seem to merely want a piece of the action.
I have the severe misfortune of currently living in Portland, Oregon. How do I feel about the bums? They smell really bad and they block up traffic and make my sweethearts bus late everyday after her workday is over.
And all to express their dissatisfaction that fate saw fit to birth them in a free nation, rather than a communist one. Somebody out to point them in the direction of a good travel agent.
Posted by Mose Jefferson at November 11, 2011 06:28 PM
A good post.
As for the Occupation Collectives.....
Well the Occupation Forces in New York marged right past the apartment building of George Soros (without a single shout) - and went to scream (and so on) outside the home of David Koch - who OPPOSED the bailouts.
Whatever these "protests" are about - being anti corporate welfare is not it.
Posted by Paul Marks at November 11, 2011 08:44 PM
Yes, Marx spent half his time sponging off Engels. And he made the housemaid pregnant, and wasn't particularly supportive of the child who resulted.
Start as you mean to go on!
Posted by Natalie Solent at November 11, 2011 10:35 PM
Occupy is a protest from the children of the middle class who realise the goverment won't give them as much as it gave their parents - especially cheap/free higher education and lots of easily obtainable well paid non-jobs in the public sector.
Posted by pete at November 11, 2011 11:06 PM
Many in the Occupy movement are young adults who realize that they have been swindled by schools which failed to educate them. They are confused and angry, and they want to blame and change the parts of the "system" which swindled them.
Unfortunately, their lack of education leaves them unable to figure out who to blame. (smile)
Posted by Andrew_M_Garland at November 12, 2011 01:51 AM
The above seems about right, lots of misdirected anger against targets that don't neccesarily or only partially deserve it while not appreciating the wider causes which are maybe not so easy to write about on a cardboard sign.
Posted by BigFatFlyingBloke at November 14, 2011 05:04 PM
pete - some of the Occupation Forces are as cynical as you suggest.
However, some of them are genuine idealists - idealists who want to set up death camps, murder tens of millions of people and so on.
So we must not be too hard on them.
Posted by Paul Marks at November 15, 2011 07:45 PM
Whether or not Karl's mother said it about him, my wife has certainly said it about me often enough.
Posted by Chris Cooper at November 16, 2011 01:24 PM
They've just awakened from a long sleep and found our they are not rich...http://www.visiblecountry.com/blog/2011/02/tugging-at-your-heartstrings-or-your-brain-cells/
Posted by SRBAC at November 16, 2011 07:46 PM
