Somehow a protest movement has ignited without anyone really noticing, but there it is. Day and night protestors are camped out in Wall Street as well as other centers in major cities around the United States.
So is this a fad? Or where do I sign up to occupy Morgantown WV?
I'm old enough to remember the Civil Rights movement of the 1960's and in fact I attended some rallies around the country as a concerned teen. Later, as a seminarian at United Theological Seminary in the 1980's and 1990's, I had the opportunity to study the theological underpinnings of Civil Rights, and some of the practical considerations of protest.
It struck me that, as far as I know, almost all of the operations initiated by Rev.Martin Luther King and other leaders seemed to have a specific objective. The objective might be to end racial segregation on buses in Montgomery Alabama, or to allow African Americans to sit at lunch counters in Greensboro, or to end discriminator voter registration laws in Mississippi. As long as they did this, they generally kicked Jim Crow's ass. Other marches called for the end of the Viet Nam War, or to free the Chicago 7, or whatever. The point is that they usually had a specific agenda to accomplish.
By the 1990's, however, many of these protests had deteriorated into symbolism. To cite a small example, in the city of Dayton, where I lived at the time, we used to have an excercise where people from the West Side (predominantly African American) would meet folks from the East Side (predominantly white) and hold hands on a bridge than spans the Little Miami River. Then everyone would sing "We Shall Overcome" and rush home to see ourselves on TV.
That is what I fear about the current protest movement. I can't figure out what the protestors are seeking to accomplish, other than to register displeasure with people that buy and sell stocks. I can think of lots of possible reforms that could be made, but so far I'm not aware that anyone has articulated any kind of demand for specific reform. Mainly I see calls for increased media coverage, and to enlarge participation in the event with the help of celebrity protestors. Perhaps its therapeutic to vent rage in this way.
A lot of people are mad at rich folks for not paying their fair share of taxes (actually nobody is paying their fair share, that's why we have a 1.5 Trillion dollar deficit, folks. But rich folks are benefitting most, that's for sure). So is this whole thing about taxes? By the way, that's how the Tea Party started, as a rebellion against what they perceived was too much taxation. So is Occupy Wall Street a liberal version of the Tea Party? I hope not!
photo: Kevin Hagen, New York Daily News.
Currently it seems to me that there are a lot of angry people ready to protest even if a cause has not been identified. At some point, someone may supply an agenda to the movement. We shall have to wait to see what agenda does emerge.
For the moment, however, it seems to me that the Occupy Wall Street movement is a substitute for America's Got Talent. For those who can not sing as well as Landau Eugene Murphy, Jr., this represents the best chance for many of the protestors to get on TV.
occupytogether.org has the listings of all the local occupy events being planned across the country, but I was surprised that I did not see one for Morgantown in the works. There is one for Pittsburgh, and one for Wheeling. Perhaps you can join up with one of those, or help start up a Morgantown one!
ReplyDeleteGee great, but now what shall we do one we occupy Morgantown and the world?
ReplyDeleteyou're acting under the assumption that this movement is simply a means to an end. the occupations are not the message, giving a voice to the disenfranchised masses is the message. our current democracy falls short of possessing core democratic principles where every member is represented and, at least in theory, has a voice. there are rumblings of an occupy morgantown event being planned for 10/15. perhaps you could suspend your cynicism for the afternoon, come out and engage in meaningful conversation with the people who choose to show up. this movement is a beautiful thing, and even if no legitimate change happens as a result, at least the marginalized factions of our society can proudly proclaim that at least we had a dog in the fight ...far better than being simultaneously cynical and apathetic.
ReplyDeleteyou're acting under the assumption that this movement is simply a means to an end. the occupations are not the message, giving a voice to the disenfranchised masses is the message. our current democracy falls short of possessing core democratic principles where every member is represented and, at least in theory, has a voice. there are rumblings of an occupy morgantown event being planned for 10/15. perhaps you could suspend your cynicism for the afternoon, come out and engage in meaningful conversation with the people who choose to show up. this movement is a beautiful thing, and even if no legitimate change happens as a result, at least the marginalized factions of our society can proudly proclaim that at least we had a dog in the fight ...far better than being simultaneously cynical and apathetic.
ReplyDeleteYes. My opinion is that the Occupy movement will be irrelevant unless it adopts a specific goal that captures everyone's attention (other than being a neat way to get on TV). But I'm not totally sure, and your point of view may well be right, which is why it is worth watching.
ReplyDeleteNow, as for your comment about meaningful conversation, that's what I thought the blog does seeks to do. I'm trying, man.
Thanks for the invitation, and I might visit out of curiosity. I'll be the guy waving and mouthing "Hi Mom!" for the TV cameras. :)
Occupy Morgantown should definitely happen! This is an awesome cause. I am thinking about going to Pittsburgh next weekend for that one. But I think somehow, we need to get WVU student body involved and Occupy Morgantown! Make it a weekend long thing or something. This is something young people like myself have to get involved in. It has blown up in the past month, but yet seems to be under the radar with a lot of people not knowing about it. I didn't until my brother said something about it. I spent the last 2 hours reading up on it and watching videos and the whole shibang. I think an Occupy Morgantown needs to happen in support of the causes of the OWS!!
ReplyDeleteI just checked it out on OccupyTogether.org.
ReplyDeleteThere are currently only 10 occupiers for Occupy Morgantown, but its a start:
http://www.meetup.com/occupytogether/Morgantown-WV/
As of October 7, there are 250 occupiers. I still don't see much in the way of an agenda, other than they want to be on TV, so they are asking people to complain to (cough, cough) Fox News.
ReplyDeleteFox News?
The Occupy Morgantown event is scheduled for Oct. 15 at 9 PM at the courthouse. There is a page on Facebook and it gives information on signing up.
ReplyDelete