As the Occupy Wall Street movement attempts to establish a firm foothold in American society, veterans of left-wing organizing, including former Obama administration czar Van Jones, are urging this fledgling movement to run candidates for office, following the Tea Party model of transforming a grassroots movement into a powerful electoral force. After all, what good is storming local bank branches and blocking Americans from going to work if you don't send representatives to Congress who share your core values and goals? But the prospect of OWS emerging as a viable political force is a pipe dream, akin to similar aspirations held by OWS's ideological predecessors, the 1960s counterculture.

If you want to destroy someone's property, simply organize a left-wing political rally. Then you can bring your rocks and rebar and smash away without serious consequences. It appears that the official attitude towards violence and vandalism depends on who is doing it and why.