Essayist misunderstood Occupy and its fingers

I don’t mind criticism of the Occupy movement except when it is based on misrepresentations of the sort in the essay ["Great people? Steve Jobs, the Occupy movement, and us"] on the last page of the  December 8 Hook.

The finger wiggling has nothing to do with whether we want to let a particular speaker talk. That part’s already a given. The finger wiggles (up, down, or sideways) simply give the speaker instant feedback on whether the listeners agree, disagree, or don’t have any strong feelings.

And favoring the creation of jobs or creating them aren't what we’re all about either. We’re about all kinds of things, but we're mostly about doing whatever works to turn the system of our country, even the world, into the kind of system that maximizes the possibilities for every human to develop his full capacities.

As for Solyndra vs. Apple, Gunderson seems to forget that Apple was once a brand new type of business just as Solyndra was. Remember the 1000 ways of trying to make a light bulb that didn’t work before one did? Well, Solyndra discovered at least one way of building a solar energy company that didn’t work. Eventually, one will.

Donna J. Carty
Charlottesville