"middle class victims of...of...THEMSELVES"

oh boo hoo Bruce .. grow up mate, you seem to be regressing.

I'm not a victim, I'm an adult .. responsible for my own life happiness and future .. I don't expect others to prop me up or pay me rent

It's called "maturity", look it up ..

Pip Hinman,

I went to see the ones protesting at the Melbourne Plaza the other day.

To protest is a bit asking the bully who has taken your marbles to give them back, I alweys thought.

This time though I was incapable of getting the gist of what the occupiers of the plaza actually wanted.

Patently they did not want to take home a bank. Probably they only wished that the money they put in their bank is not pilfered by those who work within it.

Well, there are two ways of getting this.

The first is to put a guard on the safe and the other is to inspect the pockets of the bankers when they leave the place to go home.

Why are not those who created this financial crisis being charged? They are bashing and arresting protestors the victims of these scams but the financial criminals continue the rort the system.$ trillions in super and $ trillions more in scamming bailouts.

Let the revolution continue!

Who's the clever one, the one who sees a wave coming a mile away and starts moving to higher ground, or the one who waits for the wave to break before starting to move?
I agree we are extremely fortunate in this country. We don't have anything like as much to complain about as many other places. But does that mean we must wait for things to become intolerable before we act?
I would give the Ostrich (head in the sand) award to rpg. for this comment:
"If the protesters are non violent, why did they not disperse when ordered to?"
I would have thought it self evident that a protest can be evaluated by the commitment demonstrated by the protesters. The "OCCUPY" movement has attracted so much attention because they "OCCUPY", get it?
Otherwise it would be called the "MOVE ALONG PEACEFULLY" movement I guess.
Very inspiring.
I don't think nipping down to the Town Square for an hour or 2 with a few signs before moving on to the pub is going to change the world.

It's true that we're better off than the US working people. But do not underestimate the extent to which people 'out there' are suffering in Australia. Unemployment is 'only' 5% but underemployment is 8%. That's 13% of a workforce of around 10 million. (The underemployed are those seeking more hours).

Housing is another area - 100,000 homeless, on one hand, while new apartment blocks go up in most cities while existing ones have 'For Lease' signs on them. 'Over-production'. It's what happens under capitalism - production for the profit of the 1% (ie, those who own and control the means of production and exchange) rather than for social need (and fun).

I could go on but will finish by saying that a lot of the 'Occupy' participants are expressing their sense of alienation from a social system that, in the advanced capitalist countries, turned in on itself long ago and holds back everything, including production, individuality and creativity. As such the participants don't all have a 'platform' or set of specific demands. To me, this is a strength. It's only the beginning, and the last thing anyone needs is the kiss-of-death from the various sects and other 'usual suspects'.

Oh so clever!

""If the protesters are non violent, why did they not disperse when ordered to?"
I would have thought it self evident that a protest can be evaluated by the commitment demonstrated by the protesters. The "OCCUPY" movement has attracted so much attention because they "OCCUPY", get it?
Otherwise it would be called the "MOVE ALONG PEACEFULLY" movement I guess.
Very inspiring."

Then don't bleat that you are "non violent" (get it?), because that has no role in the following actions .. if you provoke, if you break the law and refuse to obey instructions .. then you invite action, and if then force is required, well, clearly you are happy with that outcome ..to call it "violence", gets a little dramatic doesn't it .. but I understand the attraction to be a "victim", with all its benefits in our PC climate these days.

Simple .. (get it?)

remove the ones who attempt to be parasites, this is nothing like protests of the 60s and 70s .. these are self obsessed rent seekers. (get it?)

arjay .. "Why are not those who created this financial crisis being charged?" who are the ones who should be charged for the "financial crises"? Is it the Democrats in the US who insisted banks lend money to people for housing with no collateral? Is it the Democrats who insisted the laws be changed to allow people to walk away from mortgage debt, by handing the keys to the banks?

The banks, are victims in this, the regulation of the US government forced them to behave in a way abhorrent to banking theory .. that's why we didn't have those problems here, we had a different system

It's a little more complex than you probably realize, but I understand the attraction of having a chant or a slogan, so easy, so simple.