Semi-organized, general complaint

I'm not judging - just observing.

The "protests" on Wall Street in Boston and other cities seem to be a little peculiar. I mean it's almost as if people come together to complain about things in general - more or less to express the idea that something isn't right here. The repeat-after-me chants are awkward. People aren't sure what the leader of the chant, is going to say. They're hoping it will make sense but often it doesn't. It's really quite odd isn't it? It would seem that the wants are fragmented, loosely defined, numerous and having variety even in scale. Wouldn't it make more sense to decide what exactly we (the group) would like to have changed and be very specific? It is very difficult to get a large group to agree on what might be a good thing to change and how (be specific) to change it. What will the new rules (laws) be? To get that done (in a broad sense - not to mention the details and the language etc) is really something people will debate over. That's what government and democracy and an orderly society struggle to do all the time. That's why we have a political system in the first place. It's a way to shape the world we want. It isn't easy - it's practically impossible but we try anyway. Smart people, stupid people, the tall and the short - we try to work it out. It seems like the current protesting groups - having no way to be "specific" without grinding, debating and considering the downstream consequences of things we'd like to change, have decided to skip the process all together and go directly to protesting "things in general".

In a way - I get it but have a tough time seeing how a non-specific argument can be won. Today I read Bob Lefsetz blog piece. Bob makes a lot of sense most of the time - and sometimes he makes none but after reading his thing today, I felt like it explains part of what I didn't really understand about the situation. There's a quote by Italian journalist Corrado Alvaro, quoted in the Sydney Australian:

"The blackest despair that can take hold of any society is the fear that living honestly is futile."

What the non-specific complaint is about is that people believe the game is rigged, that if they play by the rules they just can't win. And winning doesn't mean a private jet and an island vacation but the ability to put food on the table under your own roof after doing a hard day's work. It's not that rich people should cough up all their dough, but how is it that hedge fund management fees are taxed at capital gains rates when they're guaranteed?

What's up with that. Aren't we somehow getting hosed by this stuff - the people in the streets are saying.

I get that. I get it today better than I did yesterday. I still say that it would be better to be specific about what you want but I do get the general idea that if the game is rigged, we've got problems. The idea that a group gathers with the sole purpose of putting up a fuss - a general-fuss, just to bring attention... I think I get it.

Here's a link to Bob Lefsetz piece.