I've argued for some time now that this period of time will either be remembered by historians as 'The Great Conversation', or as 'The Second Great Depression.'

My aim, in #Occupy, is to foster that conversation, with the hope that we might avoid warfare and class conflict while working to resolve the present challenges our global society faces. A transition is inevitable, and it is in all of our best interests to acknowledge that, and to seek ways to make the transition easier for all.

I'm very happy to have found this site, and look forward to seeing the brilliance that emerges from it. A lot of great things have been accomplished by small groups of motivated and intelligent online activists.

Hi Consensus,
you write that according to you a transition is inevitable. Maybe there will be no big transitions, as happened with previous protests. Or there could also be a transition in a negative direction, ie less rights and more difference between rich and powerful people.
Enthusiasm is a very good thing, but alone it cannot solve the deep problems that we see and try to analyse. Only by finding a common strategy and deploying it we can change something in the direction that we want.

Agreed entirely. It's important to emphasize that 'surrendering to
inertia' will not accomplish anything good.

good forum. definitely easier for people to chime in here rather than try to figure out where in NYC an occupy GA is happening. i think the biggest stumbling block is framing the conversation. there are as many political "issues" as there are people registered to vote. i'd like to see more focus locally, here in NYC. wisconsin has their work cut out for them; but, for us here in NYC under the nazi leadership of Mayor Mike "1%" Bloomberg the insanity continues.

For those who don't know, Bloomberg basically hijacked the last Mayoral election. New York City overwhelmingly approved term limits for Mayors. Bloomberg decided the voter created law didn't apply to him so he got term limits overturned and stole a third term. Since then the bed bug and rat population has exploded because 1% Mike has banned most all home pesticides. Taxes on cigarettes are at $9/pack (the extra tax money allegedly goes to pay for children's health care); there's a brewing war between NYPD and the South Bronx, rental housing is sub-standard and grossly over-priced. finally, the city lags in job growth behind many other major cities.

I'd love to orchestrate and promote a grand ceremonial overthrow complete with horses, armor and swords; but, budget and prudence preclude it. Hence, I think the best way to get rid of the 1% Mayor here in NYC is to begin a set of protests against City Council to encourage City Council to issue a "no-confidence" vote against Mike Bloomberg. I think this would be a very strong first step. How do you feel about this? Do you think it could work? Is this objective in line with other objectives of Occupy?

The OP expresses the "hope that we might avoid warfare and class conflict", but that warfare and class conflict have been inflicted on us for millennia worldwide, centuries in this country, and with an ever-growing pace and rhythm of attack over the last thirty years:

In the '80s, the worst plutocrats--call 'em "Wall Street" if you want, or "the 1%", who don't even care about putting up even a facade of nonplutocracy--stole the parties (the GOP behind Reagan, and the Democrats behind the "Democratic Leadership Council", the Clintons and Obamas and their ilk), and in the '90s the laws, and in the last decade everything else, and now want to make everyone else--"the 99%"--pay back what they--"the 1%"--stole (cf. "austerity").

And they've got things rigged now so that they can launch horrifying economic attacks against the world and this country--see the Oil Bubble of 2006-8, the Food Bubble of last year and this, and the present Oil Bubble--with perfect impunity.

And even get "bailout" funds afterward.

Looting after looting.

Deregulate, loot, and (more loosely) re-regulate:

The New Economics.

What reason--what mercy--can be expected from such as these, and their political and legal and other professional flacks?