From the thrumming intellectual engine at the heart of the Occupy movement, earlier this month:

(Davane)

I just wanted to point out that I found the Sack Boris Campaign website the other day, and took the opportunity to donate some cash to get some Sack Boris Oyster card wallets. A friend of mine works in the TFL Lost Property Office, so I am thinking of “accidentally losing” a few and asking if he has found them.

…

With the TFL fare increase, and the state of the economy, one way to give back to the community might be to look into handing out free PAYG oyster cards with the wallets. We could top them up with say £5 each, and let people hand in their old PAYG oyster cards (and wallets, naturally) to be topped up and donated. That’s a free day’s fare in and out of the city, to visit Occupy London.

We all know TFL/Boris did this to try and prevent support for Occupy London, by pricing the poor off of public transport, and thus limiting their access to the camp and the facilities that they provide. We shouldn’t let them get away with this. Instead, we should turn it to our advantage.

(No exaggeration of their own importance here. Oh no.)

(Hairyloon)

Really!?

(Davane)

Okay, maybe this is just a conspiracy theory of mine, but fares are something Boris has direct control over, and if you have a registered Oyster card, then your journeys are tracked, so TFL can see how many people are travelling to the sites closest to the Occupy camps. You don’t think they would be monitoring that sort of information?

…

In fact, the Oyster card itself, while convenient, is also a thinly disguised means of tracking people’s movements. This is WHY they offer a discount on journeys made using Oyster – they want people to use Oyster, so they can track what people are doing. Now, it has always been my philosophy that you cannot hide what you are doing, rather you should always act and be prepared as if you are being watched. In my case, I generally don’t care whether people see me or not. If something needs to be done, I will do it, and it doesn’t matter if I am being watched or not.

(I have a certain sympathy for the ‘tracking people’s movements’ concern, but more because I think that such a large database will be likely to be cocked-up, misinterpreted in error out of context in ways which will harm people, and possibly stolen.)

…

Maybe I should run for London Mayor this year? As an Occupy candidate?

(Hairyloon)

Go for it.

Until you played your card as a conspiracy theorist, all of your posts have been pretty sensible: even I might have voted for you… Except I am not registered in London.

(Davane)

I think most conspiracies are a matter of perception myself – There are many theories, and I am a theorist. It comes from being a psycho-sociologist. It’s just that sometimes they happen to be about conspiracies. All the good conspiracy theories do actually have sense in them, which is why it can be so hard to work out whether they are true or not. My attitude is to always keep an open mind and an open eye. I come across a lot of interesting information all the time.

Watch out, Ken.

You may have competition in the mad Mayor of London stakes.

(* Pyscho-Sociology: the study of subjects, issues, and problems common to psychology and sociology. )

Photo credit: Sugarmelon.com.

1
JuliaM
January 30, 2012 at 08:11

“…by pricing the poor off of public transport…”

Argh! I know they aren’t English students, but…

2
SadButMadLad
January 30, 2012 at 09:19

If you want the education – http://www.grammarbook.com/grammar/probPrep.asp

3
Woman on a Raft
January 30, 2012 at 16:14

Exactly what I need. Many thanks.

4
Engineer
January 30, 2012 at 10:38

Now, I’ll freely admit to being a bit of a grumpy old cynic (well, a grumpy cynic, anyway…), but when I read the description of a ‘psycho-sociologist’ the phrase ‘get a life’ sprang to mind for some reason. And while I’m in full grump mode, the moniker ‘Hairyloon’ sounded highly approptiate in this case.

Now then – ‘the poor’. Is that the ‘poor’ that are getting up to £26,000 a year tax free in benefits? Those poor? Or is it the poor tw*t working his socks off and trying to pay all the bills on about £20,000 a year gross?

5
Matt Wardman
January 30, 2012 at 11:49

Having spent some time with the forums, Hairyloon is actually quite good fun.

A sympathetic northern critic who has been trying to goad the Occupiers closer to planet earth.

6
Matt Wardman
January 30, 2012 at 12:00

(without much success)

7
G Wilson
January 30, 2012 at 19:24

Challenged as this may be, I think it pales next to the intellectual challenge of their “Diploma in Occupied Economics”.

http://tentcityuniversity.occupylsx.org/?page_id=183

I swear that page actively reduces IQ.