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"The poison must be smashed, each and every way": Trouble on Occupy Facebook pages

Today on the Occupy Wall Street facebook page, I saw a posting with the following ugly image and the caption “(H) The poison must be smashed, each and every way.”

Man kicking in storefront window

Thankfully, most of the comments were critical of the violence:

… Occupy beware of infiltrators and figures of lesser inteligence
2 hours ago · Like · 1
…This should not be celebrated!
Admin (H) must go.
2 hours ago · Like · 8
… Why do this? What a waste of time. That’s like smashing a radio because you don’t like the song being played, it has zero impact on the signal carrying the song.
2 hours ago · Like · 9
…t And curious, as this is posted by the Occupy Wall St. page, does this mean that Occupy Wall St. now condones this sort of behavior? Non-violent, what?
2 hours ago · Like · 8
… SiÄ™ Wie stupid
2 hours ago · Like · 4
… Many people will be leaving this Facebook page if this continues. A real pity this page isn’t used appropriately and in accordance with the values of Occupy.
2 hours ago · Like · 2
…i ‎(A) !
2 hours ago · Like · 1
… Change Admins please. This is wrong in every way and destroys our small success from different directions. Thats what the opposite wants to see. We dont need this. Where does Ghandi fit in here?
2 hours ago · Like · 5
… this page has become very suspect, i’m outta heeeerrre!
2 hours ago · Like · 4
… ‎*sigh* this is kids anticts, if you’re going to abandon non violence, then do it properly!
The only thing a broken bank window brings is a higher fee for Joe Average (i.e your damn parents).
2 hours ago · Like · 1
… It’s just glass. So many emotions over owned things. It’s insured. Oh corporate storefront, I cry for you. lmao
2 hours ago · Like · 1
… Stupid Anarchists. Don’t destroy my city. go destroy your own
11 minutes ago · Like
…r Someone hack this page?
4 minutes ago · Like

A small minority of people, the Black Bloc, are into violence, as discussed by Chris Hedges in his TruthDig article The Cancer in Occupy, and also here and here, and (from a more accepting point of view) here, here, and here. (I myself am adamantly opposed to Black Bloc tactics.)

Most of the facebook Occupy page is still positive and inspiring.

Just a few days ago I left another Occupy facebook group, because most of the postings were by someone who was portraying Obama as Hitler. (I’m no fan of Obama, but the postings were too extreme.)

I don’t know if these people are agents provocateurs or whether it’s just natural for open forums to devolve.

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