Sunday, November 13, 2011

The OWS Protestors

I've been watching the Occupy protestors with the detached interest of a visitor at a zoo. Interesting, but nothing to make me change a damned thing I do. It's like watching a bunch of high-school kids trying to emulate life. It's a pale reflection of a real protest.

But, as they pack themselves into urban parks, I've become convinced that they have no clue how to camp out. I am interested in their lack of concern for things like sanitation. Good field sanitation practices are necessary to prevent the spread of disease and from the news reports, disease is starting to affect the various protests. Good security is important to prevent crime, and it looks like crime is becoming a problem at the protests.

These protestors seem to be protesting about corporations and capitalism, yet the tents they use, the cell phones they use for twitter messages and facebook entries are manufactured by corporations, many of those companies produce those products outside the US. The protestors simply expect that food will be provided and that clean, potable water will keep them hydrated with no thought of how that water gets to them.

Winter is quickly approaching and the weather is not likely to cooperate. I've been camping all my life and I know what is necessary to sleep in a tent. These folks don't have a clue.

It is interesting, from a detached zoo-visitor perspective. Checking in on them to see what the animals are doing. I've read studies that if a researcher will put too many rats into an environment, then cut off the food, the rats will become cannibalistic. If you've ever read the book Animal Farm, you know that it was written as a cautionary tale, not as an operations manual. Yet we see many of the same behaviors exhibited. It's interesting.

If you've got a few minutes, go watch Bill Whittle's Three and a Half Days. It's a great video, with lots of good parallels to the Occupy movement.

If my kid was at an Occupy protest, I would have already sold his bed, taken his clothing to Goodwill, and changed the locks on the house.

5 comments:

be603 said...

This too shall pass. The gene pool still has some chlorine in it.

Termite said...

Apparently the OWS crowd is too stupid understand how to dispose of their own bodily wastes outdoors. They could simply pool their money, hire a port-o-potty company, and service the units several times a week.

It wouldn't surprise me if cholera rears its head.
Darwinism in action......

Rivrdog said...

The Portland Occupy camps are down, the cold rain last night seems to have dispersed the rabble, and it's unlikely to reform, since the weather forecasts are for colder and wetter, maybe even wet snow by next weekend (snow is rare in sea-level Portland).

Now for the aftermath: find the leaders, and yes, there are definable leaders of the "leaderless movement", and send them the bills for the reconstruction of the parks they ruined. Sue them into oblivion when they don't pay. Use the restitution statues to get money out of those arrested and convicted.

It's all "cross the Tee and dot the eye" work from here, but it needs to be done. Forgive them is not the answer. Total costs in Portland will easily clear the million-dollar mark, and the City is strapped for cash as it is.

Old NFO said...

Good points, and anarchy is rearing it's head in these camps. I like Rivrdog's idea too! After all, these protesters ARE setting up bank accounts to take in donations, so freeze the bank accounts, take the $$ and sue the leaders for the rest of the $$.

MSgt B said...

I grabbed the last line of this post for my "Quote of the Week" post yesterday.

Priceless!