Wow... 'The Moral Example Of UC Davis Students, And Occupy Wall Street' - PsychologyToday

[WillyT]

The turning point: The moral example of UC Davis students, and Occupy Wall Street
If America needs a moral turning point, this is it.
Published on November 19, 2011
by Michael Chorost, Ph.D. in World Wide Mind

<snip>

The video is shocking. A line of students sits on the ground, heads bowed. A police officer dressed in riot gear walks up to them, holding a pepper spray gun. He theatrically raises his arm, as if about to carry out an execution, and presses the trigger. A foul-looking orange spray shoots out. Methodically, deliberately, he walks to the end of the line, saturating each student. He might as well be casually spraying bug spray. When he reaches the end he begins walking back in the other direction, spraying each of them again. The students huddle in obvious pain. People in the crowd nearby gasp in shock and began chanting, "Shame on you! Shame on you! Shame on you!"

This event is powerfully symbolic. It is about contempt from those in power and the wanton use of force against the powerless.

We have seen similar things over and over again in the past few years. We have seen it in banks lobbying for public handouts and then denying relief to millions of exploited homeowners. We have seen it in tax breaks and bonuses for the rich while millions of Americans are out of work. We have seen it in church and university officers abusing children and then covering it up. We have seen it in the censorship of climate science performed in the public interest. We have seen it in the absurd declaration that corporations are "people" and entitled to spend billions of dollars to elect representatives that they will then own. We have seen it everywhere we turn.

The police officer is Congress. Our banks. Our clerics... The students are us... If I had to sum up the attitude of America's governing classes in one word, I would say: contempt.

We are seeing the beginning of a worldwide movement to fight for dignity and intelligent, collective governance. It is remarkable, the parallels between what we see in Tunisia, in Cairo, in Rome, in Zucotti Park, in Oakland, California, and now at UC Davis.

<snip>

More: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/world-wide-mind/201111/the-turning-point-the-moral-example-uc-davis-students-and-occupy-wall-st

:kick:

[Speck Tater]

1. K&R Wow! Just wow! nt

[SalviaBlue]

2. K&R

thanks for the link

[PETRUS]

3. Dang! K&R

[NBachers]

4. Wow- ain't that something?

[wakemewhenitsover]

5. Fantastic summary of abuse of power going on in the US.

Thank you to Dr. Chorost for perceiving these many parallels, and recognizing the symbolic significance of this most recent instance of contempt.

Thanks for posting.

[Zorra]

6. WOOT! "We are seeing the beginning of a worldwide movement

to fight for dignity and intelligent, collective governance."

Yes we is, and that's a fact.
:bounce:

[freshwest]

53. I hope the rest of the world sees that not all Americans are stupid, we support OWS.

[Kablooie]

7. This fourth Turning may not be such a bad thing after all.

[silverweb]

8. K&R

:kick:

[Brigid]

9. Most, most excellent.

K & R, of course.

[hootinholler]

10. I think the walk of shame afterward was powerful also.

This may rattle some cages if the powers that be are paying attention.

[WillyT]

11. Agree On Both Points...

:hi:

:kick:

[oldhippydude]

52. iconic images

us old farts remember the images of Viet Nam... the black and white photo of a Viet Namese national executed with a shot through the temple... and later on the color picture of a young Viet Namese girl, running naked, engulfed by napalm.. those images did as much to stop the war, as any newscast

[russspeakeasy]

39. "the powers that be" are not paying attention and haven't

since the day they were each elected. "Fuck you, I'm in and I'm going to grab all the money and power I can before you catch on and vote me out and replace me with another asshole".

[renate]

12. that article is really worth reading

Thanks for posting it! :thumbsup:

[socialindependocrat]

13. Bullying struck me...

At a time when we see so many articles about bullying and suicide
it is strange that we see bullying by our leaders.

Maybe that whole idea about kids needing to bully because they feel
powerless is proving itself in the treatment being meted out by
the "authorities" - police, college officials, governors, mayors
and the list goes on.

How dare we piss off those in charge when we are the one's who are
footing the bill to pay these people. We are paying these people to
abuse us.

