People Who Should Not Be Protesting in OWS

This is my 50th post (woohoo) and I want to talk about current events (for once).
I'm the kind of person who doesn't watch the news. You can say that I'm disaffected. I don't like politics, I think the news is depressing, and I'd rather be in my oblivious bubble during dinner time than watch a news story about a murder or robbery.



If something is really important, I almost always find out from the internet anyway.

Now that I am a Communication major, though, with a focus in journalism, I kind of have to pay attention to the news now. Of course, what's been fairly popular in the news for the past--what, 3 months?--is the Occupy Wall Street movement. Other cities in the United States and around the world have joined in this protest, and there's not really any clear leadership or purpose to it. All I know is that people are just plain fed up with the economy and how it's run. The trickle down effect doesn't work. 99% of the wealth belong to 1% of the world's population, and the rest of us who share 1% of the wealth are the 99%.

It's an angry world we live in, and the global inclination is toward anarchy at this point. However, I would like to shed some light on this and tell people things they've probably already heard before:

If you do not have a GED, you should not be protesting in OWS. You cannot get a job because you don't have a GED.

If you have a good laptop (it came out in the past few years, as opposed to ten years ago), you should not be protesting in OWS.

If you have an iPhone, iPod, iPad, iAnything, you should not be protesting in OWS. Clearly you have enough money if you've bought an Apple product.

If you're "living above your means," you should not be protesting in OWS. You have debt because you're living above your means. You cannot pay off your debt because you continue to do so.

If you're a drug addict or a drug dealer, you should not be protesting in OWS. If you're a drug addict, you're wasting your money on drugs. If you're a drug dealer, you're helping addicts waste their money on drugs. Aside from that, neither of you are law-abiding citizens, so how can you expect the government to listen to you and validate your feelings?

If you have a family to take care of, you should not be protesting in OWS. Now you might say, "I can't take care of my family because I don't have enough money, and that's why I joined in the protests." I'm sorry, your point is valid but let's be honest, your children would be better off with you present. You can probably cook better than them, and do you REALLY want your mother-in-law carrying the burden of caring for your children in your absence? Think carefully.

People who have a reason to protest:

-College students who are the victims of financial aid cuts.
-College grads who have pounded the pavement and offered to clean toilets and STILL cannot find a job.
-Senior citizens who cannot live on their social security (although they should not be exposed to the elements, and nobody wants to see an old woman get pepper-sprayed. That's just plain horrible.)
-People who REALLY cannot live off of what they're making. They've cut their spending, they clip coupons, they conserve energy, they work extra hours, they have two jobs, they eat the end pieces of the loaf of bread, and they STILL cannot pay all their bills.
-Schools that have been subject to terrible budget cuts. I'm thinking superintendents and maybe principals should be protesting. I do not think teachers should bring their class on a trip to Zuccotti Park so they can protest.
-The people who run homeless shelters. A homeless person can only stay for a limited amount of time because there's a limited amount of space. What the heck.
-People who need better healthcare. I know people who have jobs that do not provide health benefits, so they're under the "Healthy NY" plan, which SUCKS.

Overall, this has been going on for awhile now and I don't think anything's really changed. Is this movement going to change anything? Probably not. While some may say it's brought about unity, I think it's brought about more division. People hate the government more now than they did before, and people hate police more now than they did before.

"Oh, but Nicole, this movement has simply exposed the government and the police for what they truly are--heartless, greedy bastards who do not care about people."

And who are you?

Let's get one thing straight: you are not starving. Children in Uganda are starving. YOU are just HUNGRY.

Some protestors have legitimate reasons to protests. The rest of them are just chronic complainers who delight in rebellion. And frankly, it's hard to pinpoint a specific reason behind the movement because with every protestor you ask, the purpose varies slightly (or vastly).

I'm not for the movement, but I'm not against it either. I think the government has needed a wake up call for a long time. However, I do not think people camping out in Zuccotti Park and putting their health and wellbeing at risk is the right way to go about it. I just hope nobody decides to set himself or herself on fire. Then things will get ugly. And don't let this statement give you any ideas.

If you live in America, you have it waaaaaaay better than the rest of the world, especially the people in third world countries.

So examine thyself.

I say, let's swarm the government with letters, or bottles of tobasco sauce, if you're willing to pay for postage. I mean, if you can afford to shop at the 99 cent store, you can afford a stamp, right?