Regarding the “Debate” With Drysift

As all of my readers know, I cannot go. The poll will be closed shortly, and the results are a very conclusive ‘respond first you derp’.

My last message to drysift before explaining my tactics and moving on is after the jump. If you are interested in watching the spectacle unfold, visit http://tinychat.com/debate at 7pm Pacific time and get some popcorn. I predict much whining.

drysift, you are interested in just shouting, drama, name calling, and all around nastiness. You embody the dregs that are left of Occupy San Diego, and hardly the spirit of the average person in the movement on day one.

I was willing to give the movement credit in the beginning. Now? It’s devolved into an utter joke. People will not and cannot take your movement seriously if it continues to wallow in a permanent victim-hood status. Grow up and mature as a movement. Get beyond the belligerence against the cops, drop the radicals, start organizing politically.

I was a “borderline hater” because I recognized that Occupy San Diego wasn’t just lashing out at invisible actors – but real people. A pair of real businesses got savaged by that movement. Real people got assaulted by bitter anarchists. As have real cops. The city of San Diego has to spend real money on overtime for the extra police presence at a time when the city is facing significant financial dilemmas. A real person fell to their death hanging up a banner in week two of the protest.

I continue to posit that the leaderless, figure-it-out-as-you-go style of mob protest is a highly destructive and hostile way to go about making a political point. It’s simply too easy to subvert these movements with small pockets of organized radicals, and it’s impossible even for one of these movements with good intentions to effectively police itself once they grow beyond several dozen people.

Please, drysift, prove me wrong in any of my points throughout our exchange. My ‘bias’ reflects the opinions and suspicions of many average people, not just those in the tea party movement or even in the broader conservative camp. To duck and dodge and make excuses the way you have just looks weak. What else does it look like? Dishonesty.

You challenged me to go back down there. I have, and intend to do so – not just in a research capacity, no no. You’ll see. I couldn’t help but notice that Civic Center Plaza is a mess. Maybe it’s always been that way – but more things jumped out to me that I didn’t see on October 7th – smashed bottles. Stairways smelling like urine. Discarded panties. Countless tissues and scraps of paper. Food trash strewn in the dark and out-of-immediate-view places around the edges of the plaza. People selling smokes to minors on the street corner in view of the lobby of city hall.

I’m -so- happy to see that Occupy San Diego is so concerned about respecting the City Hall of San Diego as well as the people of San Diego that they clearly sent out aggressive trash sweeps to leave the area better then how they found it – oh wait. You didn’t.

If being upset with what’s being done to my city makes me a hater, then I suppose that means the bulk of San Diego are haters too.

Grow a pair and respond, drysift – otherwise, we’re done. You had your chance! 😀 Now I got a tea party meeting to get to. It’s absolutely hilarious to me that the time you called out just so happened to be the exact start of the meeting.

-Doug

Look for content tomorrow! Swing by the about page and check the BTR links for the latest podcast! Also see previous entry for a few extra tidbits and sneak peeks.