This is truly the beginning of the awakening of the unappreciated!
We are paying the tab to create someone else's utopia!

No more!!! It's our turn now!!

[defendandprotect]

15. "Strange"? You can only hold power over people by violence ... !!!

And the police are acting for elites -- and the powerful in our society --

people who have converted ill gotten dollar bills into power!

[dotymed]

37. That reminded me of the recent decision by Hugo

Chavez to re-appropriate an oceanside resort that had been previously, an exclusive playground for the wealthy. I believe that it had fallen into disrepair but that is beside the point.

Chavez decided that this beachfront hotel should be used for the poor people to be able to enjoy and vacation there (either for free or very inexpensively) even if they are "financially disadvantaged," they are entitled to some "utopia" and and a chance to enjoy beauty while "unwinding." This is another "right" reserved only for those who have money, much as decent health care is.

IMO, capitalism has it ALL backwards. Who deserves to relax more, a person who gets wealthy at the expense of others or a person who has to survive while enduring the dehumanizing position that being poor allocates you to, in a capitalistic society? Quite often, "poor" (materialistically) people choose to remain so. There are opportunities to take advantage of others for profit, or steal, etc. Yet those who refuse to do so, choose not to take advantage of others usually because they have a conscience.

It seems that (if it is possessed) many of the (especially "old money") wealthy are taught (some refuse this "education") to ignore their moral compass. It only gets in the way of acquiring and/or maintaining wealth.

Yes, we need our own Utopia. Trying to convince anyone who has "earned the right" to enjoy life, is usually futile. Many more of those people would support universal health care, than would support a person's "right" to vacation or enjoy the short life we have.

[defendandprotect]

14. "Shame on you!" -- and the pics of police brutality will spread throughout te nation ... !!

[Contrary1]

16. "I think we have just reached a turning point."

That last sentence sums it all up nicely.

There are more rounds to be fought, for sure...but, the PTB are losing.

[sce56]

17. Yeah I have some photos to go with some of those words!

[TriMera]

18. K&R. n/t

[dorksied]

19. K, R, and agree 100%. Brilliant.

[freshwest]

20. K & R and what ypu said. Welcome to DU.

[Amonester]

21. Now at + 99.

(Needs more recs, however).

Proud of DU too. :hi:

[FirstLight]

22. MUST READ! :)

that was amazing...shared for sure...pass it on ;) :bounce: we have definitely turned a corner...

did you guys see this one about Peaceful Protest? another amazing article...
http://www.peaceworkersus.org/how-to-destroy-the-occupy-movement-and-how-to-prevent-it-from-failing/">"How to destroy the Occupy Movement and how to prevent it from failing"

there was a thread here on it too, from this morning i think, but i can't find it now...

[DeSwiss]

23. Yes. K&R n/t

[Douglas Carpenter]

24. the full article is a must read --- knr

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/world-wide-mind/201111/the-turning-point-the-moral-example-uc-davis-students-and-occupy-wall-st


.

[woo me with science]

25. Wow, wow, wow.

That is just beautiful.

K&R a million times.

[girl_interrupted]

K&R!!!

[girl_interrupted]

26. K&R!!!

[Divernan]

27. Forwarded this to a bunch of faux "Christians". I mean, Who Would Jesus Pepper Spray?

A bunch of my former high school classmates are always sending around these crap emails with portraits of a blonde, blue-eyed Jesus and exhortations not to break this prayer chain or disaster will befall, but if you forward it TO 10 PEOPLE WITHIN TEN MINUTES, The Lord will bless you financially within one day!

[Fumesucker]

28. Send them this too..

:evilgrin:


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x2354150

[barbtries]

29. recommended

there are also two other links in the piece that deserve the read.

[Casandia]

30. WOW - Dr. Chorost's article is SPOT ON nt

[Hubert Flottz]

31. A clue that we live in a police state.

If a police officer lies to you when he's talking to you, he's just a good guy, doing his job. If a police officer beats you with a club for peacefully addressing your grievance against an unfair government, he's a fine public servant, taking care of business.

