I think the beauty of the “occupy” movement was that everyone fought for what they believed in–because different people are motivated by different passions, they were able to unite them into a protest calling for change in general. although the benefits outweigh the cons, that did serve as one of its pitfalls–by literally inviting people to do whatever they wanted; a few bad seeds do a lot of damage, at least in my area. lots of smashed windows (from local businesses, which inherently supported the movement), fires, graffiti, threats, etc–to the shame and embarrassment of most.

I attend one of the universities infamous for police brutality–I witnessed professors and students alike being bludgeoned (including an 80-year-old poet laureate) and was nearly beaten myself. I have to say regarding earlier comments about the internet and technology–without technology, this movement simply wouldn’t exist on the scale that it did, with the support that it did. if students didn’t take cell phone/digital camera videos of pigs breaking the bones of fellow students, the nation wouldn’t know or care as much as they would reading it on the news with a few pictures–it wouldn’t have gone viral. and if it didn’t go viral, the police actions likely wouldn’t have gone under the scrutiny that it did. we were able to meet and be aware of things thanks to instant twitter or facebook updates–that was really crucial for last-minute meetings, since word-of-mouth is hard for 30,000 students to find out.

I’m still trying to work on a sign to carry for the next demonstration. I want it to be clear to those who might yell at us to “get a job” that I have a job, a very good one, and I still feel a need to be counted among the Occupy demonstrators.

FAR more difficult, if not impossible, to control and attack by the target of the movement. Hopefully they will gain strength, organization and solid backing before they put forth a “face” to the world.

Time for an American Spring.

“The way to understand all of this is to realize that it’s part of a broader syndrome, in which wealthy Americans who benefit hugely from a system rigged in their favor react with hysteria to anyone who points out just how rigged the system is”.

We just had a perfect example: Leo Apotheker CEO of Hewlitt-Packard – was given a $13 million severance pay package and he pulled HP down into financial mud…..not to mention the $10 he “earned” in the 11 months he was actually CEO – $23 million. Not bad for being a failure.

I think there is no agenda because there are too MANY agendas to attack: greed in all forms, lack of willingness to believe in climate change, government that does not represent the wishes of its people…..that’s a lot of issues. But I see a momentum moving and I believe that this isn’t going to be swept under the carpets as “they” had hoped.