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Thursday, May 24, 2012
"Occupy" movement missing the mark
by Sergio Villarreal, published on November 3, 2011 at 7:04 AM
Storyline: Opinion
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I turned on the news tonight. I like doing that now. That and talk
radio. I have only been 30 for a week and a a few days and already I
am watching more news, listening to am radio stations, forgetting a
lot of things, and wearing church socks with shorts in November.
This whole occupy something movement really has caught my attention.
When it first got off the ground I had no real interest in it but now
that it looks like it has no plans on dying down, it has sparked my
curiosity.
What I am curious about is how attacking businesses and interfering
with people who have a job to do benefits the cause. I understand
that corporate greed is the enemy, but people need to realize that
these corporations were built on the backs of people who are in that
99% with them. They were built on the backs of people who have bills
to pay and kids to feed. If these people cannot do their jobs, how do
you explain to the people that depend on their income that this
protest is more important than their families welfare? Stopping
truckers, breaking windows, and vandalizing a grocery store does not
sound like a peaceful protest to me, it sounds like a riot waiting to
happen. (They showed a Whole Foods being vandalized on KCRA. I know
they are expensive but damn!)
Also what has me curious is the lawsuit being brought against the city
of Sacramento. I guess when the tide is not in your favor the next
best thing to do is go after the man on the ground. So you cannot
camp out in Cesar Chavez park for 24 hours a day, how hard is it to go
home and come back during the parks hours of operation? Not being
able to stage your protest in a city park does not sound like a
violation of your first and fourteenth amendment, but more so a case
of "you ain't gotta go home but you got to get the hell out of here".
So just to recap. The occupy Wall Street movement is happening all
over the United States and not just on Wall Street. Corporate greed
is the devil and it must be stopped. In an effort to stop the devil,
protesters have so far kept working people from doing their jobs,
vandalized establishments, cried because their protest landed them in
jail for breaking the rules, and filed a lawsuit against the city of
Sacramento for not letting them take over a park.
The occupy movement sounds like it is working to me. And by working I
mean they have successfully managed to break some windows, spray paint
some buildings that had nothing to do with the cause, get thrown in
jail for the inability to follow directions, stop people from doing
their jobs, and file a lawsuit against a city which the last time I
checked is not a greedy corporation.
If you ask me the occupy movement is about a few drinks away from
occupy new major appliances (and we could use a new washer and dryer).
In light of one of our men in service dying during one of these
protest, it is amazing that the occupy movement has not already
spiraled in to a full fledged riot. It is sad because the faults of
few get lumped on to the many and the many really are just trying to
stop corporate greed.
That is commendable. I feel it is futile, but it is definitely
commendable. Corporate greed is going to happen as long as there are
corporations. Peacefully asking these corporations to share the
wealth, stopping traffic, filing lawsuits and spray painting is only
going to get you a spot on the news. People will be able to see you
for a few minutes at a time between televised commercials. Look
around, corporate America is America.
What can the city of Sacramento do to support this movement? Well
first of all they can take their lumps like the rest of the law
breakers. During the civil rights movement people were thrown in jail
and some of these people still have these criminal records to this
day. A public disturbance or trespassing on your record is a small
price to pay in the crusade for stopping the corporate monster.
Secondly, do not forget who the enemy is. Keeping Joe the trucker
from making his drop in the Bay Area is hurting him more than it is
helping you. The working men and women who are at the base of the
corporate pyramid are not your target, they are your allies. They
just happen to have obligations that supersede their desire to stop
corporate greed.
And lastly, try going on location. It is called occupy Wall Street
for a reason. If was going to boycott Baskin Robins, does it make any
sense to go stand outside of Gunther's? Wall Street is where the
souls of the good are eaten and the souls of the evil are born. Cesar
Chavez Park? not so much. Besides,Occupy Cesar Chavez Park does not
even sound cool. It sounds more like a B movie where a young Stephen
Segal has to stop a young no name Mexican actor from pushing heroin at
a neighborhood playground.
I am not rich. I do not even know anyone in the 1%. In fact just
today I avoided a bill collector by telling him that "Sergio moved to
Zimbabwe with the Peace Corps" and I only paid about 75% of my SMUD
bill. My wife and I are into extreme couponing and we look at
everything in terms of money. I made six dollars worth of chicken
tonight and tomorrow I will take two dollars worth of that chicken for
lunch. I just do not want to see the energy of this movement lose
momentum because instead of sticking it to the man...it was busy
kicking the little guy in the balls.
Disclosure:
I am not a professional nor am I invested in this movement...as of yet. This is just one mans opinion.
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Bottom line: People are no longer willing to tolerate the abusive growth of others. There are those who lack the power and have been supporting the growth of the abusers and received very little in return. And those that are being abused are now occupying the streets and rightfully displaying their dissatisfaction.
“I don't mind telling you in confidence that I am keeping in fairly close touch with that admirable Italian gentleman.” ~ President Franklin D. Roosevelt commenting on Mussolini
FDR seemed pretty fond of fascists. And if you want to talk about abuse of powers. The man forced (drafted) over 10 million Americans into the war to fight and die against their will and imprisoned over 150,000 Japanese American's, seizing all their property with no charge against them or trial. That is FDR's Democratic State.
There could even be a case made that the malfeasance on Wall Street, excessive influence of corporate and union lobbyist, bank bailouts etc are just cause for such actions.