If you lie to a police officer, you are a "Criminal"
If you hit a cop who hit you, you are a "Criminal"
Where's the "equality" in a system like this?
The police are above the law.
How can this be good?

[handmade34]

32. K&R

Thank you UC Davis Students!

[RoccoR5955]

33. From the article:

"Nonetheless, America's two most famous recent political movements - the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street - have taught us several things. It is possible to get the country's attention. And getting its attention is equivalent to setting its agenda.

"The Tea Party, which is now fading fast, was always a faux movement, funded by secretive billionaires and so aggressively, laughably ignorant that neither it nor its candidates could retain credibility for long.

"But Occupy Wall Street is much more broadly based. It has a large and powerful set of progressive ideas to draw upon. And it is getting the country's attention.

"What Occupy Wall Street needs to do is set a moral example. Moral examples move people to action. I am very proud of the students at UC Davis, both the ones who remained seated, heads down, and the ones in the crowd surrounding them. They vastly outnumbered the police officers. They could have torn them apart. I have no doubt that many of them wanted to. I wanted to.

"But, as Gandhi and Martin Luther King so well understood, nonviolent resistance is extraordinarily powerful. It shows who holds the moral high ground. It reveals the thugs and bullies in high places for who they are. It creates sympathy and evokes principled action. It clears the way for thoughtful men and women of conscience and character to speak out for rational courses of action.

"I think we have just reached a turning point."

These are powerful statements that we, as part of the global movement should listen to.

[russspeakeasy]

62. Well put Rocco..

[formercia]

34. Great article, great publication.

K&R

[mmonk]

35. May I make a suggestion?

Print a copy of this and send it to your Democratic Party rep. if they are planning to continue budget cutting of our public infrastruture and safety net in these hard times which generally has been Republican ideas or ideology, ask them why, and ask them why they continue to ignore the cries of their constituents in the streets.

[russspeakeasy]

63. It would have to be sent with a donation.

[Alcibiades]

36. I've never been so proud to be an Aggie.

K&R

[Bluenorthwest]

38. Wonderful.

And utterly correct.

[shireen]

40. i get so exasperated by people who want to see a list of 'demands'

From now on, i can save my energy and just tell them to read this blog. It's outstanding.

[Mrs. Ted Nancy]

41. Jerry Brown has left the state

"Jerry Brown leaves California on vacation, destination unknown
Gov. Jerry Brown has left the state for parts unknown.

Brown's office announced this afternoon that the Democratic governor had left the state, but it declined to say where Brown is going or for how long.

"We don't discuss the details of his private vacation," Brown spokeswoman Elizabeth Ashford said.

The trip is Brown's third out of state since he took office in January. His previous two trips were to Las Vegas for public events.

Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom is acting governor while Brown is out of state."



http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2011/11/jerry-brown-leaves-california-vacation-destination-unknown.html

[H2O Man]

42. Recommended.

Thanks for this!

[Tuesday Afternoon]

43. recommend

[valerief]

44. Holy Cannoli! A mainstream publication saying something nice about OWS. In America, no less!!!!!

Will wonders never cease.

Way cool.

[Spazito]

45. Wow!

"The police officer is Congress. Our banks. Our clerics... The students are us... If I had to sum up the attitude of America's governing classes in one word, I would say: contempt."

So true.

Recommended.

[sulphurdunn]

46. Over the last generation

we have created police forces to enforce the law using violence, not to keep the peace using the power of their authority. They have been trained as para-paramilitaries in the use of violence to suppress riots, not police responsible for crowd control at peaceful demonstrations. They increasingly don't know how to act any other way than with violence. It must be very confusing to them when their targets won't fight back.

[Bryn]

47. Shared on my facebook

:kick:

This photo came from FB:

[woo me with science]

48. Kick. nt

[certainot]

49. 1% have 1000 radio stations to excuse & enable the cops & GOP & media and it will work if

the left keeps giving those stations a free speech free ride.

the 1% have team limbaugh reaching 50 mil a week and getting a free speech free ride and that's all it takes to create a tea party-sized constituency the media and republicans can point to excuse and ignore and legitimize the crap going on.

this should be a slam dunk for the 99% but the left is continuing the biggest poitical blunder in history by ignoring talk radio as it minimizes OWS gains and goals and takes free pot shots at protestors.

good on PT for this but willl it go farther than the left's blogs?

