Why do They Occupy Themselves with Occupying?

I have a Facebook message battle with a huffy, entitled queen from New England. He sarcastically posts on his wall- "Where do the Occupy Protesters summer- Burning Man?" to which I quickly reply, jumping at the opportunity to make him fully reveal his bias, "They summer where you do, the Occupy Protesters are you and I". Immediately I get a troll, private reply in my message inbox-

• Joshua

  • I didn't ask who they are... Perhaps you are still high from the altitude poisoning we all suffered last ski season together in Aspen. I said "where". PS. If you hadn't noticed by the private jet we took, Ritz we stayed at, or the meals my trust paid for. We are not them.
• Eric A. Vasallo

  • Joshua, if you want to go there i come from a good family myself...but i would never consider myself to be above anyone -especially people that are suffering without jobs due to the 1% of this country that snub their noses at the protests of other americans. you are a gay idiot. i am sad for the hypocrisy in which you live. oh and by the way the glaring red initials on ur jacket make u look like a pompous ass.

Ok so I admit, I should've left out the gay idiot and pompous ass insults. I would expect this kind of rhetoric from an obstinate Republican but not from a fellow homo. He's as big a hypocrite as Herman Cain or Clarence Thomas to his own people. Apparently, ignorance comes in all colors and people, no matter who they are, choose their morality based on their need for survival (I learned this in Anthropology). His being a trust fund baby means he is of the very few that are insulated by those that don't have to worry about a recession. In every movement there are always at least two sides, it's how the universe works; cause and effect, the yin and the yang. We saw it in Libya with the Gadhafi supporters in the streets supporting the insane despot, we see it in Cuba as well. The well off that are connected to the Government or a constant flow of good income and benefits are loyal to it's source. From the outside, you think how could these folks be loyal to such a corrupt and one-sided system? How can anyone defend Gadhafi or Fidel Castro? The answer is easy, "morality is based on one's need for survival". A retired economist in Cuba once told me, "If your people want to win this cold war against Cuba, end the embargo and start sending ship loads of medicine, food stuffs, appliances and clothing and you will see how quickly the people abandon Communism.". I never forgot that statement, the majority of people are loyal to whatever benefits them, no matter how badly it screws the rest of the population. Absolute power breeds absolute corruption and the root of this whole "class warfare" is just that. Corporations and big money have completely taken over this country's democracy. We are at a tipping point and while our country is not as impoverished as Egypt the inbalance of power is eerily similar. The proof is everywhere, from the countless graphs charting how much the middle class' income has been reduced since Bush's reign began to the Supreme Court ruling that corporations can be considered a "person" and kept corporate donations at their democracy threatening levels. This class warfare was not started by Obama or the Middle Class, it was started by Bush's "temporary" tax cuts benefitting the rich and will inevitably be finished by the masses taking back their democracy.

Enter - Occupy Wall Street Movement - not just a movement but an idea who's time has come, not created by one person but by the masses waking up and finally smelling that the bull shit in this country has reached an unbearable level. No manner of spinning or truth-twisting by the right can cover up the stench of the situation, at least not for the well informed. The other side swears the smell is coming from us evil liberals trying to defend equal pay and equal opportunity. Damn those evil liberals trying to take away their cake!

Don't believe in this conspiracy theory, then ask yourself or even Google when was the last time that journalists were arrested in this country for reporting on public events? 10 reporters were arrested in Zuccotti park in New York just this week. It's happening now, in this country, totalitarianism isn't just for the Middle East anymore. The Occupy movement is growing and will continue to grow as long as the inequality isn't remediated. The more people out of work the more will take to the streets, it's common logic and has happened again and again throughout history. America, as great as it is, is not immune to revolution.

The Occupy movement is global now, winter will not stop these protests, it will simply evolve into different types of protests and effect more change come voting season, just as the Tea Party did. Mass, organized voter registration drives would be an effective avenue to focus their energies on next.

If you want to continue to sit on your couch and pretend that everything is okay, go ahead, you can afford to, for now. If you don't then check out what Occupy is all about. It is not a bunch of hippies or "terrorists", they are fellow Americans, just like you and I. They are US and we are THEM.

When you gather with friends and family to dinner to give thanks this season, think of those protesting in the streets, working for us to have better lives and for the American Dream to be more equally accessible to all. Send them your warm wishes that things will get better, for they are a different type of soldier fighting to protect our democracy and this is a different kind of war, a class war. They started it and we will finish it.

Amazing graffitti artist-Shepard Fairey, whom echoes the Global Occupy Movement struggle for justice-

Why can't millionaires aspire to be like spiritual billionaire- John Templeton aka "god's sugar daddy" or like Bill & Melinda Gates?

United Nations envoy communication to United States on why Occupy Protesters human rights are not being defended.

Connect with the Global Occupy Movement here.