I hate to be a harbinger of bad news.
But a telling photo essay from The Oregonian, (I’m in one of the pics) from several photographers, tells me, in their faces, that many of the OccupyHUIA movement, (HeadUpItsArse, Bushmill’s name, not mine) have grown up the past few weeks.
Worse than winning, they think they have won, and will be happy to be around for a Round Two when and where it’s called.
Having met the demon, agreed, of their own making, they will now walk away believing they have stared it down.
This is not a good thing to allow happen.
Most of them will go home and remember these days with a warm afterglow, while drifting along wherever the country’s future takes them.
And most will never do this thing again, but most will speak highly of it, and become ambassadors for even younger youth. Most will get a job and move on dot org with their lives. Their education in life studies lies ahead. But among the few thousand that wandered in and out of Chapman Square since OccupyPortland began in October, organizers have found perhaps as many as fifty among them who have said in one way or the other, “This is the place for me.”
They are keepers.
You can almost tell from their faces that some have found that certain je ne sais quo they’ve always looked for, but could never put their arms around. Now they have.
This is how the Bolsheviks seined their “keepers” through the useful idiot net in Russia before the Revolution. Remember Strelnikov? High minded, a bucket of cold water, and a thirst for more.
They learned far more about our side, at least the Portland/Sam Adams indulgent side of our side, than we learned about them.
“Fighting,” ok, that’s not the right word but I’ll use it anyway, these kids is much like fighting tribal peoples. You can’t just win, you have to win in such a way as to make sure they know they’re licked. You must remove all doubt they were in the right. Like a spanking, punishment must be meted out swiftly, with predictability, and a clear link between cause and effect. And a clear sense of wrong.
Portland failed miserably in this. In fact, all the other cities have as well. But they could have done better. Instead, now the organizers know, short of murder, the police, on orders from politicians, will suspend all their normal rules for citizens. Drugs? No problem. Public drunkenness, urination, crapping, sexual molestation, even rape? Again no problem. It’s an internal camp affair. May as well as happened on the Umatilla Reservation, where they have their own cops.
And screw the permit process we make every other citizen jump through hoops to obtain. Cede one inch of jurisdiction, which all the mayors did on the first day, and it didn’t take long for them to take that mile.
Yeah, they learned a lot.
Now some of you will say we should let them leave with their dignity, but the organizers of this group attained every objective:
the anti-capitalist statement remains intact (this is Oregon, after all)
The warm fuzzy feeling obtained by all for having “suffered privation” (gimme a break) and allowed to leave victorious means many will volunteer for a Round Two (preferably in Spring) and they will become goodwill ambassadors for thousands more, some still in high school, who will be around next time.
These photos remind me of kids on senior prom night, each going his separate way tomorrow, crying and weeping like it’s the end of an era. This is how my platoon looked when we split up in ’69.
But most of all the organizational, the trained cadre side of the bigger movement gained about fifty keepers.
Just consider all the future Occupy HUIA’s out there, and consider the tactical gain the Left has made with what 5000 new full time soldiers nationwide.
All I can say is the game will change hereafter. Oh sure, there will still be more useful idiots galore to become the cannon fodder for whatever the next round of events will be (we’re watching and listening but it seems no one wants to preempt them, so sometimes I wonder why bother?…this entire Occupy could have been prevented rather easily and inexpensively) but instead of a handful of steadying influences, they now have hundreds more in each city to send out.
The NCO ranks of the Left’s army has swelled considerably.
