Looking Under The Rock. The Real Driving Force Behind The Occupy Movement

The romantic mythology is that Occupy Wall Street was a grass roots response to the greed and corrupt practices on Wall Street. While very few of us would dispute the level of greed in the financial securities industry, the simple fact is that OWS was less to do with that than it was something else.

OWS was not a grass roots movement, it was a planned and orchestrated event originated by AdBusters, a self-proclaimed left-wing activist group based in Vancouver, Canada. AdBusters defines itself as, “a global network of artists, activists, writers, pranksters, students, educators, and entrepreneurs who want to advance the new social activist movement of the information age.” They are opposed to capitalism and see violence as an acceptable tool to advance the socialist agenda.

AdBusters is not the only group behind the Occupy protest movement, however. George Soros and Tides Movement are providing both funding and training to Occupy activists for the next stage of the protest. Mr. Soros and the Tides Movement have been actively supporting Occupy from its inception along with Stephen Lerner, an organizer for the SEIU labour union and who has been actively involved in attempts to shut down the Brooklyn Bridge.

Here are some of those who have been actively working directly or indirectly with Occupy.

• Van Jones, president of ‘Rebuild The Dream’ another radical group funded in part by Mr. Soros and the Tides Movement. Ironically, Mr. Jones was interviewed on CNN earlier today and the interviewer suggested that Mr. Jones would make an excellent spokesperson for the Occupy protests. Little did they know, I guess.

• Anonymous, a loosely affiliated group of hackers who have attacked various government and bank-related computer networks in order to wreak havoc and disrupt services.

• Francis Fox Piven, who was elected Honorary Chair of the Democratic Socialists of America, stated recently in a speech at Messiah College that her only problem with violent protest was the negative publicity it garnered. “Riots”, she said, “are what poor people do when they get together.”

• The Alliance For Global Justice provided Occupy with access to fund raising using their 501 tax exempt status. The Alliance supports a number of left-wing groups globally providing them with the same service for a small fee. It also provides activist training and health care benefits to those it sponsors.

• Gary Gerber is the head of the global justice movement and is on the record as stating that he organizes  protests through group manipulation 

• The Ruckus Society helped organize the protests at the World Trade Organization in Seattle in 1999 which turned into a major riot costing hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars. Occupy is using the Ruckus Society for planning the next steps in its protests and availing themselves of the society’s training materials including Blockading For Beginners and Anonymous Riot Guide. Ruckus receives funding from the Tides Movement. Originally, the Ruckus Society wanted to call the Occupy Protest the Days of Rage but it was felt that it was too close to the Days of Rage and the violence sponsored by the Weather Underground in the 60s.

• Countless other groups have also provided direct and indirect support including those with links to communism and anarchy. Some of the other groups involved include: People For The American Way, The Socialist Party USA, Action United, Code Pink and Organize now.

While every effort was made by those behind the Occupy protest movement to control the message, it was like herding kittens and the easy access to social network sites like Twitter and Facebook provided a venue for anyone to voice their opinions about what OWS stood for. This led to groups like AdBusters and the Huffington Post (along with no end of people and groups on social media) to publish supportive articles in an attempt to spin a more positive message to the consumer (the 99%).

Unfortunately, action on the ground undermined most of those efforts. What was promoted as a non-violent protest turned violent too often. Oakland in particular was the scene of significant violence that bordered on rioting.

The camps themselves, which seemed like a unique symbol for the movement, quickly became a magnet for thieves, drug users and pushers, sexual predators and those looking for a free ride. So naïve were many on the ground, that they initially embraced any who came to camp and speak at their meetings. Slowly, but surely, the protest was overtaken by the extreme factions in the camps and manipulated by those detailed above who were working their own agendas behind the scenes.

The result, as most of us know now, was that the 99% were not engaged by Occupy. To be sure, there were some idealists and some who felt disenfranchised who supported the movement and there were some who had a romantic concept of what Occupy is and was trying to accomplish. Like many of those who originated the camp in Zuccoti Park, they were used and manipulated.

OWS new offices are much trendier looking than their old camp

Consider this one small example.

For weeks, OWS has been begging for supplies that included food and books and sleeping bags and other things. Within two days of being evicted from Zuccoti Park, they have a new, fully  -equiped office in New York City. For those of you unfamiliar with real estate prices in NYC, suffice it to say, they are exorbitant. Where does a group of protesters who were begging for food two days ago, get the finances and the guarantor for office space in NYC?

Where indeed. But then, nothing about Occupy was ever really what it seemed was it? The truth, as always, is what is underneath the rock when you turn it over.

© 2011 Maggie's Bear
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