So I’m here in New York for my recital, and I basically had a free day, so I thought, what better way to spend it than to occupy Wall Street? And that’s what I did.
Now, I must admit, I had heard that Batman might be there, so that was an added incentive to check it out, but as it turns out, Batman will not be there for a few more weeks. I think I saw Captain America though…
Anyway, this “Occupy Wall Street” stuff is all over the Facebook these days, and even a little bit of the real news (but not really), but I still didn’t really know what it was all about, so I went down to investigate. Why were they protesting? What did they hope to accomplish? How were they going to do it?
What I discovered, is that these protests seem to be an anything goes type of affair, where people can air various grievances, but I didn’t get much of a sense of unity from it all. There were people protesting the financial bailouts. There were people that hated Obama and there were people that were staunch Obama supporters. Many people were mad about pollution, and some were mad about eating meat, or cruelty to animals, or something along those lines. The “Occupy Sesame Street” people were there too, with their Cookie Monster signs, and there were also a bunch of people protesting the protests, holding signs that basically said “Stop whining and go home.” There was even a topless girl in body paint, although I don’t know what she was upset about, and I’m not sure they guys she was talking to knew either…
If I had to pick a theme in the midst of all these protests, it’s that corporations and unbridled, unchecked capitalism are bad. Now, I can totally get down with that. I hate corporations. I hate the idea of them. A business is not a person, and it should not have the same rights as a person. The whole “It’s not personal, it’s business,” thing has always smelled funny to me. It’s as if we can separate our morality and our feelings for other human beings from our greed and money making desires. If I was going to join the protests myself, maybe I would hold up a sign that said “Money is not more important than people.” That is one of my core beliefs, and, though I love my country like I love all of my dysfunctional family members, the thing I hate about it the most is the capitalism. To me, it doesn’t matter if we have a thriving economy when air and water is polluted, people working three jobs can’t afford to feed their families, and unsafe and unhealthy products are being sold to us because they are cheaper to make.
Now, in a world where money is the only thing that matters, or at least the most important thing, this is unavoidable. Money is really only a means to an end, but when more money means a better life for your family, how can you help but try to make as much as you can? We live in a system that has always existed, where some people have more than others, and that will certainly never change. So what are all these protesters (and me, in my mind, with my little sign) trying to accomplish then? I don’t know. I still don’t know. But what I will tell you, is that in my mind, food and shelter are basic human rights. Back in the caveman days, when there were not stockpiles of food and only so many caves, it was different. But we live in a world where people are being evicted from homes, and the streets are filled with homeless. We produce enough food to feed everyone on the planet, and yet people starve to death. Why? Well, because they can’t afford to eat. To me, that is the height of immorality, and why business needs to be regulated. We’ve seen what businesses will try if they get the chance. They will cut costs, lie, cheat, steal, and deliver dangerous products to us. They will destroy the planet, and they will drive others out of business if they can, with shady practices and strong-arm tactics. There’s no defense for this, unless you think money is the most important thing in the world. And if that’s true, well, we really have nothing more to talk about.
On an unrelated note, Jesse Jackson randomly showed up and I was personally shoved out of the way by one of his bodyguards! Super cool! I don’t know what he was doing there. Maybe trying to get on the news or something. He didn’t say anything, but he did look around and stare at people in a serious manner, so at least it’s a step in the right direction.
Most excellent!