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Google Bus blocked, window smashed in West Oakland

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Re: Google Bus blocked, window smashed in West Oakland

#141

Post by unclebucknasty »

api wrote: post #95
unclebucknasty wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But, how is it that we recognize "many things in the world sucking" and criticize today's activism as lacking; yet have not done more ourselves to reduce the world's suckage?

I used to live somewhere where I constantly saw these sorts of "activists" protesting: GMO foods, "chemtrails" (which probably don't exist), all kinds of trendy things to protest. I never once saw them protesting for higher wages for the underprivileged, health care, or anything else that actually matters to poor people. They were for the most part not poor. They were white middle class pseudo-artists engaged in an e…

Well, I don't know that I would say chemtrails don't exist. I think there's pretty compelling evidence that they do apart from contrails (have no idea what they are or whether they matter though). I am also a proponent of labeling food so that people have the information to decide for themselves what they ingest.

I realize that you were just giving examples, and I'm not doubting that these poverty tourists exist. I am just saying that we (and many others) agree that there are enough things in the world that suck, including the state of the issues that you mentioned, like healthcare for the poor. So, my question is: if we find the current crop of activists to be lacking, then why aren't we doing better or more ourselves? Where is the "true" activism?

Reminds me of the response to Occupy. Everyone stood back and criticized their lack of organization, cleanliness, etc. Yet, nearly everyone agreed that things sucked (including banksters, bailouts, etc.). How is it that an entire potential movement was derailed by such trivial matters as where these guys were pooping? How did the collective energy of so many end up redirected away from "better" activism and into criticism of the activists?

Re: Google Bus blocked, window smashed in West Oakland

#142

Post by nknighthb »

manicbovine wrote: post #121
nknighthb wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you understand that you are attacking some of your most powerful political allies, and that it is not helpful to solving the systemic issues contributing to poverty?

What in the hell are you talking about? Who have I attacked? None of the people in this thread are my "most important political allies". Did you people read "political debate and logical fallacies for dummies"? How does "fuck you and your dreadlocks" do anything to help people? Should I use that next time I'm volunteering at the soup kitchen? Really, there must be no hope for American politics, because this is probab…

> I presume you have made some assumptions about me

As you have made assumptions. Many of us are quite left-wing. I would be at home in a European socialist party.

However, the escalation to violence against people like me leaves me disinclined to do anything to help you. Giving you more resources would seem to be aiding dangerous criminals.

Re: Google Bus blocked, window smashed in West Oakland

#143

Post by manicbovine »

adventured wrote: post #111
johnamaeda wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is that a big corporation like Google gives less than it takes as of now, tax wise, and guarantees their employees a standard of living out of reach for most americans now, or the rest of the world for that matter. A standard of living paid for, in part, by the very same taxes they manage to avoid, along with several other big corporations. Not to mention they are no stranger to the US government, and pro…

The people of Google however, pay their fair share of taxes, and don't deserve to have their mode of transportation attacked. The couple billion in taxes Google is managing to dodge is not what enables them to pay their employees so well. Google earned $10.7b in profit last year. Go ahead and take the 20% they 'dodged' in taxes. How exactly does that alter what they can pay their employees (you know, only making $8.x…

Well the taxes don't have to do with anything. Nobody deserves to have their daily commute violently disrupted.

Re: Google Bus blocked, window smashed in West Oakland

#144

Post by api »

gohrt wrote: post #96
jessedhillon wrote: post #48

West Oakland is a traditionally black neighborhood that surrounds the Port of Oakland. It has been heavily gentrified, developed, and restructured over the past three decades. Now there is an upper class enclave that has been established near the West Oakland BART station, in Jack London, and in the city of Emeryville. Oh fuck you and your dreadlocks. There are only two photos on that page, so I don't definitively kn…

So... we need to organize a working class resistence against the... pretend working class resistance? Not even joking. If the imposter protestors make it acceptable for "civilized" folk to have a reactionary attitude against equality concerns, they will become a (perhaps unwitting) tool of oppression of the poor, who do have valid (if unvoiced) concerns.

Abso-fucking-lutely.

Like I said elsewhere I used to live in a "trendy" place that had a huge contingent of these obnoxious faux-radicals. They would organize this silly clownish protests of GMO foods, "chemtrails," free this, liberate that, whatever, and they'd march around looking like clowns in front of all kinds of trendy businesses catering to hippie-tourists and retired old white people.

