I am outraged.
And how are you NOT? Regardless of what your views are on the Occupy Movement, let's be honest here, there is an organized suppression of this movement and there has been from day one. It took almost an entire week before media covered what we were doing and then suddenly it became the trending fad. Our media coverage peaked and then slowly began falling off, and at the other side of that peak was coverage full of condemnation and discrediting what we had accomplished. The mainstream media, conveniently owned by corporations, spread messages of disorganization, health hazards, and rape. Did all of these exist? Absolutely. There's no denying it. But is that what our movement stood for or condoned? HELL NO. We stood for organization, a new democratic system that was non-hierarchical, a community that could exist together and take care of one another. And that, that scares the shit out of the 1%.
We have a tough road ahead of us and it will be an uphill battle, but we've already overcome so many obstacles. Nearly all major cities have had their occupations raided and evicted and we're STILL HERE. They don't seem to understand that although it is nice for each occupation to have a home-base, the occupation is NOT the movement. Just because a home is foreclosed upon doesn't mean that family dies, it means they regroup and move on to FIGHT.
I joined this movement as a non-violent protester, who was very naive when it came to police brutality and how this world is currently functioning. It doesn't take long living in this movement before one realizes what is taking place, all at the exploitations of the many for the benefit of the few. If you're not a millionaire you can't even take a seat at their table. I wish I only meant that figuratively, but when the president is charging $38,500 PER PLATE for his fundraising dinners, that statement becomes literal, as well. While I am still in non-violent mode, the time is quickly approaching where things may take a turn for the worst. Sorry, Mom, I've gotta tell it how it is. There's only so many times a person can get a baton in their neck or be thrown up against the wall by the very people that are supposed to be "protecting and serving" you. There's only so many times a person can walk out of their front door and see a mobile police station with its eye in the sky or stopped and frisked by New York's so-called "finest" before they really start to believe they are the animal that they're being treated like. I've lived this for five months. Others have lived this their entire lives. Society puts sex, drugs, violence, and mistreatment of women in the forefront of every tv show and movie, yet when our youth idolize these things and become them, we criminalize them. DOES ANYONE ELSE SEE THIS AS A PROBLEM?!?! Every time another person tells me that it's the fault of our young people for doing what they do, my heart aches more and more. YES, it is their decision, but what other decision are they left with? Get a job? There are NONE. Go to college? Can't afford it. Get a loan? They'll be an indentured servant for life trying to repay them while the very entities that they're repaying are failing and getting bailed out. What about a bailout for the people? They have us believe that the economy is unpredictable. I say BULLSHIT. They know EXACTLY what the economy is doing and they're benefiting from it while everyone else suffers, losing their homes and unable to eat. CAPITALISM IS THE PROBLEM. It is a system set up for greed. We need a system that is set up for the care of EVERYONE, not just the people wealthy enough to buy their way in.
So for everyone who says I need to get a job, I say this - I do not want to function in your society. Your society manipulates and exploits those willing to work the hardest and then tries to condemn them by calling them lazy when they are unemployed because they can't find work. Your society functions off of the exploitation of the laborers to make a few rich while indefinitely keeping them in a cycle that they are terrified to get out of for fear of the unknown. I AM NOT AFRAID. I will gladly starve before I work for another corporation that doesn't give a damn about whether I live or die. I will sleep in the streets before I go back to being a lemming, blindly walking through this world and this life caring only for myself and what I'm going to consume next because that's what society has taught me. I AM NOT AFRAID. And you shouldn't be either. Just REALLY think about what it is you're afraid of losing. A home? A car? A cushioned lifestyle? All materialism. Millions across the globe are dying of starvation and illnesses that are as curable as the common cold here in America. All that matters is what we do for people.
"I believe I'm going to die doing the things I was born to do. I believe I'm going to die high off the people. I believe I'm going to die a revolutionary in the international revolutionary proletarian struggle." -Fred Hampton, Black Panther Party
PLEASE WAKE UP. If you're awake, shake the person next to you. Then have them shake the person next to them. We have very little left and they're after that. They won't stop until they have it all, I promise you. The police are not here to protect you, if you think they are, try exercising your first amendment right against a corporation and see how quickly they're given orders to turn on you. They can hold us indefinitely now without trial because of the NDAA. Not far away is the day that they label protesters as terrorists, if you don't believe me, just wait.
This is a very small portion of what is actually on my mind. I love this City, but they speak truth when they say it is fast-paced and if you're not careful you will get caught up in it. Even quiet moments of alone time are rushed as I'm frantically getting ready for meetings, rallies, marches, court dates, travel. It's the life I wanted and the life I never want to give up, but if I'm not careful it will drive me mentally insane. It's not for the faint of heart. I love you all. We are unstoppable, another world is possible.
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