I’m going to expand on this for a blog for the Salem Leader, but I wanted to put at least this blurb here. I found this today and liked it:
Occupy Wall Street (and all the associated movements) completely defies what is amazing about today. I hate it because it’s sending young people every wrong message. Instead of inspiring the youth of today to create amazing things that add value to the world, it’s inspiring them to complain.
It’s a little generalized, but does point out my frustrations with the Occupy Wall Street crowd. They sit. They sit in front of big buildings or in places near some place they don’t like. And they sit. They pitch a tent, or play the guitar, and they sit.
I can’t stand sitting. At least not in the sense of “I’m not doing anything”. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good sit every once in a while to sit and ponder the universe, but not to just sit for the sake of literally occupying a space.
I’m fine with the protest, I just wish they’d do something. Throw a bottle or two at a window, hell, if you really want to get some attention go punch a banker in the face because, let’s face it, some people are just going to have to get hurt in order to make this work like we all know it should.
Complaining has a place, but these systems aren’t “too big too fail”, they’re just the only solutions to real problems people have, like needing a bank. They’re just crummy solutions; so go make a new bank. These guys are.
Occupy Wall Street is not just a bunch of people sitting. They have formulated clear solutions that address the problem of corporate control of our democracy: http://occupywallst.org/forum/professionally-revised-doctrine/ A movement which addresses one of this concerns is the movement to repeal the Citizens United decision via a constitutional amendment http://www.movetoamend.org
Then why the hell didn’t I know that — I follow all this stuff remarkable close and I did not know any of that. This is 2011, how do people not know things about anything? All someone has to do is tweet for god’s sake.
Seems a little simplistic and objective. Have you been to the OWS camp? Talked to them? They’re doing more than sitting. And even if they weren’t, sitting can be pretty effective:
http://www.watson.org/~lisa/blackhistory/civilrights-55-65/sit-ins.html
The Occupy Wall Street movement is not inspiring the youth of today to not create amazing things. It IS the youth of today ending the apathy that has for far too long paralyzed American politics and working to create an amazing thing – a vital, functioning democracy which works for the majority of its citizens instead of a corrupt, corporate plutocracy where money reigns supreme.