I think I’ve been wasting my time with a troll, but I always like to give people the benefit of the doubt. Some people are unintentionally misinformed. So, I treat people as if they actually care about facts and reality until they prove otherwise. The person in question goes by the name Thomas Harbit and here is what he wrote to me in the comment section of the local Iowa City newspaper:
“I follow what Occupy does, or doesnt do in the case of pretty much going hands off with Obama. OKAY, lets just use your “logic.” By your logic, these occupiers SHOULD BE confronting Obama at the WH(it’s where he lives and/or operates) and should have the occupy people in Hawaii doing the same. ALL I EXPECT from a “movement,” that allegedly wants to get rid of corporate and political greed/corruption, is to apply their activities even handedly sir. And your “movement,” has failed miserably at this.”
Another commenter, Skeet Newman, decided to lend support to his fellow troll, partisan hack, ignoramus or whatever properly describes this kind of person:
“We both know that protesters are not actively camping out at the WH or in Hawaii to protest Obama.”
I have such a respect for truth and such a desire for self-education that such people truly boggle my mind. I spent a few minutes of websearching. In that brief perusal, I came across hundreds of news reports and videos disproving these anti-Occupy claims.
The following links, in fact, just came from the first pages of results, quite a few from the very first page of results (based on three different searches combining the terms ‘occupy’ and ‘protest’ with either ‘white house’, ‘obama’ or ‘hawaii’; but some of the results I found were also about protests in Iowa, including against Obama’s campaign offices here); and, on those pages, all of the results I noticed were relevant, although most were just different sources reporting on the same events (sources included both mainstream and alternative, both national and local, both conservative and liberal).
The links below include Occupy protests of Washington DC including the White House, protests in Hawaii including Obama’s residence and the APEC summit, protests of fundraisers and speeches Obama attended, and protests of Obama’s campaign offices around the country. The links, however, are in no particular order other than those about Hawaii being at the end:
http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/dc/police-arrest-11-occupy-dc-protesters-outside-white-house-122011
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTfcGAIggXs
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupy_Wall_Street#The_White_House
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57350023/occupy-protesters-arrested-at-paul-dems-hq/
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/11/06/129455/thousands-surround-white-house.html
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/occupy-protesters-set-up-camp-outside-obama-campaign-hq-in-iowa/
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/president-obama-heckled-by-occupy-protesters-during-new-hampshire-speech/
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/30/occupy-protesters-mobilize-for-obamas-visit/
http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2011/12/01/occupiers-protest-obama-fundraiser/
http://motherjones.com/mojo/2011/12/occupy-protesters-arrested-iowa-democratic-party-headquarters
http://hpulamalama.com/occupy_wall_street.php
http://www.kitv.com/r-video/29499148/detail.html
http://www.deoccupyhonolulu.org/apps/calendar/showEvent?calID=5999930&eventID=162776408
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/11/14/occupy_honolulu_hawaiian_musician_makana_performs
http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/16417412/occupy-protesters-pushed-out-of-thomas-square
http://www.hawaii247.com/2011/12/30/occupy-groups-protesting-at-kukio-dec-31/
http://www.radiohc.cu/ing/news/world/3681-occupy-activists-protest-apec-summit-in-hawaii.html
http://www.bet.com/news/national/2011/12/19/occupy-protestors-target-obama-campaign-offices.html
Marmalade 
Here is what Thomas Harbit and Skeet Newman don’t understand. Occupy isn’t a single organized movement. Every local group makes its own decisions based on discussion and consensus. Even within local groups, sub-groups form to do their own things. There is no singular leadership to tell all of Occupy what to do.
The Occupy movement includes: Democrats and Republicans, Independents and Third Party supporters, Christians and Atheists, Union members and business owners, the employed and the unemployed, Socialists and Capitalists, etc. Every group has its own mix and its own purpose. Some are more concerned about national issues and others more concerned about local issues. Some are more concerned about corruption on Wall Street and others more concerned about corruption in Washington. Some are part of the original Tea Party and others are first time activists. Some are veterans against the war and some are average citizens who just want their vote to count.
The Tea Party had some major organizations that tried to create a coherent message that all Tea Party supporters would agree upon. There has been no such attempt of conformity with the Occupy movement. The reason is because Occupy is more of a tactic than an organization. Anyone can start an Occupy group. All a person has to do is find some place to Occupy and protest your most important issue. If you are a libertarian or Tea Party supporter, you can start an occupy group and protest about unfair taxation and advocate for tax reform. Many non-libertarians and non-Tea-Partiers will probably join you. Or you can join an alredy formed Occupy group and help influence the issues that the group focuses on.
All that it is going on is grassroots activism in the old American tradition of democracy. Americans have been Occupying and protesting since before the country was even formed. The Occupy movement can be seen as just a continuation of previous movements. The anti-war movement combined activists on all sides from both parties and from both extremes. The Ron Paul segment spawned the Tea Party that then was coopted by the GOP. The Occupy movement is simply the inevitable next step of the protest movements of the last decade.
Both the weakness and strength of the Occupy movement is that it has no singular organization and leadership. This makes it difficult to coopt. Even some tiny local Occupy group is coopted it has absolutely zero impact on the movement as a whole. But this uncontrolled diversity also makes it an easy target of dismissal. Unlike the Tea Party, the Occupy movement doesn’t have the equivalent of Fox News to push its message the national scene and defend that message, even forcing that message into national politics.
Another good one.
The reason it annoys me is because I personally know some of the local Occupy protesters. However, I haven’t been involved with it beyond visiting the camp a few times. I have no personal issue with someone who chooses to not protest, but why attack those who do. Sure, criticize them on issues if you want. Just don’t attack them because of a stereotype you have in your head.
I have a very good friend who is of a similar political persuasion as I am. He is politically active, especially with Occupy recently, but he also has decided to caucus for Ron Paul because he wants to get certain issues into the debates, even though he isn’t sure he will end up voting for Ron Paul. I suspect he is typical of many Occupy protesters.
He is an informed guy just trying to do what he can given his situation in life. I’ve found most protesters and activists in this town are fairly normal people, neither partisan hacks nor radical revolutionaries, although events can push them toward being open to either party voting or maybe even revolution if times get bad enough. Most people just want a functioning democracy. The question is what does one do when it becomes clear democracy no longer functions.