Murphy’s Law, written by Barbara Murphy, appears monthly in The Golden Times. The column represents the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the opinion of the publisher.
‘Occupy Wall Street’ Restores Faith
In Americans To Speak Out
“Occupy Wall Street” and its progeny have restored my faith in the American people.
For years, I have complained that “Americans are sheep” because they have silently acquiesced in the destruction of their economic welfare by depraved politicians doing the bidding of the richest predators in the country. In many instances, Americans have actually voted against their own self-interests, swallowing the radical right line that progressive candidates are Godless socialists.
A corrupt Congress and a larcenous bunch of financiers joined forces to destroy the American dream without a peep of protest until now. I have been hoping and expecting since 2008 that Americans would take to the streets in a show of force to make the plutocrats of Wall Street and Washington understand that their days of plundering the country and impoverishing its people are over.
As time passed, with no protests, I began to believe that Americans would be forever sheep, passively letting the butchers cut their throats.
The big banks were rescued by the government after the financial crash of 2008 but nothing was done to punish the malefactors or prevent future meltdowns. Yet, the streets were silent. No one marched.
Millions of Americans lost their homes to foreclosures caused in part by unscrupulous lenders. No one marched.
Unemployment soared above nine percent. No one marched.
A universal health insurance act was passed but the ultra-right brazenly branded the law a “threat to freedom” and launched a legal war to destroy it. No one marched.
Reports were issued again and again showing that one percent of the American population controls most of the country’s wealth. No one marched.
Congress resurrected plans to weaken Social Security and Medicare. Government help to the poor was savagely cut. No one marched.
Young people had to take on a mountain of debt to get a college education. No one marched.
The country got poorer and daily more disheartened and the streets remained silent — until suddenly they weren’t silent anymore but were filled instead with shouting, drum-banging protestors demanding economic and political change.
Most of the protestors are young, but some, God bless them, are senior citizens. While their “demands” are still taking shape, the protestors have at least found their voice and are gaining national attention.
The “Occupation” started appropriately in New York City with Wall Street as the target but the movement has quickly grown and there are now “Occupiers” in cities across the country. They march and chant and hold aloft placards that proclaim such messages as “We Are The 99%,” “I Live In America, But There’s No Dream,” “I’m Crying For My Country,” “Medicare For All,” “Jobs Not Cuts,” and “Forgive Student Loans.”
Moreover, the occupiers don’t just protest then retreat to the warmth and comfort of their homes. When their day’s righteous work is done, the protestors camp out — no matter how cold or wet it is — until the next day’s dawn and their protests begin anew. So far — with a few unfortunate exceptions — the protests also have been steadfastly peaceful.
Nothing on earth, however, is perfect and in some cities protestors alas have kept neighbors awake at night with drum banging and other unwelcome noise. Also, unsanitary conditions have developed at some of the camps.
In Oakland, police in riot gear fired tear gas and bean bags before day break on Oct. 25 to disperse some 170 protestors who had been camping in front of City Hall for two weeks. Seventy-five people were arrested. Officials in several other cities have threatened similar crackdowns.
Despite problems with noise and sanitation, many Americans support the protests and want to help the protestors. In New York City, for example, a neighborhood board is considering a proposal to provide off-site portable bathrooms, funded by local donors, to Occupy Wall Street.
Julie Menin, head of the board, said the neighborhood did not believe the protestors should be kicked out. “We do not want the city to use force in any way,” she said. “And we think it’s possible to address quality of life issues.”
Opponents have called the protestors “filthy hippies” and much worse.
Initially, the “hippie” reference caused Newsweek writer Andrew Sullivan to dismiss the Occupiers as laughable. “As a post-boomer,” he wrote in the Oct. 31 issue of the magazine, “I’ve been trained to giggle at them [hippies] my whole life.” But after taking a closer look at the Occupiers, Mr. Sullivan said he “learned to love them” and became convinced “their protests aren’t going to end.”
Mr. Sullivan said the Occupiers are right to protest a dysfunctional government and a broken economic system. “After the deepest recession since the 1930s, patience runs out,” he said.
He said: “Huge majorities agree that corporate special interests have too much clout in Washington, that inequality has gotten out of control, that taxes can and should be raised on the successful and that the gamblers of Wall Street deserve some direct comeuppance for the wreckage they have bestowed on the rest of us.” He warned that “there is simply a limit beyond which inequality threatens democratic life....”
Mr. Sullivan and the “huge majorities” that support the Occupiers’ goals have it right. It’s thrilling to see Americans take to the streets and fight for justice. These Americans at least, are not sheep. Rather, they are shepherds fighting the wolves who would devour the flock.
