Sunday, December 4, 2011

Thoughts on the Occupy Protests

These men have jobs on Wall Street and said they couldn't get to work because of the protests:




     The massive Occupy Wall Street protests have resulted in hundreds of arrests and hundreds of headlines. It has also prompted a very similar Canadian anti-corporation, anti-government movement. However, I don't think these disordered protests will be able to accomplish anything concrete. You want to make a difference in how business and government works? Be involved in politics, NPOs, and lobbying instead of marching around decrying every person more powerful than you.

     Additionally, do these types of protests really belong in Canada? Our economy is much stronger and our distribution of wealth is not nearly as lopsided as in the United States. With a more even distribution of wealth, less people without jobs, less people below the poverty line, a more stable economy, and a government that does more to help the poor, are Occupy Wall Street protests really relevant in our country?
     Or is this a global movement that's more about supporting people in poorer countries? If so, I would be a lot more sympathetic. Visiting the movements' websites, I found many anti-corporation and anti-government slogans but no real answers. There was only one specific, meaningful thing they seemed united around – that corporate money and corporate lobbyists have too much of an influence on government. That, I actually agree with.
     I think there are signs that our society may be slowly turning into a plutocracy (the US may already be an effective plutocracy). However, with the problems in the movement that I mentioned above, I don't feel ready to throw my support behind the Occupy movement.

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2 comments:

  1. interesting to hear your thoughts on this. i'm not very involved in politics -- the only thing i would ever protest against is abortion.

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  2. Thx!

    Abortion's a gr8 thing to protest against :) Y'know, the thing is, most of the ppl in these Occupy protests aren't involved in politics either.

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