[Tumbulu]

55. Good point!!!!!

Why is the hate radio allowed at all. Free speech is not entitled to free use of the public airwaves!!!!!

How can we stop it?

Urban people do not understand how much power these radio stations have.

[certainot]

60. IMO best way to fix the radio is to get university sports off it. many of the loudest stations depen

d on uni sports for community credibility and bring in ad dollars.

most or all universities have mission statements that would prohibit associating with racism, misogyny, global warming denial and think tank-coordinated partisan lying and they just need to be called on it with petitions, etc.

losing uni sports would put down a lot of RW stations- they would need to either balance the limbaughs with progressives, which would destroy their monopoly and certitude or go to non political. and most local businesses in blue states are not going to defend limbaugh and will be shamed into looking for alternatives.

and pro sports might be shamed into following.

[Tumbulu]

72. What a fabulous idea

I guess we have to begin an "Occupy Airwaves" and all of us who join up need to begin with whatever local sports teams we can find......

This deserves it's own OP.

Want to start it?

[certainot]

75. been suggesting challenging 'samson's hair' for many years but there is no written record for

people who get nauseous listening to it to read, so most don't believe it. RWTR is the perfect weapon.

i am increasingly convinced that the universities are the way to fix this. 15 of 16 unis in the NCAA basketball tourney last year brooadcast on limbaugh stations and therefore endorsed those stations, which are dedicated to documented anti-science global warming denial, racism, and misogyny that was really apparent in the last few weeks as limbaugh defended cain and attacked his accusers.

i have a slow connection now and can't research how many of limbaugh's 600 stations depend on universities but i think it would be significant.

i've spoken with local RW radio sponsors and few (in the west) defend limbaugh and spawn- they're not thinking politically, just biz. but i have called those numbers and talked to owners and managers and few will defend the crap. a few ended up switching and i was the first to call them about this.

university students and faculty and communities need to cut samson's hair. i doubt any universities could defend the conflict with their mission statements - they will say money but there are plenty of sports stations around that would love to pick up the slack. and how many of those uni-radio associations contract-wise go back before those stations became partisan megaphones for the republican 1%.

the GOP 1% has a huge advantage with their RWTR monopoly but if a few unis broke their contracts (stations licensed to operate in the public interest now doing that shit) or decided not to renew it would start a big slide for RWTR if any of those stations decided they had to offer balance or switch to sports to maintain their big money uni associations.

you got any suggestions?

[Tumbulu]

76. I wanted to organize a band of people who would call in

and then just play the fax note sound once on the air....and thus make it so that these guys get only irritating callers. But to do this one would need to set up an army of volunteers who have phone numbers in wrong wing areas and be able to act out the part of a ditto- head. A bit complicated really.

I like your idea.

I'll try to think of more, though. I have been waiting too long for someone else to do this....time for me to do something.

[certainot]

77. they have sophisticated call screening software so they can give a number a happy face or a

nasty face (that's you and me) and ignore us or not. and the ones from the heritage foundation are super happy faces that go to the top of the line, always ahead of us.

a whistleblower reward for paid callers might help also....

[AikidoSoul]

81. This would be worth organizing! It would make all

the difference.

Who can help? Can we make this happen?

[Beavker]

50. Yet I still have people I know on Facebook

siding with the 1% and police. And believe me, these people have more in common with the 99%ers than the 1%, other than their contempt for people that want more from our society and their current fortune that they haven't been subjected to the same hardships.

USA, empathy is dead. Gone the way of the Dodo bird, clubbed into non-existance.

[Mendocino]

74. What people want in this country,

is beer and circus. The 1% realize it, opiates for the masses. The other few who don't want it are fed to the lions. The Romans figured this out eons ago.

[MissDeeds]

51. I am ashamed and horrified

this took place in our country. The students were seated, passive, non-threatening. This picture and video will linger long after those involved are gone. Absolutely disgraceful.