*
Barbara Murphy, 78, writes about controversial issues each month.
In Americans To Speak Out
“Occupy Wall Street” and its progeny have restored my faith in the American people.
For years, I have complained that “Americans are sheep” because they have silently acquiesced in the destruction of their economic welfare by depraved politicians doing the bidding of the richest predators in the country. In many instances, Americans have actually voted against their own self-interests, swallowing the radical right line that progressive candidates are Godless socialists.
A corrupt Congress and a larcenous bunch of financiers joined forces to destroy the American dream without a peep of protest until now. I have been hoping and expecting since 2008 that Americans would take to the streets in a show of force to make the plutocrats of Wall Street and Washington understand that their days of plundering the country and impoverishing its people are over.
As time passed, with no protests, I began to believe that Americans would be forever sheep, passively letting the butchers cut their throats.
The big banks were rescued by the government after the financial crash of 2008 but nothing was done to punish the malefactors or prevent future meltdowns. Yet, the streets were silent. No one marched.
Millions of Americans lost their homes to foreclosures caused in part by unscrupulous lenders. No one marched.
Unemployment soared above nine percent. No one marched.
A universal health insurance act was passed but the ultra-right brazenly branded the law a “threat to freedom” and launched a legal war to destroy it. No one marched.
Reports were issued again and again showing that one percent of the American population controls most of the country’s wealth. No one marched.
Congress resurrected plans to weaken Social Security and Medicare. Government help to the poor was savagely cut. No one marched.
Young people had to take on a mountain of debt to get a college education. No one marched.
The country got poorer and daily more disheartened and the streets remained silent — until suddenly they weren’t silent anymore but were filled instead with shouting, drum-banging protestors demanding economic and political change.
Most of the protestors are young, but some, God bless them, are senior citizens. While their “demands” are still taking shape, the protestors have at least found their voice and are gaining national attention.
The “Occupation” started appropriately in New York City with Wall Street as the target but the movement has quickly grown and there are now “Occupiers” in cities across the country. They march and chant and hold aloft placards that proclaim such messages as “We Are The 99%,” “I Live In America, But There’s No Dream,” “I’m Crying For My Country,” “Medicare For All,” “Jobs Not Cuts,” and “Forgive Student Loans.”
Moreover, the occupiers don’t just protest then retreat to the warmth and comfort of their homes. When their day’s righteous work is done, the protestors camp out — no matter how cold or wet it is — until the next day’s dawn and their protests begin anew. So far — with a few unfortunate exceptions — the protests also have been steadfastly peaceful.
Nothing on earth, however, is perfect and in some cities protestors alas have kept neighbors awake at night with drum banging and other unwelcome noise. Also, unsanitary conditions have developed at some of the camps.
In Oakland, police in riot gear fired tear gas and bean bags before day break on Oct. 25 to disperse some 170 protestors who had been camping in front of City Hall for two weeks. Seventy-five people were arrested. Officials in several other cities have threatened similar crackdowns.
Despite problems with noise and sanitation, many Americans support the protests and want to help the protestors. In New York City, for example, a neighborhood board is considering a proposal to provide off-site portable bathrooms, funded by local donors, to Occupy Wall Street.
Julie Menin, head of the board, said the neighborhood did not believe the protestors should be kicked out. “We do not want the city to use force in any way,” she said. “And we think it’s possible to address quality of life issues.”
Opponents have called the protestors “filthy hippies” and much worse.
Initially, the “hippie” reference caused Newsweek writer Andrew Sullivan to dismiss the Occupiers as laughable. “As a post-boomer,” he wrote in the Oct. 31 issue of the magazine, “I’ve been trained to giggle at them [hippies] my whole life.” But after taking a closer look at the Occupiers, Mr. Sullivan said he “learned to love them” and became convinced “their protests aren’t going to end.”
Mr. Sullivan said the Occupiers are right to protest a dysfunctional government and a broken economic system. “After the deepest recession since the 1930s, patience runs out,” he said.
He said: “Huge majorities agree that corporate special interests have too much clout in Washington, that inequality has gotten out of control, that taxes can and should be raised on the successful and that the gamblers of Wall Street deserve some direct comeuppance for the wreckage they have bestowed on the rest of us.” He warned that “there is simply a limit beyond which inequality threatens democratic life....”
Mr. Sullivan and the “huge majorities” that support the Occupiers’ goals have it right. It’s thrilling to see Americans take to the streets and fight for justice. These Americans at least, are not sheep. Rather, they are shepherds fighting the wolves who would devour the flock.
*
Barbara Murphy, 78, writes about controversial issues each month.
