Occupy: For the People or Against the People?

Occupy.

What does this mean to you?

These days it refers to a movement of protesters.

What are they protesting? Sometimes I don’t think they even know. Each Occupier has a slightly different answer to that question. Some say it’s all about getting corruption out of the government…to make them listen to the people instead of the corporations. Some say it’s about getting rid of the broken government altogether. I’ve seen the term socialism used. Some occupiers are basically fighting for a communist America. Some have declared war on the rich. Some have declared war on the authorities, including the police. Some have reasons I haven’t covered here.

One thing is universal among all of the occupiers. They all proclaim to be fighting for the so-called 99% against the so-called 1%. They all claim to be fighting for you and me.

Let me just get one thing straight before we go any further. I didn’t ask any of the occupiers to speak for me or ‘fight’ for me. At least with the government officials I got a vote.

Now, I’m going to try to break this down in the most logical way. I am NOT opposed to EVERYTHING Occupy stands for. I agree that Washington is corrupt and in need of a major overhaul…that’s where my agreement with them ends.

When you were a kid and you wanted something but Daddy told you no what did you do? If you were like most kids you stomped your foot and threw a temper tantrum. Someone I know compared Occupy to this. I think it sums it up pretty well. Instead of handling the situation like mature adults the Occupiers are protesting in the most juvenile fashion imaginable.

And somewhere along the way Occupiers got it in their head that they can do whatever the hell they want to pubic property (AKA city owned space). Newsflash, if the city owns it the city can do whatever they want. They can tell protestors not to protest there because it is a public disturbance (which it is). They can arrest people for not complying…and yes, they are well within their rights to do so. When we elected our officials we gave them the power to make decisions for the public welfare. If they see protesters as a potential danger to the city then they can arrest them. How are they a potential danger? Any large gathering of people risks the chance of riot. Having so many people in one space for so long causes massive clean up bills that the city has to foot (with TAX PAYER money). And, in the most simplistic terms, the protestors are a public nuisance. They disturb the peace and make it hard for the elected officials to do their jobs. They cause police man power to be patrolling them instead of being out taking care of more important things. I’m from Austin where the occupiers at City Hall were arrested and evicted. I applaud the city. I’ll be the first to say I hate the government in Texas. If you know anything about our idiot governor, Rick Perry you know why. I still don’t want juvenile adults protesting and preventing everyone in government from doing their job efficiently.

Think about it, if you have a job (I realize a lot of occupiers don’t) how would you like it if you were trying to work and a big group of uninvited people were outside making noise and causing a disturbance? Would it cause you to stop and listen to what they were saying or would it just annoy you and make you less likely to take whatever their message was seriously? Chances are, if you were being honest, you would be annoyed. Wouldn’t you rather they express their message is a more professional and dignified way? A way that got their point across without disturbing your work day? Yeah, me too.

A lot of occupiers see what their doing as important. A lot act like they are super heroes because occupying is hard work man. It’s rough to get out there and scream and sing and protest and fight the system. Yeah? Well try working 40 hours a week and paying taxes. Anything the occupiers do is a CHOICE. They are not fighting for the people. They are fighting for the occupiers. They are not fighting for the “99%” they are fighting for the 1% of occupiers. Yeah, ok, 1% of the country is wealthy. So what?

The wonderful thing about America is that if you work hard and you’re smart (or just plain lucky sometimes) you too can be a millionaire. I have no issue with this. Bill Gates is a genius that changed the world and thus became rich legitimately. Why should he be punished for that? Donald Trump (much as I despise the guy) built his empire. He deserves his wealth. Paris Hilton was born into it. She’s lucky as all get out, but it’s the life she was born into. That lottery winner that won millions of dollars? I wish that were me but aside from that, they have a right to their riches as well.

Is that to say everyone earned it (or lucked into it)? No. I realize some people lied, cheated, and stole to get their wealth. I disagree with that. I think there needs to be someone that takes a long hard look at the bonuses some of these executive get. I agree that not all wealth is legitimate. I won’t say all of the wealthy are evil.

