After a heated debate on facebook, i feel i need to clarify my feelings on the Occupy Wall Street protests. And honestly, I don't care if you read it or not. Just stop right now if you can't handle seeing a different opinion.
First of all, I have always identified as a liberal. Here are a few examples. When the war in Iraq began, I stood on a cannon in downtown Mobile and protested it. My sign read "blessed are the peacemakers." I was almost arrested, along with several other protesters. My photo was on the front page of the paper. I was very lucky not to get fired from my magazine job, as this was a very public display of my personal politics. I participated in the protest because I didn't want to see our servicemen put in harm's way for what I believed was a completely pointless war. The goal of our protest was to let everyone know we didn't believe in what was going on and we wanted to see an end to it. I verify this point now for future reference.
I am fine with legalizing marijuana. I have no interest in smoking it, but I think the government could tax it, regulate it and release nonviolent "criminals" from mandatory prison sentences, making more room in our prisons for the real bad people.
In 2000, I knew Alabama would overwhelmingly vote for George W. Bush, so I voted for Ralph Nader. I didn't see it as throwing my vote away since I knew how it would go in my state. I saw it as a way to make a statement on how I felt about the two party system. During Bush's reelection campaign, I was a member of a group called Belles Against Bush. We held fundraisers for John Kerry and a different committee in that group, Belles at The Ballots, helped people register to vote.
I am completely against the death penalty.
I would love to see gays be able to get legally married. To that end, I was maid of honor at the wedding of my former roommate. She was marrying a beautiful woman. They now have a child. I couldn't be happier or in more support of them.
I have attended several feminist conventions, at one of which i got to meet then-NOW president Kim Gandy. For me, that was like meeting a rock star.
Get the point?
So you can imagine my surprise when I started reading about the Occupy Wall Street protests and I didn't jump right on board. But something just doesn't sit right with me about this. First of all, some of the people who are into these say that they came up as a response the government bailout of banks and corporations and as a response to the TEA party. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't the TEA party really take off as a response to government bailouts for banks and large corporations? So, if you protest another group of protesters who are protesting the same thing as you......Doesn't that make you the same?
Second, I feel that a good protest needs a simple message and a simple demand or call for action. Stop the War. End Abortion. Agree with the message or not, at least you can know what the message is and make up your own mind how you feel about it. What is the message? Please do tell me, because I feel like a bad liberal for not participating in this. We've covered one possibility in the previous paragraph but others I've heard include "Pay for my college tuition." "Hey government, large corporations, etc., Give me a job". "
A word on the job situation. There are jobs to be had. Look in your local paper every day. If you're hungry, you will take a job doing whatever it takes to feed yourself and your family. Yes, the job may suck. Yes, the job may not pay a lot. Yes, the work may be "beneath" you and your abilities. But, people do what they have to do. My dad is the perfect example of this. He didn't finish college, but he worked his ass off for over 30 years at the nuclear plant so he could provide for his family. Yes, it sucked. Yes, the hours were long and stressful. But he did it. Like so many others who are not afraid of hard work. Here in Alabama, the Immigration bill has opened up many jobs but the entitled don't want to take them. Hell, I wouldn't either. But don't say there are no jobs. Say, instead, there are no jobs you want. To me, there's a huge difference.
I wholeheartedly believe that there are truly awful stories out there of people who lost their pensions, people who have lost their jobs, furloughs, etc. I would like to hear more from them. But I assume most of them are out working instead of protesting.
So, I guess my thoughts are this. Simplify your message so I can decide if I agree or not. The people who seem to be doing all the talking make us liberals look like lazy idiots.
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