Forum Post: Occupy makes other protests ineffective

I like the idea of a leaderless dialogue. I like the idea of paradigm shifts and dissing the fake economy and creating our own realities and revolution. That all sounds really good. However, OWS and it's side trips have really put a damper on other movements, making protests something of a joke. Protest is a means of fighting for a cause, and with no defined cause, it's just an ongoing sit-in with no end in sight. And now when I want to go to a protest that has a defined purpose and goal, I'm being thrown in as a co-conspirator with a vague directionless idealized movement, and summarily dismissed on a very important issue. This so-called dialogue has backfired in a very bizarre way by making public demonstration impotent. OWS needs to get organized and needs to redefine protest so that it can be taken seriously instead of bringing discredit to all forms of civil disobedience as meaningless tripe. Obviously, there are dumbasses in all movements, and there are saboteurs and trolls and flamers and such. But, please, if there is some brains out there involved in this, begin to move this dialogue to the level of true action and serve as an example for HOW TO GET SHIT DONE. Stop being hypocrites. Congress already knows how to talk about shit until it's blue in the face and disagree until the cows come home about how to fix it. We (the 99%) are supposed to be showing them how it should be done. Fuck waiting for some "job givers". Screw asking for permission for ending the Fed. Live the ideas people. Sitting in the freezing cold asking people for food and tents is not the way to create the reality you want and neither is asking the government to do their damn job. Just roll up your sleeves and start volunteering to do random acts of kindness for one another and create a new economy based on gifting. Tell the IRS to tax that! We are not helpless and we certainly don't have to wait or sit somewhere for months until some as yet undefined demand is met like some kind of creepers taking the public spaces as our hostage. I am impressed with the human megaphone idea. Other stuff coming (seemingly) randomly out of this movement is also impressive. Now develop a system for weeding out the haters and getting down to business and you'll be well on your way. Good luck. I'll be going to a completely unrelated protest in a few weeks and I hope we will be able to make some sort of impact on a very specific and threatening issue. If we lose the fight because of the negative association with OWS protests, I will hang my head and cry. Please, if you want to change the world, change it, but don't wreck free speech for the rest of us. Stop making peace-loving freaks look bad. Thank you.