[Hasbinbad]

Originally Posted by Aadill [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I would say this is a generational change, and it very well may be. We're the first group to LIVE with computers... we know the ins and outs of social networking and the beauty of free speech on the internet (which will hopefully not disappear with SOAP and PROTECTIP Act). This was the first time that the whole world at once knows what's going on and said, "hey this is kinda fucked up." It's not because we didn't always feel that way, we were just afraid in thinking we were the only ones thinking it.

It's not a generational change.

This is human nature.

What we're seeing in Occupy is humanity waking up from a drugged sleep, becoming suddenly aware that we're having our kidneys stolen by financial surgeons.

They tried to repeat it recently with the resurgence of pot and various "party drugs (x)," but (ironically thanks to the republicans) most people now see the danger in hard drugs, pot just makes one think about things, whereas when they inundated this countries social activism movements with cocaine in the early 70's, it made them think about fun things.

Think about it.

There was an entire generation of people who were just as - if not more - pissed off and ready to change the world then as we are now. Where did they go? Why did they shut up? It's super simple..

Drugs and dance music.

We now call them "E-Tards," but our generation can hardly claim credit for their paradigm. A large portion of the hippie movement was influenced by mind altering drugs, which was very distracting from the plan of social activism, regardless of how these mind opening drugs allowed people to see more clearly the ugly truth around them.

Intelligence being their mission, I'm sure the early 70's CIA - even without the beneficent guidance of George H. W. Bush - immediately saw the smarts in fostering this distraction. Between 1968ish and 1980, this country saw a HUGE rise in cocaine use amongst social activists. Between about 1974 and 1980, you saw the social activism movement completely die, minus a couple very intelligent O.G. punks - who nobody listened to on account of their spiky hair and bad attitudes.

Say what you will, but there is no fucking way anyone will ever convince me that cocaine, the CIA (George 41), and the downfall of social activism are not connected intimately.

The penultimate cap on the kibosh was effected by then-head-of-the-CIA George H. W. Bush giving the people an obviously doomed democrat for president, to be succeeded by "The George H. W. Bush Show" for the next 28 (32?) years.

The backlash against liberalism in the United States was heavy-handed, short-sighted, and brutal. The "war on drugs" was costly, ineffective, and totally unnecessary. Human rights took a backseat as fundamentalist christian religious fervor became the norm across the country. Social activists, once a powerful force of political change, were marginalized in the face of NWO style, christian-right "patriotism."

The next generation to grow up, in the 80s, includes many of us. Many of us were brought up with phrases like "this is a free country," and "the greatest country in the world," and ideas like "oh, that only happens in other countries." I, and many of my peers bought into it. It's comfortable, to think one is better than one's peers. Sleep is comfortable. And convenient. Sleep

Sleep.

Sleep.

Sleep.

Sleep.

Sleep.

Sleep.

Sleep.

Sleep.

AND THEN YOU WAKE UP AND THEY'RE STEALING YOUR KIDNEYS

So now I wake up. Too little, too late. Probably. But I will now speak for the Occupiers, because now I am awake, and I see that soon there will be nobody left to speak for me.