Duh.
This is a news story?
Sorry I’m not sorry, but even as someone with sympathy for and common ground with the movement, that was painfully obvious in real time. You mean camping in a park didn’t change our system? The whole movement got bogged down in an argument over whether people should be allowed to squat in a city park if they have a grievance. Basically they lost sight of the objective in an argument over tactics and eschewed “the system” in favor of ideological purity too much to have that wider impact. Maybe it just took this long for someone to interview White about this but I wish I could have met him six years ago and saved him the trouble.
Now White advocates running for office, which is laudable[1]. There needs to be some basic level of participation in our constitutional system in order to effectively advance any cause. But now he’s over large protest movements, saying he’s learned they are ineffective. So, because Occupy failed, all mass protest must be ineffective? This is a great way to dodge any responsibility for Occupy’s failure: the movement failed because it was impossible to succeed, not because of its own choices. History is full of examples of mass protest initiating significant, sometimes massive, change. Shit, just look at the Tea Party.
White, speaking for himself of course, had a lot of nice things to say about Trump in the same interview (also bad things, he’s no Trump supporter, just to be fair[2]). He’s an excerpt:
I don’t want to put words in the guy’s mouth[3] but it sounds like his disagreements with Trump are based on different political goals and not over the means Trump advocates to achieve them. If so, what an asshole. And he loves when Trump threatened violence if he didn't get his way? What an asshole. Anyway, White has a new book out called The End Of Protest: A New Playbook For Revolution. Based on what I’ve heard from him so far I’d say read it and do the opposite. Actually, just don’t read it.
Sorry I’m not sorry, but even as someone with sympathy for and common ground with the movement, that was painfully obvious in real time. You mean camping in a park didn’t change our system? The whole movement got bogged down in an argument over whether people should be allowed to squat in a city park if they have a grievance. Basically they lost sight of the objective in an argument over tactics and eschewed “the system” in favor of ideological purity too much to have that wider impact. Maybe it just took this long for someone to interview White about this but I wish I could have met him six years ago and saved him the trouble.
Now White advocates running for office, which is laudable[1]. There needs to be some basic level of participation in our constitutional system in order to effectively advance any cause. But now he’s over large protest movements, saying he’s learned they are ineffective. So, because Occupy failed, all mass protest must be ineffective? This is a great way to dodge any responsibility for Occupy’s failure: the movement failed because it was impossible to succeed, not because of its own choices. History is full of examples of mass protest initiating significant, sometimes massive, change. Shit, just look at the Tea Party.
White, speaking for himself of course, had a lot of nice things to say about Trump in the same interview (also bad things, he’s no Trump supporter, just to be fair[2]). He’s an excerpt:
“Donald Trump proves that it's possible for an outsider to win elections in America. So I celebrate him for that. I love his spirit. I love things that he said during the debates. I love his anti-establishmentism. I love that he says things like, before the election he said, ‘If I don't win the primary there's going to be riots in the streets.’ I love that. And I love Steve Bannon's Leninist spirit. I love all that stuff.”
I don’t want to put words in the guy’s mouth[3] but it sounds like his disagreements with Trump are based on different political goals and not over the means Trump advocates to achieve them. If so, what an asshole. And he loves when Trump threatened violence if he didn't get his way? What an asshole. Anyway, White has a new book out called The End Of Protest: A New Playbook For Revolution. Based on what I’ve heard from him so far I’d say read it and do the opposite. Actually, just don’t read it.
1. But he failed at that too
2. It's less fun to be fair :[
3. I kinda do though, and the words he put in his own mouth are bad enough. I’ve heard less effusive praise from Trump supporters. This is why I fear the far left as well.
3. I kinda do though, and the words he put in his own mouth are bad enough. I’ve heard less effusive praise from Trump supporters. This is why I fear the far left as well.
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