professionallibertine-deactivat asked: Hello. The comparisons between the Tea Party and #Occupy has really gotten to me. Considering the history of The States, wouldn't a more ample comparison be between the Weatherman group of the late 60's and #Occupy? The arrests and a base of college students as well general ideals can be connected to each other. But can't we also ask if the #Occupy is lacking a real political movement.

I don’t think this particular comparison works at all. The Weathermen were violent revolutionaries. They wanted to force the system to change since it wasn’t changing on its own—or, at least, they didn’t think it was. They bombed government buildings and banks; they killed people. 

#Occupy is mostly standing around and asking people to question the system; to think about things in new ways and to recognize the structures of power that silently shape their lives. What violence has occurred has largely been state violence against the protestors. In this, the #Occupy movement is far closer to the spirit of the Free Speech Movement at Berkeley in 1964 than the Weather Underground of 1970.