I am impressed.
In 2008 you could find me on any given day either campaigning, canvassing and just generally pressing for the election of Barack Obama.
Then something changed. Barack got elected, and life seemed like it would finally shift for those of us riding the lower tiers on the ladder of success.
And then it didn’t.
Then it slowed. Then it stopped. Then it waned and then it just caved in completely.
Our economy collapsed; starting a career became nearly impossible, paying down debts became a joke and the red tape we watched our new hero coming up against was, to say the least, disheartening.
And then we took over Wall Street.
News anchors and journalists are reporting that over 3,000 people have attended the Occupy Wall Street protests in New York City alone. Hundreds more have filtered up to Boston and out to Los Angeles. We are not backing down...well, they are not backing down.
Just like the talking heads on TV and the heads of Wall Street, I thought this would be a passing trend, a cutesy way for unemployed twenty-somethings to be a part of something hip, something TMZ worthy. But they aren’t leaving. In fact, they’re growing more permanent. Joining forces with unions all over the city and today organizing a march, up 5th avenue, to visit the homes of some of the wealthiest New Yorkers. The marchers plan to stop by and say hello to power players like billionaire Rupert Murdoch, JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon and oil tycoon David Koch, among others.
It isn’t a passing moment, it wasn’t a whim, these people mean business - and “these people” are my people. I’m impressed, and now that my concussion has healed, I’m ready to get back in the ring and throw a few punches.
Just let me update Twitter and check-in on Facebook first..
You see, back in high school and college I was quite the activist.
Most of my friends knew not to bring McDonald’s anywhere near me unless they were up for hearing a twenty minute-long rant about the destruction of our world’s Rainforests and the hypocrisy of the fast food industry. I can count on two hands the number of times things almost got physical when talking about the 2004 election between John Kerry & George W. Bush, and I definitely didn’t make very many friends when I made a list of 100 things that “W” had done to destroy our country, typed them up - a fact to each 8x11 page - and posted them all over campus. Handed them out in the dining hall, left them in dormitory mailboxes, plastered them on known republican's room doors. I cared. I cared A LOT. I probably cared too much in hindsight. In 2008 you could find me on any given day either campaigning, canvassing and just generally pressing for the election of Barack Obama.
Then something changed. Barack got elected, and life seemed like it would finally shift for those of us riding the lower tiers on the ladder of success.
And then it didn’t.
Then it slowed. Then it stopped. Then it waned and then it just caved in completely.
Our economy collapsed; starting a career became nearly impossible, paying down debts became a joke and the red tape we watched our new hero coming up against was, to say the least, disheartening.
So I stopped caring. I stopped banging my head against the wall and carrying a banner that no one seemed to care about.
I stopped reading the news - except for the local stories and happenings - I changed my homepage from cnn.com to “stumbleupon”. I stopped paying support fees and donations to the dozens of organizations that I felt a soft spot for. In my eyes, we weren’t voting - we were playing video games (and by video games, I mean Angry Birds), updating our twitter statuses, and checking into the local Starbucks on Facebook - we had our noses in the sand. (And by sand, I mean iPhone. RIP Steve Jobs). But nothing was getting accomplished. This microwaved, pop-tarted and high-speed dependant generation of mine had no ambition, no bandwagon to pull, no motivation, no gumption! Or so it seemed...And then we took over Wall Street.
News anchors and journalists are reporting that over 3,000 people have attended the Occupy Wall Street protests in New York City alone. Hundreds more have filtered up to Boston and out to Los Angeles. We are not backing down...well, they are not backing down.
Just like the talking heads on TV and the heads of Wall Street, I thought this would be a passing trend, a cutesy way for unemployed twenty-somethings to be a part of something hip, something TMZ worthy. But they aren’t leaving. In fact, they’re growing more permanent. Joining forces with unions all over the city and today organizing a march, up 5th avenue, to visit the homes of some of the wealthiest New Yorkers. The marchers plan to stop by and say hello to power players like billionaire Rupert Murdoch, JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon and oil tycoon David Koch, among others.
It isn’t a passing moment, it wasn’t a whim, these people mean business - and “these people” are my people. I’m impressed, and now that my concussion has healed, I’m ready to get back in the ring and throw a few punches.
Just let me update Twitter and check-in on Facebook first..
