Occupy SeaWorld? Really?

This is too ridiculous to be real...

http://blog.seattlepi.com/candacewhiting/2011/11/09/occupy-seaworld...r-one-day/

Apparently now, going to SeaWorld is a right and the latest front of "class warfare." Idiots.

I joined Occupy Disney as a joke (on facebook)

The idea of moving into a theme park and staying amused me.

Occupy Disney is a joke since the picture are of mickey facing down riot cops and tinkerbell in riot cuffs(zip ties)

I wonder how all of these knuckleheads would feel if we took away their iPhones, iPads, laptops, Playstations, Blue Rays, etc. All are items of "excess" that most of these yahoos wouldn't be able to live without.

Funny how they selectively choose their targets.

I believe harsher words than "idiots" is in order here.

I must have done something wrong on my beach vacation. The article clearly says that a day at the beach is free, mine cost a whole lot more than free.

Not if you sleep in your car, as any self-respecting coaster enthusiast would.

That's got to be a joke, right?

I don't think you can keep Shamu in tip top shape on the cheap.

It's not like they can wheel him/her into a converted picnic shelter in the offseason and change the wheels and bearings with cheap knockoffs from China.

What are they smoking? because i'd really like to try some.

This inspired me, er, "Dirk" to use one of those domains I haven't been using...
http://occupy.sillynonsense.com/blog/now-youre-protesting-shamu-for-real

going to SeaWorld is a right

Hell, there are posters here who essentially believe this to be true.

"Enjoy your sushi, dickheads."

I'm terribly offended by this - I'm going to start an "Occupy CoasterBuzz Movement"

Use of such language offends my eyes!

;-)

Brian Noble said:
Hell, there are posters here who essentially believe this to be true.

:)

I thought Shamu was sporting an awful lot of bling last time I was at Sea World... you know, while cranking out souvenirs to be sold in the gift shop. And the diamond chips in the ball that the dolphins jump and touch with their nose... well, that's just flashy.

Flashy? Or Tacky?

Everybody knows that of that $414, expenses come out to $0.39, leaving Sea World with a nifty profit of $413.61. The only fair thing to do would be for business owners to pay for all their expenses from the golden goose or magic treasure chest buried in their backyard, or whatever it is they all own, and give away their products and services for free. Because the idea that customers should actually pay for their expenses and profits is downright greed!

For what it's worth, "being rich should be illegal" isn't exactly the message I've been getting from the occupy movement. As with any movement, there are some on the fringe, but my take has been that most people are angry with how some of the people at the top have gotten rich, not that they are rich.

There's nothing wrong with working hard and getting rich, or hell, even doing nothing while inheriting millions from your family, but getting rich by engaging in questionable if not outright illegal activities should not ever be tolerated. Things like the investment bankers who decimated 401k's and most of the economy in order to enrich themselves, banks engaging in mortgage fraud, and hugely profitable companies using the federal tax code (that they paid congress to create) as a profit center for corporate welfare. Normally the government's job is to protect against those things, but they've long since been bought out by the people who are doing them. These are the things that the occupy people are protesting.

Back on topic. Yes, this occupy Sea World thing is absurd and does nothing to drive home the points the larger occupy movement is trying to make. I believe most of the "corporations are greedy" stuff is mostly the result of the widening gap in income inequality rather than corporations truly looking to screw over their customers (although examples of the latter certainly exist, look no further than Bank of America's failed debit card fee). As the inequality gap gets larger, more people can no longer afford things that used to be affordable for them. It's easy to blame it on "corporate greed' if you don't step back to look at the bigger picture.

None of this really suprises me - After watching the Tea party ridiculous videos on You tube - It was only a matter of time before that pendulum swung the other direction -

There are a lot of stupid folks out there - "Stupid" not "Dumb".

Some are even in political office.... Or getting drunk and falling in tanks with Orca's at seaword.

The real "message" of OWS, in my fairly-educated opinion, it that the returns on investment have grown exponentially over the last generation while returns on labor have stagnated if not shrunk. In economics terms, there realy are two inputs to production: capital, and labor. If you look at the NBA (which I think of as an excellent example, since all parties are educated, and most of them millionaires) - they tend to agree at some point on an approximate 50-50 split. Historically, that's been the optimal point for labor-intensive "services" industries, where the capital investment might be minimal (or, in the case of pro sports facilities, more often subsidized bytaxpayers). In industries where large amounts of investment is made in materials - let's just say building an automobile - then the returns to labor necessarily must go down to acount for the cost of raw materials, buildings, electricity to power the plants, etc. Still, there is supposed to be some measure of reasonableness in terms of returns to labor vs. capital. And typically is...there's a reason our auto industry was ABLE to pay their workers those "outrageous union wages" for so many years. When the industry started to lose market share to Japan, understandably wages in the US should have fallen - and we could have started to build more cars that resembled the Japanese models that consumers apparently were beginning to prefer...on the margin.

Just talking the other day - seems like in "the good olde days", businesses had to satisfy three groups of people. First, customers. Second and third, in roughly equal proportions, were ownership and employees. But customers came first...without them you have no business, yadda yadda. Now, it seems like most businesses you deal with, are focused on the next quarterly profits for their investors, and employees as well as customers easily get lost in the shuffle. That's become the focus of upper management in most industries, throughout the US at least. The downside has been extreme, and unsettling to the long-term growth and prosperity of the nation as a whole. Growth depends on MANY people having enough expendable income to keep demand high even during downturns. We no longer have enough people in those circumstances...

I certainly don't speak for the OWS movement - but I kinda wish I did. Losing focus is one of the *main* problems with having "hippie-type leadership" where no one's really in charge is that people who BELIEVE (wink) they've got a good idea for where to take the movement next aren't really among the best and the brightest - just among the most charismatic.

OccupySeaWorld? Major distraction, serves no purpose for the movement, "idiotic" probably is the best word for it. My opinion...

rollergator said:
people who BELIEVE (wink) they've got a good idea for where to take the movement next aren't really among the best and the brightest - just among the most charismatic.

IIRC, there's actually scientific data showing an inverse relationship between thinking you're right and actually being right. I' m not even kidding.

See, I would be inclined to align myself with such a "cause" if it were rooted in the ideas that Bill is talking about. However, mostly what we have is whiney types who hold signs saying "down with capitalism" and other such nonsense that is just the far opposite of the Tea Bag nonsense. In either case, being angry is not a platform, or a movement.

And I agree that the lack of leadership is a hinderance.

I saw we Occupy CoasterBuzz. Think I'll stick a haiku over on the CoasterBuzz Club page...

;)