We thought given the powerful position of the planets in Sagittarius — the sign of telling it like it is — and Mercury going retrograde Thanksgiving Day, that a little help was in order, in case you’re a part of a number of American families whose political views may run fully to the right of vegan.
Ministry of Truth, aka Jesse La Greca, is from New York and is a regularly featured blogger at Daily Kos. His outstanding responses to the mainstream media’s serious and often non-serious questions about the OWS Movement have earned him national attention. Here are his recommendations if and when your family engages in a dinner table debate about current-day politics. — fb.
I thought this would help us keep the conversation about Occupy Wall Street from veering off into nonsense when we have to discuss it in the media. These are also useful when you are talking with your friends and family, whether it is on Facebook or in the real world, or just at your thanksgiving dinner table.
If someone makes the following statements, here are my suggested responses
Statement: “Occupy Wall Street protesters are dirty and need a bath.”
Answer : “Don’t change the subject, we are talking about reforming the banks and our government. We need to clean up Wall Street and Washington DC. That is more important than what you are talking about.”
Remember that it is important NOT to let a conversation about Occupy Wall Street become a discussion of petty side issues. Immediately shift away from side issues and get back to the BIG issues of bank accountability and the corporate lobbyist influence over our democracy.
Statement: “Occupy Wall Street protesters are (insert distracting Right Wing talking point about socialism/anarchy/personal insults here)”
Answer: “Don’t change the subject. Conservatives who hated Martin Luther King Jr used to say the same thing about him.”
Make sure to dismiss insulting talking points as fast as you can so you can get back on message about the good things OccupyWallStreet is working to achieve. Then tell your story about the good things and good people you have seen at OWS.
Statement: “Occupy Wall Street protesters should get a job”
Answer: “We would love to as soon as Republicans stop filibustering job bills so they can blame President Obama on the bad economy George W. Bush left him. We Occupy for Accountability. Why are you afraid to talk about corporate accountability?”
Frankly, I have ZERO patience for Republicans who scream “GET A JOB!” while Republican politicians do everything they can to filibuster and block job bills and stimulus bills. Remind Republicans that they helped create this mess and shift the conversation back to OWS in a positive way by discussing accountability for corporate politicians and corrupt big business.
NOTE: Occupy Wall Street is NOT about Democrats or Republicans, it is about ALL of us. Republican voters are hurting too, we are here to help them as well.
Statement: “Why doesn’t Occupy Wall Street have a clear message?”
Answer: “We do, but the people telling you that we don’t do not want to honestly discuss cleaning up Wall Street and Washington D.C., let me tell you more . . .”
Simple and short, OWS has a clear message about reforming Big Business and Government. Remind people that OWS DOES have a clear message, but some people simply do not want us to have this honest conversation about our future so they distract with side issues. Tell people that OWS DOES have a clear message, and then tell them what OWS means to you.
Statement: “Occupy Wall Street is associated with people who have done criminal things (drugs/rape/etc) . . . ”
Answer: “Who is the bigger criminal? Occupy Wall Street or Wall Street? Surely OWS could never compete with Wall Street on the matter of whose crimes are worse. I don’t want to dismiss criminality, I support accountability for everyone, but this is a side issue that distracts from the larger conversation we want to have about our future.”
Address the question, than dismiss it and go back to talking about accountability and our future. Stay on message, and the message is “Occupy Wall Street stands for accountability and justice for ALL, not just those who can’t afford lobbyists and high priced attorneys
Statement: “I saw on (Fox News/Rush Limbaugh, insert corrupt media outlet here) that people at Occupy Wall Street are doing X”
Answer: “Those aren’t real news sources, they are propaganda outlets for corporations and the corporate agenda. You shouldn’t believe everything you see on TV or hear on the radio.”
Again, address, dismiss, and then get back on message about the good things Occupy Wall Street is trying to achieve.
The formula I would advice you to use is very simple, and it works whether you are on camera or at the grocery store or church in your hometown or sitting around the Thanksgiving dinner table. Address the concern, dismiss it as a side issue that detracts from the larger discussion about OWS and our future, and then talk about the good things that OWS means to you.
If the conversation goes into “So and so said X about bad things about OWS” remember to remind people that the politicians and pundits who are bad mouthing OWS are the very same corrupt politicians and pundits who are selling an agenda that only benefits the wealthiest 1% at the expense of everyone else.
The reality is, corrupt politicians and pundits are TERRIFIED of having a conversation about income inequality, lobbyists or anything else when the conversation is based on FACTS, they can NOT win that debate, so they would rather change the subject to anything else. DO NOT LET THEM! Don’t let them change the subject, just keep going back to the MAIN issue, that the rich are richer than ever while at the same time the other 99% of us are being asked to sacrifice and suffer, that the lobbyists for big business would rather bribe our politicians than pay their fair taxes, and that the same politicians and pundits who are bad-mouthing Occupy Wall Street are fighting to defend corruption, and they will lie and say anything to protect their corporate gravy train. Then go back to talking about the good things you have seen and heard about Occupy Wall Street.
