One thing that a lot of people do not understand, and this is a concept that came up when a conservative blogger made a post on our forums about the Tea Party of Richmond complaining about Occupy Richmond not paying the same fees that they did (the Tea Party signed for a non-profit business license and was actually labeled as The Tea Party of Richmond, Inc."):
What we discussed was the fact that when the Tea Party protest in this video amassed thousands of people (
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4w8H...eature=related)
they left. Protesting for a period of time and then leaving DOES NOT CREATE CHANGE. The Occupations themselves are middle fingers to the government who, in the case of Raleigh, require a protest permit good for only four hours. The government which you are protesting sets the time, place, and manner, for which you may speak out against them.
See why that is a problem? The Occupation has some logistical issues and has made some downright head-shaking mistakes (I'm a fucking backpacker for chrissakes, I'm appalled by some of the methods they are using to inhabit this space) but the point of the Occupation itself is to say, "WE ARE NOT GOING TO FOLLOW YOUR RULES BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT LISTENING."
So, yeah, the space that is being occupied tends to be publicly visible because it becomes a public square, an agora... a forum. It is there to promote discussion. The /facepalm I have is because of the lack of logistics, it's driving people away instead of bringing them in. Again, that's what the media focuses on, instead of the message. Just realize that, first.
Shiftin: Perhaps I should redefine. Expenditures are one thing but let's take a look at the most (in)famous example: Property tax loopholes. Private jets should not be tax deductible. Trademark trading should not allow you to evade property (and sales) taxes:
http://www.wral.com/news/state/nccap...gpost/9744635/