The “Occupy” Movement Is Self-sustaining

The protests which began in the summer of 2011 as the Occupy Wall Street movement that spread across our nation like an infection will be around for a long time and they will probably increase in violence. This is because of two reasons: First, they are an undisguised manifestation of the organized emotional plague and second, the existence of the plague and its operation are far from being recognized and understood by the the general public.

Ostensibly exercising their First Amendment right, the protesters have stumbled on a tactic that gives them the upper hand with the authorities and that will do as much damage to the American nation and its economic system as possible. With nothing positive to offer and with the tacit support of the American president, this movement is nothing more than an undisguised, mindless expression of pure hatred directed at America that originates from the destructive secondary layer of the protesters.

The reason that these protest movements are self-sustaining and will probably intensify is that the responsible public authority’s equivocating response makes them an active partner in support of the protester’s movement. Should the authorities stand firm and risk an escalation of violence or should they be accommodating and negotiate with the protesters ? The public authority’s helpless quibbling functions to excite the protester’s zeal and encourages them to become ever more brazen and violent. Widespread coverage of police-protester clashes on the evening news, a First Amendment right of the media, generates public interest and more confusion adding support to the protesters “cause.”

The problem of the protest movement lies outside of this narrow social framework. Until it is generally recognized that acting out personal problems and trying to work out people’s helplessness and inadequacies through politics are not the answer, nothing will change for the better.