Talk about our library. Talk about our love and compassion for one another. Talk about Jesus stuff, like healing the sick and feeding the poor. Don’t get sucked into conversations about violence or the police. Stay positive, and talk about the good things you have seen in Occupy Wall Street and why everyone who isn’t a multimillionaire should support Occupy Wall Street.
The reality is that the corrupt politicians and pundits out there who are bad mouthing Occupy Wall Street are a lot like the one person at your Thanksgiving dinner who you know is going to make things uncomfortable, the person who is going to say something awful or embarrassing, that guy. What is good for the goose is good for the gander. We should try to be respectful, but we should also be determined to not let petty side issues derail this honest conversation we want to have.
Just some thoughts I wanted to share. If you have other questions or need help answering questions about Occupy Wall Street, just let me know in the comments below and I will be glad to help if I can.
Cheers
Peace and love to all,
Jesse LaGreca
Thank you zerosity.
Off to yoga and then dance class. Then back home to bake the pear-fig frangipane tart. To all Planetwavskies, happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!
In the spirit of #Occupy and perchance, possibly taming a Mercury moment, I offer for your consideration, three mealtime blessings from From “One Hundred Graces – Mealtime Blessings,” selected by Marcia and Jack Kelly (Bell Tower, New York, 1992):
1.
This is a time for GIVING THANKS
This is a time for remembrance
Let us remember all those
who are united with us and
GIVE THANKS for that bond of union . . .
Let us remember our past and
GIVE THANKS for what we have become . . .
Let us be present in the present and
GIVE THANKS for the here–and–now . . .
Let us re-member our future and
GIVE THANKS for all this is to happen to us . . .
Let us GIVE THANKS for the whole universe
especially for our creation
And the life that is in us . . .
Let us GIVE THANKS for that
Consummation for all things
Which the Spirit is working out in us
THANK YOU!
2.
This ritual is One
The food is One
We who offer the food are One
The fire of hunger is also One
All action is One
We who understand this are One
An ancient Hindu blessing before meals
3.
THE CALL TO COMMON GROUND
This is a time of chaos.
This is a time for healing.
This is a time of choice.
This is a time to care.
This is a time to stand and say “yes.”
This is a time of challenge.
This is a time for peace.
We join together
old and young
frail and strong
heats and hands
There is blood in our waters,
acid in our land,
death in our skies.
We join together to take up
the word of truth
and the shield of light
to dissolve our boundaries,
deceit, and judgment,
to stand united once again – I and thou
in the garden of brotherhood.
The human heart is common ground.
from “Common Ground,” 1991, by Sarah Riely
Pulbisher: Connecting Arizona, Phoenix Arizona
JannKinz
Yes to both Fe. Boring boring boring.
Great video Fluidity!
i got the sense this piece was prepared in the spirit of talking to the media first of all, with family gatherings being more of an afterthought. and that in the case of thanksgiving, the sense seems to be “IF these things come up, here’s how you can deal with them” — not so much, “hey, turn your thanksgiving dinner into a messaging fest! here’s some points to push on everyone!”
Patty:
Are you talking about Jesse La Greca or the stupid talking points that come through the mainstream media about the OWS?
fluidity:
The Wednesday Addams rendition on the true meaning of Thanksgiving is one of the best pieces of comedy gold in modern film.
….and when they complain that all the occupiers are a bunch of lazy college-student hipsters, send ’em here:
http://occupyyourbrain.tumblr.com
oh sorry this was about wall street, and not getting distracted?
“A Haudenosaunee Observation of Occupy Wall Street”
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/ict_sbc/a-haudenosaunee-observation-of-the-ows
“… A scholar of the Haudenosaunee, John Mohawk, wrote in 1977: “A strategy for survival must include a liberation theology-call it a philosophy/cosmology if you will-or humankind will simply continue to seek more efficient ways to exploit that which they have come to respect. If these processes continue unabated and unchanged at the foundation of the colonizers’ ideology, our species will never be liberated from the undeniable reality that we live on a planet of limited resources, and sooner or later we will exploit our environment beyond its ability to renew itself.”
I don’t hear that kind of thinking among the “Occupy Wall Street” activists. Their concern is money, its accumulation and its distribution. …”
ope, no good, got to get back to the OWS talking points, my bad
let’s celebrate thanksgiving in peace … b/c thanksgiving is all about peace, with the native americans and everyone, right?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccj2BH25c0I
“Wednesday Addams teaches us the true meaning of Thanksgiving.”
Thank you, Fe. Until i read this piece, i did not really get how important it is to keep the proverbial red herring off the table.
I would ask this bore to leave the party politely, and let the dinner guests have a few hours of enjoyment. Ugh – really. Propaganda? Oh my God. Can’t we give thanks in peace? Sounds like you will start every sentence with “Comrade” and hand out pamphlets to boot.