One word has been very active in our news cycles lately. That word is “Occupy”. It seems that many do not understand what the message of the movement is and what are its expectations and goals. As a participant in this movement, I would like to use this column to say some of the things I have experienced, and what I hope the future of occupy will bring.
The movement of course started here in early October, and I have visited the People’s Plaza outside the Hennepin County Government Center many times to get to know some of the occupiers and show my support for the movement. It has been a learning experience, a source of pride, and as well as frustration.
One visit to the plaza, you will meet a cross-section of our communities. Veterans, students, middle-aged, unemployed, socialists, communists, homeless, men, women, children; all have come together to express frustration at our current situation.
As I joined discussions and marches, I have learned that one message tied all of us together. We all are working together to bring attention that our economy was not only destroying individuals lives, but was also leading to the destruction of the vibrant middle-class that brought the United States to the pinnacle of economic prosperity.
Most of the actions I have participated in have dealt with the larger banks around a problem that I have experienced; foreclosure. Through the actions of labor unions, other community organizations, and the participants in the occupy movement, we have made some changes in individuals lives. We have been able to negotiate a stoppage of a Sheriff’s sale, and a mortgage modification. It is hard to say if this would have taken place without our actions.
I have met with some of the members to discuss future ideas for actions that occupy can do that will bring positive changes to our communities. It is my hope that our communities will begin to see positive things that we are doing that will bring about support for our movement.
One of the most frustrating things about supporting this movement is the opinion of some in our communities and media, who continue to state that we don’t have the legal right to protest. I’ve been called lazy, told to get a job, spat at, threatened with arrest, and other things that are not nice. Through it all, I have tried to remain calm and peaceful, because violence will only discredit our movement. But, at the same time I have seen the first amendment right of free speech and the ability to peaceably assemble to petition the government for a redress of grievances be limited against the occupiers. I must ask, do you think that our founding fathers made certain that they didn’t make others uncomfortable in attempting to form this nation? Or did Martin Luther King make sure that he did not interfere in others lives when he demanded that the nation hear the demands of civil rights for all? Or when we marched hundreds of times to demand the end of the war in Viet Nam? None of these would have taken place without making some people uncomfortable to bring about the change needed.
For far too long, most of us have protested by typing on blogs, posting our frustrations on message boards, or just remaining complacent and silent on the sidelines. Without a mass of people taking the time to make a physical presence in our communities, can we ever expect change to come?
Whether it is sending a child to college, repairing a vehicle when there isn’t enough money to do it, or something more pressing like medical expenses, or facing foreclosure, most of us have experienced economic difficulties over the past few years.
Even though the winter snow and cold is upon us, the economic reality that faces each of us shows no sign of improvement. We must all support this movement that supports all of us in this union, and the majority of people in this nation. From one of the chants at occupy rallies; “We ain’t scared, Never scared! Occupy is Everywhere!”
Economics is something that affects our daily lives more than most of us realize. Because of this, we must not view the Occupy movement as a bunch of rag-tag misfit hippies without a clear message, but as a radical demand of a future where all of us share in an economic prosperity that is deserving of all.
