NEW YORK, NY Nov. 15 (DPI) — Many readers awakening this morning expressed anguish that the “Occupy Wall Street” denizens in New York’s Zuccotti Park were bounced from their campsites overnight. But a substantial minority, about a third, said it was about time.

With the clearing of Zuccotti Park, the political biases of readers of various news sites — NYTimes.com, WSJ.com — came into full relief: NY Times readers were most often howling over the perceived injustice of police clearing an 8-week-old campsite in lower Manhattan that local residents and business owners had long enough of. WSJ.com readers were almost the mirror opposite in view.

Readers generally were trying to be supportive of the camping protesters, but a large number were confused about the focus and goals of the entire Occupy Wall Street movement:

(NYTimes.com #5) “Pardon me, but what exactly were the protestors thinking the end-game was going to be? World revolution? A Marxist free state established in a land-locked park in the middle of the US?

“You camped out for 8 weeks violating city ordinances. You claimed to be knowingly doing so (“civil disobedience”) because of… I don’t know, something. The police came in, said to start following the law or you’d be arrested. You didn’t follow the law, so you were arrested. Congratulations.”

(From WSJ.com) “Have you bothered to read the Occupy partiers demands? $18/hour minimum wage, forgiveness of ALL debt/loans, etc. No, they are not fighting for anyone but themselves. They are spoiled brats who want other people to pay for their lives. They are trying to use a very powerful tool, envy of people with more material wealth than themselves, to stir up emotions. In the end, it won’t work because 99 percent of the people are rational enough to know that Communism doesn’t work.”

(#98)” The police are doing the protesters a favor.
They were at a dead end politically, and were being increasingly associated in the public mind with drugs and violence.”

(#123)  “The protesters should relocate to DC. The REAL problem is that the Congresspersons, who make the policies that ALLOW these abuses to take place, hide in DC! We need to understand just who is really to blame and go after those people. Remember, the the Congresspersons are our elected officials, and therefore we are their EMPLOYERS.”

(#385) “Right, everyone–how DARE they remove a tent city … that it sat illegally on for two mos., at the expense of NYC taxpayers?? Income-wise I definitely rest well within your 99%, but what I am most sick of is to hear these people being compared to the Arab Spring protesters and otherwise lionized. In the Middle East, millions of people are risking their LIVES–not just in some abstract way against the evil po-pos, but really risking their lives, facing the possibility of imprisonment and torture, to make a change in their countries. Those people are real heroes. It’s hard to extend this distinction to the off-season Burners smoking pot in Zuccotti Park.

“Frankly the OWS protesters are right, and the Tea Party too for that matter–government is in bed with the large corporations and financial institutions, wealth is ridiculously concentrated at the top. If this movement had started a dialogue that resulted in any real action to address these problems it would’ve been great, but it doesn’t seem that anyone other than the media has really taken this thing seriously. To the OWS protesters and anyone else who really wants to make a difference: if you don’t like this government, vote them out!! This is the big difference between our system and the oppressive regimes in the Middle East; you already HAVE this power to make a difference. If you don’t like the candidates you see, run for office, or support someone who you can believe in. If you don’t like a corporation or financial institution, don’t buy their products and encourage others to do the same; write letters, launch websites, tweet about it. Support corporations and institutions that follow philosophies you can agree with, and vote with your dollars. To repeat once more the oft-quoted Gandhi, BE the change you want to see in the world.”

(#185) “I’m with the mayor on this one. The OWS folks expressed legitimate grievances about the role of private enterprise in modern society, but the “occupation” had become a nuisance.

“I don’t see how being a bum and sitting in a park accomplishes anything other than alienating the middle class and pushing them into the arms of the very people you’re trying to “expose.”

“Say what you will about the Tea Party, at least they were organized, engaged the system, and moved the electoral needle. “