'Occupy' mission clear as mud

“There’s something happening here, what it is ain’t exactly clear.”

Those lyrics seem more fitting for today’s “Occupy” events than they did during the 1960s when they were recorded by the band Buffalo Springfield.

At least back then, the civil rights and anti-war movements had recognizable leaders and definable objectives.

The Occupy movement, on the other hand, defies definition to such an extent that recent news stories about Occupy protesters don’t even bother trying to explain what they are protesting.

Last year reporters did make that attempt, usually coming up with vague complaints about Wall Street greed, the need for college loan debt relief and the corrupting influence of capitalism on government.

The mood of the movement was summed up nicely in a well-publicized photo of a sulky young woman at Occupy Wall Street holding up a sign saying, “I am very upset.”

Whatever.

What is clear now is that many Occupy events have metastasized into disturbing gatherings that have attracted criminal elements. In an emotionally charged election year with political party conventions on the calendar, Occupy has become a downright spooky movement.

Last weekend, 400 people were arrested in what can be only be described as an Occupy riot in Oakland, Calif. Protesters clashed with police, broke into City Hall, attempted to break into a convention center and burned an American flag.

While the Oakland rioters may not represent Occupiers elsewhere, criminality has been spread around pretty well.

A pro-Occupy website called OccupyArrests.com proudly reports that there have been 6,464 related arrests in 110 different cities. Now is that something a movement looking for traction, appeal and any effective political influence should be boasting about?

The goal of Occupy protesters, it seems, is simply to disrupt.

And there’s a strong likelihood they will only be counterproductive to their own causes — whatever those causes may be.