K&R

[BlancheSplanchnik]

54. "Getting the country's attention is equivalent to setting its agenda"

as Chorost says.

Yes, absolutely!!! And to see this article, written in such morally (or, 'ethically', a term I prefer) definative terms, so clearly on the side of reason and against ideological "morality", IN A MAINSTREAM publication is incredibly encouraging.

Seems to me that for decades, the "proper" style of public discourse has been a form of diplomatic equivocation. Newsfotainment, of course is saturated with this false respect for all viewpoints. Or its opposite, rabid hostility against (the perceived enemy--Liberals) threats to the corporate and traditionalist yes-men. Definitely, this disingenuous courtesy seems to be required within corporate culture, at least for everyone lower in the hierarchy than the governing CEO's.

I suppose the intent of this "kindly tolerant indifference" was originally supposed to be political correctness, but the unwillingness to publicly denounce evil, this lack of discrimination between good and bad, right and wrong, reason and the glaringly asinine has become rife in society. We see its resultant manifestation in the inability of so many to think critically.

Perhaps the very insincerity, equivocation and obsequious nature of this trend of bullshit demands its opposite: loud mouthed, aggressive blowhharding. Yet both forms of discourse, both mind sets, still suffer from a lack of reasoned thought; in other words, they are both inappropriate reactions to reality.

Chorost gives a list of APPROPRIATE reactions to reality--basically, what we progressives have known and been calling for for so long. They are the demands of OWS:

They want a fairer tax system. They want a sane energy policy that addresses climate change and searches for cleaner ways to power our civilization. They want a government that is not wholly owned by the rich. They want access to justice and education. They want a reasonable hope of getting and keeping a job that gives them a living wage and the ability to invest for the future.

They want a rational health care system that they can afford. They want government policy that is driven by thoughtful attention to rational research, not ideology. They want a transparent government that holds the powerful accountable. They want a government that understands the importance of investing now in human capital and infrastructure.

I am thankful to be counted among those who recognize what is right and true.


(Huge KandR for this OP and for Dr. Chorost/Psychology Today)

[raouldukelives]

56. K&R

[Pooka Fey]

57. K&R

[GliderGuider]

58. Chorost nailed it - tipping point it is! K&R

:woohoo:

[Fly by night]

59. When we're ready to start eating the rich, count me in.

K&R.

[Blue Owl]

61. That fuckin' piece of shit cop can fry in hell

n/t

[russspeakeasy]

65. If he has a mother, I hate her.

[Liberal_in_LA]

64. k&r

[stormpilot]

66. UC Davis quad right now >

[stormpilot]

67. my image source

image source: https://twitter.com/?photo_id=1#!/joeja/status/138723884282290176/photo/1

[tblue37]

73. The cops are going to need industrial drum-sized containers of

pepper spray for that crowd!

[Faygo Kid]

68. This is the moment, the photo, for the Millenials.

We Boomers had ours, too.

[Fire Walk With Me]

83. I am so, so sorry.

:(

[JuniperLea]

69. VERY powerful words!

"What Occupy Wall Street needs to do is set a moral example. Moral examples move people to action. I am very proud of the students at UC Davis, both the ones who remained seated, heads down, and the ones in the crowd surrounding them. They vastly outnumbered the police officers. They could have torn them apart. I have no doubt that many of them wanted to. I wanted to.

But, as Gandhi and Martin Luther King so well understood, nonviolent resistance is extraordinarily powerful. It shows who holds the moral high ground. It reveals the thugs and bullies in high places for who they are. It creates sympathy and evokes principled action. It clears the way for thoughtful men and women of conscience and character to speak out for rational courses of action."

[zentrum]

70. HER CONTACT INFORMATION

http://chancellor.ucdavis.edu/contact.php

That url will take you to a page with her internal email.

BE POLITE to honor the non-violent bravery of the UCDavis students both then and now.

[LWolf]

71. k&r

[lonestarnot]

78. Perfect!

[glinda]

79. K & R n/t

[woo me with science]

80. Kick. nt

[TransitJohn]

82. I like it.