Voluntary decivilization

Conservatives who ridiculed the Occupy movement early on as the Flea Party came pretty close to the truth. In addition to reports of outbreaks of lice and preventable infectious diseases in the various camps, the New York Times also reports an outbreak of magical thinking:

Demonstrators do maintain a medical tent, filled mostly with over-the-counter medications and alternative treatments, like herbal remedies. Some have spotted shamans walking the premises, Mr. Carey said, though licensed doctors and nurses often take volunteer shifts in the tent as well. Some strap flashlights to their heads, like workers in a mine shaft, because the site becomes so dark at night. (The tent has no electricity.)

Miniature bottles of hand sanitizer have appeared sporadically inside the park, though it is unclear who placed them there. Volunteers at the medical tent also have on-call contacts in acupuncture, chiropractics, massage therapy and psychotherapy, protesters said.

Herbal remedies? Shamans? Acupuncture, chiropractic and massage therapy? Yet according to the calendar we've nearly reached the year 2012. I can remember what we used to call stories about technologically advanced civilizations set in the year 2012: Science fiction. In some ways the Occupy culture resembles world views before the Enlightenment.

Other things about the Occupy craziness strike me, like how it attracts people who ran up huge debts to get useless degrees in the social sciences and humanities, then complain that they they can't find jobs. And how the somewhat more docile participants have complained that alleged "provocateurs" have used the gatherings as cover for vandalism, theft and other crimes.

Well, what did these simpletons expect? When they advertised that 99 percent of the population should share their grievances and participate in their protests, they failed to consider how many career criminals, sexual predators and opportunistic lawbreakers that figure includes. Without a process to vet the participants, you get what you implicitly invite to your party.

Given the underwhelming nature of the Occupy movement so far, I have to agree with what L.A. radio talkshow host John Kobylt says about it: The Occupy movement displays a lack of intelligence and rational thinking necessary to plan and work towards practical goals. If anything, the camps look more and more like what Kobylt calls "outdoor mental institutions."