Of course I am frustrated. Pissed off. Venting more than ever. Young women call me "sir". I am mocked for refusing to pay my bills online. I have lost the ability to parallel park. How do you think I feel? This country is definitely not the same as when I grew up in Beaver Cleaverville. There seems to be no management to my anger. That being said, I have mixed feelings about these occupations. Partly because of their lack of specificity and partly because I really really hate camping.
I know that the Constitution talks about the right to assemble. It also talks about the right to bear arms. As I don't want people bringing in AK 47's to Spago; I don't feel that everyone has a right to put a tent down at the Staples Center. Especially since the NBA will be back in action soon. Go Kobe.
I don't want to sound like I have morphed into the "get off my lawn guy". When I was a college student I embraced the outrage. I knew the difference between Phil Ochs and Sherman Oaks. I still remember all the lyrics to Neil Young's Ohio. I went to Woodstock. The screening, not the real event. I was there when my fellow students stormed the administration building. I would have joined their advance but it was time for my History of American Cinema class. Somewhat ironic; was that they were showing Potemkin that afternoon.
A few years ago I attended a single payer healthcare event in downtown L.A.. I felt compelled to go. Instead of being enthused at the proceedings I was turned off. I was handed every left wing leaflet that you could imagine. I've always been a Lennon fan. Not a Lenin fan. I was there because I was beyond upset with my insurance company. I was not there because some five star hotel had been mean to their workers. Besides, I like the Polo Lounge. "Si, se puede!" Again with that. Oy!!! I wasn't going to buy the "I Hate Michael Vick" t-shirt either. I was there about healthcare.
That is what concerns me about these encampments. You have taken a great piece of pie and now put chocolate ice cream, sprinkles, and caramel sauce all over it. One can barely see the pie. Don't let this well-intentioned movement get lessened by the sprinkles.
In fairness these protests have accomplished the most important thing - getting people to pay attention. A tough thing to do. Better now than when the new ipad 3 comes out early next year. Then no one will listen to the shouts.
This past Wednesday morning the L.A. police moved in on our city's shouters. Thank God both sides didn't go Richard Daley on each other. That would have been a painful distraction for the movement. Two hundred arrests were reported. Make sure that those arrestees hire a lawyer that is a 1%'er. You don't want a lawyer that is a 99%"er. You really don't.
This eviction is not the end. It is important to keep that momentum going on for all of us that feel so disenfranchised. Continue to rise up for what you believe in. Pack up. Don't pack it in. You won't be able to roast marshmallows with your tented-neighbor for awhile. You'll have to start paying for yoga classes again. That's all. Besides it's the holidays and there's fake snow at the Grove.
The activists next step should be civic action. The Tea Party certainly did that. They had their voices heard with their wins in many elections. The elections of the obstructionists. Why can't the next step be for the occupiers to work hard in elections to get candidates that are "structionists" elected? Don't let Elizabeth Warren lose. Clone Bernie Sanders. End the campaign financing structure. Cut lobbyists out of the game. Work for tax reform. This to me, advances the movement more than drum lines and meditation groups in Pershing Square.
I certainly don't have all the answers. I wish that I knew more about economics. I am more aware of Kinky Friedman than Thomas Friedman. I know that I am a member of the 99% club. Yet, I buy lottery tickets hoping to join the 1%'ers. The wealthy should be paying more taxes. Yet, I know folks that are able to deduct a dog sitter as a business expense. So, who am I to bark at the affluent. We can all agree that the banks need more regulation. Starting with a rule that every teller must have a vowel in their last name. There's lots to be done. Lots.
The occupiers have turned on my light switch. I do feel that I am more engaged. Not enough to get my sleeping bag out of the garage, but I have been awakened. I choose to bypass despair and honestly believe there is hope not that far away. I mean, who knew a few years ago, that you could make more money selling tents than being in the stock market.
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