What occupiers fail to realize is that they are not uniting the country. They are causing a greater divide. Instead of the 99% vs the 1% it’s the Occupiers vs the government vs everyone else.

One of the best quotes I’ve seen in regards to the occupy movement came from an AthensOnline.com article written by Jim Thompson “Whatever they may think their theatrics might have accomplished, what the Occupiers in fact did was give this community an excuse to write them off as a sideshow unworthy of serious consideration…”

That says it all. Occupy is a side show. A joke. It does not warrant serious consideration because they are not using adult tactics to make their point. If you don’t like the way things are going, run for office! If you want to make a change, get involved in politics and make a change. Help run a campaign for a candidate you believe in. Get involved in the media where you can interview the leaders and ask the tough questions. If you want to be taken seriously act like an adult and not a child that doesn’t want to eat their vegetables.

Perhaps the most worrisome aspect of Occupy is the way they view police officers. I’ve seen the threats on police as a whole. I’ve seen how the protesters want to ruin the lives of the people sworn to protect us. This is scary to me.

Am I saying every single police officer in the country is a fine, upstanding person doing their job by the letter of the law? No. Not in the least. Every single occupation, organization, and other type of group has their bad apples. I can promise you, not every Occupier is a good person. There are criminals among them too. I am sick of all police getting a bad wrap.

I, too, was appalled when I saw the video of the police officer pepper spraying a seemingly innocent group of protesters. Then I found out the real reason they were pepper sprayed.

The fact of the matter is pepper spray is often used when the police are met with resistance. If the police tell you to move and you refuse you risk getting shot with pepper spray. True story.

You know how to avoid this? Do what the police say. They are there to enforce laws. Even if the police agree with everything the protestors are doing they have their own job to do. A job they get paid for. A job that involves keeping the peace. If you are camped out in a place the city has said you can not camp and the police say move then you better move or there will be consequences. This is not excessive force. This is the police handling a citizen that refuses to listen to reason. Now, if they were drawing their guns and shooting protestors that would certainly be excessive. They are not. No lethal force has been used. Just pepper spray. I’m sure that stuff hurts like hell, but if the person would have just listened to the police they wouldn’t have been sprayed. The police don’t go around pepper spraying random people. I, a law abiding, tax paying citizen, have never been pepper sprayed. Why? I follow the laws.

And as for this misconception that all police are corrupt, it’s just simply not true. I have relatives in law enforcement that are very good people. One of them is the most upstanding man you could hope to have protecting you. Do I know of some that misuse their position? Absolutely…but again, every group has bad apples. The majority of police want to protect and serve. Just follow the laws and nobody gets hurt. Pretty simple concept.

It was this violent hatred and promotion of going after police that caused Anonymous to lose my support. I actually liked Anonymous’ tactics. It showed the government the power of the internet without actually getting in anyone’s way. I followed Anonymous on Facebook for awhile. In the end I found their anti-police stance to be too terrifying and uncalled for. I could not support a group that treated all authority as they do. Police officers are not ‘pigs’ or any other numerous terms I’ve seen them called. They are out there catching murderers, rapists, and other criminals to keep us safe. Perhaps a few warrant disdain, but certainly not everyone wearing a badge, which is what is happening.

In the end it comes down to the simple fact that Occupiers speak for no one but themselves, in spite of their claims. No one voted for them. No one asked them to give up working and being a valuable member of society to sit around and act like a child. No one asked them to camp out and take up public space. They claim they have a right to camp out on city owned space because it belongs to all of us? Well then I want my say. If I own it too then I want you gone…but no. Not a single Occupier asked me if I mind them occupying space my taxes pay for. One Occupier told me I didn’t know everything she’d been through and done fighting for ME and MY rights. Anything any Occupier has been through is hell of their own making. Don’t blame me. I don’t want you there. I’d much rather you find a job and pay taxes like the majority of us. Maybe if you contributed something useful to society then you could spark a change while still acting like an adult.