If everything would be what it seems to be…we wouldn’t be forced to use our little neurons to find out the truth. The truth on the Occupy Wall St. rebellion, as they call it, is very slippery and hidden under many layers of realities and fantasies. I’ve kept myself updated on the evolution of the protests in NY and I was constantly waiting for official statements.
And they came indeed and in the way I expected it to be. On October 6, President Obama said that “I think it expresses the frustrations the American people feel, that we had the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression, huge collateral damage all throughout the country…”. On October 16, the White House spokesman reassured that “the interests of 99 percent of Americans are well represented” and that Obama shares the frustration of the protesters.
Occupy Wall Street Poster
Putting aside any other fact about the OWS, it is easy to notice that these statements are quite meaningless for the protesters and they were made with the obvious intention of regaining people’s trust, while at the same time thinking ahead at the electoral campaign. What do protesters gain from such statements? Some of them – hope. But since it took almost 3 weeks for an official statement, the realization of that hope will probably take a lot more time.
I don’t see the protests being taken very seriously. I read no article on how the economy will turn around considering the possibility that the protests might last for the next months or even more. The fact is NYPD has already spent $3.5 million on police patrolling. But as long as the budget is around $65 million/year, it’s ok to cut some of the departments funding.
As far as I can determine, the main issue is about communication or lack of it, to be more specific. Obviously, what drives and motivate these people to stay in the Zuccotti Park are anger and the total refuse to accept the way government handled and still handles the effects of the global economic crisis. Everybody can see the apparent unity given by rage and willingness to witness a change in the financial system. After all, they were the ones who bailed out the banks in 2008 and hoped for change for the better. People who occupy Wall St. have every right to protest, to be inspired by the Tahrir moment.
On the other hand, the anger must be expressed so that the people you are angry with can see it – and I don’t incite to violence here. Violence isn’t the only way to express anger and loss. And also, anger and loss are not the only reasons for a protest to start. In this particular case, fighting for your rights by marching and sitting in a place while the NYPD tacitly approves of your staying will only mean considerably amount of time spent on the streets, cold nights and cardboards and significant exhaustion. If the government is not really threatened – politically, economically, etc. – then they will probably wait until winter falls to see how many will stay and how many will give up. This is what President Obama does and this is what everybody who follows the updates on the Occupy Wall St. wonders.
Occupy Wall St.
A protest today has a chance of fully achieving its agenda by being as determined as Macedon’s phalange and be armed with a consistent and thorough capacity of thinking and presenting its ideas and requests. It’s all about communication – this is what makes the human world change.
Make the people who carefully observe and try to predict the next move of the Occupy Wall Street movement see and be aware of what will come next unless those who are held responsible for the downturn of the economy start looking for solutions. Because the declarations of the mayor Bloomberg on the anniversary of one month since the protests began – Sept. 17 – Oct. 17, show little to no concern and even indifference – of course, this can be a calculated move, but it defies the attitude protesters want to pass on: “I can tell you that pillow talk in our house is not about Occupy Wall Street or Brookfield Properties,” and he “recognizes people’s right to peaceful protest.”
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