Why Occupy Bangkok is Working and Occupy Wall Street Didn’t

[damnedifIknow]

Occupy Wall Street, ideologically speaking, could not have been any more universally appealing. It was the 99% against the 1% (or more accurately – the 99.9% vs. the 0.1%), with the realization that big money had taken over politics and society to the detriment of all, regardless of political affiliation.

With such a broadly appealing message, how come the movement fizzled?

Conversely, on the other side of the planet, “Occupy Bangkok” seeks to overthrow a regime propped up by Wall Street – that of billionaire despot Thaksin Shinawatra who for over a decade has served Western interests at great cost to the Southeast Asian nation of Thailand. Unlike Occupy Wall Street, Occupy Bangkok has been greatly successful. It has united unions, students, farmers, workers, business owners both big and small, against the corrosive influence of Thaksin Shinawatra and his Western backers."

*They have done so because they have institutions standing behind them, from media, to military, to courts, and large, influential political parties, as well as genuine, indigenous NGOs – all combining and coordinating against the regime and its foreign backers to equal or best every move they make."

http://www.globalresearch.ca/why-occupy-bangkok-is-working-and-occupy-wall-street-didnt/5369124

[debunkthis]

1. Main stream media in the US

is worse than pathetic when it come to backing, or even covering, any form of dissent.

[Fumesucker]

7. Untrue, the Teabaggers get outstanding coverage..

If you are talking dissent by anyone to the left of Genghis Khan then you have a point.

[pampango]

2. We should assess large, sustained protests as a sign that people are fed up rather than accepting

governments' (they all do it) attempt to portray protesters as 'far-left', 'far-right', 'terrorists', 'foreign agents' or fools.

Whether I support a particular government - perhaps by the stances it takes in international politics or 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' - should not determine whether I give protesters the benefit of the doubt. At least until duplicity is proven rather than simply alleged by self-serving government statements.

Great article, damnedifIknow. Thanks for posting it. Occupy Bangkok rocks.

[Spider Jerusalem]

3. OWS was more like "the 25% vs the 1%"

disaffected mostly white, mostly middle-class, university students and recent graduates liveblogging their protests on their shiny Apple i-Devices? Fuck off, you're not the "dispossessed", you have no idea what that even actually means. There's not much "universal appeal" there. The bourgeoisie don't start revolutions. You need a base of popular support for that.

[iandhr]

8. Not necessarily

Occupy Rothschild boulevard (Israel's social justice protests) where 400,000 people were in the streets was most an educated middle class movement.

[iandhr]

9. Also for the popular support...

… people need to be aware who is screwing them.


The educated middle class gets it.

Working class people who have trouble with the idea of a black President don't.


LBJ said "if you can convince the lowest white man he is better then the colored man he won't notice you picking his pocket."

[NuclearDem]

4. When institutions back protests, all that means is they can read the writing on the wall.

Not disparaging Occupy Bangkok at all, but the military gave its support to the protestors in Egypt as well, and look how that turned out.

[TheMathieu]

5. It was over for OWS the moment they proclaimed "we're not political"

And invited every wingnut in the country to join them.

I was hopeful when organized labor joined in on a few protests, but once the trust fund kids took over and turned it into perpetual Burning Man camps full of poetry readings and rape... I knew it was over.

[pampango]

6. Thai farmers besiege government buildings in Bangkok - video

Hundreds of rice farmers breach perimeter fences around the government buildings in Bangkok on Monday. The farmers, angry at late payments for their crops, push at razor-wire barricades and army soldiers outside government offices, including a temporary headquarters used by prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2014/feb/17/thai-farmers-government-buildings-bangkok-video

[pampango]

10. Thailand police and protesters clash in Bangkok

Three people have been killed and dozens injured in violence that erupted as Thai police began clearing protest sites in the capital, Bangkok. Police are trying to retake official sites that have been blocked by demonstrators since late last year.

Demonstrators have occupied official sites over the past few months, calling on the government to step down. The government has announced that it wants to retake all the besieged buildings this week.

The prime minister's office, Government House, has been a focal point for the demonstrators. Thousands gathered outside the building on Monday, cementing the gates shut in a bid to stop officials returning to work.

Meanwhile, Thailand's anti-corruption body said it would file charges against Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra over a controversial rice subsidy scheme.



http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-26224510

The pictures and reports of demonstrators occupying government buildings sounds like warm Kiev.

[Egalitarian Thug]

11. Yet another media outlet makes declaration 4,983 regarding the demise of OWS.

Gee, for a thing that's been dead for years, they sure do seem to enjoy announcing it over and over.