I have been waiting for a movement like Occupy Wall Street since 9/11, for my generation to stand up and say no more, we will not allow you to poison our land, over fish our oceans, make our air toxic, ship jobs overseas, where corporations can pollute freely, we will not continue to buy clothing made by slaves, or deny basic healthcare to our citizens. This is not the country modern Americans want, it is the cultural attitude being pushed onto us by the super wealthy, who do not have the same priorities as the rest of America.
For so many years I have asked myself, what happened to peace rallies and demonstrations, has my generation really never thought about a sit in; or has Netflix, and Mc Donald’s put us all into such a stupor, that we can no longer see that our society is going down a very dangerous, and destructive path.
Early on in my college education, just a year after 9/11, I was sitting in my university’s auditorium, preparing for an art history lecture. When the professor got up she said that anyone who wanted to attend the peace rally could leave, but she would be still holding the lecture. I decided to stay afraid of missing any material in this expansive art history class, but at least 250 of the people present walked out. After leaving the lecture hall, I came to find out only a handful of those people went to the rally, the rest went back to bed. Again I was left wondering what happened to people in my age group. when did apathy begin to rule everything they did.
Today I am overjoyed to see that they are starting to finally question what they are being told, that people are beginning to act in a responsible manner ,yet still draw attention to the huge inequities that are seriously plaguing our country. I think it’s time for another New Deal, one that puts Americans back to work, fixes that tax code, and creates a more insular trade system so American’s can regain its manufacturing jobs.
A Delicate Moment for the Occupy Wall Street Movement
Anyone who still thinks the ‘Occupy Wall Street’ protests are some kind of fluke, an exercise in ego inflation by spoiled college kids and aging hippies, needs to go back to bed. This thing is very much for real, is very large, and is growing exponentially. Similar protests have sprung up in dozens of cities all across the country, and with an ‘Occupy the London Stock Exchange’ action set to take place on Saturday, the movement is poised to become an international affair.
The New York police have already laid into the Wall Street protesters with unnecessary violence on more than one occasion, and the Boston police have likewise gotten into the action:
