H4 - My opinions are pretty similar to yours. I had a nice conversation with some buddies last night over a few bottles of Crown so I'll try to remember as best I can...

My arguments were that yes, the system is not perfect, and yes, there are problems that need to be addressed, but any grassroots movement that has ever been successful has had a very specific focus and a very specific goal. I don't know much about Occupy Wall St. but whenever I see interviews with these Occupy TO folks on CBC or CTV not one has been able to clearly articulate exactly what it is that they would like to see changed. They say that the system is broken, but when asked what a better system looks like they're unable to answer.

One buddy of mine then said something that makes sense. These people don't have an answer. They don't know what do to do fix it. They're not politicians, they're not businessmen, they don't have the knowledge or experience. All they're saying is that there is a problem, and they're trying to do whatever it is that they know how to fix it - which in many cases is getting high and dancing around the streets. All they want is for people to consider the possibility of change and they're trying to get that message across the best way they know how.

His argument kind of resonated with me. At first I thought they were a bunch of uneducated and ignorant hipsters getting high and playing tacky sack in St. James Park. They had no focus. They couldn't clearly articulate the problem. They couldn't even begin to think about a solution. They should just shut up and go home. But really how can we expect such a diverse group to have one focus or present one solution? We can't. They're doing all they can to try to get the people who are in a position to brainstorm solutions to recognize the need for having the discussion. We're too comfortable with the current system, and we need to think about ways to fix it. The type of change they're probably looking for will take decades to develop, but at the very least the fact that all these people are protesting in solidarity with this whole occupy movement is a small indication that change is necessary.

TD CEO's opinions are interesting, and make sense:

"My main advice is stick to your guns. When people say, 'You don't have a solution,' say, 'Of course we don't. If there was a solution, don't you think people would be doing it?' To ask the people who occupy Wall Street or Bay Street to have a full answer is absurd. They're doing their job which is to say, 'If you think this [system] is working for everyone, it's not.' Now they have to figure out how not to get captured by special interest and keep the pressure on. We need people to talk about these problems and how we're going to solve them."

http://www.blogto.com/...advice_to_occupy_toronto/