I don’t watch television, I rarily surf the net, mostlty, I spend my time listening to the radio and people in the world around me.  The first thing I noticed, on the radio particularly, is a great deal of talk on the “fact” that the occupy movement lacks definition.  The second thing they chatter about is the threat or menace and the possibility that anarchists or some other anti governmental group will infiltrate the movement to a dastardly end.  Finally that the movement inconviences all the rspectable people as they go about their day, that it costs the public too much money.  Lets deal with these one at a time.

1. the Movement Lacks definition:

What constitues definition?  We live in a world that is permeated with simplistic slogans and notions about domestic policy.  I’m not even going to attempt foriegn policy because most of our brother and sister citizens have little actual grasp of what’s going on.  You can Goggle whatever you like  but when it comes down to it, an understanding or context fully developed must be possessed by the individual to make sense out of the information they are receiving.  Domestically the debate is defined by arguments over, More taxes verses less, More regulation verses no regulation, More spending verses less spending, more guns verses fewer guns, the violent spread of democracy verses National Security and the people in the world around me  pick only one of these very dualistic notions to hinge their entire view of the argument.  Any attempt to broaden their discussion or to examine just how complex the systen actually is results in people yelling violently at  me as though some how I am an idiot or worse an America Hater.  Since when does exercising my 1st amendment right to express my concern about what is happening to the country I love make me Anti American?  I guess it begs the question.

The occupy movement has a little bit of money.  Maybe they should hire a Big time Marketing firm, like politicians do, or possibly a small unknown firm that wants to make a name for its self.  The firm could unleash its Market Demographers to survey the people a few dozen times.  Rally its Psycologists and Sociologists to put together focus groups to develop a slogan.  Then they could poll the population a few times to find that winning phrase.  How about “Down with Wall Street” or “The Morally aware for Social Justice” or Maybe “Make Love not War”? Wait a minute, that last one was used before. Never mind the complexity of any living system, including a government or an economy.  Keep it simple as we out in the world can’t be bothered by having to learn or think about anything.  That’s what the movement needs A good Slogan.

2.  The threat or Menace:

If we had protests being engineered by police officers, Lawyers, school teachers, Scientists or Doctors and Nurses would we see them as a potential Menace?  I doubt it.  Of course they aren’t protesting and I have to wonder why not?  Well for the most part they are employed so its not in their precieved best interest to protest.  I heard it said once, why don’t those kids just get jobs already.  What jobs?  If serious employment was available I doubt there would be any one occupying anything but local retail outlets.  WE as a nation have always seen the unemployed as a threat and as sad as it is we will probably always see them that way.  Why is this so?  Because they have nothing left to loose.

3. Infiltration:

This is an excuse to ingnore the movement.  Historically, including the imfamous late anti-war movement during Veitnam, Protest Movements turn hostile when it becomes apparent that what they think or feel doesn’t affect the day to day running of the government or the formation of policy in any way.  My Mom use to say that the moment you realize that you don’t matter one iota to the great world of government is the moment you becone an adult.  For occuppy Wallstreet, or any other prtotest movement, including the movement that lead to the war that bought our freedom, the moment they realize that they cannot affect a change through any means is the moment things will turn ugly.  The Infiltration Argument, whether intentional or not, encourages that rest of the population to disregard the movement pushing it to the very point every one is so worried about, psycological warfare 101 “The Self Fulfilling Prophecy.”

We are a strange people, we love to whine and bitch or piss and moan about how business or the government are screwing us this way and that.  We complain that some one should do something about it.  But, Hell hold its horses if some one doing something about it should get in our way as we travel for that despreatly needed cup of Starbucks Coffee or block the drive thru at Mcdonalds.  That’s when we do something about it by whing and crying to the mayor, city council or police chief about those worthless lazy bastard’s making our life difficult.  Newsflash…”YOU CAN’T HAVE IT BOTH WAYS.”  If you still erxpect government and huge mega business to behave morally then there is something wrong with your brain.  If you want change then learn to cope with the process, eat a bran muffin for Christ Sakes.

Finally, I have been hearing talk about finding a way to ecourage change that doesn’t involve risk.  Everything involves risk, getting married or divorced, changing careers, choosing to go to college or directly to work, going out on a date, walking down the street, driving to work it is impossible to eliminate risk.  The best you can do is assess risk.  Its time to man up people, protecting our country, cities and neighborhoods is not just the responsibility of first responders and the military, its our responsibility too.  It doesn’t matter where you stand on the issues only that you stand and make the effort.  We choose how this thing will play out.  If we do nothing and things turn violent its our fault too.