But if Occupy is going to go there like the Civil Rights and Anti-War movement before them (and America's founding fathers for that matter) you better be able to state your goals clearly, concisely and cohesively.
6 wks in and Occupy still looks like a hodgepodge of amateur anarchists, homeless hangers-on, neo-communist/socialists and flavor of the week activitist. With a few college kids who picked the wrong major and want to complain to CBS13 about their student loans mixed in.
I am (or at least was) sympathetic to original stated goals of the Occupy movement, but if all they have at this point is a poorly organized WTO riot, then it is probably time to call the whole thing off.
I think they’re attempting to give birth to a movement and heck perhaps it's a preemie, lol, but it's only been 6 weeks and a pregnancy is normally 9 months lol. They may not be organized as of yet, but since they had the baby they shouldn't throw the baby out now with the bath water. I copied the below from my post on the other article related to this subject
"The best in art and life comes from a center- something urgent and powerful, an idea or emotion that insists on its being. From that insistence, a shape emerges and creates its structure out of passion. If you begin with a structure, you have to make up the passion, and that's very hard to do." Roger Rosenblatt
They appear to have passion and from that structure can and , if they keep pressing, develop.
Camping out is part of the statement the Occupy crowd is making. Their established presence is a necessary component of seizing attention -- and at no cost. It evokes Hooverville and brings attention to the struggling part of the struggle. We of the 99% don't have the deep pockets of Fox News. Fighting the corruption and distortion requires cheap and "other" means which the Occupy crowd is valiantly pursuing. Hooray, them!
We don't have to solve a puzzle without a picture: Picture this: the city and county is in deficit. The county DA, due to that deficit and overwhelming cases, declined to press charges. The city, also in deficit, has the city attorney's office picking up the cases. Sac county courts already have limited resources due to our lack of crime prevention and ignorant attempts to arrest away crime.
82 protesters have been arrested and filling the courts if they continue to fill the courts they'll have a huge impact on sac city and county. Sacramento doesn't have a huge port like Oakland but we have courts. Sac is in deficit it's the capital you want to shut Sacramento down you drain the county and city resources. And you use the constitution as the foundation to stand upon. On the surface you can appear to want to change that law, under the umbrella of freedom of speech and now you'll have a right to peacefully assemble at that park. But the big picture I see, is it's not about sitting or sleeping at that park it's about draining Sacramento- the capital's resources.- and you don’t go through a Port or food chain- It's the capital- lol you go through the city, county, state resources….After all everyone knows Sacramento attempts to arrest away a problem lol I AM impressed. Occupy Sacramento is not ignorant!
Sergio, Thank you for your article, spirit and passion. I truly enjoy seeing you engaged. When I was 30 I wasn't as engaged as you are. You should be very proud of yourself. I am honored to have discussed this issue with you. Sweetheart I felt good watching you Stand firm to your beliefs- impressive. Remember nothing is all good and nothing is all bad. No one will be 100% right and no one will be 100% wrong. I'm finished but before I left I wanted you to know I love your spirit of engagement and because of your article I learned something today and I appreciate you for it. I wish you countless blessings.
Fear not the strangeness you feel
The future must enter you...
Long before it happens" Rainer Maria Rilke
I admire the fact they are looking towards the forest through the trees. I admire their dedication and courage.
"Every time your heart leaps out and you want to serve better that 's the future, speaking through you" Dr Wheatley
I admire the heart of the Occupy… group
I understand the point the author is making and i respect his opinion. But in my opinion their are always casualties in war.., some will have to lose before others/ more will gain.
They may fumble but you have to crawl before you can walk, walk before you run... They are not sitting around talking about it they are putting in an effort to mobilize and give birth to a movement. Heck, if they shoot themselves in the foot that's okay - it's friendly fire- and they can learn from trial and error, from their mistakes. Now, as of yet, they haven't been shot down by anyone else so I am impressed
Which is why I previously wrote "war does not have to imply two opposing sides are engaged in battle. One side (corporate) may not feel they have to battle whereas the underdog will have to make, wage, engage in a battle." Appears, Corporate doesn't have to do anything except sit back relax, collect the dough and let it's "workers" fight it's battle. Why Is Occupy... going to be so difficult?? Because before they can fight who their battle is intended with they'll have to engage in a sidebar battle with others. Corporate is protected the people have to fight one another first. Well, I hope they keep fighting, In the words of Gandhi, "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you; then you WIN!
We all play a role in change. Nothing is all good, nothing is all bad. Sometimes you need positive and negative. Yin/ Yang. It creates a balance lol.
Now, when I'm on the bus (on a mission/ movement) I don't look for a bus stop. I don't get off. I ride the bus til the wheels fall off. So I don't expect anything less from the Occupy Group.
Heck, People thought slavery (corporate) couldn't be stopped. Now I'd take up too much of your time if I addressed slavery, racism, bigotry... but I'm not one of those who would argue the racism that existed back then exists now but I wouldn't be surprised in these economic hard times.... Greed was and is still a contributing factor to racism..- Divide and Conquer…
I'm not saying people should walk into a battlefield blindfolded and get hit blindsided. Heck, perhaps they don’t want to completely let the left hand know what the right hand is doing and will reveal their plan all in due time. Or perhaps they will learn by trial and error. But whether blindfolded or fully planned their would be causalities and sometimes causalities caused from being blindfolded will bring more to your aid. Heck the best ambush is seeming ignorant of your agenda