Ken Schram: Occupy leaders need to reassert control

Ken Schram: Occupy leaders need to reassert control »Play Video
In this photo taken Nov. 22, 2011, an Occupy Seattle protester, who declined to be identified, enters a formerly boarded-up duplex that protesters have taken over in Seattle's Central District. To protest foreclosures in the nation's housing market, Occupy Wall Street demonstrators in Seattle, Portland and Oakland have taken up a new tactic: Squatting in vacant properties. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
SEATTLE -- I’ve been critically supportive of the occupy movement from the outset.

The short explanation to that statement is that I understand and agree with the underlying principles of the movement, but have questioned the methods used to drive the message home.

Several weeks ago I noted that the movement was attracting a growing number of people from the anarchist movement.

Initially, the occupy protestors seemed unconcerned about those whose who favored violence and overly aggressive tactics as a means of achieving goals.

The attitude seemed to be that the anarchists could be controlled.

Instead, the occupy movement's message has been diffused and corrupted in the antics of those who've seized the moment and the mood.

From the near riots in Olympia to the takeover of a Seattle warehouse where police where spit on, the tactics of the occupy movement have been usurped by those who seem intent on hijacking the message.
 
Even some within the occupy movement are becoming discouraged with the loss of momentum.

It's not enough just to keep the dialogue alive through any means.

It's time for leaders of the movement to step forward and take back control.

The message is important, and how it's ultimately delivered is crucial.

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