This entire stream of consciousness posting is just weird.

Of course, if you can't make an actual coherent argument, something like this is what I would expect. We already know that Mr. Steyn has resorted to asserting that the OWS movement supports "the destruction of civilized society." So, it is not like he is capable of making a real argument.

Seriously - I'm a little amazed troll had the cojones to type that.

What I love about comments like this: you just string together a bunch of words and, without actually putting forth an argument justifying your point, you declare that that which you're commenting on is wrong/idiotic/incoherent/immoral, not because you've proved such, but because you said so.

That this sort of 'argument' passes for savvy interlocution in this day and age is another sad example in support of Steyn's bete noire: the slow-motion destruction of the West, which, in its convulsions, allows the fools and ignorati to take a sledgehammer to its splintering foundations (in this case, substituting cogent rebuttal w/ mindless screed) with near-impunity.

I'm not really offended by the lawless, chaotic and makeshift nature of the protests. If anything, I find it fascinating and interesting - like a pioneer town or something. But the violence and insecurity strike me as artifacts of the anti-capitalist spirit of the event, not its lawlessness.

If there were more of a market spin to it then you'd see vendors selling blankets, tents, ground space, food, and even security. But these people are not there to generate revenues or produce income, so I gather that any such business ventures would have trouble getting off the ground (especially with sometime availability of free substitutes). So instead it's a gigantic cluster of selfish people mooching off of self-styled idealists, nobody with clear lines and no real market in the things people need.

It seems like they'd do better to get some office space to continue the cause. But rather than just everybody sitting around performing absurdist theater, they would only use the office space for people with the time and skills to really get the movement going. The others could go out and get jobs in the actual economy, if they can find them, and then contribute some of that money to the movement to pay for the full time workers. And to ensure financial accountability, the group could register as a non-profit corporation with the state and apply for tax exemption from the IRS (which requires financial disclosures). Normal people might call the end result a "lobbying organization" or a "political party."

This assumes that they actually want some sort of formal effect on the political process, of course. It seems much more likely that OWS is more about how the occupiers feel about themselves than about effecting any measurable change on politics or the economy.

Nothing says "Important" like raping your own protestors, stealing from one another and your donors, assaulting elderly women and having dead bodies show up. IMPORTANT!

Can you say: "Straw man"?

It is my understanding that these people are actually pressuring crime victims to shut up and "let it be handled internally".

The problem of course is that you can't rely on the protection of all that you style yourself the enemy of.

Media attention will fade, and eventually nothing will remain from all this hoopla. However, if the OWS crowd created a permanent organization as described above, there might be some legacy to the movement. As it stands, I'd predict this flash in the pan protest movement has about run its course.

Back when the tea party was having rallies that people actually attended or paid attention to, NRO and conservatives railed against anyone who attempted to attribute the handful of racist and other unsavory acts of a handful to the entire movement. Mr. Steyn et al. attempt the same cheap tricks with OWS.