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Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame
So you're assuming that anyone with a beef is already out protesting? There are no "armchair" protesters who support the cause? And to make a real difference, they have to plant two feet in a protesting hot spot? You can create just as much of a voice online as you can in the streets. I don't think you are appreciating that part of it either.
It's like a Flames game. There's 20,000 people actually at the Dome, but far more than that who support the Flames watching on TV and cheering them on on message boards, the Internet and other channels. Or we can use the Obama or Nenshi examples -there were only so many people in the streets voicing support, but their true support came from those who supported their campaigns online and through the media.
BTW marathoners don't have a political purpose and are serving a completely different purpose than protesters. Your examples are perplexing.
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You like to make the comparison to the Arab Spring but the on-line communication in those instances served a particular purpose, that being to get people out into the streets in the tens of thousands, and was very successful.
The numbers marching in each location for Occupy Wall St. are hardly mind-blowing suggesting all of that invisible on-line activity isn't motivating people to more activity.
Its easy to find other special interest groups - like marathoners as one example - who can put out more participation in each location by a long shot. Whether or not its political or not is irrelevant. The comparison speaks to the capacity of a city to generate a group of like-minded citizens for a specific purpose . . . . most marathoners search for races and register on-line.
I'm not saying you'll never do it . . . . . I'm just saying you haven't done it to date. The cause has been limited to physical particpation of 'The Usual Suspects" for the most part.
The Arab Spring inspired those who wouldn't normally take to the streets.
As I've said earlier, even titans of industry are sympathetic to Occupy Wall St. as far as complaining about the current political stalemate . . . . . hell, even I'm sympathetic.
But don't kid yourself. While interesting, this is a lot less galvanizing than you're making it out to be.
I think if you refine your message and have clear and identifiable goals - a business plan - you could probably jump active participation a fair bit.
That's probably going to be impossible, however. You don't have clearly defined goals because if it ever got around to that conversation within the group, the arguing would probably send people off on their own special interest/beliefs tangents.
Cowperson