I worry that the Occupy movement is going to branch off topic and become a law-and-order issue. Part of the problem is that protesters are doing nothing new. There is shockingly little creativity in the movement so far. With such a majority on their side of the issues, they should find ways to stay visible without alienating institutions that in fact are behind them in spirit. They especially need to bring this protest face to face with reality: the issue is capitalism, at least as practiced by the wealthy class today. This is why I think teach-ins could be an effective tool. It's time to un-demonize socialism and to look at its strengths and weaknesses as a political system. It's time to learn the same, strengths and weaknesses, about capitalism. So far the air is filled with slogans that don't mean much.
Perhaps it is too much to hope for that a protest movement would have solid intellectual foundation. Has this happened since the New Politics in the 60s?
What I fear, and actually predict, will happen with the Occupy movement is that it will overplay its hand, creating a law and order backlash that will push real issues away and elect those on the wrong side of the money issues, i.e. conservative Republicans. I don't expect this to turn out well -- and I very much hope I am wrong.
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