When they tell you that you're rebelling against them in the wrong way, you're winning

Sam Smith - When the media started lambasting the Occupy Wall Street crowd for not conducting their revolt in the right way, I felt a rare surge of optimism. I couldn't recall the media engaged in this particular form of insincerity since the 1960s, when, among other things, an establishment reporter on Meet the Press detailed why the anti-war movement wasn't doing its job right. I remember thinking that was a little like a drunk in a bar instructing someone on how to give up alcohol. The reason this sort of absurdity is a good sign is because it indicates a recognition on the part of the establishment that they may be losing the substantive battle and are turning in desperation instead to matters of style. To assume that one's opponents will take sartorial advice from you is one more sign that you've been hanging around the elite too long.

Gawker - The Occupy Wall Street protesters — who the New York Times and other such venues had told me were too vague, too in need of glitzy PowerPoint presentations with concrete goals, too poorly dressed, too busy playing drums, too hypocritical because they used "computers" and other modern products, too middle-class, and in general too gross to sustain any interest for more than a few days, therefore making it not worth doing — have persevered long enough to convince veteran reinforcements to join them next week. Interesting!

A hitherto dormant establishment of New York labor and community groups signed on to the protest today and announced they'd join the dirty fucking spoiled computer-wielding scumbucket hippie monsters in a solidarity march next Wednesday. Crain's explains why they've now decided to rush to Occupy Wall Street's side — they were being shown up, basically:

Some of the biggest players in organized labor are actively involved in planning for Wednesday's demonstration, either directly or through coalitions that they are a part of. The United Federation of Teachers, 32BJ SEIU, 1199 SEIU, Workers United and Transport Workers Union Local 100 are all expected to participate. The Working Families Party is helping to organize the protest and MoveOn.org is expected to mobilize its extensive online regional networks to drum up support for the effort.

"We're getting involved because the crisis was caused by the excesses of Wall Street and the consequences have fallen hardest on workers," a spokesman for TWU Local 100 said.

Community groups like Make the Road New York, the Coalition for the Homeless, the Alliance for Quality Education and Community Voices Heard are also organizing for Wednesday's action, and the labor/community coalitions United New York and Strong Economy For All are pitching in as well.