If you want to know just how destructive Occupy Wall Street is, look no further than the movement’s attempt to disrupt shopping on this all-important Friday after Thanksgiving.
Merchants need today and in a struggling economy we should all be pulling for stores to sell a lot of merchandise to keep going for another year. If you see the depressing sight of an empty store that’s been forced to go out of business anytime soon, remember Occupy Wall Street, which has morphed into Occupy Black Friday.
These attractive people will be carpooling to interrupt sales at a Seattle Wal-Mart, joining with anti-fur activists to stage a protest at Macy’s flagship store in New York, and in Chicago they will sing carols with reworked lyrics stressing the importance of buying local (as if it’s any of their business what we buy).
Just a reminder—it’s not greedy plutocrats who’ll suffer most if OWS succeeds in targeting retail sales but rather the people who work or shop in places like Macy’s and Wal-Mart. But today’s protests won won’t necessarily all be as nasty or violent as much of Occupy’s activity. Said one Occupy leader:
“We didn’t want to guilt-trip people at a mall,” said Occupy Des Moines organizer Ed Fallon. “We wanted to get at them in a playful, friendly way, to support local businesses.”
“The idea is simple, hit the corporations that corrupt and control American politics where it hurts, their profits,” says the Occupy Black Friday Facebook page.
I’d love to see a tax system that gives small businesses a break, but it’s not up to these ignorant, incoherent, and jobless brats to decide what businesses are naughty and which are nice. Indeed, sometimes large businesses are in a position to offer better benefits than smaller ones.
A group identified with the tea party movement is protesting Occupy’s protest. Their press release states:
"At a time when our economy is most fragile and ratings agencies are talking about another downgrade of the U.S. credit rating, it's completely irresponsible for Occupy Wall Street to attempt to bring the U.S. economy to a halt on the busiest shopping day of the year," Liberate organizer and a spokesman for the Tea Party, John Sullivan, stated in a press release.
They are having a “buycott,” which strikes me as verbally confused, since a boycott means not buying. Still, I share their concern for our fragile economy.
But I do hope that they will either shop quietly or stay home today. The last thing we need is a heightened atmosphere. That helps nobody, most especially the merchants.
Speaking of small turnout, it may be that Occupy has overplayed its hand and that today's events will show that the movement, when not concentrated in a park, is not as large as one might think from the publicity. I'd love to be a fly on the wall at this event where the future of Occupy will be discussed.