wanna keep talking about opted by wall street and to do that is writer and
blogger michael brooks from the elusive obvious dot com is also a former
strategist at civic actions of michael great to talk to you
created here it is
so we've been going back and forth for a few weeks now about media coverage of
occupy walls
street there's a variety of coverage a lot of corporate mainstream media opal
covers only started when there was something negative to talk about arrests
misbehavior by protest which is absolutely no surprise
one of the criticisms i'm hearing is
and one of these protesters stand for what issue do they care about and that's
actually really easy to find is a list of over twenty issues that david
indicated or important to them
the real question i wanted to ask of you and you have a blog post
uh... about occupy wall street up on your website now
is what is the mechanism
that would actually translate these protests into real change
i don't know that i see it
well i think there's a couple of different steps going on here you the
polls that i have a lot is basically
arguing that one of the reasons that this woman has been able to grow so
quickly and so organically is because
their their isn't actually a lot of kind of specific granular detail there's very
broad limits
and there's a sense that
which is actually true
that wall street cause it
catastrophe and hasn't held accountable
and that brings a lot of people out and that
provides the kind of flexibility in over this
for people organizing around these issues i think that that's really
important in some ways just intrinsically for two reasons
uh...
that already our economy that positive
positives one
uh...
it's really important that
in issues that are inherently incredibly complex like when you're talking about
wall street you're talking about
derivatives and bailouts in big meat macroeconomic questions really important
that people feel that they can see some ownership over them
beyond the technocratic and
and uh... really kind of regular complex questions it doesn't mean that there's
an excuse for beauty misinformed or anything else but these people back you
know they are for bear are talking about
you know banks getting out of their tax bills they are
addressing
uh... accurately a stagnant economy and uh... booming financial sector
the other reason it's important
and uh... the way in which it doesn't it seem party it would you think there is
some
real crucial differences between occupy most reading the tea party
is that the tea party
definitely was able to restrain the discussions so he wrote president obama
uh... when ended and what i think it's nato's maybe one of the most annoying
trobe stand
american political discourse and he did the whole
you know family felt it was just like you know washington blah blah blah
that's the that's the tea party
and then check this out there
largely by wall street you have a you know perhaps a couple days ago saying i
can't blame them he uh... art ovr knowledge and frustration
back in about itself obviously doesn't do anything but it me or against the
compass we have
you know a crisis of several years
where a lot of this kind of anger has been directed at you know economy
crashed
ivy teachers economy crashed
blah blah blah
it's important that interior that you know some of the absolute immediate will
take me
the the issues that many people are addressing such a pick one out
the foreclosure disaster including uh... all of the steps that lead to banks
taking on bad mortgages for closing in ways that seemed to go against what
regulations
one example the other example increased income inequality in the country and all
of the things that come with that
i by support the occupy wall street protest i'd just don't see how all of
these people out on the street
will actually make anyone at bank of america say
let's change what we're doing about foreclosures do you see what i'm getting
at
reuther absolutely
well i i think though that that
what happens in that and what makes this a kind of
dunno leonard that's potentially tricky conversation before
you know people
like as people were think-tanks are people who have the kind of looking to
galvanize move that surrounds
these kinds of issues
is that
you know in the beginning of this that i do think that there's something really
important about people just even assuming some ownership around musicians
could you could look at it from the opposite direction which is
you know
this top really started accelerating obviously a couple of months before the
election of obama
all these things were happening you know you elected
arousal pretty seemingly relatively progresses president
overwhelming democratic majorities
bands you know it's time to go to work and i think you can definitely make a
credible case that
a lot of the worst hemorrhaging has stopped
there has been some real improvements in different areas like health care
there have been sent by yes reports
but certainly the issues that you just highlight it was with us for a closer is
avocado skyrocketing income inequality
that hasn't happened there hasn't happened through
uh...
that kind of normal means that maybe people on the street was expected of
them through
life electing inspired presidential candidate so
it doesn't necessarily mean
that this is going to lead to the side of country albums that your highlighted
but it does mean that it's
but it's happening track tenants
in savannah as usual
at least reorienting it towards
does really important questions well i think it's really great that a lot of
people who have never really been involved in politics and who are
frustrated because of not having a job or losing a job rabin underemployed
and never really connected that to politics are are indeed i think that is
absolutely huge
the question is
think it'd thinking very specifically about one of these people you know a
twenty-four year old college graduate has been able to than to find a job
never was involved in politics is now out on the street occupy wall streeters
what's the best course of action for that individual to take in the next
month
to have the best shot at affecting change
that's uh... that's interested alone
i think that
being there is definitely a good thing
i do really want to cut it
it knowledge that and uh...
you've stayed at that point idea and that honestly
there's a balance here where people about it i will see that's twenty
four-year-old is there anything cat
uh... you know man
more deeply specific about what to do
about by those foreclosures what to do that income inequality
but you know that i can also be even as you guys a specific policy questions
that i can also be our in the same more kind of creative decentralized flexible
spirit
uh... baju cm occupied wall street heading in some ways you can see
uh... sold a lot of work i think it's a big action city taxes at the political
consultancy but it's rooted in the hope of software movement
and when you talk to people who really loaded software will be discarded
uh...
sets a decentralized organizing people taking ownership that's a little bit
less elliott so i think you know
that's forty four-year-old should be thinking about
uh...
uh... incoming filed for closer issues you should also be thinking about what
looted by armed a real policy agenda for people his age group
uh... that would really immediately benefit of all that actually looked like
uh...
for creating jobs for supporting ross perot russia
and uh... profit back in a moment to be true ensue
if you talk in the face of a sudden actual
you know used specific political advocacy repressive so they use are just
sort of
you know i'll start getting about what that are part of our people on wall
street is coming out from a look
you know i did everything i was supposed to do
i graduate from college a m twenty four
for two thousand debt on wall street
start thinking really specifically
around ways of of asking around those issues
but again it is really important that people are coming together and speaking
at a little bit at least as a group around its like there is that there's a
contest for that's especially by it
dot all the things that was supposed to do whether they want people to go on to
the elusive obvious dot com check out your latest post you've also got another
post upcoming on occupy wall street
uh... i think it's fantastic michael brooks writer
blogger former political strategist at civic actions really great to talk to
you mechanically botching the so we'll have you back
bozo total was that i just have to say still do do that were considered action
soon since not all former all right uh... huh thank you so much the records
of the