Therein lies the key to my Non-Occupation thus far.

We got our Volvo repaired at a Volvo place. We spent a lot of money at the Volvo place. One of the things we had replaced was the “right front bearing.” Whatever that is.

When we picked it up from the Volvo repair place, The Skimmer said, “It is still making *that noise*.” He called the Volvo repair place. They said, “Yes, that is your “left front bearing.” It doesn’t need to be replaced now, but you’ll have to do it within the next few months.

The Skimmer decided to take it to Midas, which is right around the corner, to see how much they would charge to replace the “left front bearing.” Thinking they might be cheaper and if so, are two seconds away, hence and therefore more convenient. The Volvo repair place is 40 minutes away.

Why did The Skimmer even take it to Midas to check on it since Volvo repair place said it had a few more months of life? Blue Kid will be home (yay!) for Thanksgiving and will be driving it. We want it to be safe.

Anyway, I got a call from the Midas guy yesterday who said the “left front bearing” needed to be replaced immediately. And not only that! So did the right one. It was ready to blow, or whatever a bearing does when it goes bad.

LIE.

BUT.

Could the Volvo place have lied? Could they have SAID they replaced something they did NOT replace? Possible, but not probable. We have a receipt saying they said they replaced it. And they could have gotten MORE money out of us by saying that the left bearing needed to be replaced immediately, which they didn’t.

We need to take it to Roy, our awesome mechanic who is back in our real home town. Two hours away. Will the car make that long trip? Or will bearing(s) blow?

One isn’t sure.

I’ve seen the sekret header! It’s here, now!
~

Or maybe not. Maybe I’ll just write a bad review on their site. Or just complain about it here. lol

No, I’m gonna do something!

I agree with you, plover! I just don’t think we can know. I can tell you that this is the only discussion of it that I’ve heard/seen anywhere, so maybe it’s either a good phrase or a phrase that’s not too negative.

But, you’re right. There are always unintended consequences, so I guess we’ll watch it unfold and find out what those are. Although I’d rather not focus on the negative, I’d rather focus on the positives that could come out of this. Have you seen the lobbyist memo yet re OWS?

Also, I am going to Occupy Midas. As they lied to me yesterday and totally tried to rip me off.

However, whether or not it “sounds right” to you or me or anyone, we ignore language at our peril. There are too many well-documented unconscious effects to think that the language doesn’t matter. But, on the other hand, it often doesn’t matter for the reasons we think it does, or have the effects we might predict — which is why I keep stressing that I’m just asking questions here.

I keep poking around for a different perspective because I don’t think the things that are predictable, like the demonisation of protesters, necessarily tell us much. I’m asking, what do learn from this? And what are we missing?

It may also be the case that I’m too ploverian for my own good, but there it is.

BG- the post that takes the cake for Sullivan- I’ve mentioned this before- he was taking the Catholic Church to task for not allowing a gay man a Catholic funeral, and had the chutzpah to say “[blah blah] from a Church that knows better”- somehow eliding the fact that the Catholic Church unfortunately appears to have been an international conspiracy to aid, abet, promote or minimally protect child molesters. So, not gonna read that guy!

You are livening up our place this week and I feel happy that we can have these discussions here.

I didn’t mean to link to Sullivan as much as the video itself. And yes, I saw that photo, too. Very powerful. MADE ME SO MAD. Have you read the open letter one of the professors wrote and posted? Awesome stuff.

That’s precisely why I really don’t think this movement will do much. You can’t make a bottom become a top, and too many of the 99% of the are happy being bottoms or at least are content enough to lie back during the icky parts and think of England. I can’t say that I’m necessarily any better in that regard as I am typing this from a Starbucks.

I grew up close to Kent State and remember people I know (so sadly, so irrationally, so hatefully) defending the Nat’l Guard for killing those kids. Wrapping themselves into pretzels, rationalizing that “that’s what they deserved.” Even when it was pointed out that a couple of them were not part of the the anti-war movement and were just walking to their class when they were shot and killed.

If there are people who can defend *that*—kids doing what *they were supposed to be doing*—KIDS—18 year old kids!!—what the group is called doesn’t matter.

Now, I will say this. My mother in law was visiting last weekend (she still defends Nixon!!) and when Occupy Wall Street was brought up, she did not criticize them. Even *she* got what they were doing. That’s a miracle right there!

there might indeed be something wrong with “occupying” Oakland if the people of Oakland — not the authorities in Oakland — sees this as an invasion

The authorities are going to do what they’re going to do. Some few might perhaps be more amenable under a different metaphor, but not enough to making getting pepper sprayed much less likely. It’s the perception of regular people who don’t identify with the protesters that I’m thinking about mostly.

sees this as an invasion, and especially if it allows the authorities to portray the protesters as an invasion or an insurrection rather than people standing up for rights.

By stating they are “occupying”, the protesters risk presenting themselves as an “invasion”. The same protests under a different name might present as something different.

No, I don’t think so. They could have named it Happy Rainbow-Jumping Four Leaf Clovers and they’d still get pepper sprayed in the face. Actually I like “Occupy” — it’s both meaningful and somehow non-threatening. I think they chose well.

Now please everyone, come over to my place and declare which side you are on.

what does that “invasion” look like to those not identified with the movement, the audience I mentioned earlier? My point isn’t that there is anything wrong with “occupying”, but that there might indeed be something wrong with “occupying” Oakland if the people of Oakland — not the authorities in Oakland — sees this as an invasion, and especially if it allows the authorities to portray the protesters as an invasion or an insurrection rather than people standing up for rights.

By stating they are “occupying”, the protesters risk presenting themselves as an “invasion”. The same protests under a different name might present as something different.

This is just speculation though. I was asking the question to see what other people have to say.

Like what kind? Give me a couple of examples.

Why don’t they call it Occupy Wall Street-Oakland then?

The shorter the message the better, I say. Occupy Wall Street’s the mothership — everyone gets it.

Because if it’s only going on in NY, then people across the country are going to think… “That’s going on ‘over there’ not ‘here’ so we don’t even have to think about it!”

Those crazy New Yorkers! Always up to something weird!

People, especially the people who aggressively defend and enable the 1% with “other” them. It needs to hit as close to home as possible.

use BRAINS.

As in BRAIN Wall Street.

My thought is… How many of the 99% are/have been passive or aggressive enablers of the 1%? I’ll use myself as an example. I am complicit in this whole mess if for no other reason than I came of age in a time when that’s how things were going. And although there was a lot I hated and spoke out about (to family & friends, on a blog) at the same time, I went along with a lot of it too simply because that’s the way our society was structured.

Yeah, we are the 99% but they are also Occupying a very high percentage of us, who are the 99%. A *system* needs to change, priorities need to change, mindsets needs to change. So Occupy Oakland is also meant to “wake up” a very large percentage of Oaklanders. Oaklandites? Oaklandians?

RE Ezra. Never read him all that much. I was never one of the cool kids (like Jedmunds-remember Jedmunds?! Wonder where he is now.) who hung out over there.