These businesses in turn paid their workers shit wages with no benefits. How do I know? Because I was good friends with a number of these workers, who never had anything to do with the IndyMedia traustafarian clown show.

I never saw a single one of these outrage-er-tainment fuckups protests unfair wages or lack of benefits. They only protested trendy issues of no relevance to the actually underprivileged.

I propose national trustafarian beat-down day.

Re: Google Bus blocked, window smashed in West Oakland

#145

Post by [deleted] »

kkowalczyk wrote: post #57
k-mcgrady wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

By providing free transportation from SF Google employees are encouraged to live there. Why not live closer to work? It would probably result in a few more cars on the road but a lot of the employees would move closer to Google freeing up apartments for people who actually work at businesses in SF and HAVE to live there. NB: I have no stake in this, I like in Ireland.

1. Shortage of housing is even worse near Google campus than in SF 2. Angry mob or your opinions should not dictate where people choose to live. I could offer many suggestions as to how you should live YOUR life to better suit MY goal and ideas, but I don't because that would be stupid. You should choose a place to live that suits YOU the best and you should offer the same curtesy to others. The "occupy Google bus" m…

[deleted]

Re: Google Bus blocked, window smashed in West Oakland

#146

Post by nknighthb »

ddebernardy wrote: post #133
nknighthb wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you understand that you are attacking some of your most powerful political allies, and that it is not helpful to solving the systemic issues contributing to poverty?

Interestingly, top-earners have been saying the same for decades when confronted with tax increases, all while having enjoyed an ever increasing share of the wealth pie. Food for thought.

This "top earner" wants more tax increases. I'm not alone. What I do not want is to be subject to violent attacks for getting up and going to work in the morning, nor to be compared to Glenn Beck for having no sympathy for the violent criminals doing so.

Re: Google Bus blocked, window smashed in West Oakland

#147

Post by math0ne »

Wow, there is some hate in this thread. I always think it's interesting when a piece like this comes along that seems to spark a personal insult style reaction from a community.

You can draw your own conclusions. I don't feel either way about this but it's been fun reading the comments here.

Re: Google Bus blocked, window smashed in West Oakland

#148

Post by antiterra »

anigbrowl wrote: post #107
antiterra wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your disdain for people who attend Burning Man, have so-called 'useless degrees,' and are self-styled-artists does nothing but discredit you as a reasonable person. Plenty of people who fall into any combination or all of those groups are productive and capable, many of them in the technology/tech startup sectors (and don't have a problem with Google's buses.) EDIT: removed some of my own frothing

He's nopt expressing venom for people who/are those things, but for those who use such status to justify the sort of violent nihilism on display in this article. I know lots of Burning Man/weirdo artist types who work hard, care about their neighbors, and manage to express their political views without slinging bricks through windows or justifying intimidation by calling it 'direct action.'

If he wasn't implicitly being derogatory about those traits (and I think he was) he's certainly not describing them as positive. The other responses echo the attitude that the problem results from these sorts with 'useless degrees.'

Re: Google Bus blocked, window smashed in West Oakland

#149

Post by pasquinelli »

api wrote: post #52
jessedhillon wrote: post #48

West Oakland is a traditionally black neighborhood that surrounds the Port of Oakland. It has been heavily gentrified, developed, and restructured over the past three decades. Now there is an upper class enclave that has been established near the West Oakland BART station, in Jack London, and in the city of Emeryville. Oh fuck you and your dreadlocks. There are only two photos on that page, so I don't definitively kn…

"These are Burning Man hippies, self-styled artists, people who graduated from great schools with useless majors, and the usual constituent of the Bay Area's overprivileged poverty tourists: 20-30 y/o white kids from middle class families." That describes a huge fraction of today's protestors and activists, which is why despite many things in the world sucking I rarely take today's "activism" very seriously. It's mos…

i wonder how much it matters how seriously you do or don't take today's activism.

Re: Google Bus blocked, window smashed in West Oakland

#150

Post by jrockway »

9999 wrote: post #56
altero wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And the office could be rented. I think it is clear that Google expect people to check emails and do 'work stuff', it was mentioned several times.

If you worked on a personal project on a Google bus (on your own laptop, without using their wifi), would Google be able to claim ownership?

In California, Google's employment contract already covers that explicitly.
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