The movement has finally been broadcast by mainstream media (but after we all already knew about it, of course). I’ve tweeted, Facebooked, sent in letters to editors, and generally told everyone I could about it. I’m wholeheartedly behind it, especially since NYPD brutality has seemed to become the norm in dealing with these peaceful protesters.
See some of the myriad videos of the brutality here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxZ8_JdKm0Q&oref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fresults%3Fsearch_query%3DNYPD%2Bpunches%2Bout%2Bwoman%26aq%3Df&has_verified=1
Mainstream media, of course, doesn’t seem to comprehend what’s happening. Occupy Wall Street has been called everything from a bunch of dirty hippies, to whining entitled children, to a violent bunch of unwashed college kids. So many lies have been spread about the movement that it’s heartening- because when people start lying about something it’s to hide it and cover up its message. Occupy Wall Street is becoming too big to ignore.
The media also seems unable to grasp what the movement’s goals or message is. It’s been called too broad and chaotic, unable to cohesively unite for a single purpose. Those, of course, are lies too. There are college students who make up this movement, angry because they worked hard, earned their degrees, got themselves in thousands and hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt, and can’t find a job. There are war veterans, still marching because their benefits have been cut and their healthcare is in danger. There are white collar men, and blue collar men, women who can’t afford to feed their children, women with PhD’s that can’t find a job besides a fry cook at McDonald’s. These are people who are angry that their air is so dirty their children can’t breathe right anymore, that their food is poisoned and too expensive, that they can’t find a decent job, that they’ve been disrespected and called lazy, entitled, ignorant because they need help in a country that doesn’t place people above profits anymore. One cohesive, united message? Occupy Wall Street wants corporations and big money out of politics, and their voices back. That is the primary message, and it was all too easy to understand. Every single issue and demand the movement has made traces back to this. There isn’t one single goal touted because there are lots of goals they want met. Unemployment, clean air, nutritious food, safe streets, a voice, these are ALL important, and all should be guaranteed in a country as rich and powerful as ours. There are no whiners in the movement, no entitled brats, no lazy people. Only people who worked hard and did everything they were supposed to in order to be successful, and now have nothing.
Here is the movement's first official release: http://occupywallst.org/forum/first-official-release-from-occupy-wall-street/
Here is the We Are the 99% archive link: http://wearethe99percent.tumblr.com/archive
I am part of Occupy Wall Street. I’ve been to Occupy Cleveland. And from not only personal experience, but those of my friends and family, I know that this movement is truthful.
I am a twenty-five year old recent graduate. I hold a Bachelor’s degree. I was on the Dean’s List for the last two years of that degree. I started my own non-profit student organization and volunteered with two others. I worked part time almost the whole time I was at college, often while running my organization and maintaining a minimum 3.5 GPA with eighteen credit hours. I volunteered with grassroots campaigns and worked hard at everything I did. I even earned a certificate from the school for my work with my non-profit organization.
I am now living in my mother’s basement because I can’t afford rent or even groceries. I can’t find a job that pays above minimum wage (and minimum wage is NOT a livable wage, not for me as a single person and certainly not for the woman supporting two children). The only work I’ve found is as a pizza delivery driver; it’s only part time and minimum wage.
I’m almost forty thousand dollars in student debt, mostly owed to the Federal Government. I have a loan from one private loan company which has more than doubled in the past four years. They have me on 30% interest.
Even worse, I’ve just received my first notification that my student loan payments are going to begin shortly. I have no way of paying them. My car needs brakes replaced and tires, and has a hole in the exhaust pipe. I haven’t been to a dentist in five years, or an OB/GYN in six. I have health insurance through my Dad that is going to expire soon, but I can’t even afford to pay copays. I rely on my family for everything from groceries to a roof over my head, and am going to have to ask them for help to fix my car and pay my bills. I have $200 to my name, and at least $100 is going to bills this month. It’s a horrible, nasty feeling.
I did everything I was supposed to, and excelled beyond many of my peers. I did the extracurriculars, I took the hard classes, I did the community work, I worked my ass off. And five years later I’m worse off than when I started. I hate being in this position, and if I had any possible way out of it I would have taken it by now. I am so sick of being helpless and relying on my family’s charity. I’m sick of being unable to support myself or get ahead. I have no savings and no job prospects, and am already in so much debt. I can’t think about retirement because at this rate I will never make enough to save enough to retire, much less buy a home or a new car when mine dies, or take care of myself if my health fails. This is terrifying. It’s bone-deep, soul-shaking terrifying.
So I support Occupy Wall Street. I support them with everything I have. I support them because my younger friends are already reaching the end of their unemployment benefits, before the age of twenty-five. I support them because corporations HAVE taken over, and have been granted civilian rights when they don’t have the responsibilities or accountability actual people have. I support them because I worked hard, I did everything I had to, and I’m done with being helpless. I support them because I don't get a bail-out. I will be arrested if necessary, I will take a policeman’s fist to my face because I dare speak up and say that THIS IS NOT RIGHT. I will wade through the lies and stay strong, because we’ve had enough.
We are the 99% and we are awake now.
