Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?
This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.
Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Notes -
There's a very common notion in class-first left-wing circles that identity politics sharply ticked up right after Occupy Wall Street in order to keep people divided and away from actually threatening things (the stronger version of this is that it was deliberately coordinated)
Has anyone run into an actual attempt to prove or disprove this with data? (Besides that one chart of NYT's mentions of 'isms' going up)
I've heard the theory that OWS was basically a poorly coordinated but earnest leftist response to the Tea Party phenomenon, which gained momentum only a few months earlier. I find that somewhat more believable, although I'm admittedly rather ignorant of the whole thing. In short, many leftists were understandably irritated by the spectre of right-winger reactionary Whites successfully organizing large public protests with a populist economic message and large media attention, and were inclined to demonstrate that they are capable of the whole thing as well.
As far as I can tell, OWS was largely a flash in the pan, and petered out rather quickly, precisely because the lack of a coordinated and thought-out effort and public image, so I don't think that much endeavor was put into it.
Probably. But also probably due to a lack of any sort of institutional or elite support. The Tea Party seems to have found a way to slot in the usual GOP structure.
OWS...couldn't. Not just cause the Dems were bailing out the banks but because they were never going to be truly hostile to them whereas distrusting the government has a proud conservative legacy.
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link